AppleInsider caught on to a patent application submitted by Apple for a wristwatch of sorts that would seemingly have a flexible touchscreen display, adding fuel to the already fairly strong rumors of an upcoming Apple iWatch device.
Apple has a few different designs in mind for the watch. One is typical slap bracelet that can be quickly and easily wrapped around a wrist to comfortably take the shape of the person wearing it. The flexible touchscreen display would be embedded in the bracelet for added conformity. The other frames the display on top of the bracelet.
The application for a “Bi-stable spring with flexible display” was first submitted in August 2011, which is interestingly somewhat around the time when the a lot of watch accessories for the square sixth-generation iPod nano were churning out. This watch, however, would connect to a separate device via Bluetooth or WiFi to display notifications and other information. It sounds much like the Kickstarter-funded Pebble, no?
What would really benefit the iWatch would be Siri integration, so if you get a notification say for a text message, you can quickly reply by tapping a button on the watch and speaking a command to Siri that would send out your message for you.
A quick visit to patentlyapple.com might leave you skeptical about the iWatch since you’ll find there that Apple has a tendency to file patents for a plethora of wild visions that never make it to market, but because this watch has been in the media for quite some time now, perhaps the patent does have significant credibility.