The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has published a new Apple patent application for flexible antenna components that could be integrated into the band of the Apple Watch. The stretchable, bendable antennas would still support the Watch’s wireless capabilities, but would theoretically free up more space in the body of the watch without compromising the integrity…
A new patent that was recently filed by Apple may indicate a future version of the Apple Pencil that will be equipped with a display screen and multiple sensors on board. The patent was filed with the the US Patent & Trademark Office on October 24th and shows plans to have contact, haptic, capacitive, touch, …
“Essentially, this would involve projecting lasers from inside a display toward its surface at a variety of angles, and analyzing the deflection of that light caused by a user’s fingertips.” A newly published patent application suggests Apple may be looking to VCSEL laser technology to enhance touchscreen interaction on future iPhones and iPads. VCSEL –…
A new patent suggests that Apple could still be looking to add a smart ring to its rapidly expanding portfolio of wearable devices. The proposed ring would have wireless capabilities, and would come equipped with a processor, a power supply, and a microphone to deliver a collection of features comparable to the Apple Watch. Those…
It’s been another varied week in Mobile ID World’s coverage of the latest innovations in mobile tech, payments, the Internet of Things, and more. And the latest roundup of the week’s most popular articles reflects that variety. If there’s any kind of trend in this latest batch, it may be FinTech, with two of this…
The US Patent and Trademark Office has published an Apple patent application for an optical imaging array that would allow for in-display fingerprint recognition. The array would be placed under the screen of a device like the iPhone or the iPad, and “oriented to receive light transmitted through the display in a direction generally opposite…
Apple recently filed a new patent that could lead to a future iteration of the popular AirPods earphones equipped with more than one biometric sensor. This could potentially add to Apple’s growing focus on biometrics for authentication, security, and health. Filed on October 3rd, 2019, with the US Patent and Trademark Office, and quite similar…
Touch ID has been phased out of recent versions of the iPhone, but Apple is still exploring new uses for the technology. A new patent details plans for an Apple TV remote that uses Touch ID to prevent children from accessing material their parents don’t want them to see. First filed in 2017, the patent…
Having pioneered smartphone fingerprint scanning and facial recognition, Apple may turn next to palm reading as an additional biometric modality, suggests a patent filed by the company earlier this year. As AppleInsider reports, the patent was filed in January, and details how sensors under the display of an iPhone or iPad could be used to…
Apple is currently beta testing a new iCloud feature that will allow users to sign into their iCloud.com accounts using Touch ID or Face ID on a compatible Apple device. The new sign in capabilities would be introduced with iOS 13, iPadOS 13, and macOS Catalina, all of which are also in the beta testing…
“It’s a bold idea, but not completely unheard-of. Startups like Montreal-based OMsignal have long been experimenting with biometric wearables like the OMbra biometric sports bra, which is equipped with heart rate and respiratory sensors.” A newly published Apple patent points to some of the wilder ideas that the company’s engineers sometimes explore. This one concerns…
Once again, a new pair of patents suggests that Apple isn’t quite done with fingerprint recognition. The patents specifically concern acoustic imaging tech that would turn the entire mobile screen into a biometric sensor. So how does it work? Once you sift through the technical jargon, the concept is essentially sonar for the iPhone. When…
A newly published Apple patent application suggests that an unexpected biometric modality could be on its way to Mac computers. The patent application was originally filed with the European Patent Office in 2017, and, as Patently Apple reports, expands the number of features that could potentially be delivered through the Mac Touch Bar from 12…
Apple has filed a patent for a new form of biometric authentication that could be deployed in a future version of the Apple Watch. Originally filed in Q3 2018, the new invention is a light field camera capable of sub-epidermal imaging. The camera would be placed on the underside of the Apple Watch, where it…
A recently published Apple patent suggests that the company could be planning to introduce Face ID and 3D hand gestures to its HomePod line of products. The patent specifically refers to a voice-controlled assistant such as a “countertop speaker,” and would allow such devices to recognize faces, as well as hand waves and other basic…
A pair of recently published Apple patents suggests that the tech company is looking for ways to make self-driving cars safer and more secure. The first of the two patents is particularly intriguing in relation to Project Titan, Apple’s foray into self-driving vehicles. Filed as “Wireless vehicle system for enhancing situational awareness,” the proposed device…
A newly-published Apple patent suggests that the company may not be finished with fingerprint scanning on the iPhone, with engineers considering how the Touch ID system could be used alongside facial recognition. While the patent is almost entirely focused on Apple’s new Face ID 3D facial recognition system, it also takes a moment to illustrate…
“It’s an approach that could prove appealing to health and fitness enthusiasts, and would allow Apple to compete with other new earbud solutions that use biometrics to deliver FitBit-type functionality into that category of wearables.” A newly granted patent suggests that Apple is considering the integration of biometric capabilities into an upcoming version of its…
A newly-surfaced patent application suggests that Apple is trying to extend Siri’s working hours to times when a user’s iPhone is offline. As AppleInsider reports, the patent filing, entitled “OFFLINE PERSONAL ASSISTANT”, describes how Siri queries could be performed on a given device (ie. an iPhone or iPad), rather than automatically outsourced to external servers…
