According to a new patent application, Apple wants to teach your devices to read mid-air gestures.
Apple’s latest patent filing replaces cameras with tiny radio sensors. Two Voltage Standing Wave Ratio (VSWR) sensors sit beside each antenna inside an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
When your finger or Apple Pencil hovers above the display, it disturbs the standing wave pattern. The sensors capture that change, and onboard software converts it into three numbers: angle, distance, and direction.
You gain three new abilities:
- Pinpoint targeting. The device plots the exact angle of your finger or stylus and knows where you’re pointing, even before you touch the glass.
- Smarter signals. It re-aims or lowers transmission power so your hand never blocks Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
- True in-air control. A swipe, circle, or pinch made in front of the screen becomes a gesture every app can use.
The diagrams back this up:
Figure 1 lays out the control, storage, and processing blocks that connect to two VSWR sensors.
Figure 6 shows how the system tracks a stylus through 3-D space above the screen.
Figures 8–10 reveal a ring of antennas triangulating a finger from multiple angles.
Why does Apple bother with radio waves when cameras already read gestures?
Cameras need light, clear sight lines, and constant power to stream video. VSWR sensors work in darkness, inside a pocket, or outdoors in bright sun. They fire off a pulse that lasts microseconds, so they sip power instead of gulping it. They also sidestep privacy worries because they never capture an image of you; they only measure a returning wave.
Imagine flipping pages in an e-book by swiping in mid-air or adjusting brush size in a drawing app by lifting the Apple Pencil a few millimeters. Because the device also knows where your hand blocks radio signals, it can steer its own antennas away from your fingers and keep Wi-Fi or Bluetooth links steady during a call or AirDrop transfer.
A patent never guarantees a shipping product, but the filing shows Apple wants to make hands-free input simple, reliable, and invisible. If the company brings these sensors to market, you will control your next Apple device without always touching the screen, and that small change could feel like a big leap in everyday use.
Two longtime Apple radio engineers, Bernhard Sogl and Jochen Schrattenecker, signed the application, which the United States Patent and Trademark Office published on May 16, 2025.