Apple has filed for a patent (number 2020073477) that suggests future Apple Watches may have Digital Crowns with haptic (touch) feedback. (The Digital Crown on the Apple Watch is Apple’s answer to the crown found on mechanical watches.)
The invention involves a smart watch having a crown configured to provide at least two types of input, as well as configured to provide haptic output. Currently, the crown may provide input, but tactile feedback during the input, or in response to the input, is lacking. Apple says this results in an “unsatisfactory interaction” with the input mechanism as the user may not realize whether the input has been received or acknowledged by the electronic device.
Apple’s idea: the Digital Crown may rotate to provide a first input type, translate to provide a second input type, and detect changes in voltage of an object in contact with it to provide a third input type. What’s more, an actuator may be physically and/or operably connected to the crown, such that haptic output generated by the actuator is transmitted through the crown to a user in contact with the crown.
