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kdarling

macrumors P6
<cough> Nest Thermostat <cough>

Need to have that cough looked at :)

Nest thermostat: invented 2010.

Samsung watch input with rotating bezel and digital crown: patented 2006. (see post #25)

<cough> diver watches <cough>

Indeed. And pilot's watches.

SLIDE-RULE-BEZEL-GEAR-PATROL.jpg
 

epicrayban

macrumors 604
Nov 7, 2014
6,517
5,353
We know that digital crowns aren't new. Are rotating bezels? I swear I've used them on watches before. Isn't this similar to the Nest thermostat and even the iPod click wheel?

I don't think anyone is calling is new. What is "new" these days?

The issue is people are saying it's copying Apple. Ludicrous, at best.

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SNIPPED...


kdarling's doing great work here. +1 for your informative and educational posts. All well said. Those people you're responding to should be embarrassed.
 

M5RahuL

macrumors 68040
Aug 1, 2009
3,469
2,133
TeXaS
I don't think anyone is calling is new. What is "new" these days?

The issue is people are saying it's copying Apple. Ludicrous, at best.

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kdarling's doing great work here. +1 for your informative and educational posts. All well said. Those people you're responding to should be embarrassed.


It's, mostly, an Apple Fanboy forum.. what else would you expect ?:p

A bunch of butt/ego hurt fanboys doing what they do best.. so what if it's unfounded and ignorant ( as kdarling has proven ]
 

Vegastouch

macrumors 603
Jul 12, 2008
6,185
992
Las Vegas, NV
This is kind of interesting actually. They've piqued my interest.

As for "copying" Apple... what are you people talking about? What are they copying exactly? Where is there an Apple Watch that has a rotating bezel for input/scrolling? Talk about grasping for straws.

Apple copies TONS of ideas and makes them better or puts their own flare to it (finger print scanner, anyone?). Why isn't anyone else allowed to do the same?

Well, it is round. Oh wait, they are copying LG.


In anycase, its another watch i have no interest in as i have no interest in any of them.
 

mi7chy

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2014
10,628
11,299
While I definitely think the rotating bezel isn't copying, the UI could be a little more original.

And look, text is cut off lol

Image

Image

Apple copied it from Samsung's radial menu. Anyhow, the rotating bezel is a lot smarter UI input than a tiny crown.

air-command.jpg
 

Mindinversion

macrumors 6502
Oct 9, 2008
357
129
This is not TouchWiz. It's not a skin over Android Wear. It's Tizen, Samsung's own OS. I've heard very good things about Tizen in terms of speed and smoothness. Of course, the only thing lacking is the apps.

My point was that it doesn't matter how good Samsung's hardware is, their software will inevitably ruin the experience. Unfortunately, mine is a work issued phone, so I don't have the "freedom" that most android users have to tinker with their phones, so I'm stuck with it.
 

apolloa

Suspended
Oct 21, 2008
12,318
7,802
Time, because it rules EVERYTHING!
I have a rotating bezel on my seiko, will apple sue them?

Yeah, I thought that too, rotating watch bezels have been around for years and years and years? Nothing new about them what so ever, Apple did not invent them or the smart watch or the watch itself or the crown!
Why make a thread implying Samsung has copied Apple when it's done nothing of the sort?

Ah here we go, a quick google and an article talking about the dive watch rotating bezel from 1953 (was Steve Jobs even born then?) and talks how the idea was around long before then:

http://www.watchtime.com/blog/dive-watch-wednesday-how-the-rotating-bezel-landed-on-the-dive-watch/

Damn those clever Samsung people and their time machines stealing ideas from history :rolleyes:
 
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C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
easier to use than a crown imho
Apple copied it from Samsung's radial menu. Anyhow, the rotating bezel is a lot smarter UI input than a tiny crown.

Image

In what way? Seems like on a small device like a watch doing something with just a bit of movement from one finger can be seen as simpler and better than needing to use more fingers and muscles to turn something bigger.
 

mi7chy

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2014
10,628
11,299
In what way? Seems like on a small device like a watch doing something with just a bit of movement from one finger can be seen as simpler and better than needing to use more fingers and muscles to turn something bigger.

It's not hard to visualize. For one, a bigger bezel dial is more precise (imagine your car steering wheel being much smaller). And, the ergonomics are better as you can simultaneously operate the dial with thumb, use index finger for screen touch input and middle finger for depressing crown button.

