The Face ID biometric security system is already extremely accurate but Apple wants to make it even more safe. The company has come up with a method for telling the difference between two people who are almost identical because they’re closely related.
The system would also prevent unlocking iPhone and iPad devices with 3D masks.
Apple claims that Qualcomm’s motivation for taking Apple to court is because it was upset that Apple had switched to using Intel chips in iPhones. Prior to 2016, Qualcomm had enjoyed five years of being Apple’s exclusive chip maker.
The suggestion was made by Apple’s counsel in closing remarks Wednesday during the patent infringement trial in San Diego.
Apple wants to use encryptions to make “stingray” phone spying tools obsolete. The move is likely to be controversial because while these are used by criminals they are also employed by police.
Engineers are apparently working on an innovative design for the head-mounted display Apple is secretly developing: the company requested a patent for a motorized adjustment system.
Apple doesn’t openly talk about this project but this request, and another the company made recently, leave no room for doubt that the company is researching what will almost certainly be an augmented reality headset.
Not a watch wearer? You may be missing out on the health benefits of the Apple Watch.
But Apple may bring a biosensor to future MacBooks that take health readings similar to its top-selling smartwatch.
With foldable smartphones becoming the hot new trend for 2019, iPhone fans are wondering when we’ll see something from Apple. It’s likely to be a while before a foldable iPhone hits the market, but there’s no question Apple is looking into it.
The company’s latest patent application details how it might prevent a foldable smartphone from breaking in cold weather.
Apple is on the receiving end of a new lawsuit, claiming that it is infringing more than seven patents relating to LTE cellular standards. The lawsuit potentially affects devices including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and others.
The lawsuit was filed by multiple firms under the umbrella group Optis Wireless Technology. They are asking for damages “in the form of reasonable royalties.”
Swatch has filed a complaint against Samsung for allegedly infringing upon trademarks on watch face designs.
The Swiss watchmaker claims Samsung’s downloadable smartwatch faces “bear identical or virtually identical marks” to those Swatch uses for brands like Longines, Omega, and Tissot.
Apple developed a design for a MacBook keyboard that’s slim, lightweight, silent and can’t possibly have problems with grit in the keys. That’s because it consists of a sheet of glass with raised keys.
Obviously there are drawbacks, but this proposal shows the company’s efforts to innovate.
Project Titan may take the steering wheel out of the driver’s hands, but controlling the car could be as easy as gesturing at the seatbelt.
Apple has filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that details a smart seatbelt with a surface that would sense hand gestures for adjusting the entertainment system and operating various features in self-driving vehicles.
Instead of you having to tell your HomeKit devices that they should work together, Apple wants its home-automation system to know when items are close to each other. The goal is to greatly simplify both setup and daily usage of HomeKit gear.
An Apple patent filing is basically a white paper on the advantages of using dual biometric security systems. This makes it clear the company nearly made a device that offered facial recognition and a fingerprint scanner.
In the end, though, Apple decided to replace Touch ID with Face ID.
Left and right ear versions of AirPods could soon be a relic of the past, based on one of Apple’s most recent patents that envisions a one-size-fits-all version of earbuds.
Apple’s completely redesigned AirPods aren’t expected to arrive until 2020, but if they use some of the tech proposed in the recently disclosed filing, they could be the smartest earbuds we’ve ever seen.
Apple is rightly proud of its Animoji and Memoji technology, which uses the front-facing camera on new iPhones to create cartoonish avatars of users — complete with facial expression matching.
But the tech could be about to get even more fun, as described in a recent patent application. Here’s how.
Apple removed the headphone jack. Soon, it may take away something else – the L and R on the headphones.
Microphones in the ear cups would detect which ear is which and send each ear the proper signals, according to an application for headphone technology filed by Apple with the United States Patient and Trademark Office.
This would make the headphones reversible.
Nintendo could be developing a whole new way to enjoy its mobile games on the go.
The Japanese company has patented a case that could turn your iPhone into a classic Game Boy. It features physical controls but would not require a battery or Bluetooth connection.
Apple introduced its super useful AirDrop file transfer feature way back in 2011. However, a patent licensing company called Uniloc — sometimes referred to as a “patent troll” by critics — claims that Apple is infringing on its intellectual property.
Uniloc says that Apple’s AirDrop tech infringes on a patent first filed in 2000, a decade before Apple debuted AirDrop. And it wants some sweet Apple cash for its troubles!
Qualcomm has seemingly made a big tactical error in the pre-trial run-up to its infringement court case with Apple — and now it’s trying to get out of it.
According to a report of the events, Qualcomm failed to dispute Apple’s legal argument that certain patents in the case were either invalid or that it did not infringe on them as suggested. Now that we’re closer to the trial, Qualcomm’s lawyers have seemingly realized that this wasn’t the best idea. And the judge isn’t too impressed.
Apple is developing an always-on display mode for Apple Watch, a new patent application reveals.
The feature would give users the ability to see the time — and possibly other information — without having to raise their wrist every time. But Apple wants to make sure OLED burn-in doesn’t become a problem.
Apple is rightly proud of its Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park campus, and now it’s got the design patent to stop others copying it.
The attractive circular glass building gives way to a 1,000 underground auditorium — complete with hidden walls, high tech projection system, and leather chairs which set Apple back a reported $14,000 apiece.
There’s no doubt Apple will eventually make a 5G iPhone. The high-speed standard was finalized a few months ago, and wireless service providers are building 5G networks.
The next step is for the companies that developed the technology to decide what they’ll charge Apple and other phone makers to license their patents. The total might be more than you expect.
Apple is considering bending an iPhone display around the sides of the device, making additional room for buttons and status notifications.
This isn’t a new concept, as rival devices have does something similar for years. But Apple filed a patent for these side-screens just 9 months ago, so it’s clearly still interested in the idea.
Apple engineers are preparing for the day Siri can reliably recognize voices. They’re working on how this digital assistant will respond to requests from multiple users.
This issue became important with the release of Apple’s HomePod earlier this year, as smartspeaker are used in shared spaces.
Apple has been ordered to pay out $145.1 million in damages for infringing on patents held by the Canadian patent licensing company WiLan.
A federal jury in San Diego, California ruled that the iPhone infringed on two WiLan patents. These “8,457,145” and “8,537,757” patents relate to wireless communications tech — specifically bandwidth request protocols in a wireless communication system and adaptive call admission control.
What if your every Apple device could wirelessly charge almost every other one? Engineers came up with plans to put wireless chargers in MacBooks, iPads, and iPhones so they could charge each other, or an Apple Watch.
Building inductive chargers into macOS laptops is such an obvious idea it’s a bit surprising the 2018 MacBook Pro doesn’t include them. But Apple took this idea to its logical extreme.