Future Apple Watches may robotically decorate with their bands

Imaging swapping out a scorching pink Apple Watch band for an earth-tone inexperienced one, and having your watchface robotically change to an identical shade, chopping out the (extra annoying than it must be) manual customization process. In line with a patent filing noticed by Patently Apple, we may very well get one thing like that. The patent describes a wearable and bands which have NFC chips, letting the watch robotically take motion once you join or take away sure equipment.

Apple patenting one thing doesn’t necessarily mean that we’ll get it sooner or later, nevertheless it does present that there are some fairly enjoyable concepts floating round inside the corporate. Past switching up the colour palette once you connect the band, the patent says the system may launch a health app once you connected an athletic-style band or activate the water-purging sound once you take off a swim band.

It additionally says that NFC may very well be used to speak with parts within the band, resembling additional sensors and even shows. The thought of building things into the band isn’t new, however this strategy may make it a bit extra dependable than utilizing one other normal, like Bluetooth.

Once more, it’s very attainable we gained’t ever see any of those options. Nonetheless, the corporate already has a whole lot of the items in place for this. It does shade matching once you pair some gadgets just like the AirPods Max or sure fashions of Beats together with your iPhone — the graphics present headphones with the identical shade as those you’re holding. It additionally has a system for NFC-based automations through the Shortcuts app on iOS. Whereas the Watch doesn’t help that, you possibly can faucet it on GymKit-enabled exercise equipment to robotically begin monitoring a exercise and syncing health information.

Sadly, there are just a few darker methods this may very well be used that even have precedent. The patent notes that the system may very well be used to inform in the event you’re utilizing an official Apple band or a third-party one. “Upon willpower {that a} band that’s coupled to the machine isn’t a licensed band, a warning could also be supplied utilizing an output part of the machine, and / or a number of options of the machine could also be disabled or in any other case modified,” the patent says. Keep in mind Apple’s unauthorized battery warnings? Think about getting a type of since you purchased an $8 silicone band as an alternative of a $49 one, or not being allowed to begin a exercise as a result of your watch is frightened that your “unauthorized” band isn’t safe sufficient (that’s primarily the justification the patent offers for this use case).

Nonetheless, I can dream that we’ll get the nice (cool shade matching and different automations) with out the unhealthy (DRM for bands). It’s attainable this function would solely work with a brand new Apple Watch, except it’s secretly constructed into present ones or may very well be emulated with current {hardware}, nevertheless it may truly present a compelling cause to improve — one thing that not every generation has.