21. May 2022 | 8:11 a.m. | 0 comments
Apple isn’t shy about removing features from its devices that the company finds antiquated. We’ve seen Apple phase out optical drives on the Mac, ditch ports in favor of USB-C, or retire the iPhone’s headphone jack. Now the manufacturer may be working on a way to get rid of another aspect of many devices – physical buttons.
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Fotocredit: Apple / USPTO
Buttons are not consistently visible
According to one patent application Apple is working on a technology that could make it possible to equip products with almost invisible input areas. These would then replace “large knobs, buttons or other mechanically operated structures,” writes Apple.
What Apple is proposing is creating special finishes on products. These surfaces are micro-perforated to allow light to pass through. The surface should therefore not be visible under normal circumstances.
Whenever physical input is required, the area is made recognizable by lighting and used as an input device. In order to facilitate the latter, sensors are to be installed that register touches or pressure so that the system can react accordingly. According to Apple, this would make the input options much more flexible than is currently the case.
The potential of such technology is practically limitless. From dedicated notification buttons that display relevant information, to temporary sleek sliders on the bezel (reminiscent of the MacBook’s Touch Bar), to something as radical as a MacBook without a keyboard. However, much of the content of the patent relates to use for an Apple Watch. It wouldn’t be the first time, however, that Apple first used a new technology on the Apple Watch and later applied it to other devices. The patent shows, among other things, an Apple Pencil that uses the technology.
Fotocredit: Apple / USPTO
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Fotocredit: Apple / USPTO
Although the existence of a patent indicates an interest in the relevant area of research and development, it does not guarantee that the concepts described will actually be used. Nonetheless, they offer an interesting look behind the scenes and, in the process, at least give a hint of what might await us in the future.