On the Apple Watch you have to use thumb and index or maybe just index to operating the crown so a lot of moving index back and forth between crown and screen to operate. Also, depressing the crown button can falsely register a turn which makes it a flawed input choice. Ives should be ashamed especially with his arrogance since a child can design a better UI input.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
It's not hard to visualize. For one, a bigger bezel dial is more precise (imagine your car steering wheel being much smaller). And, the ergonomics are better as you can simultaneously operate the dial with thumb, use index finger for screen touch input and middle finger for depressing crown button.

On the Apple Watch you have to use thumb and index or maybe just index to operating the crown so a lot of moving index back and forth between crown and screen to operate. Also, depressing the crown button can falsely register a turn which makes it a flawed input choice. Ives should be ashamed especially with his arrogance since a child can design a better UI input.
Not sure what's to be ashamed about simply because some people disagree about what could be better. Seems like many are using the watch just fine and many of them are even enjoying it.
 

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Jun 11, 2009
11,488
5,413
Not sure how Samsung can be accused of copying Apple when they applied for the patent for the rotating bezel six months prior to any Apple Watch details being known.

https://patentscope.wipo.int/search...lter=&sortOption=&queryString=&tab=PCT+Biblio

1. Samsung bought Loop Pay, which predates Apple Pay's name. Using your simplistic standards, Apple copied them. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

2. "Samsung Wallet" was already used for something else.



Reminds me of any pilot or diving or other watch with a rotating bezel. As for scrolling...



Yep, the latest Android Wear update is much smarter: it optionally scrolls up or down by flicking your wrist. Perfect for one-armed use.

For that matter, I think we should be able to do everything without needing a second hand. Perhaps look for a wrist flex hand up/down motion or even sense different finger tendons.



Good idea, and I think Samsung patented that for a watch bezel years ago. For that matter, back around 2000, everyone was patenting watch bezel inputs. HP, IBM, Palm, Microsoft, Samsung, you name it. Smartwatches were hot back then, but the technology wasn't quite ripe.

Neither Samsung's current rotating bezel, nor Apple's digital crown, are new or non-obvious ideas.



Good point. I'll see you and raise you a 2006 priority date Samsung patent that predates even the iPhone, much less the Apple Watch eight years later.

It contains BOTH a rotating bezel, AND a freely rotating / pushbutton digital crown that was used to scroll through list choices... sound familiar?

View attachment 551690

That patent explicitly states that "the second input means may take a form of the stem of an analog wristwatch."

I mean, talk about prior art...


Man, it never ceases to amaze me when the freaking morons come out of the woodwork to accuse Samsung of copying Apple, even in the face of common sense and facts. Like the idiots who thought the S6 copied the iphone 6, 2 completely different looking phones.

As for the rotating bezel, it's neat but I have to see the implementation. Apple's implementation is an effort to simplify, but in that effort complicates the UI. Many of the things which should be done on the touchscreen are made more difficult with the crown button. Just using it to zoom (how can you selectively zoom on one portion of the picture, map etc?) and scroll will be redundant. But maybe Samsung has something novel up it's sleeve. After seeing the atrocity that is the Apple watch it is refreshing to see Samsung constantly innovating instead of just rehashing the same designs over and over again.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
Man, it never ceases to amaze me when the freaking morons come out of the woodwork to accuse Samsung of copying Apple, even in the face of common sense and facts. Like the idiots who thought the S6 copied the iphone 6, 2 completely different looking phones.

As for the rotating bezel, it's neat but I have to see the implementation. Apple's implementation is an effort to simplify, but in that effort complicates the UI. Many of the things which should be done on the touchscreen are made more difficult with the crown button. Just using it to zoom (how can you selectively zoom on one portion of the picture, map etc?) and scroll will be redundant. But maybe Samsung has something novel up it's sleeve. After seeing the atrocity that is the Apple watch it is refreshing to see Samsung constantly innovating instead of just rehashing the same designs over and over again.
Completely different if completely doesn't quite mean what it actually means.
 

Lloydbm41

Suspended
Oct 17, 2013
4,019
1,456
Central California
Apple copied it from Samsung's radial menu. Anyhow, the rotating bezel is a lot smarter UI input than a tiny crown.

Image

Actually, Samsung stole that from XDA forum members of the Paranoid Android team that had it in their ROM's. It was called Pie Control and it dates back to at least 2012. Other ROM's incorporated it as well, and then Samsung started using it.

