Credible Rumor Suggests Apple Could Be Bringing True Tone Display Technology to iPhone 7

One of the hallmark features of Apple’s latest and greatest 9.7-inch iPad Pro is undoubtedly the device’s gorgeous True Tone display. A pure innovation from the brilliant minds up at 1 Infinite Loop, Apple’s proprietary True Tone technology boasts a slew of advanced color and lighting features over the company’s standard LED-backlit Retina displays — including fast processing of the display’s white and brightness balance, as well as a remarkable ability to adjust based on the brightness levels of the user’s inherent environment.

And while that amazing display, in and of itself, probably isn’t enough to gauge a lot of interest in Apple’s 9.7-inch iPad Pro — at least not above and beyond its current demand, there is a bit of good news pertaining to the future of Apple’s other products coming to us this morning.

So it seems, according to paperwork filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Apple is investigating the possibility of bringing True Tone display technology to an even broader range of the company’s products. AppleInsider was actually first to report that the paperwork, which was discovered today, essentially details the same technology that’s inherently known as True Tone.

Apple notes within the filing that its ultimate goal with True Tone technology is to have “colors appear as they would on a printed sheet of paper” — which, interestingly enough, sounds an awful lot like the Silicon Valley tech-giant’s own marketing mantra for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. Apple touts, for instance, that the 9.7-incher’s True Tone display makes it seem like one is “almost looking at an actual sheet of paper.”

Most of Apple’s many, many patents are featured within the majority of the company’s devices. For example, when Apple patented the Lightning cable back in October, 2013, the company had for long planned to bring that proprietary technology to a broader range of devices and peripherals — (Apple Pencil, anyone?)

So, for argument sake, Apple’s True Tone display patent could similarly cover a wider range of the company’s existing and future products — such as future Apple Watches, iPhones, and even larger devices like the iMac.

In another interesting plot twist, which could very well end up being a telltale sign of what’s to come, Apple also recently filed patents for a new two-part proximity and ambient light sensors that are widely expected to debut on the iPhone 7.

Now unlike the iPad Air, or even the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, Apple’s True Tone-equipped 9.7-incher boasts a total of 4 distinct sensors — primarily intended to expedite the processing of bright lights so that the colors appear more accurate and fine-tuned.

Therefore, could it be that the apparent increase in sensors we’re hearing about for the ‘iPhone 7’ — which sound proportionate, given the iPhone’s considerably smaller size — be just so to the point of accommodating its own True Tone display?

We’ve heard no official word of True Tone coming to the iPhone yet, so take this theory with a grain of salt until further notice. But we’d say it’s more promising than not — especially in light of these new sensor shenanigans, and also since Apple has seriously got to step up its game this year to stay competitive.

What do you think about Apple’s True Tone patent? Do you think we’ll be seeing this technology on the iPhone this year? Let us know in the comments!

[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]