The world of wizards and witches are all fantasy, but technological innovations are mimicking some of the most popular ideas that we thought were only possible in sci-fi movies. Be it an invisibility cloak-like material as shown in the Harry Potter series or the 3D face-scanning feature for strong encryption, we thought we had seen it all. But we are not even close.
The latest mind-boggling innovation in the tech world is adding a supernatural power-like feature to a digital pen or stylus. And steering the ship of innovation towards possibility is the world's most valuable brand — Apple.
According to a patent filed by the Cupertino-based tech titan, the next generation of Apple Pencil stylus will let you draw in the air and still capture its input.
Look at it as the wands shown in the popular Harry Potter series (except that the Apple Pencil doesn't require to be matched to your magical powers as long as you have sufficient long greens to buy it).
Apple's patented idea for its futuristic Pencil stylus doesn't react to "Expecto Patronum" or even "Obliviate", but having the ability to write in the air is nothing short of a miracle.
The science behind the patented stylus is that it can be monitored by a force sensor in the tip of the pen or tracked using motion and orientation sensors to trace the path of the stylus as you draw mid-air.
The Apple stylus may work independent of any surface, electronic or non-electronic, if the company's innovative idea comes to fruition. The drawings attached to the patent reveals that the stylus can be tracked via cameras and/or sensors mounted on laptops or desktop monitor. But Apple is hinting that the stylus may also work with smartphones, smartwatches, tablets and even PCs.
This is going to be a revolutionary step forward for Apple, which currently offers a $99 Apple Pencil compatible with only the iPad Pro. The use cases for a stylus that can doodle in mid-air are plenty. For instance, users can use it to generate text or 3D objects in mid-air and have the drawing appear on a computer screen.
What would Steve Jobs say?
But let's not forget, Apple's co-founder genius Steve Jobs wasn't a fan of the stylus.
"Who wants a stylus?" Jobs had said while introducing the iPhone over a decade ago. "You have to get 'em, put 'em away, you lose 'em. Yuck! Nobody wants a stylus. So let's not use a stylus."
But Apple went ahead with its first Pencil in 2015. In all fairness, Jobs wasn't fond of big screens either, but we all know how that turned out. The iPhone 8 Plus and the iPhone X are the latest examples of big-screen phones most of us would love to own.
So it is possible Apple might change the prospect of how we look at styluses. Thanks to Microsoft, Samsung, Google and others, consumers aren't completely against the stylus, and if Apple can make mid-air doodling possible, then there's little to debate about.
That said, this is just a patent and a lot of things can change. As much as we applaud Apple's thought process, there's no guarantee we'll ever see an Apple Pencil as shown in its patents, which were filed at the World International Property Organization (WIPO) in July 2016 and published in late January.
What are your thoughts on Apple Pencil with mid-air drawing capabilities?
