Apple has new patent that would add a proximity sensor layer into the iPhone display, which opens up a brand new field of interactions for the phone with new hovering gestures.

The new patent is called "Proximity and multi-touch sensor detection and demodulation" and granted to Apple by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, according to BGR. It describes the sensors detecting the position and motion of the user’s finger or fingers hovering above the screen. The device would react differently based on the gestures. The invention would use the iPhone’s built-in proximity sensor as well as additional sensors to detect the hand gesture. 

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The Cupertino-based tech giant has already added another layer of interactions with 3D touch. Before 3D Touch, user could only tap, swipe and pinch on the display. Now, there are two levels of pressure-sensitive gestures as well and hovering gestures would add another set of gestures. It could replace the long press gesture that allows the user trigger the magnifying glass and move your cursor in a text area.

The new iPhone display has infrared LEDs and photodiodes that would be able to detect hand movements, just like the infrared proximity modules in current iPhones recognize the head during a call. The pixels from the display will emit infrared light and monitor reflected signals, and should the infrared light bounce back, then it registers it as a finger located above the display area.

Such applications could be used to trigger various controls on the iPhone, such as dimming the display, powering off the screen, and other functions. In addition to touchscreen displays, Apple also extends the feature to devices like iPads, iPods, Mac touchpads and Mac keyboards. Outside of its own products, Apple proposes using the invention in applications such as ATMs, store registers, gaming machines, airline ticket terminals and more, CNet reported. 

In addition to touchscreen applications, Apple also has several related motion-sensing patents, which it obtained from its 2013 acquisition of Primesense, the Israeli company behind the first Microsoft Kinect, released for the Xbox 360 in 2010.

The new patent shows that Apple is still working on new ways to interact with your devices without physically making contact. However, it is not yet clear if or when Apple plans to use this patent in production devices.