Apple May Be Testing A Waterproof Extreme Sports Watch
For the beyond few months, rumors of a rugged Apple Watch variation had been floating around, portray the image of a smartwatch focused at intense sports activities enthusiasts. A new Apple patent that changed into first noticed through PatentlyApple offers us a glimpse of what Apple’s ingress safety answer is probably all approximately. Titled “Stand-Alone Water Detector,” the patent utility filed with the USA Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) talks approximately the use of a dielectric membrane layer among electrodes that detects the blockage of ports through water.
The standalone water detector in query is predicated on a membrane produced from extended polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE). The water detection sensor consists of a parallel plate capacitor with the ePTFE membrane geared up in among the plates. The patent explains that the current-gen wearables appoint gel-crammed sensors for ingress safety towards sand and debris, however they’re at risk of stress-associated mistakes because of capillary stress generated through water at the gel floor and orientation-associated variables.
For example, leaping in a pool from unique heights exerts better stress at the innards and may result in mistakes in measurements taken through a wearable just like the Apple Watch — and that is wherein the ePTFE membrane involves the rescue. The water detection device will alert the wearable tool’s device of mistakes associated with capillary stress in order that it would not file defective environmental readings.
Promising, however preserve your hopes in check
Interestingly, the entire equipment is a standalone layout and may be carried out in diverse forms, one in every of that is enhancing the Lightning-cable interface on iPhones. Apple’s patent utility mentions each smartwatches and smartphones because the gadgets on which the aforementioned water-detection hardware may be applied. For example, changing the device-degree stress venting fabric with an ePTFE-primarily based totally device ought to permit the tool to extra proactively make selections like shutting down or alerting customers.
But the point of interest on wearables is a clean signal that the tech is being evolved with the Apple Watch in thoughts. Bloomberg has formerly pronounced that Apple is operating on a 3rd Apple Watch version with a view to provide a rugged construct with a shielding outside for higher surprise absorption. The upcoming tool will reportedly be bought because the “adventure” or “explorer” version of the approaching Apple Watch Series 8.
The Apple Watch Series 7 is best appropriate for shallow-water sports together with swimming in a pool or ocean. The patented tech ought to permit destiny Apple Watch customers to have interaction in high-pace water sports together with scuba diving or waterskiing. But do preserve in thoughts that the standalone water detector defined above is a patent and there’s no assure it’s going to ever make its manner to a commercially to be had product. Alternatively, Apple would possibly make an effort and put into effect it on Apple Watch versions released some years from now.