The iPhone 12 rumor offers many possibilities for Apple's next flagship, and the rumor has a patent to back it up. The company is working on an in-display pressure sensor that would allow the screen to respond to touch normally even when covered by water.

Apple's patent on "force or touch sensing in mobile devices using capacitive or pressure sensors" suggests that the company plans to prevent iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch displays from failing to work when covered by water drops. PatentlyApple found the patent (number 2020/0064952) in the USPTO database.

The patent describes several ways in which the technology works. Most of them employ mechanisms that can determine the exact amount of force applied to the device's display and calibrate in-display sensors to recognize the difference between finger and water.

You may have noticed that when there is a drop of water on the screen, be it a rain drop, sweat, or a spilled drink, the iPhone does not respond to touch as it does when it is dry. That's because the iPhone's current sensors recognize the pressure of water as touch and cannot distinguish it from a finger.

The fine details of Apple's proposal are complex and the diagram is crude, but the phrase "immersed in liquid" is enough to make one believe that the ultimate goal is a display that is fully responsive underwater.

Apple's recent iPhones and Apple Watch were already waterproof, meaning that the devices would not be damaged if submerged. However, the addition of some kind of display sensor that recognizes the user's touch would pave the way for using Apple devices in pools and showers without covering them with plastic bags, as some people are already doing.

Whether this technology will debut on the iPhone 12, iPad 2020, or Apple Watch 6 remains to be seen.