Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks about the Apple Watch during an Apple special event at the Apple headquarters on March 21, 2016 in Cupertino, California. (Photo : Getty Images/Justin Sullivan)
If a new patent published by the US Patent and Trademark Office recently is any indication the second edition of the Apple Watch, dubbed by many as Apple Watch 2, may come with some new features, including a selfie camera.
A pair of patents published by the USPTO reveals that the next-gen Apple Watch may sport additional buttons and a selfie camera. However, none of the patent particularly relates to any of these innovations, Trusted Reviews reported.
In the first patent application, Apple illustrates systems that allow access to information that are location-specific information. At the same time, the company also mentions the likelihood of incorporating a camera on a future edition of the smartwatch.
Apple also explains the manner in which the wearable device could incorporate an image sensor, lenses as well as image-storage software. According to the company, the camera can be mounted on the front surface of the smartwatch so that it can capture the user's images.
In the second patent published by USPTO, the subject relates to the digital crown of the upcoming Apple Watch 2. The digital crown is basically the twistable dial that can be used to control the device. One of the images tagged with this patent is a drawing of the Apple Watch with new buttons new, which were never seen before, iDigital Times reported.
The two additional buttons are seen on the left side of the smartwatch and their size is roughly a third of the s the existing button on the right side of the existing version of the Apple Watch. However, the functions of the new buttons are not listed in the patent.
According to Apple, these new buttons could either be physical or touch-sensitive. Moreover, Apple has described the manner in which the Digital Crown and also some parts of the bezel can be modified make them capacitive or touch-sensitive, adding extra functionality.
Meanwhile, some critics have been demanding that Apple go for a complete design overhaul of the Apple Watch. Initially, there were complaints that the Apple Watch is awkward and non-intuitive. Hence, it is expected that adding the new buttons will fix this issue.
It is expected that Apple will unveil the Apple Watch 2 sometime later this year, most likely at the launch of the purported iPhone 7 in September. Nevertheless, Apple is yet to make any announcement in this regard. What is more important is that so far there is no evidence regarding the existence of the Apple Watch 2.
Watch the 10 features fans can expect from the upcoming Apple Watch 2 below:
