iPhone privacy screens coming? Check out Apple's fascinating new patent

Apple has filed a patent for privacy screens on iPhones, along with displays with adjustable viewing angles on the Mac. Know all about the iPhone privacy screens.

Check out Apple’s latest patent which includes iPhone privacy screens. (Representative Image) (Unsplash)

Over the years, Apple has filed some very weird patents. From a MacBook-integrated iPhone, a windowless car, and vibrating VR socks to a MacBook with a DJ turntable, most of these products are very nonsynonymous with Apple. However, this does not mean that these products will make it to the production stage. In fact, many patented products do not even get prototypes. Having said that, it is still interesting to see the engineering prowess at Apple. Now in the latest patent, Apple engineers have reportedly made efforts to enhance the privacy of the iPhone by introducing privacy screens. Know all about this latest Apple iPhone privacy screens patent.

iPhones with privacy screens

The patent dated November 21, 2023, was filed by Apple at the US Patent & Trademark Office. Titled ‘Privacy films for curved displays', it theorizes the presence of a privacy film on the device with a light-blocking layer that is present between the first and second transparent substrates. But how would it work?

The patent states, “The light-blocking layer may have a plurality of opaque portions and a plurality of transparent portions. The opaque portions may be shaped to ensure light from the display is directed only to the primary viewer of the display. Each opaque portion of the light-blocking layer may extend along a respective longitudinal axis between the first and second transparent substrates.”

The iPhone privacy screen technology works like the third-party privacy screen protectors that are available in the market. The primary viewer gets a full view of the display with ample brightness. However, onlookers who snoop on your phone from different angles are likely to get an obscure view of your iPhone's screen.

Adjustable viewing angles on Mac

Meanwhile, the Cupertino-based tech giant has filed another patent titled ‘Displays with Adjustable Angles of View'. This patent, filed for the Mac, theorizes that a user could potentially adjust the viewing angles on the Mac which could act as a filter to counter those snooping on your screen. The user could control the polarization of the screen via an “angle of view adjustment layer”. Made from electrochemical material, this layer would include an array of light-blocking elements.

How would it work?

As per the patent, “When it is desired to operate the display in a private viewing mode, control circuitry may apply a current to the first and second electrodes that causes the electrochromic material to become more opaque, thereby restricting the angle of view of the display. When it is desired to operate the display in a public viewing mode, control circuitry may apply a current to the first and second electrodes that causes the electrochromic material to become more transparent, thereby opening up the angle of view of the display.”

Will iPhone privacy screens or other ideas come to life? This we do not know. However, these filings reveal the creative side of a company that was once called “boring” by former employee Bob Burrough.