Apple has been working on an iPhone functioning under water for years now.  Patently Apple has covered one for iPhone GUIs with Special Wet Modes and another covering an 'Underwater mode' to allow users to take photos and videos while snorkeling+. Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that relates to a future iPhone having an optical touch sensor that is insensitive to the presence of moisture that includes operating an iPhone immersed in water, when swimming in fresh or salt water and when an iPhone is wet due to rain, perspiration and so forth.   

Apple's invention covers an electronic device, such as an iPhone, that may include an optical touch sensor that is insensitive to the presence of moisture. 

The optical touch sensor may be a two-dimensional optical touch sensor such as a total internal reflection touch sensor. The optical touch sensor may be used to gather touch input while the electronic device is immersed in water or otherwise exposed to moisture.

An array of pixels in the display may be used to display images. A display cover layer may overlap the array of pixels. A light source may illuminate an external object such as a finger of a user when the object contacts a surface of the display cover layer. This creates scattered light that may be detected by an array of light sensors.

A metasurface grating may be used to couple light from the light source into the display cover layer at an angle such that total internal reflection within the display cover layer is sustained across the display cover layer even when the display cover layer is immersed in water or otherwise exposed to moisture. Additional metasurface gratings may be formed on the display cover layer to redirect light propagating within the display cover layer away from edges that might otherwise defeat total internal reflection.

Apple illustrates in patent FIG. 1 below that the focus device of this patent in an iPhone display; FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional side view of an illustrative optical touch sensor arrangement based on total internal reflection.

Apple's patent FIG. 17 above is a top view of illustrative nanostructures that may be used in a metasurface grating to couple light into a display cover layer at a desired angle; FIG. 18 is a top view of illustrative nanostructures that may be used in a metasurface grating to redirect light propagating within a display cover layer.

Apple's patent is deadly focused on moisture-insensitive optical touch sensors with little insight as to specific marketing angles that Apple may introduce. However, for that, we provided you with links to two patents that do provide some insight as to how it could be used in the future.

For more details, review Apple's patent application number US 20230057534 A1.

Apple Inventors

• Yakov Soskind: Noted as working with Apple in an Oct. 2020 Optical Society announcement here. Mr. Yakov G. Soskind is actively involved in Photonics Instrumentation Development. For over 30 years, Dr. Soskind has made extensive contributions in the areas of optical engineering, laser systems development, fiber-optics and photonics instrumentation, diffractive and micro-optics, imaging, and illumination devices. Dr. Soskind is a founding chair of the Photonic Instrumentation Engineering conference. There isn't a LinkedIn Profile available. 
• Moe (Mohammad) Yeke Yazdandoost: Tech Lead – Sensing Systems Architect
• Giovanni Gozzini: Director of Engineering
• Patrick Wright: Hardware Engineer