Samsung has filed a strange new patent for the Samsung Galaxy Watch. After introducing the Samsung I8530 Galaxy Beam, a phone with a built-in projector, Samsung is working on a Samsung Galaxy Watch with a smaller built-in multimedia projector.
It may not be at the top of your wish list for the best smartwatch (or best cheap smartwatch), but it looks like a nice feature nonetheless. Spotted by GSMArena (opens in a new tab), the projector is said to be able to “transmit information from the outside of the case to the back of the user’s hand”. This can include timing, such as a bedroom projector clock, or even “broadcasts and media content.”
This feature uses a small projector and LEDs, described as being able to adjust their luminescence, so you can adjust the settings just like on screen. The diagram suggests projecting time and heart rate onto the back of the user’s hand, but the “transmission” suggestion is intriguing. I imagine myself watching a tiny projected copy Avatar: The Way of Water using the back of the hand as the projector’s canvas is exactly how James Cameron envisioned audiences getting the most out of the film.
US patent was published February 2 (opens in a new tab)filed in August 2022. It is clear that the technology has been in the works for some time, so perhaps this year we will see the Samsung Galaxy Watch Beam.
Analysis: Be careful what you wish for
I love and hate it in equal measure. At the time of writing this just a few days ago, I was arguing that smartwatches encompass more weird and wonderful gadgets. On the back of the Huawei Watch D, the Huawei Watch Buds, and the Garmin Instinct crossover, I wanted to make wearable tech interesting and physical again, like the future we envisioned in the 90s.
It’s an interesting and physical idea. This is not a new app or a completely digital product or an improved version of an existing sensor, but a brand new concept that you can show off to your grandma. It’s also a completely stupid idea, and I can’t imagine a situation where I would ever want to read the time on the back of my hand instead of, oh, I don’t know, look at the watch with the same hand – upward movement.
As an everyday tool, it’s almost useless unless you wanted to point your wrist against a wall like Buzz Lightyear during a work presentation. I feel like someone read my previous post and took it to its logical extreme to show me what an idiot I am. But this person underestimates my ability to be easily amused, and while I wouldn’t buy one, I can’t wait to try it out.