Selecting the very best Apple Watch band to go together with your new smartwatch is both enjoyable or an costly headache, relying in your emotions about them – however Apple could possibly be engaged on a particular color-changing band that’ll match each your temper and garments.

In line with a newly-granted patent noticed by Apple Insider (opens in new tab) – titled “Watch Band with adjustable shade” – Apple could possibly be creating a strap with particular “electrochromic options” that may both be adjusted to both match your apparel or “present a notification to the person.”

The US patent (opens in new tab) describes a color-changing Apple Watch band that may perform utilizing “an utilized voltage” to maneuver between “a wide range of colours and shade combos”.  To attain this, the Watch band would seemingly be constituted of a cloth that is woven from filaments. These filaments would come with these electrochromic options, which suggests they will make reversible shade adjustments. The same tech is utilized in sensible home windows, which might change from mild to darkish to avoid wasting power prices.

The patent goes on to clarify the way you would possibly function the chameleon-like Watch band. “The colour choices will be made and adjusted with out eradicating and exchanging the watch band,” Apple says. 

Intriguingly, the patent additionally states that “the color-adjustable components of the watch band will be organized and independently managed”. which suggests they may doubtlessly present icons, shapes or texts. This implies Apple could possibly be wanting into new methods to serve up notifications or updates in your Exercise progress.

Like all patents, this Apple Watch instance doesn’t suggest it is positively one thing that the tech large is engaged on. However it’s an intriguing idea that could possibly be a strong solution to get future Apple Watch homeowners to improve from already-powerful fashions just like the Apple Watch 8.

Evaluation: An revolutionary spark for smartwatches?

The most effective smartwatches have hit one thing of a plateau, with current fashions just like the Apple Watch Eight proving to be the smallest of incremental updates. It is troublesome to pack extra options into their inflexible type components – which is why Apple and Samsung are seemingly wanting outdoors the watch itself for brand new improvements.

We not too long ago noticed a Samsung Galaxy Watch patent describe a smartwatch that comprises a tiny projector that may “beam data from the outer facet of its housing onto the again facet of the person’s hand”. That is not dissimilar to Apple’s idea, with each exploring methods to show data outdoors of a watch’s casing.

A color-changing watch band might definitely attraction to those that do not wish to shell out for a number of totally different straps. But it surely could possibly be much more helpful from a well being and health perspective. Apple simply introduced some long-term coronary heart well being research (opens in new tab) which might be powered by the Apple Watch, constructed round the concept that its smartwatch “may also help make the invisible, seen”.

With coronary heart well being notifications – for prime, low, and irregular rhythms – an more and more vital a part of the Apple Watch, it is doable that it might see color-changing equipment as one other method for its wearable to alert each homeowners and folks close by when one thing is awry.

Alternatively, it might merely be channeling the spirit of 90s ‘temper rings’, which used color-changing crystals to apparently mirror the wearer’s frame of mind and interior emotional state. For these of a sure age, any Apple wearable that was suitable with a color-changing ‘temper ring’ strap would mechanically grow to be the very best Apple Watch ever made.