Rumor: Samsung's round smartwatch will have rotating bezel

Samsung has a round watch in the works, according to various reports we've seen circulating of late. Rather than a static round-face screen, Samsung may be working on something tricky. According to at least one source, Samsung will borrow a page from Apple's book and use hardware to manipulate what you see on-screen. There may not be a crown, but there will be a bezel, and Samsung is reportedly working on a rotating ring that will mimic what Apple is doing with the Apple Watch.

Codenamed Orbis, the incoming Samsung smartwatch is also reported to debut at MWV next month.

Orbis will have a crown of sorts, but that's believed to be the device's power button. If there is a power button crown, it will likely launch S-Voice and wake the screen, too.

Thogh Orbis' rotating crown functionality is unknown at this time, SamMobile posits it could be for some very Apple Watch-like functionality like zooming in and out. We'd agree that would be smart, but it could also do things like control volume while in a call, or cycle through list items.

Rather than use your finger to try and flick through a list on a screen, the crown would be useful to make your way down a list of restaurants or contacts. It would also add a depth to smartwatches we've not really seen yet, almost extending the screen.

Currently, little is known about the Orbis. Rumors and innuendo are fun, but don't get too attached to any ideas just yet. Hopefully we'll see what Samsung has in store for us at MWC this year, so be sure to check back then when we know for certain!

Source: SamMobile