“Apple on Tuesday was granted [a U.S. patent] for a ‘touch and hover’ display panel that is made more accurate by compensating for signal drift,” Mikey Campbell reports for AppleInsider.
“Apple’s extensive U.S. Patent No. 8,614,693 for ‘Touch and hover signal drift compensation’ describes a system in which a touchscreen display can accurately determine both hover and touch events,” Campbell reports. “A number of modern computing devices, like Apple’s iPhone and iPad, incorporate touch-sensitive panels that enhance and define the user experience by affording unprecedented GUI manipulation and control. Some systems also incorporate what is known as ‘hover’ controls, which allow users to interface with a device without actually touching it.”
Campbell reports, “It is unknown if Apple will one day choose to incorporate hover controls into its products, but some companies are already working on their own solutions.”
Read more in the full article here.
Interesting.. The patent must be pretty narrow considering Samsung and Sony already demonstrated ‘hover’ UI interaction with tablet and smartphone devices in the past.