Recent reports suggest that Apple is poised to significantly invest in the development of official protective cases designed to augment iPhone functionality. According to a leak attributed to Instant Digital, Apple’s forthcoming case designs will be engineered to act as “second touch interfaces.”
The precise implementation of this concept remains undefined. Details regarding the nature of this “second touch interface” are currently limited. Speculation ranges from the potential inclusion of a secondary touchscreen, reminiscent of designs previously explored by LG and Asus, to the integration of touchpads similar to those found on iPad keyboard covers. The exact form factor and capabilities remain unconfirmed.
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Illustrative examples of similar implementations in the smartphone market, such as the LG V50 ThinQ Dual Screen and Asus’s TwinView Dock, have not achieved widespread adoption.
This initiative could potentially facilitate the removal of physical buttons from future iPhone models, a design element reportedly under consideration by Apple for several years. The case-integrated touch interfaces could then provide the necessary user input functionalities.
Supporting this conjecture is a relevant Apple patent titled “Case with input for electronic device.” The patent describes a case equipped with an electromechanical touch sensor. This design would allow users to interact with the device without physically pressing the device’s buttons. Upon detecting the presence of the case, the electronic device can disable specific physical buttons and execute corresponding actions based on signals received from the case.
It is anticipated that the next generation of iPhone Pro models will debut in the fall of 2026, with the standard model expected to be unveiled six months later.
Source (in Chinese) | Via