PIE-paranoid-android-650x449.jpeg
 

daveathall

macrumors 68020
Aug 6, 2010
2,379
1,410
North Yorkshire
I'm not bothered who copies what off who. I wish they would all copy the best bits from other manufacturers because that way we would end up with the very best we can get, the only choice problem would be as to which company we prefer. Those that constantly whine about one company copying another need to get out more, it is very childish.
 

jamezr

macrumors P6
Aug 7, 2011
16,078
19,077
US
I'm not bothered who copies what off who. I wish they would all copy the best bits from other manufacturers because that way we would end up with the very best we can get, the only choice problem would be as to which company we prefer. Those that constantly whine about one company copying another need to get out more, it is very childish.
Could not agree more. If they all copy from each other and create great products.....then we all benefit from that.
 

epicrayban

macrumors 604
Nov 7, 2014
6,517
5,353
I'm not bothered who copies what off who. I wish they would all copy the best bits from other manufacturers because that way we would end up with the very best we can get, the only choice problem would be as to which company we prefer. Those that constantly whine about one company copying another need to get out more, it is very childish.

Seconded. Well said.
 

kdarling

macrumors P6
Actually, Samsung stole that from XDA forum members of the Paranoid Android team that had it in their ROM's. It was called Pie Control and it dates back to at least 2012. Other ROM's incorporated it as well, and then Samsung started using it.

The history of radial menus dates back to at least 1969, where the PIXIE system is generally regarded as the first to demonstrate them.

I knew about them by 1980 for sure, and by 1986 even Sim City had them:

radial-menus.png

They seem to get rediscovered once in a while, especially when someone is using fingers or pens as a UI interface.

One of their advantages, is that muscle memory (instead of sight) can be used to quickly pick well-known options, if they stay in the same broad angular sections.
 

Lloydbm41

Suspended
Oct 17, 2013
4,019
1,456
Central California
The history of radial menus dates back to at least 1969, where the PIXIE system is generally regarded as the first to demonstrate them.

I knew about them by 1980 for sure, and by 1986 even Sim City had them:

View attachment 552178

They seem to get rediscovered once in a while, especially when someone is using fingers or pens as a UI interface.

One of their advantages, is that muscle memory (instead of sight) can be used to quickly pick well-known options, if they stay in the same broad angular sections.
I was referring specifically to the half dial UI that PA made famous in the ROM community. I realize dial UI's had been around for a while, but this a very specific half dial menu operation Paranoid ANdroid created and it was nearly a clone on Samsung. That was my point.
 

zmunkz

macrumors 6502a
Nov 4, 2007
921
229
Could not agree more. If they all copy from each other and create great products.....then we all benefit from that.

I completely disagree. Competition and options it's good obviously, but when one company is not doing its due diligence in research and development and is merely stealing ideas from another company, it almost guarantees that they will end up making a poor product with an immature ecosystem. It also discourages players from investing as much themselves and pressures them to rush to market, knowing that others are busy copying their idea. That is detrimental to the consumer not beneficial.

I actually have to give Microsoft props in this area... Their metro interface was abysmal but at least they tried something different from what was out there. They tried to tackle the 2-in-1 concept in a way that nobody else had as well. They missed the mark on both counts, but they had the right approach, and ultimately that strategy is more likely to benefit us and them.
 

jamezr

macrumors P6
Aug 7, 2011
16,078
19,077
US
I completely disagree. Competition and options it's good obviously, but when one company is not doing its due diligence in research and development and is merely stealing ideas from another company, it almost guarantees that they will end up making a poor product with an immature ecosystem. It also discourages players from investing as much themselves and pressures them to rush to market, knowing that others are busy copying their idea. That is detrimental to the consumer not beneficial.

I actually have to give Microsoft props in this area... Their metro interface was abysmal but at least they tried something different from what was out there. They tried to tackle the 2-in-1 concept in a way that nobody else had as well. They missed the mark on both counts, but they had the right approach, and ultimately that strategy is more likely to benefit us and them.
Look at the automotive industry. Features are copied from one another all the time and we all benefit from that practice. The mobile space is no different. Features from one OEM's product eventually show up on other competing products. The consumer comes out the winner. Apple and Samsung ( and the Android platform) borrowed features from each other. The consumer ends up with a more feature rich product.
 

skratch77

macrumors 65816
Mar 20, 2013
1,241
5
I was referring specifically to the half dial UI that PA made famous in the ROM community. I realize dial UI's had been around for a while, but this a very specific half dial menu operation Paranoid ANdroid created and it was nearly a clone on Samsung. That was my point.

Didn't the owner of cyanogen work at samsung and was one of the main guys working on TouchWiz?

His job status on his fb was software engineer at samsung for a while
 
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