Tech giant Apple is always striving to bring new innovations to its devices. The latest we hear is that the US Patent and Trademark Office has granted another patent to Apple. The patent is called “Modifying functionality of an electronic device during a moisture exposure event,” which basically means that users will be able to type on an iPhone in the rain.
While iPhones come with water resistance, typing on the display with wet fingers was still an issue. Apple is trying to tackle this problem as well with the new patent that it has acquired.
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How does the new patent work?
Apple claims that it is adjusting its screen to moisture, whether it is steady rain, light showers, or even if the phone is submerged under water. The technology will detect false taps created by raindrops and eliminate them, only to recognize manual taps.
The on-screen controls will also change as the buttons will become larger and the spacing between the buttons will be increased for better precision while using needed buttons when the screen is wet. The capacitive display of the phone will also change into a pressure-sensitive screen like Apple’s no longer in use 3D Touch technologies and Force Touch.
The finger press would need more force than the dynamic threshold to prevent liquid or raindrops from setting off touch inputs. Otherwise, raindrops falling on the screen will keep typing letters and numbers themselves. A sketch has surfaced via the patent documents which shows how this might work.
The camera app on iPhone will offer different settings- Wet, Underwater, and Dry modes. The UI will change the settings based on the various modes. For example, in wet mode certain features which might cause disruptions are removed from its UI. Similarly, in underwater mode, the buttons might get extra large to make it easier to use underwater, but with limited features.
The display of the iPhone will show at what depth the phone is currently and this will help the users to keep their iPhone within the limits of its water resistance properties. The company will work on the size expansion and changed position of the camera UI button to avoid any confusion among the users.
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When will the patent be implemented?
Apple keeps receiving many patents over the years, but each one does not result in an immediate upgrade on the devices. The company will try its best to give better usability to the consumers but it will take some time.
