Apple has patented a new version of the Apple Pencil that includes optical sensors placed at the tip and that allow you to take samples of colors or textures of real surfaces to move them to the screen.
Thanks to this technology of this prototype, the measurements would be transferred wirelessly to the devices that usually use the firm’s stylus, that is, the iPad. Thus, this new ‘gadget’ could be used in programs focused on drawing or design.
As stated by PatentlyApple, this electronic pencil prototype has different photodetectors. Each one of them measures the light for each color channel and, in turn, these color sensors can have light emitters.
The sender light has an emission range that can be adjusted during color measurements. In this way, the pencil is able to calculate the colors with information obtained from sensors, as well as contextual data, such as ambient light.
Once information such as color sensor measurements, texture, or the way in which light strikes the surface of an object, the pen transmits it to the device wirelessly.
The patent application has been published in United States Patent and Trademark Office with the number US 20220423636 A1 although, at the moment, there is no evidence that Apple will produce this new generation of Apple Pencil.