Apple patents Wrist Pedometer Step Detection

The US Patent and Trademark Office has published a new patent application from Apple focused on user health. Dubbed Wrist Pedometer Step Detection, the technology essentially allows for a wearable product, worn on the user’s wrist, to track how many steps they’ve taken. Although pedometers are nothing new, Apple’s technology is actually somewhat sophisticated. 

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday published an Apple patent application covering a smart wrist-mounted pedometer that can automatically determine its location on a user’s body and compensate for missed steps using advanced processing algorithms. Apple’s “Wrist pedometer step detection” is yet another direct indication that the company is at least considering wrist-worn health devices, something that has been rumored for months as the burgeoning wearables market gathers steam. As described, Apple’s invention deals with step detection, or more specifically step detection based on the location of a pedometer. Prior to smartwatches and similar health meters, pedometers were mainly worn on a person’s body, meaning their internal sensors had much less “noise” to filter out when tracking steps.