WASHINGTON – Smudgy iPhone screens may be a relic of the past, if reportsof Apple testing a “touchless” screen are true.
The company is said to be developing a screen that lets a person controlsome phone features by hovering their finger over it, rather than tappingand swiping, according to Bloomberg.
The report Wednesday, which cited unnamed “people with knowledge of thematter,” said the technology is in its early stages and may never make itto market. Even if it does, the people said, it would not be for at leasttwo years.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The iPhone, like many smartphones, has been criticized in recent years fornot breaking new ground. Even Apple’s new iPhone X, which introduced newfacial recognition technology and a nearly all-screen front, failed touniversally impress reviewers. Changing the way that users interact withscreens could offer something new on the market depending on how it’simplemented.
Samsung has used the sensors in smartphones to give phone users the abilityto control their screens without touching them. Users could wave theirwhole hands over the screen to flip through images in an album, forexample. Based on the Wednesday iPhone report, it sounds like Apple isdeveloping screens that could detect someone’s finger, rather than thewhole hand.
The report also said Apple may be working on curved screens, which otherphone makers including Samsung have incorporated into their designs.
Apple’s budget for research and development has been ramping up in the pastcouple of years, topping $3 billion in the last three months of 2017,according to financial filings. As Apple analyst Neil Cybart of AboveAvalon pointed out in 2016, Apple rarely spends more than $3 billion onresearch and development in a full year, even four or five years ago.
The firm is also reportedly working on a completely new type of screentechnology, MicroLED, and may also be developing its own chips to replacethe Intel components in its personal computers.