Say Goodbye To Knock-Off Accessories: Apple's Watch Patent Brings In Customizable NFC Bands And More

Apple Inc.‘s AAPL Watch users may soon have the option to add a personalized touch to their wearable devices, as a new patent hints the tech giant intends to introduce customizable NFC bands. 

What Happened: A new patent filing says Apple is working on wearables and bands that have Near-Field Communication, or NFC, chips, allowing the device to take action when connected with certain accessories automatically. 

See Also: Introducing Apple’s Newest Technology: Foldable iPhones With Self-Retracting Displays

The patent filing read, “The band may include a miniature NFC tag in an attachment portion of the band that is configured to be received in a recess in a housing of the device.” 

It further stated, “Device operations such as the color, theme, or content displayed on the device can be based, in part, on the identification of a particular band.” 

Additionally, the proposed system has the potential to differentiate between an official Apple band and a third-party band. Upon detecting an unauthorized band, the device may generate a warning through its output component or disable/modify certain features, according to The Verge. 

Incorporating features into a wearable device’s band is not a novel idea. Nevertheless, the recent patent proposal by Apple suggests that this approach could enhance reliability compared to utilizing alternative standards such as Bluetooth. 

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