Will Apple Watch Series 6 lose its crown?
What's the story
The next-generation Apple wearable, likely to be called Apple Watch Series 6, will come with a new design and support for sleep tracking.
A new patent filed by the company suggests that the digital crown will be replaced by a flatter optical sensor for touch and gesture control.
Separately, Bloomberg has reported that the upcoming Apple smartwatch will offer sleep monitoring capabilities.
Losing the crown
Apple Watch Series 6: New design is on the cards
According to a patent published on January 30 this year, Apple is working on a smartwatch design wherein an optical sensor will replace the digital crown to receive user inputs.
The new input components will be able to detect and interpret motions/gestures and will work in "a manner similar to how a user would interact with a crown that is rotatable and/or translatable."
No moving parts
The updated design should allow for slimmer case, improved water-resistance
Since user motions/gestures can be directly detected by the optical sensor, Apple will be able to omit the physical crown to reduce the number of moving parts on the device. This should allow for a slimmer design and improved water-resistance.
Further, the company will be able to utilize the freed-up space within the watch more efficiently by packing a bigger battery.
New feature
Apple Watch Series 6 will also support sleep tracking
Separately, according to Bloomberg, Apple is working to add sleep monitoring support on its future wearable. At present, the tech giant is testing the feature, and it could arrive on the Series 6 model later this year.
However, it is unclear if sleep tracking will be exclusive to the upcoming model or will be introduced to older versions as well via a software update.
Internals
It will be powered by an improved chipset
Each new model of the Apple Watch comes with an improved processor and the 2020 model will be no exception. We expect the Series 6 to come with a new chipset (an upgrade to the S5 chip) that should offer faster performance and improved battery life.
The processor should also pack an upgraded wireless chip to offer a boost in Wi-Fi and cellular performance.
Information
It will be launched in September
Since 2016, the Cupertino-based tech giant has released new versions of the Apple Watch each fall alongside its latest iPhones. Hence, if Apple sticks with the same tradition, the Series 6 model would be announced in September this year.