patents

Apple ‘pausing’ Apple Watch sales in US over patent dispute

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Apple Watch Shock
Grab a recent-model Apple Watch while you can still get one.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple will temporarily halt sales of Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 starting December 21. This is the result of a decision made by the International Trade Commission that the wearables infringe on patents held by two medical device-makers.

Apple argues that the companies are “patent trolls,” but it’s not that simple. And the question now is whether Apple will pay to license the patents, or if it will continue to fight in court.

Apple might make a HomePod you activate just by looking at it

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Could the clue refer to a new version of the discontinued HomePod?
Apple is considering a glance-activated HomePod.
Photo: Apple

What if, instead of saying “Hey Siri” to activate your HomePod, you only had to glance at it? Apple is considering this possibility, and recently filed for a patent on it.

Whether this will become part of a future Apple smart speaker depends on whether it’s actually better than the current activation system.

Today in Apple history: Early iPad rumor gets Apple fans buzzing

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iPad Pro 2
According to a 2005 rumor, Apple planned to launch a 15-inch tablet.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

April 13: Today in Apple history: Early iPad rumor gets Apple fans buzzing April 13, 2005: The tech world gets excited when a sketchy rumor suggests Apple is building a tablet computer.

The Chinese-language report claims Quanta will build a 15-inch touchscreen tablet PC with detachable keyboard. Apple will supposedly ship the device in the first quarter of 2006. Things don’t turn out quite like that, but the rumor offers the first hint about Apple’s secret iPad project.

Why the Apple Watch might be banned from US import

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A judge ruled Apple infringed on AliveCor's ECG-related patents.
Apple Watch imports might be banned in an ongoing patent dispute. But that's unlikely.
Photo: Apple

A decision by the U.S. International Trade Commission to block Apple Watch imports reportedly received a go-ahead from the Biden administration.

That would be a devastating decision, except that the ITC’s ruling is based on Apple Watch violating patents owned by AliveCor, and the U.S. Patent Office has ruled those are invalid. AliveCor is appealing, though.

Future Apple Pencil may include built-in color sensors

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Future Apple Pencil may include built-in color sensors
Apple patented a stylus that can be used to easily match any color.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Someday, you might be able to pull a color out of the real world just by touching your Apple Pencil to it. Apple patented a version of its iPad stylus with color sensors in the tip.

The device would be a real boon to artists who paint on an iPad.

Apple puts iPhone game controller on the drawing board

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Apple puts iPhone game controller on the drawing board
It’s undeniable: Apple is at least considering an iPhone game controller. And one for iPad, too.
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple is showing interest in making a clip-on iPhone or iPad game controller. It filed a patent application for various permutations of exactly that sort of accessory on Thursday.

This would be a new product category for the company. But it could be a boon for Apple Arcade subscribers.

Hey Siri, darken the sunroof glass in my Apple Car

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This Apple Car concept is unrelated to the patent, but at least it shows a sunroof.
This Apple Car concept is unrelated to the patent, but at least it shows a sunroof.
Photo: Vanarama

The rumored Apple Car may not be on the verge of rolling off the assembly line, but someday a version of it may have sunroof glass that you can darken or lighten with the touch of a button or with a Siri command.

That’s according to a patent the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) granted Apple this week for a sunroof with variable-opacity glass. That means a driver could adjust its transparency.

AirPods with Ear ID could someday unlock your iPhone

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AirPods 3 drop back to their lowest price ever
Apple hopes to someday enable AirPods to identify who is wearing them.
Photo: Apple

First there was Touch ID, then Face ID. Now Ear ID could be on the way. Apple filed for a patent on a biometric system using AirPods wireless earbuds.

The idea is that headphones should be able to identify who is wearing them and refuse to work for unidentified wearers. But if the system is accurate enough, it could potentially be used to unlock an iPhone or Apple Watch without needing a passcode.

Lenses in Apple AR glasses might adjust to wearer’s eye prescription

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A patent shows what Apple Glass AR glasses might look like.
Wow, glasses that self adjust so whatever you’re looking at is in focus.
Illustration: Apple

Apple is preparing for a future where you put on a pair of glasses and they automatically adjust themselves to your eyes. It received a patent on Tuesday for a system to handle this process. Self-adjusting lenses are likely intended for the augmented-reality glasses that Apple is rumored to be working on.

This could be the end of trips to the eye doctor to get a lens prescription. The glasses will take care it.

Optical sensors could replace Apple Watch’s Digital Crown

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If the Digital Crown is gone, you can't accidentally smash it.
If the Digital Crown is gone, you can't accidentally smash it.
Photo: David Snow/Cult of Mac

Apple Watch’s Digital Crown helps users take full advantage of the watchOS interface, beyond using the wearable’s touchscreen. But it looks like future Apple Watches might ditch the crown in favor of optical sensors, according to a new patent the Cupertino tech giant filed.

