Apple has a patent in the US for bracelets with NFC chips. Depending on their color, the color of the Apple Watch screen will change, but some functions can also be activated automatically. If “fake wristbands” are used, it’s a way for Apple to control counterfeiters by eliminating certain features.
Apple is still not short of ideas to improve its products, but curb the fakes. Got the brand A patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Innovation for the next bracelets of its connected watches: an NFC chip, which will provide more automation for sports users or not.
Change the color of the bracelet, change the color of the watch
The patent relates to adding an NFC module to the end of the Apple Watch strap. It can communicate with the new NFC module on the watch body. At that point, the screen will instantly take on the color of the bracelet. Today you can change the theme color of the Apple Watch screen, but not automatically. Similar functions already exist in Apple’s ecosystem. Take AirPods Max for example: different colors are offered, and when you pair them or pair them with your iPhone, that’s the corresponding color displayed on the screen.
This application that Apple imagines goes further: for example, if you connect a bracelet dedicated to sports activities (for example the orange of the Apple Watch Ultra), a sports application can be started directly or the screen welcome can be adapted to a sports application.
Another detailed overview: when you wear a bracelet dedicated to swimming, the Apple Watch can activate water protection functions (especially water purification). There is also integration of health, environmental, biometric, gesture, communication, audio output sensors etc. Thanks to the use of NFC in bracelets, the manufacturer can integrate almost anything into its Apple Watches and think of the bracelets as extensions.smartHis watch.
New bracelets, new security system for Apple Watch
mentioned as Obviously Apple, this patent has a security system. As the watch may need to adjust the bracelets to change the color, you need to make sure it is the bracelet it says”Officerand sold by Apple or authorized accessories. In a document provided by Apple to the US Office, we can read “If the watch connected to the device is determined not to be an authorized watch, an alert may be issued using the output component of the device, and/or one or more features of the device may be disabled or altered.“. warning may also appear on the watch screen.
The justification provided by Apple is about security: a third-party band may not connect properly to the Apple Watch, which could damage it. The upside is that Apple could benefit greatly from these new bracelets. On its site, the smallest model sells for 49 euros, while in props stores, you can find them for less than 10 euros. This patent will put an end to these unofficial products while benefiting others. Apple is also likely to raise prices as it costs more to produce.
Be careful though: it’s a patent, which doesn’t mean Apple will use its new ideas. The brand may drop the project if it deems it unprofitable.
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