Apple is exploring the possibility of including laser detection features in future Apple Watch or iPhone models that warn about air quality in a given environment.

In the future, your Apple Watch or iPhone may become an indispensable tool that you can use not only for getting in touch with the rest of the world but also will help you tell whether the air is safe or not. A patent granted recently to the Cupertino-based tech giant showed that future Apple Watch or iPhone models may include laser detection features that can help determine the air quality of a given environment and warn users if poisonous gasses or pollen is present.

Although air quality is not something that you may think about all the time, it is a crucial element of life. In some instances, it may be potentially hazardous due to the presence of pollen or poisonous gasses, as well as other likely irritants that can cause harm if inhaled in substantial quantities. A future Apple Watch or iPhone model with laser detection features can help you in this aspect as it sounds off a warning, informing you that the air quality in a local environment may be bad for your health.

Similar devices like carbon monoxide detectors are available in the market today. However, its compact versions are sometimes not small enough for you to easily carry around. It would be more helpful if you can carry or wear devices like gas detectors every day. If future Apple Watch or iPhone models with laser detection features can perform a similar job, it will offer higher levels of protection for you. It can help you determine if the air quality in a particular environment is safe or not.

 

Apple's patent named "Particle matter sensors for portable electronic devices" seems to head in this direction. In its patent, the company proposes that the solution to the problem is to create a component that can be installed into future Apple Watch or iPhone models. Such a component, which involves the use of laser, can help detect air quality in a given environment. Using laser detection mechanisms combined with sensors, future models of iPhone or Apple Watch can warn the user if the air quality is bad.

According to the patent granted to Apple, the company will use multiple laser light sources along with several total-internal-reflection lenses. It will also use relevant photodiodes or light sensors that will receive light signals. The lights produced by the lasers go through the lenses and reflect toward a receiving sensor, with a light bent towards the sensor itself. Apple stated in its patent that it is possible to include this laser detection feature in future models of iPhone or Apple Watch, giving it the capability to warn users about the air quality in a given environment.