Apple's upcoming Watch to sport touch-sensitive solid-state buttons

Apple is said to be working on bringing solid-state buttons which can not be moved up and down but will sense the touch of a finger. However, the company will still stick to the button configuration. The Watch will stick with a button and a digital crown on the side of the device, but the button will not be physically clicked as before.

According to the Fast Company's support, "Apple will stick with the Watch's current button configuration, with a button and a digital crown situated on one side of the device, but neither will physically click as before. Rather than reacting to the user's touch by physically moving back and forth, the new buttons will vibrate slightly under the fingertip, using the haptic effect Apple calls the Taptic Engine. (The digital crown will still physically rotate to navigate through content.)"

The company's switch to solid state buttons in the Watch is similar to the conversion which Apple has made on the iPhone's home button. The iPhone's before 2016 used to come with a normal clicking home button, but the company has switched to a solid-state design with the introduction of iPhone 7. In last few years, other Apple components such as MacBook trackpads and iPod control wheels have also gone from moving parts to solid-state technology.

The new buttons might be the part of the new Apple Watch which the company is going to announce this year, or, if not, will be included in the 2019 Watch.

The benefits of the solid-state buttons are, it will make the Watch more water resistant because the opening which is needed for a physical button will be eliminated and it will stop water entering into the body. The solid-state controls will also take less space in the design, freeing up room for a bigger battery, the source said to Fast Company.

Apple is also said to be working to use the top of the buttons as sensors to gather health-related data such as heart rhythms. Apart from all these, we have also reported that a Class action suit is filed against the company for Apple watch.

Source