Apple wants to put a window on iPhones

Apple is working behind the scenes to remove the notch from iPhones and maximize the area occupied by the display: a patent shows one of the possible solutions.

When it debuted in 2017 on the iPhone X the notch on the display, otherwise known as notch, negatively impressed many technology enthusiasts, even part of those who followed Apple closely. Bulky, invasive, unsightly, the notch convinced only those who, with pragmatism, were able to put utility ahead of aesthetics.

In fact, inside the notch Apple has placed a series of high-profile cameras and sensors to make it possible to securely unlock with the face, Face ID, putting aside what until then had been the unlocking system of the iPhone, Touch ID in the Home button that the company has removed to increase the portion of the front surface occupied by the display. Apple continued to use the notch for Face ID on iPhones in subsequent years, and so the notch went from being a hated element to an iconic one. But now, years later, the market has changed and competitors have been experimenting with ways to maximize the screen-to-surface ratio, so Apple has been working behind the scenes to hide the notch without sacrificing Face ID.

No Face ID under the screen, Apple thinks of something else

Cupertino has recently obtained approval for a patent that aims to hide the components needed for Face ID, currently contained in the notch. From this patent it is clear that Apple does not believe in the hypothesis of arranging all the components under the display, as is the case with the selfie cameras of Android competitors (for example that of Xiaomi Mi Mix 4, ready to debut).

It would not be possible, at least not in the current state of technology, since companies already find several difficulties in arranging a single camera under the screen, the many sensors of Apple would be impossible to operate with a display in the middle. So another, more ingenious solution is needed.

That Apple, judging by the patent, seems to have identified. From the document approved by the U.S. patent office, we learn how Apple's method for tomorrow's iPhones consists of a mobile display that can move to show and hide the system of cameras and sensors necessary for the operation of Face ID. A sort of window that is opened and closed as needed.

What the patent says for the window on iPhones

The patent is titled "Electronic devices with adjustable display windows."

Here's a passage from the explanation included by Apple within the document approved by the patent office: "The display may have a window. During operation, a component such as an optical component may operate through the window, which may overlap a movable portion of the display. [...] When the window is closed, the movable portion of the display overlaps the area. In the opposite scenario, the movable portion of the display is moved away by opening the window to allow light to pass through to the optical component, which can be a camera or any other element that must interact by receiving or emitting light," a clear reference to the True Depth sensors that make up Face ID.