Apple Watch users would swear by the Digital Crown feature that permits them to navigate the watchOS interface effortlessly without having to touch the screen.
As a patent now reveals, Apple appears to be planning on ditching the entire thing in favor of optical sensors that would be fitted right where the crown is currently located.
This report comes courtesy of Patently Apple and describes a new patent from the Cupertino-based tech giant, published recently by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
It is titled “Watch with optical sensor for user input” and it shows how new sensors can be used to track user input, effectively doing away with the need for the Digital Crown, and as a result, reducing the number of moving parts in the smartwatch.
Use cases include users operating the Apple Watch through gestures and motion alone.
These gestures will be registered by the optical sensor and converted into inputs to control various stuff within watchOS.
Alon with reducing moving parts and lessening the need for physically touching the watch to interact with it, optical sensors can also free up space, space which can then be used for better ways such as fitting in a larger battery or even additional sensors.
Finally, an optical sensor also opens up possibilities for measuring various other biometrics such as heart rate, respiration rate, blood oxygenation level, blood volume estimate, and blood pressure.
All of these ideas are just speculations as of now, so take them with a grain of salt. Apple could be developing them but it will be a while before we can actually see them make their way onto a Watch Series model.
Also read:
