Apple’s Patent Reveals It Is Working On Next-Gen Smartwatch With Touch ID Fingerprint Support

The US-based tech giant Apple has filed a new patent. This time, Apple’s patent is related to its smartwatch. The document revealed that Apple is working on a next-gen watch. The wearable will feature the Touch ID fingerprint support. The company feels adding the Touch ID fingerprint scanner support will make the device more useful to users. The document was published by the US Patent and Trademark Office. It said the new smartwatch’s side surface will feature a transparent cover. Alongside this, there will be image sensors that will be extended via the watch’s crown. This will enable biometric Touch ID security on the watch. Reports claim Apple filed for the patent in November 2018.

According to the patent document, the Touch ID will be located in the digital crown of the watch. To input the data, users will have to place a finger on the circular surface of the digital crown and rotate it. At present, there are two ways to unlock the Apple Watch. The two ways are – enter the pin or use the iPhone to unlock it. The patent comes close on the heels of reports claiming Apple applied for three design patents in Japan for a smartphone without any display notch. Reports claim sales of Apple smartwatch grew 35 percent year-on-year. In 2019, Apple shipped nearly 31 million units of its watch to outshine the Swiss watch industry. All Swiss watch brands shipped 21 million units last year.

The Cupertino headquartered iPhone maker is also planning to reintroduce a fingerprint scanner when it launches the next-gen iPhone in September this year. Reports suggest at least one high-end iPhone model will feature a notch-free front display, with Touch ID moved under the screen and Face ID ditched. If reports are to go by, iPhone suppliers are in the last leg of the development of a full-screen display iPhone that will feature the Touch ID. The Touch ID is an electronic fingerprint recognition feature that is used to unlock an iPhone and other Apple devices. The feature was designed and released exclusively by Apple for its product. The feature has been part of the iPhone since 5S, released in 2013. The last time Apple used the feature was in 2017 when it released the iPhone 8.