Cameras that appear only when needed and stays completely hidden when they are not in use may appear in future models of iPhones or Apple Watches.
Appearing like stuff lifted out from a futuristic movie, Apple proposes in a new patent the integration of a camera that appears only when summoned by its user and stays completely hidden when users do not require them. This may be found in future models of iPhones and Apple Watches. The Cupertino-based tech giant said that the display of their future Apple Watch and iPhone models, as well as other devices using an Apple screen, could feature a camera and camera flash that becomes visible only when users need them.
Industry observers note that at present, the only thing that prevents the Apple Watch from turning into a wrist-worn video communicator, similar to what actors use in science flicks, is a camera. The Cupertino tech giant, however, may have solved such with its introduction of a camera that stays completely hidden when users do not require them and appear only when summoned by its user. According to Apple, they could include such feature in future models of the iPhone and Apple Watch, or any devices that use the Apple screen.
In a patent granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to the Cupertino tech giant recently, the document talked about embedding a camera within the display. Likewise embedded in the same area is a camera flash. As such, the device would have a camera that stays completely hidden when users do not need them, which can appear when it is time to use them. Future models of the iPhone and Apple Watch could feature such technology. "Electronic devices such as cellular telephones sometimes have displays and other optical components such as cameras and camera flash devices. It can be challenging to incorporate optical components such as these into an electronic device," the patent stated.
Future Apple Watch or iPhone may gain a camera that's completely hidden when not in use https://t.co/ocLK2uPRpt $AAPL pic.twitter.com/3umefpZxHA — MacHash (@MacHashNews) December 15, 2020
According to the patent filed by the Cupertino tech giant, "electronic devices with two-stage displays" involve using a type of screen with multiple layers of various display technologies. The patent also revealed the list of the range of screens that are compatible for such feature where a camera stays completely hidden when users do not need them, and only appears when it is time to use them. The patent also stated the possibility of such features used on future models of the iPhone and Apple Watch, adding that placing physical cameras on their displays may become unattractive when users are not using it. "In some configurations, devices will have unattractive windows to accommodate cameras and flashes," the patent stated.
The latest patent of Apple, where it proposes the integration in future models of iPhone and Apple Watches of a completely hidden camera, which only appears when users require them. The Cupertino tech giant credited the patent to eight inventors, including James R. Wilson.
