Apple to introduce new round-shaped iWatches in 2018

Cupertino’s tech giant, Apple has been awarded a patent for a technology to use in a ‘circular display’ which is now prompting speculation the company may be developing a circular Apple Watch.

The patent is granted and published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday, Apple’s patent for “Electronic device having a display with curved edges” describes how to construct a display that differs from the usual rectangular shape typically used in mobile device screens.

In the explanation, the patent advises of the reduced pixel count and the irregular rows and columns that make up round display compared to the uniform pixel arrays in rectangular screens. Folded vertical lines for pixel data could be split across two halves of a round screen, with bisected horizontal gate lines working in a similar manner, for a more efficient display.

“Pixel arrays often have rectangular shapes. However, rectangular pixel arrays will not fit efficiently within a device having a circular shape. Circular displays can have bottleneck regions in which signal lines become crowded, leading to inefficient use of display area. It would, therefore, be desirable to be able to provide improved displays such as circular displays or other displays with curved edges.”-Apple, U.S. Patent 9965995

Some of the devices that are mentioned in the patent include a wristwatch, pendant, headphone/earphone, and eyeglasses among others. Considering Apple’s previous rumored work on VR and AR headsets, as well as smart glasses, the patent also suggests its application for “a device embedded in eyeglasses or other equipment worn on a user’s head.”

However, Round-faced smartwatches are also not a new concept either, with some Android Wear devices, rebranded as WearOS, using circular OLED screens.

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