Garmin Rotating Crown Leak: The Innovation That NOBODY Wants?

Garmin is sports tech’s great innovator, but is this an innovation too far?

A recent report suggests Garmin is poised to introduce a rotating crown to its smartwatches, according to whispers from an unverified source to Gadgets & Wearables (November 9, 2025). But why is the sentiment generally anti?

Why A Rotating Crown? The Pros and Cons

Rotating crowns on watches date back decades.

Tech has moved on, and a crown to control a smartwatch opens up new interaction methods. It is more easily used with gloves in harsh environments, replicating scroll and zoom actions. It also keeps smudges off the screen and adds precision.

However, the downsides are several: accidental spins, increased complexity/cost, and the potential for debris build-up and damage. The sentiment of Reddit is generally anti:

The Rotating Options: Hall-Effect vs. Mechanical

The report suggests a Hall-effect design is planned (unverified), using magnetism to determine movement rate. Other potential options include:

• Mechanical: Satisfying clicks, but prone to wearing out quickly.
• Optical: Highly sensitive, but impacted by dust. (Apple has a patent for this: 2020/0033815 A1)
• Capacitive: Robust and vibration-tolerant, similar to the Hall effect.
• Inductive: Uses electromagnetic fields; durable in harsh environments.

‘Finally’ makes it sound like it was something people wanted. Personally, it sounds like something that would compromise durability, waterproofness, while providing no additional functionality that you’d really care about. u/nawksnai.

From my extensive testing (Apple Watch, Coros Pace Pro), the tech works well, though I find the aesthetics questionable. Perhaps a rotating bezel could offer the advantages without compromising Garmin’s trademark aesthetic?

When Might We See This?

I speculate the leak comes from an early render or Hobbyist’s concept art. If real, it would not appear on a Fenix Series watch but might first appear on a generalist Garmin watch—such as the Venu 5 or Vivoactive 7—plausibly in 2026.