According to the latest list published by the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office (USPTO), Apple has been granted a patent for under-screen Face ID technology, meaning that future iPhone models could have the front-facing camera embedded below the screen.
Apple’s description of this patent, which Apple says could embed a variety of sensors under the screen, including sensors for Touch ID, sensors for measuring three-dimensional non-contact gestures (“air gestures”), pressure sensors, sensors for detecting position, and orientation and motion (e.g. accelerometers, magnetic sensors (e.g., compass sensors, gyroscopes and/or inertial measurement units containing some or all of these sensors), health sensors, etc.
Sensors below the screen also include a variety of optical sensors, such as self-mixing sensors (self-mixing sensors) and light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensors that collect the time of flight (time of flight), humidity sensors, moisture sensors, gaze tracking sensors, and other sensors.
Also altered in the patent is the location of Dynamic Island, which selectively activates and deactivates different pixels by using a series of tiny, transparent windows whose apparent size and location can be effectively moved around the display.
Apple says that the conventional screens used in its devices have 13 layers and that light transmission through these areas is reduced by up to 80 percent, so Apple may need to reduce the number of layers containing sensor areas in the future.
