An Apple patent granted today appears to describe a new approach to under-screen Face ID, which could also allow the company to embed additional sensors into the iPhone display.
The patent appears to describe an evolution of the dynamic island approach, but is implemented in a more flexible way…
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Apple’s initial approach to embedding Face ID into the display was the famous notch, occupying the central area of the status bar at the top of the iPhone.
With the iPhone 14 Pro models, Apple has switched instead to two cutouts in the display itself. These are disguised as a pill-shaped cutout, and the company cleverly turned it into part of the user-interface by expanding the apparent width and displaying relevant content in it.
However, the company’s long-term goal has long been a “single slab of glass”, with the display occupying the entirety of the front of the iPhone, which would have required finding other ways to hide under-screen components such as Face ID. Is. module and front-facing camera.
Apple already has several patents for under-screen Face ID and Touch ID, but the ability to completely hide them is still some way away.
However, a new patent granted today describes what appears to be an evolution of the dynamic island approach.
Under-Screen Face ID Patent
apple slowly Note that part of the patent language describes an existing implementation of Dynamic Island. However, it goes beyond this in two ways.
First, the patent describes a vast array of sensors that could be embedded in the display, including gestures made without actually touching the screen.
Sensors that may be hidden under the display include sensors for Touch ID, sensors for measuring three-dimensional non-contact gestures (“air gestures”), pressure sensors, sensors for detecting position, orientation, and/or motion. (for example, accelerometers, compass sensors, gyroscopes, and/or inertial measurement units that contain some or all of these sensors), magnetic sensors such as health sensors, and more.
Sensors below the display may also include optical sensors such as self-mixing sensors and light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors that perform time-of-flight measurements, humidity sensors, humidity sensors, gaze tracking sensors and/or other sensors Let’s collect.
Second, the position of the dynamic island can be varied using a series of small transparent windows, whose apparent size and position can be effectively moved around the display by selectively activating and deactivating individual pixels. .
The transparent window can be shifted by a random amount in a random direction relative to a grid defined point and/or randomly rotated to enhance the non-periodicity. A transparency gradient may form between the transparent window and the surrounding opaque portion of the display. Transparent windows can be defined by non-linear edges.
Apple says that a typical display used by its devices has 13 layers, and light transmission through these areas is reduced by up to 80%, and so it needs to reduce the number of layers in sensor areas. may be required.
But the approach appears to describe a method of distributing these fields in a way that would make them invisible to the naked eye; without interfering with the display (eg touch-sensitivity); and in a way that allows neighboring pixels to be selectively turned off to enhance light transmission.
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