Skip to main content

Google’s future Pixel Watch could be button-less

The next Google Pixel Watch could be button-free, relying on gesture recognition controls, with the aim of making the most out of the watch’s space. 

That’s going by a patent filed by Google (as spotted by Wareable) that appears to suggest that by ditching the buttons, a Google smartwatch could have fewer moving parts and thus a cleaner design. 

“Content on such a small screen is easily obscured when touching the device, making it difficult to precisely select and scroll because the user cannot see what they are selecting or scrolling,” the patent noted. 

This would facilitated by having new sensors on the side of the watch that could detect specific presses, taps and squeezes on its sides to act as a form of gesture recognition.

The patent is titled “Gesture recognition on watch bezel using strain gauges” which would suggest that the sides of a future Pixel Watch could be squeezable, not unlike those of the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 4 phones, only likely reliant on sensors rather than moving parts.

Going by the patent's intent, it would suggest that a next-gen Pixel Watch won’t be getting a larger display, though we do hope it trims the bezels slightly to offer more screen space without enlarging the watch’s footprint. 

An image in the patent also suggests that the crown used to aid scrolling through apps on the Pixel Watch, as well as being a home button, may be dropped altogether on a future Google smartwatch. 

One to watch

The current Pixel Watch 2 only really has one dedicated standalone button, just above the digital crown, so it’s not like it's festooned with buttons. 

Yet, going button-free and harnessing gesture recognition could not only avoid the challenge of obscuring a display when tapping at on-screen icons, it could also make a future Pixel Watch more durable and likely better at resisting water and dust due to having fewer external moving parts and thus less scope for gaps between the external and internal hardware. 

However, this has been filed and not yet granted, so the tech Google is proposing may not come to fruition. And even if a patent is granted, it’s no guarantee that the tech or techniques proposed will get into a consumer device. But it does feel like a button-free Pixel Watch isn’t beyond the realms of imagination; we suspect we’ll have to wait until later next year at the earliest before we see a next-gen Pixel Watch. 

You might also like



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TechRadar's Year in Review: AI revolution, smartphone evolution, and visions of the future

If I had to sum up 2023 in one word it would be AI. Okay, technically that’s two initials, but let’s not quibble – because there’s no doubt that it provided the year in tech with its main story arc. Artificial intelligence was everywhere this year, as every company in the world gawped at the massive impact of ChatGPT, and decided they wanted to jump aboard that bandwagon. You could barely move for new chatbots, new image generators, and new AI-enhanced features in every device released in 2023. And there’s no sign of that changing in 2024; in fact, we expect it to be an even bigger deal. Elsewhere, phones and laptops did much the same as they had the previous year – well, except where they had new AI-enhanced features – so it was in the virtual reality space where bigger changes were afoot. If the Meta Quest 3 was impressive then the Apple Vision Pro looks to be genuinely game-changing, and we can’t wait to see what impact it has in the next 12 months. Of course we also saw plenty ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Microsoft and Sony enter "binding agreement" to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation

Microsoft has announced that it has reached a "binding agreement" with Sony, pledging to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.  With Microsoft having won its anti-trust case with the US Federal Trade Commission , its planned acquisition of Call of Duty developers Activision Blizzard has taken a big step closer to becoming a reality. In order to alleviate the concerns of monopoly-building that got Microsoft in legal hot water to begin with, the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, announced yesterday via Tweet that it has entered into an "agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation."  This agreement will no doubt come as a relief to fans concerned that Microsoft's acquisition plans might result in Call of Duty becoming an Xbox exclusive, following in the footsteps of future Bethesda releases. Since Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda caused the studio to break its tradition of offering titles cross-platform for upcomi...
Post a Comment
Read more

This Stardew Valley-like farming sim plays at the bottom of your screen so you work and play at the same time

Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing are among some of the best choices out there if you're looking for a game to get swept up in for hours at a time. But, if you're a fan of management sims and a multitasker as well, this upcoming farming sim will likely pique your interest.  Developed by Mister Morris Games, Rusty's Retirement is an idle-farming simulation game that runs at the bottom of your gaming monitor, allowing you to focus on other tasks like working while you tend to your crops. Set to release in Q1 2024 on Steam , the idle sim puts you in the shoes of a wholesome robot as you grow crops and use them to produce clean and energy-efficient biofuel. Having gathered this "vital robot power source," you'll then need to sell your harvest to the other machine inhabitants of your settlement. This, in turn, will let you reinvest the money into expanding your farm. If you're a terrible procrastinator (like me) this might not sound like your cup of tea...
Post a Comment
Read more