Apple iPhones could soon detect the touch of their owners thanks to incredible new unlocking feature

IMAGINE if your phone only responded to your touch?

That could be a possibility now that Apple have been granted a patent for an incredible fingerprint sensor technology embedded into smartphone screens.

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The patent, published yesterday in the US Patent and Trademark office, details an "interactive display with IR diodes".

It could spell an end to the home button fingerprint sensor Apple fans are familiar with.

There's no word on whether the upcoming iPhone 8 - or iPhone X - will ship with the new feature.

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But removing the home button could leave lots more room for exciting design features.

Rival Samsung has already waved goodbye to the home button and is expected to launch its Galaxy S8 with an infinity screen.

Apple's fingerprint tech works by using a process that emits LED light and then senses it's absence around the grooves of a person's finger.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook dropped a hint that Apple may be looking at augmented as iPhone 8 rumours swirled this week.

Discussing the technology, he said: “I regard it as a big idea like the smartphone.

"The smartphone is for everyone, we don’t have to think the iPhone is about a certain demographic, or country or vertical market: it’s for everyone.

"I think AR is that big, it’s huge."

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