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Dear Aunt TUAW: Why would an iPad have a proximity sensor?

by Erica Sadun Jan 19th 2011 at 4:00PM

Dear Aunt TUAW,

I've been hearing rumors that the next generation iPad might include a proximity sensor. Now call me dim, but I just don't get it. Proximity sensor? What the fudge? Are we supposed to be holding our iPads to our ears while we chat over Skype VoIP? Has Apple never heard of the (please imagine airquotes here) Bluetooth headset?

I'm serious. Is this the stupidest rumor or what?

Love, hugs, whatever,

Your nephew Davie C.

Dear, sweet, darling Davie,

I don't suppose you're imagining something like ... this picture to the right, are you? Because I'm pretty sure that Apple has no intention of converting the iPad into the world's most awkward consumer communication device.

Has Auntie never explained to you about refrigerator lights? When you shut the door, the light inside the fridge turns off. Manufacturers use this kind of switch to disable the light, reduce internal heat and save you a little on your electricity bill.

The (still highly theoretical) iPad proximity sensor does more or less the same thing. It's not about Skype calls or iPad armband holders, it's about shutting off the unit's screen when it's clear that the device is no longer in use.

Instead of thinking "phone calls" and "mis-dialing-by-cheek," think cases and backpacks. If you use a case with your iPad, when you close the front cover, it would be great if the iPad were smart enough to switch off the screen. Or what about when Auntie puts away her iPad in her gold lamé purse, along with her various "sciatica medications" (See? Auntie can do air quotes, too!) after being pulled over for her weekly iPadding-while-driving traffic violation? Surely, the iPad should provide less glowing insights into Auntie's Preparation-H stash than that sweet Police officer needs to know about.

Yes, Apple will need to be clever about adding a proximity sensor. After all, which edge do you put it on? The iPad can be used in any orientation, and it just wouldn't do to start blanking the screen every time Uncle Steve turns the page in iBooks whenever he's visiting his special small reading room.

That said, surely Apple wouldn't add a proximity sensor if it hadn't really thought through the basic use case scenarios. Auntie, for one, is curious as to how this one will come off -- if true.

Kissies,

Auntie T.

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Dear Aunt TUAW, I've been hearing rumors that the next generation iPad might include a proximity sensor. Now call me dim, but I just don't...
 

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14 Comments

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mandarin jade

http://www.macrumors.com/2009/12/17/apple-working-on-3d-hyper-reality-displays/

Manipulation without touching? 3D?

January 20 2011 at 8:25 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
chris

Apple has used reed switches for years in their laptop lids to sense when he lid is closed. the possible problem with this is that all cases would have to have the magnet in the correct location to work, and therefore existing cases would not work.

Maybe the IR sensor would have dual function. case closed or iPad slid into a bag would be one, but the IR could also be used to autofocus a front facing camera.

January 20 2011 at 4:11 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
L3

Lamé purse reference.

January 20 2011 at 12:19 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
macserv

Proximity sensors are not ambient light sensors. They generate their own signal, and sense when it's bouncing back from a very close distance. They work in any lighting condition, so your iPad 2 won't think its cover is on just because it's dark.

January 20 2011 at 12:07 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
fl4cko

What's so confusing? The addition of a proximity sensor isn't hard to understand. When your iPad case closes, it immediately turns off the screen to save battery life. Ta-Da! But what if I want to read in the dark? If that was a real issue, wouldn't iPhone users have covered this already? I use my phone in the dark all the time at the dimmest screen brightness with no problems. I'd imagine using the camera for this purpose would utilize an unnecessary amount of battery -- so you can nix that idea.

January 19 2011 at 7:48 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to fl4cko's comment
andybaird

"What if we wanna read in the dark?"

Good point; using passive sensors such as the ambient light sensor or the camera wouldn't work in that case--the device would go to sleep as soon as the lights went out.

To overcome that, you need an iPhone-style proximity sensor, and that's an active device: it emits IR radiation and looks for bounce-back from your ear. That solves the "use it in the dark" problem, but it requires power to generate that IR beam. As much as the camera? Only Apple knows. But it's not a power-free solution.

There's a way to do this that *is* a power-free solution, though: a magnetic reed switch. They're quite small, draw zero power, and are still widely employed in door and window sensors for security systems. Probably too low-tech for Apple, though. ;-)

January 19 2011 at 8:18 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
andybaird

All this talk about a proximity sensor makes no sense. Why would one be needed, when existing hardware can do the job nicely?

For example, my second-generation iPod Touch has an ambient-light sensor, like all iOS devices. I carry my iPod in a case with a cover flap. If Apple so chose, they could cause my iPod to come to life when the cover is opened and light hits the sensor, and go to sleep when the cover is closed and no light hits the sensor. A trivial addition to the OS would accomplish this.

The same goes for the iPad, when used in cases, such as Apple's, that have cover flaps. Use the ambient-light sensor to detect when the cover is open, and turn on the device. Simple. Or the built-in camera in present iPhones and future iPads could be used for the same purpose. After all, it's a light sensor.

In short, this feature could be rolled out in an OS upgrade to *all* iOS devices, with no new hardware required.

January 19 2011 at 5:49 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to andybaird's comment
Jrbonnette

That is a good idea, until you decide to do anything with your iPad in the dark. I love being able to lay in bed a read a book in the dark, turn it off and go to sleep without having to turn out lights or keep my wife up.

January 19 2011 at 6:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Binja

Good idea.... but...

What if we wanna read in the dark? I dig your outside the box thinking though.

January 19 2011 at 6:37 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Edsel

Proximity + Camera = If the iPad doesn't recognize you it'll *S*C*R*E*A*M!

January 19 2011 at 5:11 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
mgabrys

It's to support the front-facing camera?

January 19 2011 at 4:45 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Rdnymllnsktr

The proximity sensor is different from the light sensor...

January 19 2011 at 4:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Rdnymllnsktr's comment
turbolag

Which is different than the GPS sensor.

January 19 2011 at 4:41 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Adam

The only way I can see this being practical is if they have a proximity sensor on all four corners. Only if all four of them are covered does the screen turn off. That way you couldn't easily activate it just by holding it with two hands.

January 19 2011 at 4:11 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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