The size limitations imposed by a watch mean that smartwatches end up being a collection of compromises. The watch face display is smaller than our eyes would like, battery life could do with being longer, and the interface is "usable" at best. Even so, Samsung managed to figure out a way to add a second display to a smartwatch and is attempting to patent it.
Spotted by Patently Mobile, the patent describes adding a second display around the rim of a watch. Think of those single-line scrolling electronic displays you see at locations such as train stations and airports, only condensed down to fit on the side of a watch, and you've got a good idea of what to expect.
As the display is so limited in size, it would be used to show simple information, with examples given including the title of a song that's playing, the date, weather forecast, or useful information such as who the incoming call or message is from.
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The addition of a rim display is thought to be a progression of the bezel twisting feature most recently seen on the Gear S3 smartwatch. Turning the bezel allows a call to be answered, volume to be adjusted, or app lists to be scrolled, for example. Take that one step further and you get a rotating bezel that's a little thicker with a display built in. That means rotating could change the information output of the secondary display, too.
As Patently Mobile points out, eventually smartwatches could become one big flexible display on your wrist, but a number of steps and tech breakthroughs need to happen before such a thing is possible. Samsung integrating a flexible display into the rim of a smartwatch is one of those initial steps.
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