Apple has filed a patent for a system that would recognize when an iPhone is smudged, according to Business Insider.
Currently, iPhones are unable to differentiate between smudges that block light to the phone’s sensors and other reasons why the light might be blocked, such as when the user is talking on the phone and it is held to the user’s ear. Smudges to the phone can dim the screen accidentally, mimicking the dimming that occurs during a phone call.
The new system would be able to identify different types of smudges and make sure that they don’t interfere with the normal lighting of a phone.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Why Trump’s Message Worked on Latino Men
- What Trump’s Win Could Mean for Housing
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2024
- Sleep Doctors Share the 1 Tip That’s Changed Their Lives
- Column: Let’s Bring Back Romance
- What It’s Like to Have Long COVID As a Kid
- FX’s Say Nothing Is the Must-Watch Political Thriller of 2024
- Merle Bombardieri Is Helping People Make the Baby Decision
Contact us at letters@time.com