Apple experimenting with touchless controls & curved screens for future iPhones
Though the technologies are some ways out, upcoming iPhones could make use of touchless gestures and curved screens as distinguishing features, a report claimed on Wednesday.
The approach reportedly differs from concepts like Samsung's Air Gestures or Google's Project Soli, relying on technology built into the display rather than any cameras or motion sensors. The feature won't be ready for at least two years -- assuming Apple chooses to bring it to production. The company regularly experiments with concepts without necessarily taking them to fruition.
Touchless gestures could be particularly useful on an iPhone however, given the limited space for physical or virtual buttons. One conceivable use might be previews when hovering a finger over a photo, video, Web link, or editing timeline.
The report from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg is the latest to reiterate older rumors, and Apple's patent filings from years past. The supply chain was expecting the development as early as 2016, with patent filings on the topic going back five years.
Another source indicated that Apple is working on OLED displays that would gradually curve inward from top to bottom. The approach would differ not only from devices like the iPhone X but the Samsung Galaxy S9, which is primarily flat but does wrap its display over the edges.
Any curved iPhone is liable to be two to three years away, the source said, and could be abandoned before then.
In recent years Apple has sometimes struggled to differentiate the iPhone. In terms of interface, 3D Touch -- launched on the iPhone 6s -- has largely failed to catch on in the way Apple originally envisioned. It remains to be seen how developers will adapt to the 3D-sensing TrueDepth camera on the iPhone X, which is mainly intended for Face ID and animoji.
This year's iPhones will likely focus more on size and spreading the use of OLED. Apple is expected to launch two OLED products, sized at 5.8 and 6.5 inches, and a less expensive 6.1-inch LCD model that would nevertheless have an edge-to-edge screen and TrueDepth.
The approach reportedly differs from concepts like Samsung's Air Gestures or Google's Project Soli, relying on technology built into the display rather than any cameras or motion sensors. The feature won't be ready for at least two years -- assuming Apple chooses to bring it to production. The company regularly experiments with concepts without necessarily taking them to fruition.
Touchless gestures could be particularly useful on an iPhone however, given the limited space for physical or virtual buttons. One conceivable use might be previews when hovering a finger over a photo, video, Web link, or editing timeline.
The report from Mark Gurman at Bloomberg is the latest to reiterate older rumors, and Apple's patent filings from years past. The supply chain was expecting the development as early as 2016, with patent filings on the topic going back five years.
Another source indicated that Apple is working on OLED displays that would gradually curve inward from top to bottom. The approach would differ not only from devices like the iPhone X but the Samsung Galaxy S9, which is primarily flat but does wrap its display over the edges.
Any curved iPhone is liable to be two to three years away, the source said, and could be abandoned before then.
In recent years Apple has sometimes struggled to differentiate the iPhone. In terms of interface, 3D Touch -- launched on the iPhone 6s -- has largely failed to catch on in the way Apple originally envisioned. It remains to be seen how developers will adapt to the 3D-sensing TrueDepth camera on the iPhone X, which is mainly intended for Face ID and animoji.
This year's iPhones will likely focus more on size and spreading the use of OLED. Apple is expected to launch two OLED products, sized at 5.8 and 6.5 inches, and a less expensive 6.1-inch LCD model that would nevertheless have an edge-to-edge screen and TrueDepth.
Comments
I can’t really see how hovering my finger over the phone display to get a preview would be THAT much better than simply pressing the screen, but maybe in practice it’s different. And, as @beowulfschmidt mentioned, I lack the imagination to find the benefit in an inward curved display. Privacy maybe?
How about a phone with much better battery life, or one that can be upgraded to the latest OS after more than three years?
Reading that Apple is considering hover gestures... Please no. Stop overcomplicating this shit, Apple. There are already too many conflicting and hidden gestures, tiny tap areas, and hidden controls... Going backwards since 2013.
Example #2: If Apples releases AR/VR headgear, use touchless gestures to navigate through the 3D world.
Those are with regard to the touch-less nature of the screen. My query was about the curved screen. I can see some utility on a desktop monitors, where viewing angle might become an issue with larger panels, but on a hand held? Don't get me wrong, pretty much any research is good, as it will likely produce useful results, even if that result is "this isn't good for anything profitable." I just don't see what this will improve for phones. Like I said, I'm not always imaginative enough to see these types of things.
So, when I shoot the finger at the display it automatically registers a negative review for the current app. Or maybe Siri will pop up and ask me if I’m having a bad day. Sweet.
Re: curved-inward screens.... a long-shot possibility is the glass windows of a future Apple Car? If Apple wanted to build display technology into the windshield or side/rear windows, possibly those glass surfaces would be curved? But I'm sure this use-case goes way beyond the article that triggered this thread, so I'm just thinking more broadly.