Apple, Inc. is looking to bury Samsung's Galaxy Note series with its patent application to the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) for user interfaces with a stylus. The Galaxy Note series is still reeling from the debacle of the exploding Galaxy Note 7.

The USPTO published on December 15 the patent application 20160364091 that's titled "Devices and Methods for Manipulating User Interfaces with a Stylus." The new patent application shows that Apple is studying different ways a stylus could interact with iPhone users.

Apple's patent application is saying that the iPhone will be able to recognise the stylus pen, even before it touches the screen. This feature will also allow the smartphone device to display certain applications on the screen whenever certain gestures are detected.

The iPhone maker also has a vision of having the stylus pen usable even if the device is in locked screen mode. Apple wants their stylus to be able to trigger certain app when the iPhone detects it, even the screen is locked.

According to BGR, the patent application doesn't mean that the iPhone 8 will be featuring one when it launches in 2017. The application also didn't mention if the stylus would be restricted to the Plus version only.

What this shows, though, is that Apple is interested in expanding the features of its stylus pen, which is called "Apple Pencil" and is available for the iPad Pro. If this is true this could be bad news for Samsung's Galaxy Note series, which is still feeling the effects of the exploding Galaxy Note 7.

Apple hasn't really taken advantage of its Plus series, a supposed rival to Samsung's own phablet lineup. But the lack of features that differentiates it from the regular iPhone, makes the iPhone Plus an iPhone with a bigger screen.

But with Apple experimenting with different ways to introduce a new stylus, possibly to it's Plus lineup, Samsung's Note series will now have a rival. And with the disaster of the Note 7, Apple is looking to hammer the nail in the coffin.