According to the patent, it describes a smartwatch with a rotating bezel ring that allows it to act as a navigational tool, such as scrolling through apps, lists, and more without having to actually touch the screen of the watch itself. Given how small smartwatch displays tend to be, it does make sense that you wouldn’t want to obscure half the information with a finger.
The patent also talks about a crown-shaped power button as well as detailing some of the watch’s features, like the ability to recognize images and objects, as well as act as a barcode register for products that can be purchased using Samsung Pay. Sounds like interesting features although we should note that this is just a patent and there’s no way of telling if Samsung plans on making it a reality.
What we do know is that Samsung is working on a new watch, as confirmed by Samsung’s executive VP of mobile market Young-hee Lee, who during an interview at MWC was quoted as saying, “We’ve been introducing more devices than anybody else. It’s time for us to pause. We want a more perfect product.” Perhaps we might catch a glimpse at IFA later this year, but is a round Samsung smartwatch a direction you think the company should be heading in?