Apple has been granted a patent that could let users push virtual buttons in thin air.
Contactless control of devices would work by using infrared LEDS, photodiodes and other proximity-sensing components that work with existing multi-touch displays.
It would be able to detect gestures such as a finger hovering over the screen, meaning users could one day "push" virtual buttons in thin air and trigger functions without touching the screen.
The development follows Apple's introduction of 3D Touch - a feature that allows touchscreen devices to detect how hard a user is pressing and respond accordingly.
It means that people can press hard on an app's logo and bring up a separate menu rather than opening up the full app.
Similar functionality could be introduced with a proximity-sensing system.
By installing multiple arrays of sensors on a per-pixel basis, the system could in theory detect a finger, palm or other object hovering above the surface.
The detected motion would have to be translated into a graphical user interface (GUI).
The patent was filed in March 2015 and approved this week.
Apple, like many tech companies, holds many patents and not all of the technology ends up in finished products.
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