The Apple patent envisions an iPhone with a Touch Bar-like panel on the edges with virtual buttons.

apple One can introduce iPhone A future model with a dedicated touch panel on one edge, according to the details of the company’s latest patent granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). While several smartphones have previously been launched by other companies with displays that curve seamlessly towards the edges, the iPhone maker’s patent suggests the company could introduce a smaller, discrete display. has virtual buttons, as Touch Bar technology was briefly incorporated. on its MacBook Pro lineup.

The patent granted to Apple on March 12 is titled ‘Electronic Devices with Sidewall Display’. It describes smartphones with “flexible displays” that are bent to “create a front-side display and an edge display” while visually separating the two with masks or corresponding pixels on the screen that enable and disable them. Enable. Document, published on USPTO The website also includes diagrams showing the intended device equipped with edge panels.

Apple’s latest patent describes the use of a secondary display panel.
Photo credit: USPTO/Apple

I first picture Patent document Envisions a device that resembles an iPhone with a thin display below two physical buttons on the left edge. Figure 8 shows the secondary screen used to display the media currently being played on the smartphone, while Figure 18, Figure 19, and Figure 20 show the song titles and artist names displayed on the edge. How can be displayed on the panel, with what appears to be support for vertical scrolling.

In addition to showing music and media playback information and controls, the secondary display can also be used to show relevant controls when using certain apps. Figure 16 includes virtual buttons for flash controls, switching between photo and video modes, and a shutter button — these will likely appear when the Camera app opens. Meanwhile, Figure 15 shows app icons for the Messages, Calendar, and Camera apps, suggesting these may be offered as Quick Launch options.

The patent also suggests incorporating haptic feedback as well as a transparent button with a lens – the latter could be used to navigate the user interface using the phone. Meanwhile, Figure 14 shows the use of virtual sidewall buttons to create a virtual controller using the device in landscape mode.

Apple has been granted a patent that enables the use of in-sidewall displays resembling its Touch Bar technology, but it’s not guaranteed that these panels will make their way to iPhones in the coming years. The company has been granted several patents for technologies that have yet to make it to its smartphones, and it remains to be seen whether a future iPhone model will sport these displays.

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