Apple Watch 6 could replace your iPhone with this huge upgrade

Apple Watch 6 concept
(Image credit: Conepts iPhone)

The Apple Watch 6 or other future Apple Watch models could have better wireless networking system, bringing the Apple Watch all that much closer to working autonomously from our iPhones. 

In a patent spotted by AppleInsider, Apple pitches a wireless connection antenna built into the Apple Watch's display, levering an increased surface area compared to the current mechanism.

Although Apple does not specify how much better the wireless connection on an Apple Watch with an in-display antenna, but it seems confident that a larger receptor would offer an upgrade. 

While Apple Watch models with LTE can work without an iPhone, we'd still hesitate to leave our iPhones at home.

It's hard to imagine a future where the Apple Watch replaces or is better than our iPhones, but perhaps we said the same about cell phones replacing landlines. 

Don't think you can ditch your handset that fast, though — we have an iPhone 12 launch coming soon, remember? This is just a patent, meaning there's no guarantee Apple is going to use this antenna system soon or at all.

That said, the company will likely promote some small steps in that direction when it announces the Apple Watch 6 in the fall. The new smartwatch is rumored to offer better battery life, a blood oxygen monitor and more.

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Kate Kozuch

Kate Kozuch is the managing editor of social and video at Tom’s Guide. She writes about smartwatches, TVs, audio devices, and some cooking appliances, too. Kate appears on Fox News to talk tech trends and runs the Tom's Guide TikTok account, which you should be following if you don't already. When she’s not filming tech videos, you can find her taking up a new sport, mastering the NYT Crossword or channeling her inner celebrity chef.