Patently Apple:

Today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals that Jony Ive and his team have considered expanding the Apple Watch’s digital crown to other iOS devices such as the iPad. Apple notes that the digital crown could be used as a volume controller or locking the touch screen, turning on the touch screen, taking a picture, resizing text and other actions.

This is an interesting choice. The digital crown is effective for sliding back and forth through a list or set of settings. The trick is to connect the digital crown to a specific element in the user interface. With the Apple Watch, there is always a single part of the current interface connected to the digital crown. With a bit of tinkering, I can see this working with the more complex iOS interface hierarchy.

The physical part will bring its own set of challenges. Case makers will have to ensure that the case doesn’t get in the way, that there is enough clearance for your fingers to easily grasp the sides of the digital crown with room to accommodate the twisting motion. And that extra clearance means a gap of less protection, a place for liquids to creep in.

A challenge, but one with potential.