With every generation Apple Watch presents Apple some new belts, or at least colored versions of them. This year, for example, there are new colors for the pull-through sports belt, or a Milanese pull made of black titanium. But isn't that enough?
The world is divided into those who wear a watch with the one single strap or movement they get, and when it breaks they get a new one, and those who have more and change them according to mood and need. Apple already has behind it a really rich history of belts, their materials and color variants, but their potential is quite possibly still wasted.
No matter what smart watch manufacturer you look at, no one offers such a rich and wide range of straps for them. Apple it is unique in this, because it not only has ideas, but also the possibilities, and above all, the market for accessories and accessories is bigger for it than for others.
But all of them are belts and pulls that stand out only because of their comfort and possibly the materials used. The titanium Milanese thread is after all exclusive, the FineWoven is divine, the slip-on sports nylon is universal. But none have any added value.
So many patents and no real news
Apple he already has a number of patents on what his belts could do. One of the last ones, for example, describes how they could Apple Watch react to different straps that you attach to them. Depending on the type, the watch face, the complications it contains, and the environment itself could be modified somehow (for example, do not disturb mode, sleep, etc.) could be changed.
Among the many others, for example, the belt could offer haptic feedback, it would contain additional antennas for wireless communication, sensors for better tracking of activities and health, and Apple here he also flirted with the possibility of including a camera. After all, a number of third-party manufacturers have already come with it. There are already straps with monitoring of certain health functions on the market.
Apple but he doesn't want to get into it, even though he could greatly expand the functionality of his watch, even for generations. At the same time, in his case, it would also logically be an exemplary integration into the system, which in principle cannot be done by third-party developers.
Apple so judging by the patents you can find on the web Patently Apple, explores possibilities and comes up with ideas, but does not bring them to life. There can be several reasons for this: a similar solution would be too expensive, would not sell as expected or would degrade the equipment of the Apple Watch. At least the idea of automatic belt recognition looks really interesting. But if we ever see anything more, it's in the stars.