Samsung has been working on a next generation hybrid device that's both smartwatch and smartphone since 2012 in Korea and 2013 in the U.S. In 2016 Samsung won a design patent for such a hybrid. Earlier this summer a detailed patent application from Samsung surfaced describing the device being able to make both video and regular phone calls along with running apps like turn-by-turn maps, texting and web browsing.
To date, Samsung's Gear smartwatch hasn't caught on with consumers in general or their Android fanbase who are more interested in multifunctional phablets.
If Samsung is ever to leapfrog the leading Apple Watch, it'll take a new kind of watch like the one found in this patent filing. Something with a much larger wraparound display that can scroll far beyond the tiny user interfaces of today which don't deliver a satisfying experience for most. Smartwatches remain a niche market and so much so that some players have already dropped such wearables.
Samsung Device Illustrating Phone & Texting App UIs
Samsung describes their new hybrid device as being able to function as both a wearable and non-wearable device. The device can be in a stiffened state that could be more like a thin smartphone and yet be able to bend to fit around a wrist. In each state the user interface can be different, claims Samsung.
Samsung's patent FIG. 17 presented above illustrates a diagram of an example of processing a phone call while wearing the electronic device as wrist computer; FIG. 19B illustrates performing a task switching operation; in FIG. 15B we're able to see the wraparound device illustrating a live turn-by-turn mapping app.
Samsung Device Illustrating Turn-by-Turn Maps App
Samsung is throwing in everything but the kitchen sink in this invention to ensure nothing is missed. I think the patent office should demand that the device be more specific because the list of features that this device could include is absolutely ridiculous and unfair to other device makers. No device can be all things.
With that said – Samsung's patent filing states that the device could be a mobile TV, be a medical device that could measure a heartbeat, blood sugar, blood pressure and temperature. It could include a magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) device, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device, a computed tomography (CT) device, a scanning machine, and an ultrasonic wave device), a navigation device, a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), an event data recorder (EDR), a flight data recorder (FDR), a vehicle infotainment device, electronic equipment for a ship (such as, a navigation device for ship and gyro compass), avionics, a security device, a head unit for a vehicle, an industrial or home robot, a drone, an automated teller machine (ATM) of a financial institution, a point of sales (POS) device of a store, and an Internet of things (IoT) device (e.g., a light bulb, various sensors, a sprinkler device, a fire alarm, a thermostat, a street light, a toaster, sports equipment, a hot water tank, a heater, and a boiler).
While the patent lists the inclusion of a camera 21 times covering still and video, the patent filing provides no patent figure with the camera. Considering that the whole device, excluding the watch clasp, is a display, it's difficult to figure out where such a camera would be located.
Perhaps at some future date when they're closer to a working prototype they'll file a more realistic patent filing with finer details and specifics including the position of the camera. For now, the current filing provided a basic overview with more details than those in the past. Between the three filings on record covering this kind of hybrid device we're able to see that it possess a lot of potential.
The device could also be marketed as a highly fashionable bangle or bracelet for evening wear for woman when carrying a smartphone isn't always practical. You can't hear a smartphone ring in a crowded event or night club, whereas a wide bracelet style could flash and use strong haptics to catch the owner's attention.
Samsung filed their U.S. patent application back in December 2016. Considering that this is a patent application, the timing of such a product to market is unknown at this time.
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