iPhone touch sensors
The next iPhone could have new touch sensor technology. We look at what, and why
Imagine interacting with your phone without even touching the display…
Rumors about the future of the iPhone come thick and fast, but two relating to new sensor types caught our eye, and seem just crazy enough to maybe work. The first that the iPhone screen’s surrounding bezel will be reduced, becoming so small that it cannot accommodate a Home button any more, or the earpiece speaker at the top. The latter can be replaced with a speaker effectively attached to the glass itself, and we’ll come to what happens to the Home button later, because the big question here is what happens with Touch ID. Reports say that it’s possible for Apple to move the fingerprint sensor under the screen itself, so there might just be a circle that appears on-screen when you lift your phone, and you place your thumb there to unlock it. These sensors already exist, so it’s well within Apple’s capabilities to produce one, though we’re not sure how we feel about an iPhone without the iconic Home button.
The other rumor is that there may be more touch sensors around the phone, either on the side or back, separate to the screen, meaning you’d be able to interact with apps without touching the display. You could slide your thumb down the right edge to scroll websites, or move your finger along the iPhone’s edge to quickly scrub through a video; you could zoom when using the camera by sliding your finger along the edge, and take a photo by just tapping your finger gently on top… in all cases, you’d have great control, without obscuring the content you’re concentrating on with your fingers. Oh, and this kind of gesture could replace the Home button.
Once upon a time, we’d have said this seemed hugely unlikely, but 3D Touch surprised us, and showed that Apple is open to experimentation with “invisible” options for controlling apps. We like this idea a lot, and though it’s just speculation now, we could see it as a potential 7S feature even if the Home button redesign doesn’t happen.