The Apple Watch 2 might be the current cream of the smartwatch crop, but it’s still far from the finished article.
Yes, it addressed many of the issues we all had with the original model – battery life: doubled; integrated GPS: added; inability to stand up to anything more than a bit of light drizzle: solved – but it’s still not made smartwatches a must-have item of tech.
With the Apple Watch 3 rumors already flowing, though, that could be about to change. Like Back to the Future re-runs or an episode of Star Trek, recently filed Apple patents have shown us what exciting tech advancements the future will bring.
Of course, patents aren’t a guarantee of what’s to come – we’ve seen hundreds of exciting gadget innovations pass through the patent and trademark office, never to see the light of day as an actual product or component. But they can also give a useful indication of how things are set to evolve.
And if these patents do end up shaping the Apple Watch 3, we’re all in for a treat.
Jedi powers could soon been in your hands – literally. Apple has filed a patent for technology that will let you control the wrist-mounted Apple Watch just by moving your wrist and fingers.
From turning your music volume up or down by twisting your wrist in or out, to scrolling up and down menu lists by extending and flexing your digits in a particular fashion, you could be able to control your Apple Watch 3 without ever touching the device.
Sensors in the watch will monitor your movements, checking your actions against an installed gesture database to ensure you always get the desired response. According to the patent filing, you’ll also be able to answer or reject incoming calls simply by opening or closing your hand.
The original Samsung Galaxy Gear – one of the first widely available smartwatches – featured an integrated camera. This idea was quickly knocked on the head though, and for good reason: taking pictures with your wrist is awkward, and image quality was low.
It could be making a comeback, though. Apple has filed patents for a Watch with an inbuilt camera. This won’t be a camera that requires you to awkwardly contort your wrist to capture poor, grainy landscape shots though; rather, Apple says it’s looking to integrate a user-facing camera that will enable improved selfie skills and the ability to hold FaceTime video calls direct from your wrist.
