We’re yet to see the true potential of the iPad Pro’s Smart Connector. Apple has already given us a Smart Keyboard, but it has much more ambitious plans for next-generation covers that add sketchpads for drawing, secondary displays, solar panels, and more.
Not all of Apple’s patents are focused on turning the iPhone into something as worthy as a next-gen medical data gathering device. A newly-published document reveals that Apple has considered an invention that would allow iPhone customers to use their handsets for a quick game of laser tag.
All iPhones sold in India must feature a “panic button” from 2017, according to a new order signed into law by the country’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad.
The law states that every phone must include a panic button and in-built global positioning system, designed to protect women.
In advance of the next-gen iPhone, which will reportedly ditch its 3.5mm headphone jack in favor of wireless or Lightning EarPods, Apple had filed a patent application for hybrid headphones capable of switching between wired and wireless options without dropping audio in the process.
3D Touch is all well and good, but future Apple devices may incorporate advanced haptic technology which lets software simulate textures ranging from the grain of wood surface to the cold feeling of metal.
That’s according to a new patent published today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, describing a “Touch Surface for Simulating Materials” through the touch-sensitive display or trackpad of an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
From introducing the mouse to a mass market to getting rid of its buttons by order of Steve Jobs, Apple has always been at the forefront when it comes to driving mouse technology forward.
A new Apple patent published today promises to keep that tradition by describing a future Magic Mouse with integrated Force Touch sensors.
Coming soon, we hope, to a Mac near you!
Apple has been found guilty of infringing on video streaming patents owned by Swiss company Kudelski’s OpenTV. The case was ruled on by a German court, which stated that any Apple products sold in Germany must not infringe on OpenTV’s patents.
The problem? The Apple products which allegedly infringe on said patents include the iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, App Store, and Mac.
On its journey to product perfection, Apple is well-known for its endless prototyping of the next iPhone, iMac or Apple Watch.
Now the company may add ultra-tough metal alloy Liquidmetal to the list of materials it can use to create these rapid prototypes, thanks to a cutting-edge 3D printer designed for the job.
Future iPhone software and cameras could support sign language recognition, alongside a range of other in-air interface gestures, according to a patent application published today.
Titled “Three-Dimensional Hand Tracking Using Depth Sequences,” Apple’s patent application describes how devices would be able to locate and follow the location of hands through three-dimensional space in video streams, similar to the face-tracking technology Apple already employs for its Photo Booth app.
The Apple Watch could soon turn into an automatically adjusting volume control for your iPhone.
In a new patent filed by Apple with the USPTO, the iPhone-maker has found a way to ensure all your iPhone notifications get played at just the right volume level by using ambient audio samples from Apple Watch.
In a petition to the Supreme Court, Apple says the high court shouldn’t waste its time with Samsung’s high-profile appeal in the two companies’ long legal battle over patents.
Samsung filed an appeal in December asking for the Supreme Court to take a look at how the damages were calculated, but Apple argues that even though it was awarded $548 million, the case is “legally unexceptional.”
Apple has been ordered to pay patent troll VirnetX a whopping $625 million after losing a legal battle over the technology used for FaceTime and iMessage. The Cupertino company says it is “surprised and disappointed by the verdict,” and calls for patent reform.
Samsung has mocked the iPhone for its lack of wireless charging before, but Apple is reportedly looking to change the game with “cutting-edge” technology that would move its devices beyond the charging mats used by current smartphones and into true wireless charging.
And the tech could arrive as soon as 2017, with the launch of the iPhone 7s.
Apple could get back in the stereo game with a speaker system capable of finding the “sweet spot” in a particular room and modifying its sound accordingly.
Apple has invented a camera lens that would yield higher-resolution images and would be even tinier than the cameras used in today’s super-slim iPhones.
How tiny would it be? Imagine a total axial length of just 2 mm or even less, making this potentially perfect for the long-awaited FaceTime camera of the next-gen Apple Watch 2.
Apple could owe up to $532 million for infringing on secure communication patents, used for both its FaceTime and its iMessage services — or at least it will if patent-holding entity VirnetX Holding Corporation has its way.
A lawyer for the firm told a court in (where else?) the Eastern District of Texas that, “Apple hasn’t played fair. They have taken Virnetx’s intellectual property without permission.”
Apple has come out with some gorgeous bands for the Apple Watch, but if a patent application published today is to be believed, future Apple Watch straps may get a whole lot more useful.
Specifically, the patent application describes a magnetic band capable of folding, origami-style, into a standalone mini display, protective case, fridge-mounted magnet, or even an extra screen for your iMac.
Talk about robots in disguise!
Although Samsung has vowed to take its patent fight with Apple all the way to the Supreme Court after welching on a deal to pay Cupertino $548 million in damages, Apple isn’t letting up its assult on the Galaxy-maker. As a Christmas present, Apple just asked for an additional $180 million in damages.
Apple today published an intriguing patent application with a unique method for waterproofing future devices — by covering ports, like those for USB or headphones, with self-healing seals.
Described as an, “electronic device with hidden connector,” the invention describes how self-healing elastomeric material could seal each of the ports, which would then be opened by puncturing them with external connectors, such as power or audio feeds, in the event that they needed to be used.
Following quite literally years of appeals and retrials, Samsung is finally paying Apple the $548,176,477 it owes for infringing on patents owned by the Cupertino company.
Four months before the fifth anniversary of the original complaint, Apple will receive the money from Samsung by December 14 — with Apple and Samsung filing a joint case management statement with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, stating that Samsung, “has made arrangements to complete payment to Apple.”
Apple hasn’t released a new printer since the heady days of the LaserWriter 8500 in 1997, but a new patent application suggests the company is working on a new printer — and it’s no ordinary one, either.
Published today under the name “Method and apparatus for three dimensional printing of colored objects,” the patent application describes a 3-D printer capable of not only printing amazing three-dimensional structures, but doing so in multiple colors.
What with it being winter and all, it would be great if Apple embraced the concept of letting people use iPhones while wearing regular gloves — something already offered by manufacturers such as Samsung.
Well, according to a patent application published today, we may not be waiting too much longer because Apple has invented something called “Glove Touch Detection.” The patent would allow Apple touchscreen to work in situations where it is separated from a finger by a barrier, such as a glove.
Apple’s always on the lookout for ways to improve the resiliency of its devices. For this reason, the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office today published a new patent application from the company — calling for retractable drop-proof bumpers to be built into future iPhone housing, capable of doubling as a flotation device in case your handset accidentally lands in water.
As Apple rolls out Siri beyond the iPhone and into shared devices like the iPad and, most recently, Apple TV, Cupertino’s engineers have been working on a way of letting its voice activation technology pick up individual users, and offer them customized options based on their past preferences.
Published today as the patent “User profiling for voice input processing,” the technology would allow Apple to make better use of Siri (and voice recognition in general) as it moves into new fields like home automation and vehicles.
Apple has been taking steps to make the iPhone more water resistant than it has been previously. However, a newly-published patent application suggests the company may go even further — by using cutting-edge electrode technology to actively expel water that has become trapped in the device, rather than just fighting to keep it out.
Here’s how it could conceivably work.