iPhone users could use their smartphone in rain if this patent comes to reality

After launching the 13-inch MacBook Pro at the WWDC 2022, Apple is gearing up to launch the iPhone 11 series at the expected launch in September. Amidst all the iPhone 14 reports and rumours, the Cupertino-based tech giant has won a patent related to the usage of the iPhone in moist environments. The patent suggests that Apple is working on a technology that will make it easier for users to operate iPhones in rain. 

Apple iPhone with touch modifier?

The title of the patent, as mentioned in the United States Patent and Trademark Office is 'Modifying functionality of electronic devices during a moisture exposure event.' Filed in March 2021, the patent included the names of five investors and was granted on June 28, 2022. To summarise, the patent talks about changing the functionality of a device's screen during an event where it is exposed to moisture. 

The patent talks about a device that includes a touch sensor, a capacitance detector to determine the location of input and a force detector to measure the amount and location of the force applied. Additionally, the patent talks about a moisture sensor that can determine the total amount of moisture present on the protective layer above the screen. From what it looks like, Apple wants to combine these four sensors to create an iPhone display that is better at responding in a moist environment, including rain or a swimming pool. 

To put into simple words, several mechanisms will together to make the iPhone usable in moist environments. It is important to note that iPhones are water resistant to a good extent and hence, readers must have seen several users taking their iPhone into the pool for playing music or clicking photographs. However, even then, it is difficult to use the screen when it has water droplets on it. 

Additionally, the patent also contains some information about different usage modes that include wet, dry and underwater. Based on the modes and the input from the sensors, the iPhone could modify the user interface. While the patent gives an overview of how the technology could work, readers should keep in mind that companies like Apple file hundreds of patent every year, but only a few end up being utilised by consumer grade products.