As devices get thinner, the displays that we use to look at media and interact with whatever content’s on screen will get thinner, too.
Apple has already shown an incredibly thin display with their new 12-inch MacBook, and it’s reasonable to expect that the displays for its touch-enabled devices will get thinner, too. On top of that, new features are always coming down the pipe, and according to a pair of recently discovered patent applications from Apple, those new features might go hand-in-hand with thinner touch panels.
As revealed by Apple Insider, the United States Patent and Trademark Office recently published a pair of patent applications from the Cupertino-based company that focus on the display for devices like its iPad and iPhone lineup. The first is entitled “Touch and Hover Sensor Compensation,” and details how the device in question could use a variety of sensors to sense movement and gestures that are actually not directly on the display.Interestingly enough, this particular filing is focused more on the accuracy of the sensors in these devices, rather than the technology to make it work in general. Apple notes in the filing that motion sensing devices are already available in the market, and with this specific filing it would indicate that Apple just wants to make the sensors more accurate.
The second filing is called “On-Cell Touch Architecture,” and it outlines the idea that touch-enabled panels can get even thinner. However, the second filing is worth noting, too, because it also notes 3D gestures as well. In this one, the patent application suggests that these gestures could be used to allow a user to manipulate items on the screen without actually touching it:
“Objects approaching near the surface may be detected near the surface without actually touching the display.”
As is usually par for the course, these filings simply indicate that Apple has, at least at one point in time, investigated these ideas. When, or if, they’ll ever become a reality in a real Apple product will only be revealed in time.
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