Overview

• The USPTO granted Apple U.S. Patent No. 12,353,649 on July 8, 2025, for an “Input Device With Optical Sensors.”
• The filing describes embedding optical flow or laser-speckle flow sensors in the stylus to detect motion, tilt and rotation in three dimensions without touching a screen.
• One design uses a trackball at the tip monitored by internal optical sensors to measure displacement and orientation while minimizing surface wear.
• The stylus can detect movement up to 100 millimeters above any surface, including non-capacitive materials such as wood or paper, enabling mid-air drawing.
• Apple’s patent envisions combining optical tracking with inertial measurement units, force sensors and machine vision for gestures, handwriting recognition and 3D drawing, though no product launch date has been set.