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Apple document reveals multiple upgrades planned for FaceTime

According to a Forbes report, Apple has revealed a raft of new technologies designed to take FaceTime calls to the next level, incorporating new concepts such as multi-camera setups, in-air hand gestures and vibrating input devices.

The article says the list of new technologies is detailed in a huge new patent application, spanning 256 pages, that presents multiple upgrades to Apple’s video-calling system such as:

° Multiple camera setups that can capture documents and objects on the users’ desks at the same time as, or instead of their faces.

° Gesture recognition, allowing the users to perform tasks such as zooming and panning or switching between cameras by making familiar hand gestures such as ‘pinch-to-zoom’ in front of the camera.

° Smart software to automatically keep the right objects centered on screen to cut down on the need for user interactions by performing functions automatically as needed.

° Physical input devices and touchscreen displays featuring pressure-sensitive input and enhanced haptic feedback that uses subtle vibrations to “trick” users into feeling physical button presses and changes in surface roughness as they navigate on-screen controls.

Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.