Apple mulls MacBook with pop-up keyboard

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Apple mulls MacBook with pop-up keyboard
This concept drawing gives a side view of the mechanism that could be used in a MacBook with a pop-up keyboard.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Suppose the keyboard of your MacBook rose up slightly and pivoted toward you when you opened the lid. That’s the idea described by a patent Apple was just awarded.

The concept has ergonomic benefits but also adds moving parts.

Why Apple threatened to pull out of the UK

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Is Apple’s deal to make Google Safari’s default search engine anticompetitive?
If a UK court orders Apple to pay a tremendous patent licensing fee, the iPhone maker might decide it’s better to just leave the country.
Photo: Sora Shimazaki/Pexels CC

Apple reportedly warned a U.K. court that it might withdraw from the country if it must pay an enormous patent licensing fee. The iPhone-maker is being sued by Optis Cellular Technology over patents Apple says are invalid because they cover standard cellular-wireless technology.

Apple’s proposed iPhone control scheme will take your breath away

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Apple Watch or iPhone breath control — Is this a joke?
What if you could interact with your Apple Watch by blowing on it?
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Your hands are full and you need to look something up on your Apple Watch. Engineers at Apple dreamed up a system that would allow you to control the wearable by blowing on it. A newly filed patent application also imagines a breath-controlled iPhone.

So far, there’s no sign this is an April Fools’ Day joke. But it’s possible.

Apple sensors could help with noninvasive glucose monitoring

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Apple Watch Series 5 LTPO screen
New Apple Watch could have a game-changing new feature.
Screenshot: Apple

Patent applications published Thursday shed new light on Apple’s quest to create a noninvasive blood sugar sensor. Unconfirmed rumors point to the transformative medical feature arriving in this year’s Apple Watch upgrade. If true, it could offer diabetics and others a convenient way to accurately track blood glucose levels.

Apple’s AR glasses look like something you might actually want to wear

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A patent shows what Apple Glass AR glasses might look like.
These possible Apple augmented-reality glasses aren’t all that sexy, but they also aren‘t a huge visor strapped to your face.
Illustration: Apple

Apple filed a patent application that could give a first glimpse of the AR glasses the company is developing. An image included with the filing shows a small, lightweight augmented-reality device about the size of a standard pair of eyeglasses.

The primary focus of the patent is the ways the glasses might detect what its wearer is doing. These will allow the wearer to interact with the head-worn device in a variety of ways.

Making MacBooks and iPads into wireless chargers is a brilliantly dumb idea

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Adding wireless chargers to the MacBook Pro seems a no-brainer.
A MacBook with wireless charging is a cool idea that also comes with disadvantages.
Photo: Apple

You might someday be able to recharge an iPhone just by putting it down on your laptop. MacBook wireless charging an idea with obvious advantages … but real drawbacks, too.

It’s definitely something Apple has been looking into. On Tuesday, the company received a patent for a scheme to build wireless chargers into notebooks, tablets and handsets so they could charge each other (or an Apple Watch).

Apple ordered to pay more than $500 million in long-running patent battle

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iPhone with gavel.
Will this be the end of the road? Who knows!
Photo: Tingey Injury Law Firm/Cult of Mac

Apple’s long-running battle with patent-holding entity VirnetX took another expensive turn Friday as Apple was ordered to pay $502.8 million for infringing on the company’s patents.

The verdict was decided by a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Apple and VirnetX have been battling back and forth since 2010.

‘Self-healing’ display could make folding iPhone invincible

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Apple filed for a ‘self-healing’ folding iPhone patent on Thursday
Of course a folding iPhone screen won‘t develop a crease. But Apple is still exploring how to make this possible.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple is working on a solution for the biggest drawback of folding displays. The first generation of foldable handsets made by rival companies develop a crease where the screen bends, but Apple engineers want to put a bendable display that includes a self-healing material in a folding iPhone.

Fuel cells could power future iPhones for weeks at a time

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A fuel cell iPhone or Mac is a possibility.
Apple engineers are always looking to the future. Today, it’s patent for a fuel cell for an iPhone or iPad.
Photo: RF._.studio/Pexels CC

Rather than traditional batteries, a future iPhone or Mac might be powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. Apple on Monday received a patent for a fuel cell that might be used in future devices. The goal is a device that can go days or weeks without needing to be refueled.

Apple keeps tinkering with the best design for folding iPhone

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A folding iPhone might leave a portion of the screen always exposed.
Apple patented a folding iPhone with a section of the screen ialways available for notifications or other functions.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple has undoubtedly been investigating a folding iPhone for years because it keeps patenting designs. Including one awarded on Tuesday for an iPhone that folds closed while leaving a portion of the screen exposed to display status updates.