Nothing is confirmed at this point, but it would seem that the next model in the Apple iPhone family once again will have new features connected to the phone's home button.
This button, which has been the sole button on the phone's front side ever since the very first iPhone from 2007, already houses the handy touch ID finger print sensor, and according to a recently-granted patent, the next model might have a home button with functionality similar to that of a game pad's joystick.
The patent was filed in 2013 by Apple design executives Colin Ely and Fletcher Rothkopf, but it wasn't approved by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office until last week. If included on the new phone it is said that you will activate joystick mode simply by pushing down on the button (a slightly harder push than the one you use to navigate to the home screen, one would imagine). From there a spring mechanic will lift to button to a higher position, making it possible to use it as a joystick.
For games it goes without saying that such a feature could mean enhanced controls, but currently the only concrete evidence of this actually being developed is the patent from 2013. We will keep our eyes, noses and ears open to further details should they emerge. In the mean time, check out these pictures from the patent, as presented by Forbes.com
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