14 DAY TRIAL // The design of the Apple Watch has remained pretty much the same throughout all these years, but as it turns out, Apple might be thinking of a completely new look for a future-generation model.
While at this point the idea is far from reaching mass production, a patent provides us with a closer glimpse at what could be a round Apple Watch.
U.S. Patent 9965995, which was granted earlier this week, describes an “electronic device having display with curved edge,” which after further reading seems to detail a way that Apple has in mind to build a round smartwatch.
Apple explains in the patent that there are technical challenges to make a round-faced watch, and curved edges could help mitigate the problem.
“Pixel arrays often have rectangular shapes. However, rectangular pixel arrays will not fit efficiently within a device having a circular shape. Circular displays can have bottleneck regions in which signal lines become crowded, leading to inefficient use of display area. It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved displays such as circular displays or other displays with curved edges,” the patent reads.
Possibly coming next year?
Apple filed the patent in January 2016, so it started exploring a way to make a round Apple Watch after the debut of the first-generation rectangular model.
Of course, there is no guarantee that the company could go further with this design, but there’s no doubt it’d make the device look more natural on the wrist.
Other companies, including Samsung, have already launched round smartwatches, and Apple now appears to be increasingly interested in unveiling a future-generation Apple Watch that embraces the same design as well.
An upgraded Apple Watch is expected next year, though for the time being it’s way too early to predict whether the device would maintain the same shape or adopt the technology described in this patent.
