The Apple Watch could include more gestures similar to Raise to Speak in the future, after the revelation Apple has explored the possibility of producing more hands-free ways to interact with wearable devices and other hardware.
Typing on an iPad, iPhone, or other low-travel surface like a MacBook Pro keyboard could be made easier and more comfortable, with Apple suggesting that smart gloves could squeeze the finger slightly to change the sensation.
Apple has looked at using single glass panels and touch-sensitive membranes to solve its butterfly keyboard problems, and may yet return to the idea for how it safeguards against dust damage in the mechanism.
Apple may have a solution for false positives with identifying identical twins for Face ID in the iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and iPhone XS Max, by taking into account where veins are located in the face.
Apple's work in the virtual reality and augmented reality field has produced a considerable number of patents and applications, which could lead to the eventual creation of the iPhone maker's first headset. AppleInsider takes a look at some of the company's filings, including those that use the technology away from a head-mounted display.
Apple is showing signs it is continuing to work on producing augmented reality and virtual reality glasses, including creating its own method for mounting the headset on the user's head and coming up with a way to regulate heat generated by the hardware while it is in use.
Future MacBook models could offer some of the same health and fitness tracking functions as provided by the Apple Watch, with the inclusion of a small bio-sensor in the casing near the trackpad that the user could access while typing on the keyboard.
Passengers in an Apple-designed car of the future may find the vehicle to have a unique interior lighting system, consisting of fiber optic-based segments that could become practically invisible when not in use by blending into the car's various surfaces, and could even offer indicators to drivers within the windscreen.
Cold weather will make OLED screens brittle, and will pose a problem for bendable phones. Apple is working on a series of sensors and micro-heaters to keep a foldable iPhone warm, to prevent damage.
The 3D Touch pressure sensitivity offered in some iPhone models could be improved upon in future models, with Apple examining the use of VCSEL technology to monitor deflections in a surface caused by a finger press, or even to analyze and monitor effects of the Taptic Engine.
Apple is working on an AR mapping app for an iPhone or smart glasses, with identification of not just distant locations, but also on a smaller scale, like a car dashboard or items in your house.
A future version of the AirPods Wireless Charging Case may not necessarily require users to carefully line it up on a wireless charger for it to receive power, with Apple proposing a system where it could be placed in practically any position on an AirPower-style charging pad and still be able to inductively charge.
Apple's "Project Titan" self-driving vehicle project could be made safer by allowing vehicles to communicate with each other, the company suggests, with knowledge of the position and range of other cars on the road able to help both the automated driving system and drivers themselves enhance their situational awareness while in transit.
Apple is looking at ways to have an iPhone to unlock and pay for a 'Project Titan' self driving car, a feature that could have wider use in the taxi industry, and in self-driving systems.
While Touch ID isn't being offered as a biometric authentication method in current-generation iPhones and the iPad Pro range, Apple is still considering the possibility of adding fingerprint recognition to its mobile devices, by using acoustic imaging on the display.
HomeKit could be more responsive to a user's needs depending on where they are in a future update, with Apple considering the possibility of adding hyper-local position tracking to the smart home platform with an accuracy of just feet to suggest what items a user wants to control based on their location in the home.
Apple is exploring the possibility of integrating miniature gas sensors in HomeKit devices and the iPhone that could detect poisonous gases and other environmental hazards and alert the user to their presence.
Photographers who are irritated about missing the perfect shot because it took too long to access their iPhone's camera could benefit from one potential feature Apple has considered, where the iPhone automatically enters the camera application when raised for a shot, even if it is still locked.
A pair of gloves could potentially be used to control computers and other devices, Apple has suggested, with the incorporation of force-sensing circuitry in clothes offering the opportunity to issue commands by touching other objects in different ways.
Should Apple's invention come to pass, your clothing might keep tabs on your health and be the communications bridge between all of the Apple devices that you carry on your person.
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Malcolm Owen
