We have assumed that in the laboratories of Cupertino Apple was looking for new possibilities and designs for the Apple WatchWhat we did not expect is to see a patent with such a drastic overhaul as the image that animates this article. A design that reminds us that the Apple Watch has a lot of room to evolve in many ways.
The Apple Watch of the future, in more ways than one
The patent “Display module and system applications” descubierta por MacRumors hides much more than the name suggests. The paper explains how a flexible screen could cover virtually the entire wrist and provide a continuous screen. This screen would be flexible enough to adapt to the shape of our arm and allow us to view information from many other angles.
In one application, the design describes a portable electronic device, such as a smart watch, which includes a flexible display panel and a flexible display module. In this way, the display area of the smartwatch is not limited to a rigid area of the watch face. In the design, a smart watch includes a flexible display panel which is integrated into a flexible watch strap. Therefore, the curvature of the flexible display panel, both in the area of the watch face and on the strap, can be adjusted to suit the size of the wearer’s wrist. The flexible display area of the display panel can cover more space available on the watch face area and on the wristband of the smart watch.
Apple goes on to explain that this design would have multiple connectors along the display’s substrate while the watch’s battery, processor, ambient light sensor, and other components would be located in the central, rigid part of the watch. watch. It is mentioned in the patent that this design system would allow a drastic reduction of screen edges, even eliminating them completely
A design that leaves us more questions than it answers, but that we would no doubt like to wear on our wrists today.
According to Apple, the “bracelet” area could be personalized in the same way we now choose Apple Watch faces. Here it would not be necessary to buy different straps, We could configure the color and design of the same from the preferences of the Apple Watch.
We have said it time and time again and today we will say again that patents cannot be taken literally. It is clear that by their nature they try on the one hand to be as ambiguous as possible and at the same time to cover as many possibilities as possible. However, it is also important to note that in almost all the other patents we saw on the Apple Watch the company represented this watch with the same design
The truth is, this patent attracts attention because of the suggestive nature of its images, but in any case, it gives us clues about Apple’s plans and its areas of interest and research. There are definitely still some issues to be answered in this design, such as how scratch resistance this screen is. We can try not to hit the case of the current Apple Watch, but to prevent the strap from scratching with the MacBook while typing, for example, is saying a lot. We don’t expect the Apple Watch Series 7 to have that form factor, of course, but we’ll see if the Series 10 has any surprises in store for us.
