Apple Inc.
Electronic devices with two-stage displays

Abstract:

An electronic device display may have an inner layer with a pixel array for displaying images and an outer layer with an array of light modulator cells operable in transparent and light-blocking modes. Force sensor and touch sensor circuitry may be used to gather user input such as information on finger pressure or stylus input applied to a location on the display. A block of the cells may be placed into a transparent mode to form a transparent window based on information from the sensor circuitry. Images on the pixel array may be viewed through the window. In another mode of operation, images can be displayed by adjusting the cells of the light modulator layer and backlight illumination may be provided by the pixel array. A camera and a flash or other optical components may be overlapped by an adjustable shutter.