Apple Patent Could Ease Copying And Pasting Text

Apple’s new patent dubbed, "fine-tuning an operation based on tapping" offers a solution to a problem many Apple product consumers face. The new patent is expected to help give users a smoother experience when attempting to manipulate the screen on a smaller level.

Apple’s patent No. 9,086,738 is a solution to an issue which all smartphone users experience. According to Apple, touch screens excel in tasks that require a big portion of the screen to be used like, swipes and taps. However, when it comes to smaller tasks like selecting a character, a word or a sentence, the touchscreen won’t be as effective because of the large contact area of a user’s finger.

Apple and other mobile device makers have offered the ability to cut or copy and paste text. The process is a little frustrating for some. To do it, users can use their finger to zoom in on the text they wish to select, then expand or shrink the highlighted text and then finally delete or move that text. The problem with this is that fingers are often too large to perform a task that is on a small screen.

Here’s how the patent works: A person who would like to select a specific section of text, should first assure that the cursor is placed in the right spot. From there, the user need only to tap the side or other non-touchscreen area of the device. Each time the side is tapped, the cursor will move one character, expanding the selection of the text more precisely. Tapping the right side of the device would move the cursor to the left, while tapping the left would move the cursor to the right.

The device would also react differently based on the pressure upon tapping the side. Tapping lightly would move the cursor one character. Tapping strongly would make the cursor select an entire word. The concept could also extend to icons and other graphical elements that users may want to move more slowly and precisely.

To contact the writer, please email jonasunico@gmail.com.