Subj : Remember the MacBook Touch Bar? Future iPhones could get somethin To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Thu Mar 14 2024 12:30:06 Remember the MacBook Touch Bar? Future iPhones could get something similar Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2024 12:14:56 +0000 Description: A newly surfaced Apple patent teases an iPhone with a side-mounted display. FULL STORY ====================================================================== Notwithstanding the addition of the Action button and Dynamic Island , Apples top-end iPhones have remained nigh on identical to one another since the launch of the iPhone X in 2017, but a new patent suggests the companys tried-and-tested iPhone design could eventually change in one big way. As spotted by AppleInsider , Apple has been granted a patent for technology that could bring a side-mounted display yes, a side-mounted display to future iPhones. Judging by the illustrations attached to the patent in question, this display would offer similar functionality to the unfairly maligned MacBook Touch Bar , which last featured on the MacBook Pro 13-inch (M1, 2020) . When we say side-mounted display, were talking about a thin display that sits below the iPhones volume or power buttons. Some existing phones, like the Honor Magic 6 Pro , boast edge-to-edge curved displays, but Apples patent seems to concern a display that exists in isolation of the main front display. Presumably, this side-mounted display could be used to display status messages, control music selection and launch apps, in a manner akin to the Dynamic Island, though it might also serve as a full-blown replacement for some physical iPhone buttons. Apple is already rumored to be switching the iPhone 15 Pros capacitive Action button for a mechanical one on the iPhone 16 , so a side-mounted display could represent the next stage of this design philosophy. Image 1 of 2 This side-mounted display would be separate from the main display (Image credit: United States Patent and Trademark Office) Image 2 of 2 This side-mounted display could be used to display status messages and launch apps (Image credit: United States Patent and Trademark Office) In the illustrations above (figures 15 and 16), Apple has used the Messages, Calendar and Camera app icons as examples of how this side-mounted display might be used, so its clear that itll be a versatile iPhone tool, if indeed it does come to fruition. Of course, the latter point is far from a given. Patent applications represent the earliest stage of an ideas development, and this example may simply be a case of Apple looking to prevent other manufacturers from implementing similar technology on their own upcoming devices. That said, Apple is clearly experimenting with radically different iPhone designs rumors suggest we may see the companys first foldable iPhone as soon as 2026 , for instance and theres only so many times that iPhone loyalists will settle for incremental annual upgrades. So, while wed strongly advise against expecting a side-mounted display on the iPhone 16 (read: forget about it), we do think that some genuinely exciting iPhone design upgrades are on the horizon. You might also like... iOS 17.4 has landed here are six new features it brings to your iPhone Samsung Galaxy S23 owners could get another great Galaxy S24 feature soon Googles affordable Pixel 8a may not be so affordable after all ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/phones/iphone/remember-the-macbook-touch-bar-future- iphones-could-get-something-similar --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .