New Apple Patent Application: Changing the iPhone Case Game?
Credit: Apple
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The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published a new Apple patent application today for an iPhone case with capacitive buttons that could be used for Touch ID and other new gestures. Think of it as a smart case.
According to the application, the case “provides input capabilities to enhance the user experience when using the case in concert with the electronic device. For example, a case can provide an electro-mechanical touch sensor to provide the user with an input mechanism that does not require actuation of the button of the electronic device.”
The iPhone would detect the presence of the case and be able to “disable one or more buttons and perform actions corresponding to the buttons when signals are received from the case.”
The diagrams indicate the case would have a touch sensor and be capable of receiving sliding inputs. According to the application, a case may have multiple touch sensors on any part of the case. Sounds pretty cool!
We recently wrote about the potential benefits of going case-free, especially given the fantastic durability of the latest iPhones. However, for most of us, cases are a must-have, and we usually buy them, in addition to a screen protector, when we purchase a new iPhone. It seems as if a case made by Apple that’s designed to function with a specific iPhone model would be a no-brainer.
The iPhone 16 is rumored to have a capacitive ‘Capture Button.’ These capacitive buttons don’t move when you press them, which could cause issues with cases that cannot detect your finger on the button. If this is true, Apple might sell the only case that properly works with your iPhone — at least for a while.
Apple indirectly acknowledges this potential issue in the application. The application states, “With some cases, the regions thereof corresponding to the buttons of the electric device can be pre-loaded with forces against he buttons to eliminate or reduce such air gaps…However, some buttons are highly sensitive, and certain magnitudes of preload can unintentionally trigger the button of the electronic device.”
September is going to be an exciting month for Apple fans. The iPhone 16 is launching, iOS 18 is nearly here, new MacBooks are on the way, and maybe a new Apple Watch and iPad mini. While there’s no indication when or if we’ll see cases based on this patent filing, we bet Apple will make these specialized smart cases a reality. We’ll let you know as soon as we know more!
