Garmin’s rotating crown plans sound more rugged than expected

For a company that has spent the better part of two decades championing physical buttons, the idea of Garmin adding a rotating crown to its watches still feels slightly counter-cultural.

And yet, just last month, I reported that Garmin was exploring exactly that, not as a cosmetic flourish, but as a potential evolution of how athletes interact with increasingly complex smartwatches.

Now, a fresh leak adds more colour to that story, and crucially, it suggests Garmin’s idea of a crown looks very different from the polished, lifestyle-first dials we’re used to seeing on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic or the Apple Watch Ultra 3.

More than a scroll wheel

According to a new report, Garmin’s rotating crown concept goes well beyond simple menu scrolling.

Rather than acting as a single-purpose dial, the crown is said to support both rotation and press input, allowing users to scroll, select and confirm actions without moving their finger elsewhere on the watch case.

More interestingly, the crown may be able to detect how fast it’s turned.

This approach would make the crown feel less like a replacement for buttons and more like an intelligent shortcut, a way to reduce friction when navigating complex interfaces mid-activity.

Built for punishment, not polish

Perhaps the most telling part of the new leak is how the crown is said to be engineered.

Rather than relying on a traditional mechanical shaft, the report suggests Garmin could use magnetic or contactless sensing (!) to detect rotation and presses.

That matters because it aligns neatly with Garmin’s long-standing obsession with durability.

Mechanical openings are potential weak points, especially on Garmin watches designed for swimming, diving, trail running, and multi-day expeditions, such as the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro.

A magnetically sensed crown would allow Garmin to preserve water resistance and ruggedness while still adding a new form of input.

It also opens the door to subtle tactile feedback, resistance or notching that gives the user physical confirmation without relying on audible clicks or fragile components.

Not an Apple Watch moment

It’s tempting to frame any rotating crown discussion through the lens of the Apple Watch, but that comparison only goes so far.

Apple’s Digital Crown is central to the watch’s identity, often replacing buttons altogether.

Garmin’s approach, if these leaks are accurate, appears far more conservative.

Buttons aren’t going anywhere, and touchscreens aren’t being abandoned, either.

A crown, instead, would sit alongside existing controls, offering another way in, particularly useful when conditions or contexts make other inputs less reliable.

That also helps explain why, if this ever ships, it’s unlikely to debut on Garmin’s most extreme models.

Fenix-class watches thrive on muscle memory and glove-friendly buttons.

A crown makes more sense on lifestyle-leaning or hybrid devices, like the Garmin Venu X1, where navigation speed and everyday usability matter just as much as outright toughness.

If a crown can help users navigate that complexity faster and with fewer compromises – without sacrificing the rugged DNA Garmin is known for – then this isn’t a gimmick at all. It’s a logical next step.

As ever, none of this is confirmed, and Garmin remains characteristically silent.

However, if Garmin does add a rotating crown in the (near) future, it’ll be to work better when it matters most.