Apple Watch Series Could Get Touch ID-Enabled Digital Crown

A new patent application reveals Apple is considering putting Touch ID on the Apple Watch's Digital Crown.

The Apple Watch has been considered the best smartwatch in the world today. Research shows that this nifty piece of technology, designed to do a lot of things in addition to telling time like all watches should, has already surpassed the Swiss watch industry in terms of shipments across the globe.

Researchers say younger crowds want the Apple Watch's attractive design, useful technologies, and “sticky” apps. These things, along with Apple's retail push, make it a very appealing product that many consumers want to have. It's very popular.

Despite the distinction, Apple is not showing any signs of slowing down when it comes to improving the Apple Watch. According to a new patent application that was published recently (spotted by Patently Apple), Cupertino is looking to add another important feature that could open more possibilities for the wearable – Touch ID.

According to the patent, Apple is looking for ways to add Touch ID to the Apple Watch's Digital Crown. This security feature is seen to make it more difficult for unauthorized people to use the wearable, and also to add more relevance to the already useful crown.

Per the patent, the crown might be fitted with a “light-directing feature” designed to direct an image of an “object in contact” with the crown's surface onto an “image-sensing element” inside the Apple Watch. That object in contact with the crown would, of course, be the user's finger.

Patent illustrations show how the Apple Watch will be able to determine if the finger directly in contact with the crown is the actual user's finger and not something else.

There are images indicating that the image-sensing component inside the Apple Watch will be able to see the user's bare finger as it touches the crown. The crown itself appears to have a reflective component inside it that will direct images of the finger (complete with the ridges of the fingerprint) to the image sensor.

There's also a case where the crown is shaped so that it could act as a lens that will aid in sensing the fingerprint. This lensing element will serve to do two things: First, it will help the image sensor to focus on the object directly in contact with the crown. Second, it will help blur out images or objects that are not directly in contact with the crown, so that the sensor won't have to be confused.

This feature might be used to turn the Apple Watch on or off, and help to add a more intuitive user experience. The timing of release remains unknown, however, since this is but a patent application at the moment.