Apple tech creates invisible input areas on borders to replace buttons

Apple is continuing to develop technology that could allow for nearly invisible input areas that display information to users while replacing physical buttons or controls on its products.

"Hidden Input Areas for Electronic Devices" is a newly disclosed patent application that describes technology that uses micropores to sense input.

This isn’t the first time Apple has pursued this idea. In February 2022, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office actually granted Apple a patent of the same name for the idea.

Apple said the granted patent and new patent application focus on eliminating "large buttons, keys, or other mechanical actuation structures" used to sense device input. This is because traditional input elements "may lack flexibility or adaptability and may permanently indicate the presence of an input device."

The solution is to add an input surface outside the device that consists of a series of micropores. When active, these microholes can display virtual keys, buttons, or notification graphics to illuminate the input area.

The patent states that the input area "will be visually imperceptible when unilluminated." In other words, the goal is to make these areas invisible when not in use.

Invisible input area on Apple Pencil.

These invisible input areas can then be further configured to receive input, detect touch, or use other methods such as optical, magnetic, and capacitive-based sensors to enable device control. Apple says it can also be configured with a haptic section to simulate the tactile response of a key or button.

The input layer can also contain a translucent layer made of "glass, ceramic, plastic, or a combination thereof." Apple says this translucent layer could be "the top shell of the laptop."

While part of the patent's text describes an Apple Watch, some of the numbers in the patent describe micro-perforation technology that would work with iPhone, Apple Pencil, and MacBook devices.

Apple can use input areas to replace the physical buttons on the Apple Watch.

It’s worth noting that the technology looks similar to the one on HomePod, with its top input area lighting up when Siri is activated. Apple iPhone and iPad devices also feature capacitive buttons, which provide a tactile response despite not actually being buttons.

Apple has been granted additional patents related to microhole lighting. For example, a 2012 patent describes a system that uses similar technology to create invisible device controls that light up to indicate control areas when activated.

The system can be combined with other Apple-patented technologies, such as the glass keyboard on MacBook Pro or the seamless all-glass iPhone.

Apple is awarded multiple patents every week and is filing for more. Because of this, patents are poor predictors of a company's future plans and say little about when the technology they describe may be brought to market.

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