Future Apple Watch could have a flexible circular screen
With a digital strap
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
The design of theApple Watchhasn’t changed much since the first model, but a future version might look very different, and could include a flexible screen and a digitally-customizable band.
That idea comes from a patent thatApplefiled with theUnited States Patent and Trademark Officein late 2019, and that was recently published, as spotted byMacRumors.
The patent details anApple Watchwith a flexible screen that can bend to wrap around a wearer’s wrist. This display is also shown as being much more rounded than current Apple Watch models.
According to the patent, this design could allow for little to no bezel, and would also enable digitally-customizable bands that users could change the appearance of with the touch of a button (or the tap of a screen), rather than having to physically swap to a different band for a new look.
This all sounds very ambitious, so we wouldn’t expect to see this design on theApple Watch 7, but somewhere down the line it’s possible that the Apple Watch will get a flexible makeover. Certainly, we wouldn’t expect the current look to be retained forever – after all, the iPhone has evolved substantially over the years.
That said, there are all sorts of patents floating around (we’ve also seen one fora battery embedded into an Apple Watch strapfor example) and they very often don’t come to anything, so while big changes are likely to happen sooner or later, there’s no guarantee they’ll take this form.
Still, we already have foldable phones, and their popularity and polish only seems to be growing, and that tech could be just as beneficial to wearables.
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
ViaTom’s Guide
James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.
Your next smartwatch could be battery-free – and powered by your skin
I’m a Garmin expert: here are the 3 Garmin watches I think will get big discounts on Black Friday
Arcane season 2 finally gave us the huge Caitlyn and Vi moment we’ve been waiting for – and its creators say ‘we couldn’t have done it in season one’
