Apple patent for second display on iOS devices looks promising for marketing

By Dan Butcher

April 12, 2011

Apple filing a patent to potentially add a second display to the iPhone and iPad opens up interesting possibilities for mobile marketers and developers.

The Patently Apple blog wrote that Apple intends to use the secondary display to introduce a new set of back-lit indicators that could change into various controls. Illuminated controls for games and productivity applications, as well as interactive advertising, could be built into the face-side or specific back-side areas of iOS devices.

“The potential applications of a patent like this are many—all lead to greater user engagement with mobile devices, which is a good thing for marketers, brands and publishers,” said Kunal Gupta, CEO of Polar Mobile, Toronto. “It is too early to know how this higher level of engagement can be leveraged by marketers.

“However, a more engaged user is an opportunity at the end of the day,” he said. “Fragmentation would increase among developers with additional technological innovations such as these, as Apple is trying to increase developer stickiness to their platform—sometimes exclusively.”

Double vision
Developers could use an additional display on an iPhone or iPad to let users interact with the device in new ways.

Rumors of a smaller iPad are gaining strength

The patent could be especially interesting for mobile game developers, as Apple could release a gaming-centric version of the iPhone or iPad featuring virtual buttons along the device’s edges, which could be used to control the game.

In addition, an extra display offers intriguing possibilities for marketers, who could potentially occupy the additional real estate while the user is engaging with the primary display.

“This patent shows that Apple has been thinking about its options for an alternate display,” said Scott Michaels, vice president at Atimi Software, Vancouver, BC, Canada. “There have been rumors of iPhones with a screen on the front and back, and others with a section of the screen where the home button is.

“If it is a secondary display, now we do get to do in-context advertising, for example playing, a game or interacting with video on one screen and relevant embedded advertising on the other,” he said. “Any time you get more screen real estate, you can do that kind of thing.”

Augmented reality is another area that marketers have been experimenting with increasingly, and there could be many enhancements to those types of initiatives leveraging a smartphone or tablet with two display screens and one or two cameras.

However, Mr. Michaels cannot believe that Apple would want a screen on the front and the back of its devices, because it would drive up production costs. In addition, he agrees with Mr. Gupta that a dual-display would make life difficult for developers.

“One thing Apple has going for it is the relatively low level of fragmentation compared to Android and soon Windows Phone 7,” Mr. Michaels said. “However, the double screen would increase fragmentation on the platform and increase development costs for brands and developers.

“The way that it is shown in the patent, the secondary screen is covering all of the area near the home button, which would be much more of a utility patent than ones that could be used by brand advertisers,” he said.

“Marketers could apply branded skins to phones in the additional display, but Apple hasn’t really been big on that type of thing to date.”

Final Take