14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has been granted a new patent by the USPTO. While many of the company's inventions never see the light of day, they’re certainly worth discussing.
Especially when they talk about invisible buttons. Apple has an invention that involves “an input device [which] includes a deflection based capacitive sensing input.”
The patent application explains that a disappearing button or slider can be achieved by making the overlay from the same material as the housing of the device.
Tiny lights would spring out through a sieve further indicating the location of the controls.
“Deflection of a metal fame of the input device causes a change in capacitance that is used to control a function of an electrical device.”
“The input appears selectively visible because it is made of the same material as the housing it is contained in and because it is selectively backlit through tiny holes,” the literature states.
It’s certainly nothing that we haven’t seen or heard of before, but Apple has a way to implement these things in the most functional and aesthetically pleasant manner possible.
Imagine seeing something like the MacBook Pro’s LED indicator lights on the iPhone.
Since all the rumors point to an iPhone 5S launch this year, we’re not holding our collective breath for this invention to materialize anytime soon.
But the iPhone 6 reportedly launching in 2014 might be the perfect candidate to put Apple’s idea to the test.
Not only would it be a looker, but it would be an absolutely seamless slab with nothing but a big screen and a sleek shell on the back. It certainly makes one look forward to next year.
Check out Apple’s patent application in full at the United States Patent & Trademark Office.