Samsung’s Newest Smartwatch Patent Blatantly Copies Apple Watch

Samsung, now the world’s largest manufacturer of smartphones, has shown no shame in the past when it comes to copying Apple. In fact, last December, an almost five-year-old case was settled in which Samsung was ordered to pay $548 million to Apple for violating a number of patents. Although the Supreme Court is set to review whether the entire $548 million should be awarded to Apple, or just a portion this coming October; it’s clear that Samsung has partially built their empire on Apple’s ideas.

Although Samsung’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch was available two years before the Apple Watch, it appears as if Samsung is still looking to copy Apple’s ideas. In a patent application that surfaced today and was discovered by Patently Apple, Samsung discusses an “exchangeable” watchstrap for their upcoming smartwatches. It’s clear that out of the two companies, Apple was the first to introduce interchangeable straps into their device – Samsung’s first Galaxy Gear watch integrated the camera directly into the strap, after all. However, the most egregious part of the patent is the sheer number of patent figures that, in fact, displayed Apple Watch designs.

Figures 10A, 10B, and 10C, for example, clearly look identical to the design of a side-facing Apple Watch. Even worse, figures 11A and 11F clearly display the Apple Watch’s rear-facing inductive magnetic charger – a feature that has never been introduced in a Samsung smartwatch, and is only utilized on the Apple Watch.

As Patently Apple points out, the patent even includes language describing the strap that sounds suspiciously like features found on Apple Watch straps. “The band for adjustment may be coupled with the band for fixing through a structure, such as a separated buckle or a continuous integral buckle, through a magnetic attracting force, or through a hooked ring or hooked member.”

With the technology found in smartphones and smartwatches growing at an amazing pace, certain ideas between manufacturers are sure to intercept in the race for innovation. However, Samsung has unabashedly stolen ideas from Apple for years. Perhaps if the Supreme Court rules in Apple’s favor this coming October, it will influence Samsung to innovate a bit on their own.