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iPhone 7 Release Date, Specs News: Flexible iPhone In The Mix? Apple's Patents Provide Hints On Future Devices

Virginia D'Cruz February 07, 2015 01:53 PM EST

Apple has been churning out a huge number of patents which provide a good indication as to what the company wants for its iPhone 7, iPads and other devices in the future.

However, there is no guarantee that any of these patents will ever find its way into actual products in the market.

Patents from the company usually focus on technical details, thereby disguising the actual product's specific technology that it is working on. One patent that captured the attention of the public was about a display that could be placed on the side walls of phones, something which is already available on the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge.

Another patent dealt specifically with power, volume and sleep buttons on phones and how they could come with "touch sensitive technology." This technology will be able to discern when a user touches the buttons and only respond to that input much like the home button of the current iPhone range, which is integrated with a fingerprint sensor.

As for the future of the fingerprint sensor, another patent showed that the company was working on using the display of its devices to capture fingerprints instead of the sensor and was also attempting to use facial recognition to unlock devices likes the iPad.

A flexible iPhone could also be in the future for Apple as it recently was awarded the patent for this. Unlike the bend-prone iPhone 6 Plus, the flexible iPhone could be folded when not in use and could even receive user inputs even when it is bent in a particular direction.

It is also clear that Apple wants to improve the camera in its upcoming iPhones. Patents filed by the company show that they are interested in 3D technology, which will allow the phone to capture photos with depth. Also proposed for an improved camera is a patent on interchangeable lenses that could be placed on iPhone cases.

Although no specific date has been set for Apple's new iPhone, most believe the device will land around September 2015.

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