A customer holds an iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus after the phones went on sale
A customer holds an iPhone 6 (R) and iPhone 6 Plus after the phones went on sale at the Fifth Avenue Apple store in Manhattan, New York September 19, 2014. Apple latest phone lured throngs of gadget lovers, entrepreneurs and early adapters to its stores in New York, San Francisco and other cities around the world in the latest sign of strong initial demand for the new, larger generation of iPhones. Reuters/Adrees Latif

Patents offer a good insight on what tech giants are planning. In Apple's case and with reports about its upcoming iPhone 7 surface, new patent documents reveal that the company might be planning on an upgraded TouchID sensor. Will Apple release another killer iPhone?

The patent reveals Apple's new plans on the TouchID button. According to patent application number 13/918221 (via Apple Insider), the company not only plans on incorporating fingerprint recognition but also finger gestures interpretation capabilities. According to Forbes, the patent is entitled 'Electronic Device Switchable to a User-Interface Unlocked Mode Based Upon a Pattern of Input Motions and Related Methods.' It comes with a diagram showing unlocking options via patterns, swipes or twists.

The patent credits Dale R. Setlak - AuthenTec's co-founder. Previously, Apple acquired the company to work on the first TouchID technology. It makes sense to Setlak work on the update soon enough. As with other patent sightings, the technology may or may not find its way to the next iPhone. Some patent applications before were realized while some were not. Still analysts believe these are good bases for what people can expect from Apple's upcoming technologies.

In an example under the application, the user is illustrated while rotating his/her finger. This is connected to a digital combination lock featured on the iPhone screen. Apple discusses on the document that the virtual combination lock is in charge of recognizing pattern of input motions for unlocking. The swipe pattern function, on other hand, requires users to drag their fingers across the home button over the TouchID.

As speculations of another iPhone coming surface, the question now boils down to whether Apple will be going for an iPhone 7 or iPhone 6s. Reports suggest that the iPhone 6s may come with the Apple Watch release while the iPhone 7 will launch in September. According to Value Walk, expected specs include a new camera offering DSLR quality imagery and sapphire display from Foxconn. It may also come with a brand new A9 chip from Samsung. According to Load the Game, Samsung has started the production for the processor already.

Apple has not released any official statements about upcoming handsets.