Per a recently published Apple patent application, Apple is apparently working on ways to replace the Digital Crown component with optical sensors on its next-gen Apple Watch units.
The patent focuses on how the Digital Crown could be replaced by optical sensors that are able to identify user gestures.
The patent is named “Watch with optical sensor for user input” and demonstrates how the company can use new sensors to let users scroll through the interface while reducing the number of moving parts in the Apple Watch with the removal of the Digital Crown. Optical sensors would detect the gestures made by users to turn them into system controls.
The patent also notes that removing the Digital Crown could not only make the Apple Watch more durable, but it could also free up space used by other components such as new sensors or even a larger battery:
For example, the user can provide motions and gestures near the input component that the input component can detect and interpret and user inputs to control an aspect of the watch. The motions and gestures provided by the user can be directly detected with optical systems of the input component, so that the number of moving parts are reduced and space within the watch is more efficiently utilized.
The current Digital Crown hardware currently features an electrical heart sensor that enables ECG, the patent shows that the new optical sensors can also be used to measure heart rate, breathing rate, blood oxygenation level, blood pressure, and more.
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.
Via 9to5Mac and Patently Apple