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Huawei patented gaming on a smartwatch by using straps as a controller
The design also doubles as a virtual keyboard
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This article originally appeared on ABACUS
Smartwatches haven’t taken off as gaming devices, and it’s not hard to see why: Their tiny screens don’t leave a lot of room for virtual buttons. How can you play a game if you can’t even see it?
Now one patent has revealed a possible solution to the problem -- but it comes from a company whose CEO once said he saw no future in smartwatches.
Dutch site LetsGoDigital reports that Huawei has filed a patent for a smartwatch that lets users control the device a little like a traditional game console. How? By using the straps.
The patent includes diagrams showing the watch held with a strap in each hand. Mechanical and touch sensors sense orientation, taps, even whether the strap is being pulled -- all translated into moves inside games.

The obvious downside is that you’d have to actually take your watch off to play with it -- but another drawing shows how it could be used with the watch still on your wrist, with different fingers reaching across to different straps.

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