Garmin has filed a patent describing a digital crown system built around a Hall effect sensor, offering further evidence that the company is evaluating new input hardware for future smartwatches. The patent, recently identified by Wearable, appears to match earlier reporting that suggested Garmin was developing a crown-style control method.
The document outlines a design in which a Hall effect sensor is embedded within the device housing, while a magnet attached to a rotating crown provides input by changing its position relative to the sensor. The control assembly sits within an exterior cavity of the watch body, with the housing separating the sensor from the rotating components.
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The filing also indicates support for inertial scrolling, a feature common on competing smartwatch platforms. The drawings included in the patent resemble the angular and rugged design language used in Garmin’s Fenix series, although such illustrations typically do not reflect final devices.
The discovery of the patent follows a series of reports from Gadgets & Wearables that referenced similar technology without identifying its source. The newly surfaced document provides the clearest link to those earlier claims, though it does not reveal which product line might adopt the mechanism.
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Patents often represent early-stage concepts and can take years to progress to consumer hardware, if they do at all. For now, there is no indication that the patented crown system is close to commercial deployment.
Source: Wareable