Apple has been granted another patent by the United States Trademark and Patent Office (USPTO) for a rather weird iPhone and iPad design. It incorporates a touchscreen display on the side of the device. This is very reminiscent of the Touch Bar previously featured on MacBook Pro models, but with a wider range of functionalities, we’re hoping.
This could be a really good and a really bad idea at the same time
The side display would serve multiple purposes. It could display control buttons and user interfaces, offer status information like battery life and weather, and even provide additional control options. Imagine adjusting the volume or skipping songs on your iPhone through a dedicated display on the side, cutting down the need for physical buttons AND the primary display. Kind of like those dedicated play/pause/skip buttons on old Nokia phones, but modernized.
One example showcases a music player interface displayed on the side, complete with song titles, lyrics, and controls for volume and playback. This could suggest Apple’s intent to build a sleeker and more minimalist design in the future, something to complement their foldable devices if they ever bring one to the market.
The real innovation lies not just in a simple side display, but in its ability to adapt to context. Rather than simply replacing physical buttons with virtual ones, the side screens would be reconfigurable, displaying controls and information relevant to the current activity. This opens doors for a more personalized user experience. It will also be literal hell if the smartphone is dropped, adding another thing to worry about if this patent makes its way onto a future device.
While the official release timeline for this technology remains unknown (and will likely stay like this in the near future), this patent reminds us how companies like Apple are continually trying to build the next big thing in smartphones, considering how we are hitting new ceilings of smartphone design. For instance, check out Apple’s handheld device patent here, which is supposed to let the users control home devices with just gestures.
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(Via)
