Apple Inc. has applied for two patents to install environmental sensors in portable devices such as iphones, ipads and "wrist-watch" devices.
The patents were published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, according to Apple Insider.
Apple could have the technology stored in the "iWatch", a device that the company's rumored to be developing.
The patent applications included "Electronic Devices With Environmental Sensors" and "Electronic Devices With Temperature Sensors", which involve certain kinds of sensors for electronic devices, CNET reported.
The first patent focuses on environmental sensors that possess the ability to check the outside temperature, humidity, pressure and other factors. The sensors also can measure sound with a microphone.
The second patent discusses temperature sensors that come in a thermometer mounted onto a button. The sensors can measure anything that touches the button, including the outside temperature from the surrounding air or a person's body temperature from his or her finger.
A rigid support structure protects the environmental sensor from portential damage. According to the filing, the extra sensing packages would usually call for more ports, which may lead to the sensor collecting harmful debris and material. Apple's solution to the issue is to include the microphone or speaker in the sensor array so it can be installed into a current audio port, Apple Insider reported.
The data that the temperature sensor obtains can be used to tell the Apple device when it is too cold or hot to operate. The sensor can also display the user's temperature onscreen.
Reports suggested that the rumored iWatch would have the ability to track a user's fitness and health though Healthbook, an iOS 8 app. An analyst said last month that the iPhone 6 could feature its own barometer that could be used to detect the temperature, CNET reported.
The sensor patents were filed in 2012, Apple Insider reported. The temperature sensor filing was developed by Henry H. Yang and Matthew E. Last, who, along with Romain A. Teil, are also responsible for the development of the environmental sensor filing.
