El iPhone 15 It is already with us and has meant big changes for the device. One of them is the arrival of USB-C instead of Lightning, which completely says goodbye to the Apple ecosystem. Another change is the arrival in the Pro models of the Action Button, the replacement for the hitherto lock/silence switch. Closely linked to this idea of customizable actions is a new patent leaked but filed in April 2023 where it shows a device with touch sides, as if it were a Mac Touch Bar but brought to the iPhone. Apple has been behind this idea for more than 10 years… and now we know a little more.
New Apple patent: Touch Bar on the side of the iPhone
The new patent published is named «Electronic devices with side screens» and this idea already has a long history at Apple. Already in 2011, the Big Apple presented something like this and it was in 2014 when the US Patent and Trademark Office granted them the patent. However, an update was presented in April 2023 (via Apple Insider) which is the concept that has led us to this article.
There are really no significant changes, even in the images, between that 2011 patent and the one presented in April 2023. The concept, without going any further, It is the incorporation of flexible OLED screens (or another type of screen) on the sides of a mobile device. Throughout this article we talk about the iPhone as it is the device most possibly affected by this technology.
What could a touch sidebar offer the user?
The advantages of having a kind of Touch Bar on the side of the iPhone are clear: avoid physical buttons and increase the amount of information and versatility for the user. In the patent we can see how among the options of this touch panel is the incorporation of touch buttons with different functions such as increasing and decreasing the volume. Additionally, relevant information such as playback controls or shortcuts can be displayed. It really is a mix between the Touch Bar that existed on Macs and the new Action Button of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.
However, the space conflict could be real and imagining a possible iPhone without buttons is strange. What we can do is imagine what functions this touch bar could have, some of these actions could be:
- Volume and brightness control
- Quick navigation between apps, Safari tabs, playlists or feeds
- Quick access to applications
- Multimedia control with a wide range of actions
- Launch Siri quickly
- Presence of a quick access control center
- Camera control once launched: quickly switch from photo to video, portrait, etc.
- notification control
- Activation of concentration modes
- Battery indicator
- Screen rotation control
If we analyze these functions we see that it is a mix between the status bar with the control center. The idea of being able to have quick access in the sidebar like what we can currently see with the action button with a single action could be the key to understanding the evolution of this system.
The limitations of a possible evolution of this system
As not everything is as it glitters, we must also take into account that the integration of a touch screen on the side of the iPhone It can be a good thing but it can also cause problems on multiple levels. Also, considering that Apple has removed the Touch Bar from Macs, I'm not sure Apple wants to try it again with the iPhone. However, pros and cons exist. In fact, these could be some drawbacks:
- Accidental touches that could activate unwanted functions
- Increased battery consumption taking into account that a touch bar would increase resource consumption
- Design modifications, especially considering that something would have to disappear: either the power buttons on the right side or the action buttons and volume control on the left side
- Changes in the ergonomics of the iPhone that could cause problems in the usability of the device
- Excessive customization that could cause confusion among users
- High production cost taking into account that the integration of a new touch panel would increase the expense substantially
- Technical limitations related to durability, water resistance already certified in previous models and above all Apple's continuity and commitment to the design of its devices
- Fragmentation of the operating system especially with the addition of a new interface that could be a problem for the development of applications without prior testing by the developers. As iPhones are presented in September, and iOS betas run from June to September, this sidebar and iOS interface would be launched without user testing.
Finally, a reflection: it is crazy to think about incorporating such a system today, but it is possible that Apple has been thinking for some time about how to integrate screens in places where we had not imagined until now. Will it be the beginning of the foldable iPhone? Or a simple idea that its engineers wanted to patent at the time? Only time will tell.
Image - Apple Insider