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Next Apple Watch Could Borrow Important iPhone X Feature

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Apple's next smartwatch, the Apple Watch Series 4, could borrow the iPhone X’s Face ID according to a new patent filing.

The patent, spotted by Patently Apple, details a biometric feature that describes Face ID without naming it directly. The patent was filed at the end of 2017, which means using the term ‘Face ID’ could’ve named the feature before it was debuted on the iPhone X.

Instead, the patent lists the inclusion of a camera on a future Apple Watch and the phrase ‘user identification’ is mentioned a couple of times.

If accurate, to make it work on the smartwatch, Apple would likely need to figure out a way to miniaturize the technology, which could mean a slightly different version of Face ID than we’ve seen deployed in the iPhone X.

With that said, Apple is uniquely placed to utilize this technology. Given the manufacturing headstart Apple has on the competition when it comes to Face ID, it wouldn’t be particularly surprising if Apple extended it to other products, including new iPads and a potential new iPhone SE.  

Across the range of new Apple products launching this year, the iPhone maker will have one guaranteed advantage over the competition in every device area. Disseminating the feature across different products - and potentially bringing it to the cheaper ranges - introduces Face ID to different audiences that we’re put off by the expensive iPhone X, too. Thus bringing it into the mainstream rather than a USP of an expensive, exclusive phone.

The patent also lists potential new ‘sports performance’ analysis abilities. This includes measuring hydration levels and grip (useful for bat sports), which could also record the follow through motion of swinging a bar or a gold club. Interestingly, Patently Apple points out that weight training is one area that could benefit from additional sensors.

“In respect to sport performance, another exemplary use of the systems and methods revealed can be for weight training. For example, the user can be performing a bicep curl. One or more motion sensors (e.g., accelerometer) can determine the timing of when the user can be performing the bicep curl.

The motion sensors can associate the timing with the user's grip of the weights or dumbbells determined by the strain gauges (e.g., piezoelectric sensors). The timing of the bicep curl and user's grip can further be associated with the muscle activity determined by the EMG sensors.”

Automatically recording how much weight has been lifted, what type of exercise and how many reps have been completed is the one area fitness trackers are largely deficient. If Apple can go some way towards cracking that conundrum, then this Watch update will prove popular.  

This, of course, is a patent filing, which guarantees nothing. Apple's patents (and other companies) are often filed and never acted upon. Just take a look at Samsung’s history of unusual foldable phone concepts that never make it past the application.

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