The Apple Watch could include a system for automatically keeping the band tight around the wrist of the wearer in the future, one that could keep the band at a tension that is optimal for biometric readings while still maintaining user comfort.
Touching a future iPhone or iPad display could provide a sensation of texture, with Apple coming up with a way to alter how a touch-enabled surface can be controlled to simulate the feel of different types of materials.
A future Apple Watch band could have electrical and data contacts to do more things with the wearable, like allowing for a replaceable power source or the installation of sensors outside the watch, if Apple's research pans out.
An iPhone may automatically generate Memoji for a user in the future, by analyzing a photograph of the user's face to determine the closest combination of facial features to produce a digital avatar with a similar likeness, without the user needing to make any major choices.
Apple's use of Ultra Wideband with the U1 chip in the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro could go beyond AirDrop and could be used to determine the orientation and motion of a device.
Mobile device users who have trouble holding an iPhone steadily could be assisted by the smartphone to view images and other content, by compensating for hand movements to keep what is being viewed steady and in one place regardless of the motion.
Displays in a future iPad or iPhone could use lasers to detect touch, with the employment of VCSEL sensors and other technologies potentially monitoring the deflection of the screen to determine levels of 3D touch or to provide a more improved typing experience.
Apple is continuing to explore the possibility of creating a new wearable in the form of an Apple Ring, one that includes a finger-mounted touchscreen that could also be used to transmit commands to another nearby device wirelessly.
A future Apple-designed self-driving vehicle may not show any external signs of its automated functionality, with Apple looking into how radar systems could be made smaller, lighter, and cheaper in a bid to hide them from the view of other road users looking at the vehicle.
The Apple Pencil could provide its users with form of haptic feedback in a future version, with the use of magnetic fields physically affecting the stylus while it is actively being used to draw on an iPad or iPad Pro, using the force to vibrate the implement.
Apple is trying to improve the image quality of its iPhone cameras even more and cut back on the external camera bump at the same time, by researching the use of a periscope-like lens assembly inside the body of the iPhone.
The infamous notch at the top of the current generation of iPhones could be eliminated in a future version, with Apple looking into including openings in the display itself that cameras, speakers, and other sensors could be positioned behind, providing them with access to the outside world while minimizing their appearance.
The MacBook Pro could take advantage of carbon fiber to strengthen the display in the future, using the inserts to minimize damage to the screen from flexing the notebook's top section, without adding any significant weight to the portable device, while also making it extremely thin.
Future iPhones could feature electronically-controlled decorative elements on the back of the case, giving users a way to further customize their smartphones, such as by changing the color of the Apple logo, as well as providing a way to alert device owners to notifications or other events.
A future version of HomeKit could provide the ability to control items at a socket level depending on where the user is, with Apple investigating the possibility of making electrical outlets that can provide granular control of power to devices, as well as knowing the location of nearby smartphones, tablets, and other items.
Future MacBooks could be made even thinner by using a slimmer keyboard, by switching out the butterfly mechanism for one where the keys are positioned much closer to the circuit board, reducing the amount of travel and materials required to register a key press and to actuate.
Apple's rumored augmented reality headset may use a holographic combiner to project light onto the wearer's eyes, while an eye-tracking system for monitoring the gaze of the user could be used to provide more information about an environment based on where the user is actively looking.
Apple's potential future car could have force feedback systems added to the door hinges to prevent them from being opened too far, while the suggestion of lockable storage in a vehicle opens the door to automated and secured delivery trucks unlocked by iPhones.
Apple's future car from 'Project Titan' could be accompanied by an accessory for the home to help recharge the electric vehicle, consisting of a small robot capable of hooking the car up to an electrical point below the vehicle to acquire more power.
Apple is working on more ideas it could implement in its long-rumored virtual reality headset or augmented reality smart glasses, including a display technology using lasers to create an image in the user's eye, along with magnet-laden gloves to give users finger-level control in the virtual world.
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Malcolm Owen
