A device in a patent application filed by Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) sounds incredibly like the touch screen smart watch the company has been rumored to have in its pipeline. The watch is designed to use Corning’s (NYSE:GLW) flexible Willow glass.
The application, filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in August 2011 and discovered by AppleInsider on Thursday, is for a wearable accessory that has a flexible touch screen display and uses a “slap bracelet” mechanism to conform to the user’s arm. The device, described as a Bi-stable spring with flexible display, connects to a phone or another mobile device through Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
The accessory can turn into an uninterrupted screen when in its “curled state,” with gyroscopes and accelerometers orienting the screen toward the user.
“With a touch screen user input a user can accomplish a number of different tasks including adjusting the order of a current playlist, and reviewing a list of recent phone calls,” the application reads. “A response to a current text message can even be managed given a simple virtual keyboard configuration across the face of the flexible display.”
Several materials can be used to create the bracelet holding the device together, including steel or even Velcro…