Apple’s had patents float through the USPTO, hinting that they were working on a new technology that could let you just swipe a future iPhone’s display over a document to scan it and translate it into OCR text. Now a new patent has emerged, and it fits another piece into the puzzle.
The latest patent comes from the European Trademark Office, and seems to describe a new iOS app that would be used in conjunction with an iPhone to provide OCR capabilities, making it possible that future iPhones could double as scanners.
Still, like all patents, all this means is Apple’s had an idea, not that they intend on capitalizing upon it. As our pal Jack Purcher over at Patently Apple aptly explains, “at at the end of the day it’s a blind trademark filing which keeps the door open to other possibilities.” File this one into your memory banks for later.