Bosch is coming out with a new CORE18V 12.0Ah battery pack. Bosch announced and teased about 4.0Ah and 8.0Ah batteries back in 2018, but this is the first time a new 15-cell CORE18V 12.0Ah battery has been discussed.
Bosch has launched their new 18V “MegaWatt” cordless miter saw recently, or at least it’s now available for sale on Amazon. I haven’t seen any press materials (that I can find), or maybe we’re just not in the loop anymore as with their recent power tool break-up promotion.
With some of last year’s MegaWatt Crew tools on the market, and others presumably on the way, what comes next for Bosch?
Note – these images were found via UK resources. It seems that Bosch uses PRO Core18V branding in some markets, and CORE18V here in the US.
ALSO, please keep in mind that none of this is official.
What We Know About the Bosch CORE18V 12.0Ah Battery
In their Amazon description for the new Bosch “MegaWatt Crew” miter saw, it says:
MEGAWATT Technology – a Bosch-exclusive brushless high-performance motor and drive-train system engineered to take full advantage of the additional power generated by 8.0 Ah and 12.0 Ah CORE18V batteries.
12.0Ah?
I never received a press release about the miter saw, and so maybe Bosch released something about the new 12.0Ah CoRE18V battery via social media, paid influencer campaigns, or otherwise. So, I searched for details.
A couple of tries, and… nothing.
So I worked some more research magic and… I found several other references to the 12.0Ah battery, plus a product listing and images on ToolStop, a UK retailer.
Then, I felt really silly, as it seems the Bosch CORE18V 12.0Ah battery is referenced right on Bosch UK’s power tools site. Whoops.
There’s even a german-language video from March 2018 discussing the new 12.0Ah battery in the context of the other “ProCORE18V” batteries, along with a “coming in 2018” claim.
Maybe I saw hints about the Bosch CORE18V 12.0Ah battery sooner? Still, seeing it mentioned in a USA product page? Optimistically, that could be an indication that we’re going to see it here soon. Maybe in 2020?
Let’s Make Some Predictions
Bosch’s 18V MegaWatt Crew cordless power tools were announced nearly a year ago, but not many of them have hit the market yet. So what’s the hold up?
Or, perhaps new cordless power tools will be tied with the launch of this CORE18V 12.0Ah battery? Again, this part is all speculations.
Back in April, someone left a comment on our CORE18V battery post. They wrote:
Just herd today that Bosch is working on a 12.0 battery and a dual pack powered breaker hammer and table saw!!!
Well, that seems… actually… it seems possible.
Milwaukee has their new M18 High Output cordless power tools, including a 12″ miter saw. Dewalt has their Flexvolt cordless table saw and 12″ miter saws. Hitachi/Metabo HPT has their MultiVolt cordless tools. Makita is coming out with a new XGT cordless power tool system.
What next-gen “cordless jobsite” tools has Bosch come out with recently? An 8-1/2″ cordless miter saw?
Bosch has had CORE18V 6.3Ah batteries for a while. Stepping up to 7.0Ah or 8.0Ah is a step up in charge capacity, but not necessarily a step-up in power or work potential.
Now a 12.0Ah battery – these packs are built with 15 Li-ion cells, or 50% more than typical 10-cell high capacity battery packs.
Sure, stepping up to 12.0Ah would surely provide more runtime. But, launching their first-ever 15-cell Li-ion battery would also mean greater power potential that Bosch would surely want to leverage with new higher-powered cordless power tools.
I am highly confident that Bosch is working on new tools to leverage the potential of this 12.0Ah battery. I cannot imagine a scenario where a larger, heavier, and pricier 15-cell Li-ion battery pack makes sense without there being new higher-powered tools that can take advantage of it.
That one comment tip about a dual battery-powered breaker hammer and table saw? I could definitely see a two-battery jackhammer and two-battery table saw leading Bosch’s push into the next-gen cordless power tool arena.
If there is a two-battery-powered cordless Bosch table saw, there could potentially be different power options. Maybe it could fit (1) of these batteries or (2) non-CORE18V batteries. Maybe it’ll have a plug-in adapter? Bosch’s portable table saws are pretty popular, and it’s about time we saw a cordless option from them.
What else might we see? A 12″ sliding miter saw? A larger cordless jobsite vac or dust extractor?
I’d believe this new Bosch battery to be their key to unlocking next-gen cordless power tool tech. Sure, CORE18V enables Bosch to compete against other brands’ next-gen cordless power tool systems, but a 15-cell battery will allow for much more balanced competition.
