Apple Patent Details Touch ID ‘Panic Finger’ System

The potential feature was detailed in a patent filed by Apple past year and published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday.

Titled Fingerprint activation of a panic mode of operation for a mobile device, a new Apple patent application explains how the user would be able to secure personal data on a phone by simply unlocking the handset with a specific finger, different from the fingers he or she would usually employ to unlock the handset.

For starters, a force activated key can be lower profile than traditional switch-based keyboards found on notebooks, and could therefore allow for a thinner laptop. Theoretically, the innovative technology should allow Apple Inc to reduce the height of the keyboard keys on its Mac computers, which would facilitate the company in designing even thinner MacBooks.

As with many of Apples patent filings, its unknown if or when it plans to implement the invention in one of its devices. Apple is always looking to improve the biometric sensor, and it just cooked up new functionality for Touch ID meant to enhance security for users and protect their personal data. A switch-less keyboard would, hence, be a very Apple-like thing to do. The keys on the new Magic Keyboard have much less travel than the previous iteration, meaning that the distance that the keys travel in order to be fully pressed down is a lot less this time around.

Although the design seems built around the age-old QWERTY typewriter interface that we all still labor with, the keyboard would, instead of a switch, use what’s described as a “force sensor” to measure the impact of a user’s fingers. It could offer a feature similar to the iOS keyboard, where you could press down hard on a key to bring up alternative characters for that letter, like an umlaut or accent if you’re typing in a different language. As far as the uses for a Force Touch keyboard and how users would it, that’s still not available. Readers are cautioned that the full text of any Granted Patent should be read in its entirety for full details.