The Apple Pencil is a highly valued accessory for creative iPad users. It is a tool that, thanks to the harmony between hardware and software, serves to make notes, draw and unleash a wide variety of projects.
But in its more than seven years on the market and after two generations, the Apple Pencil has received few innovations and has not been without criticism related to its design. those of Cupertino, according to a patentget ready to upgrade your stylus.
An Apple Pencil with a camera
We know that Apple, like many other companies, sends a large number of patent applications. Some go completely unnoticed and others capture the attention of enthusiasts, because they can reveal future movements.
In this case, those from Cupertino closed the year with a patent application before the United States Patent and Trademark Office for an accessory with a pencil tip (Apple Pencil) that incorporates optical sensors (cameras) in one of its ends.
Apple is not thinking that its users take photos with the iPad accessory, for that they already have the increasingly sophisticated cameras of the iPhone. The company intends to provide the stylus with a additional functionality that can be very useful for the most creative users.
The optical sensors, with the help of the software, will be in charge of identifying the color and texture of an external surface. These types of measurements could be of great help to carry out certain design works that require visual information from real objects.
The future Apple Pencil could be used, for example, to capture the parameters of a wall, a carpet or other surfaces. And it would certainly be much more accurate than pulling that information from a traditional photograph into a design application.
patentlyapple explains that the sensor can be accompanied by a light emitter with an adjustable spectrum to improve color detection in different scenarios. “An inertial measurement unit can be used to measure the angular orientation between the stylus and an external object during color measurements,” the outlet notes.
At the moment we have no information about the possible arrival of these features to the Apple Pencil. As we know, Apple does its best to save any secret news until the day of its presentation. We have to wait to find out if this patent ends up taking shape and improving the functionality of the iPad accessory.
