The Apple Watch Series 6 could remove one of the most iconic features of Apple's flagship smartwatch, a new invention discovered by Patently Apple that would put an optical sensor on the side of future Apple Watches and could mean the death of the device's signature Digital Crown.

The image in the patent depicts an Apple Watch with a right-facing sensor at the same height as the watch face. This would be a significant departure from the Apple Watch's current Digital Crown, which protrudes from the right side and allows for various navigation gestures while acting as the device's home button.

According to the patent, this design would reduce the number of moving parts in future Apple Watches and allow for more efficient use of the space available in the watch casing. This could result in a slightly sleeker and slimmer design for the Apple Watch Series 6 (or later Apple Watches), as well as reduce accidental inputs from clothing and workout activities.

The patent also notes that the optical sensor could detect things like motion, speed, and acceleration, which could lead to a future Apple Watch with hands-off motion gesture control, like the Pixel 4's Motion Sense feature is.

As with Apple's patent, there is no guarantee that this feature will be included in the Apple Watch 6, rumored for later this year, or in any Apple Watch. We expect Apple's next flagship smartwatch to be announced in September along with the iPhone 12, so expect more smartwatch rumors to surface before then.