Apple has filed several advanced patents, trying to improve the functionalities of its devices over the past years in some way or the other. Now, a recent patent coming from the Cupertino giant suggests that it is working on developing invisible input areas for the Apple Watch, iPhones, Apple Pencil, and MacBooks to get rid of physical buttons, which is something we hear is Apple’s motive after all. Check out the details below.
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently revealed a patent by Apple titled “Concealable input region for an electronic device” that describes a micro-perforation technology for developing input regions on various Apple devices. These input regions, as per the patent, will be invisible to the naked eye and will seamlessly blend with the corresponding device’s design. However, when needed, these areas could become virtual buttons or notification graphics.
Apple says that this technology will work with glass, ceramic, and plastic. It could eliminate the need for “large buttons, keys, or other mechanically-actuated structures” like the crown of the Apple Watch or the power button of the iPhone models. On the Apple Pencil, the technology can be used put a flat input region in an easily-accessible position without the need for a protruding physical button.
