Apple is reportedly considering adding a flashlight to its upcoming smartwatch. A recently filed patent application issued to the company disclosed a “Modular light assembly for a wearable device.” The schematic in the patent application also gives us an idea of how the Cupertino-based tech giant might add an external flashlight, how it might work, and other details. Read on to find out everything below.
The Apple Watch has a flashlight feature that increases the brightness of the smartwatch and makes the display completely white. This allows users to see things in the dark, but is often inconvenient because they have to turn their wrist and point at the watch screen.
According to the diagram in the patent, Apple will add a modular light unit, i.e. a flashlight, to the watch strap. This will allow the user to point it anywhere, like a flashlight, from a distance, where they want to see. The app also reveals that the external flashlight will have its own battery so as not to drain the smartwatch’s battery. It could also have a button to turn it on or off without having to interact with the Apple Watch. But the patent mentions that “the modular light may receive communication from the wearable device to activate (turn on) or deactivate (turn off) one or more light sources of the modular light.”
Another interesting piece of information revealed by the patent application is that the modular flashlight can be detached from the watch strap, but in some cases, it can be permanently attached to it. This suggests that the external flashlight could also be sold as a separate accessory, or Apple could release new bands with modular lighting.
It’s worth noting that patent applications don’t often materialize into a final product that appears on the market. An external flashlight on the Apple Watch sounds interesting. Garmin already offers such a feature on some of its high-end smartwatches.
