A watch tells the time by the wearer looking at it. If you’re visually impaired, then obviously your options are much less. However Apple is hoping that perhaps in future versions of the Apple Watch that it might prove to be more useful to those who are visually impaired, at least according to a patent.According to the patent, it describes how there could be a system implemented in the Apple Watch that would offer tactile feedback to the wearer to help them tell the time. The patent’s summary reads, “Systems and methods for tactile time feedback include detecting a sequence of touch inputs at an electronic device, and in response to a determination that the sequence of touch inputs meets tactile time output criteria, output a tactile output pattern that indicates a time of day.”
Now given that Apple prides itself as a company who offers up a number of accessibility features for its products, the Apple Watch is no exception. Apple already offers certain features for those who are visually impaired to use the watch, including the ability to adjust fonts, zoom, voiceovers, and more, so this patent would simply an addition to those features.
However patents don’t necessarily guarantee that they will be made into an actual product or feature, but it’s good to know that Apple is considering improving on its accessibility features.
Filed in . Read more about Apple Watch, Patent, Smartwatch and Wearable Tech.