The Apple Watch is a marmite product – some love it, some hate it – but it seems Apple is definitely sold on at least one of its features.
Apple has applied for a patent that involves borrowing the Apple Watch’s Digital Crown to other iOS devices, like an iPad. According to the filing, which was first revealed by Patently Apple, the Digital Crown could be used on the iPad for a number of new functions, including:
- Controlling volume
- Locking the touchscreen
- Turning on the touchscreen
- Taking a photo
- Resizing text
Apple’s Digital Crown could appear on the iPad
The Digital Crown was a new feature that first debuted on the Apple Watch, and was inspired the crowns that appear on traditional wristwatches. It’s used as an input mechanism, and can be turned to scroll or zoom. You can also press it to return to the home screen. If it was repurposed on the iPad, it would likely be applied in the same way. However, patent applications aren’t a guarantee of intent, so there’s every chance that the iPad may never feature a Digital Crown.
The Apple Watch was launched in April last year, making it around 14 months only. However, it was originally announced months earlier in September 2014, although the release was pushed back due to reported production delays. It’s expected that Apple will show off a sequel – likely called the Apple Watch 2 – at this year’s September product launch, but this is not confirmed.
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What would you like to see from the Apple Watch 2? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
