In 2020, a patent application revealed that Apple was considering adding Touch ID to the Apple Watch’s digital crown. A code leak last year seemed to suggest the new feature could be coming soon.
However, one leaker with a decent track record now claims the company rejected the idea due to cost and battery life concerns…
As is often the case in Apple patent documents, the language was deliberately opaque, but the accompanying illustrations pointed very clearly to a Touch ID sensor in the Digital Crown.
Last summer, Macmonde found leaked Apple code that very much supported the idea and pointed to a 2026 introduction of the new feature.
The code for this clearly refers to the 2026 models of the Apple Watch mentions support for “AppleMesa”, which has long been Apple’s internal codename for Touch ID.
We expressed some doubts about the benefits of this solution then, and now leaker Instant Digital suggests that the company has decided not to introduce it.
Right now, the claim that wearables like the Apple Watch should add biometric identification is just a rumor. Apple’s current logic still dictates that users unlock over the phone. Apple’s current goal is to fit bigger batteries and include more advanced health sensors.
They suggest two reasons for this apparent change of heart. The first is the cost of the additional sensor at a time when Apple is facing squeezed margins due to rising costs of memory and other components. The second is that the space occupied by the processing circuits would reduce that available for the battery.
Take from 9to5Mac
There is clear evidence that Apple has considered adding Touch ID to the Apple Watch, but I have no trouble believing that the company rejected the idea because it would offer relatively little value to users. Unlock paired iPhone is already a convenient way to unlock your watch.
FTC: We use automatic, revenue-generating affiliate links. More.