Solar-powered smartwatches are able to last a lot longer than regular wearables. This has been a growing trend in the smartwatch market recently with several manufacturers unveiling their own versions with better solar charging and outdoor visibility.

Swiss smartwatch maker Garmin already has a few solar-powered wearables in its lineup, but we may get to see improved versions this year. The news comes from a newly surfaced Garmin patent that hints at an improved OLED display and longer battery life.

The patent describes a Garmin smartwatch that is able to collect solar energy through its OLED display. The photovoltaic cells will be scattered around the OLED display subpixels and they will keep the battery going under the sun.

Garmin already has a few smartwatches that use Memory in Pixel (MIP) displays for solar charging, but the new OLED-based technology is expected to outperform the MIP approach. The new OLED tech could even bring a higher refresh rate and better sunlight visibility.

Hence, once this feature becomes a full-blown proprietary technology by Garmin, future smartwatches could prove to be a lot better. However, there are no more details as of yet since this technology is still in its patent stages and mass production is not expected to start soon.

Source: Pro Pakistan