Patently Apple

Apple's Satellite Phone Patent Could Technically Apply to TV

On February 28, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals technology that could support a future iPhone with satellite capabilities. Satellite phones or satphones are popular on expeditions into remote areas where terrestrial cellular service is unavailable. Apple's patent filing states that the use of satellites for personal and business communications is an important technique in global communication networks. Satellite communication systems provide obvious benefits that allow users to transmit and receive communication signals over a large footprint.

Apple Reveals Enhanced Audio System for Their Future HDTV

Apple's late CEO Steve Jobs told Biographer Walter Isaacson that he'd "like to create an integrated television set that is completely easy to use. It will have the simplest user interface you could imagine. I finally cracked it." In that very same timeline, Apple's engineers were working on his dream TV and in a patent application published this morning, we get a tiny glimpse of the enhanced audio system that may be accompanying this future HDTV. The system will also intelligently integrate surround sound-like quality for video conferencing for the home or work. Apple's TV will also be able to work with FaceTime and create a unique audio experience whereby the voices from multiple participants will be heard in the exact direction that they're positioned on the screen. While it's not the Killer HDTV patent we're all still waiting for, it's the next best thing. Today we could safely say that Apple's Killer HDTV is real, at least on paper.

Apple to Add Interactivity to Apple TV via Cable & Satellite

When it comes to the topic of Apple + TV, let's be frank. The world is waiting for an Apple HDTV to deliver the next great thing. But like with the iPhone, patents dated back to 1999 or eight years prior to seeing a real world product. It's just a fact of life that Great Products take time to work through the system. Today, Apple has revealed how a future Apple TV set-top-box will be able to access additional information about a TV show, event or movie that you're about to watch. It will be able to provide Apple TV users with contextual information on actors in a movie that you're about to watch or a summary of a keynote, for example. Interestingly, the additional context-base information will be sent to the user's iPad or iPhone that will work in sync with Apple TV and the content being presented on your television via your local cable or satellite provider. While today's invention is definitely not as ambitious as some TV oriented projects have been in the past, and there have been many of them over the years, it's probably a more realistic and humble starting point that seems to be only a stone's throw away. 

Eye Openers: Apple Patents Reveal iPad with Built-In Stand & Cellular Antennas for Future iMac and/or TV

Wow, out of nowhere newly granted patents for Apple reveal MacBooks, an iMac and possibly a TV having cellular and television circuitry built in. If that wasn't enough, Apple reveals a possible future iPad with a built-in stand that incorporates a cellular antenna. Why say more – take a look for yourself.

Apple's Wild New Patent Covers TV & Advanced 5D Technology

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of twenty-five newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. This particular report covers a single, wild and crazy patent that touches on advancing television, advanced 5D technology, interactive gaming, teleconferencing, advanced tactile feedback technology, virtual reality data gloves and even a unique touch signature for starting a future vehicle. Is that wild enough for you? 

Apple's iCloud will Teach Apple's Smart TV Remote New Tricks

Last week Apple's patent application for an advanced TV remote was a bit of a stunner and the news about Apple's future HDTV keeps hitting the news. Just yesterday we learned of the Foxconn-Sharp alliance that's key to ramping up HDTV production for Apple's TV in the future. The day before that we learned of Apple being granted a patent for multi-touch skins that could wrap around a future TV remote so that controls could reside on the front, back or sides. Today, a new patent application was published by the US Patent and Trademark Office that provides us with a little more information about their new remote. This time around Apple details the remote's "learning system" that will always keep it up to date with the latest features via iCloud. While it's not an earth shattering invention by itself, it's all part and parcel of Apple's basket of all things Apple TV. The more we learn about their future HDTV system through patents, the better we'll understand their grander vision. This very much reminds me of the ramp up of patents in 1996, the year prior to the iPhone's debut. The buzz and anticipation surrounding the iPhone was "heart-thumpingly-insane" and the late Steve Jobs simply hit it out of the park for us. Time will tell if Tim Cook and Phil Schiller can engineer that same kind of buzz for Apple's HDTV – but one thing is for sure: they're off to a great start.  

The Foxconn-Sharp Alliance is all about Apple's Coming HDTV

Yesterday, Apple was granted a very interesting and important patent regarding a very specific TV Display technology. The patent basically related to Apple's advancement of a little known technology called Fringe Field Switching (FSS). Apple's research pushed the technology so that it could now power a large HDTV. Previous versions of FSS couldn't accommodate such large displays. The underlying technology is an off-shoot of IPS called S-IPS. It's a technology that provides superior performance and color gamut with high luminosity. IPS technology is currently being used in Apple's iMac and the patent for IPS is held by Sharp. This was one of the key points that surfaced in a news report out Taiwan today that basically confirms that the Foxconn – Sharp deal directly equates to a future Apple HDTV.  

Apple Wins Next Generation Multi-Touch Skin Technology

Today marks the day that Apple takes another leap forward in multi-touch technology. Apple has just won a knock out Multi-Touch Skin technology that will allow Apple to create next generation devices that are multi-dimensional in nature like a multi-touch sphere or a TV remote that has multiple touch areas for different controls. Apple could license the technology to car companies for creating multi-touch skin based steering wheels that could be responsive to gestures to turn the radio on or answer the phone for hands free operation. It could apply to sporting apparatus or even on guitar frets so as to provide feedback to a music analysis program. If Apple gave their competitors a headache in court with their traditional Multi-Touch patents, then they're competitors are going to need a lot more Tylenol once they realize what Apple has just won: Boom!  

Apple Wins Patent Related to High Refresh Rate FFS LCD for TV

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of nineteen newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. One of the patents that stood out from the crowd this morning relates to a high refresh rate LCD called FFS that Apple clearly states is suited for a TV. In fact, Apple's technology advances FFS so that it could work with large screen HDTVs, as previous versions of FSS couldn't accommodate such large displays. The technology is an off-shoot of IPS called S-IPS. It's a technology that provides superior performance and color gamut with high luminosity. IPS technology is currently being used in Apple's iMac – which stems from this patent.  

Apple Teases us with a Peek at an Advanced TV Remote

As rumors swirl and dance about in the blogosphere about Apple's coming HDTV, an Apple patent application pops up just in time to tease us about some of the possible new features that their TV remote may offer. While some of the features may apply to Apple's own HDTV, Apple's planned invasion of this market means attacking the entire market which includes TV's already in the marketplace today. One of Apple's wild new universal remote features works like this: you take a photo of your current TV remote and it sends it to iCloud for analysis. It then sends a "virtual copy" of your remote, functionality and all, to your iPhone. You're now able to control your current TV with Apple's advanced universal remote and enjoy all of Apple's TV remote features and likely tie-in products and services. Is that wild enough for you?  

Steve Jobs Credited with an Apple TV Patent for Episodic TV

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of twenty-two newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. This morning's second report is focused on a single Apple TV patent. It's a patent regarding episodic TV and it's another patent credited to the late, great, Steve Jobs.  

Steve Jobs Believed that Apple Finally Cracked the Smart-TV Mystery

One of the projects that I've always believed to have been on Apple's roadmap was that of a Smart-HDTV – even when Apple kept insisting publicly that it was just a "hobby." Year after year Apple's patents were indicating that the HDTV project was still alive and well. In fact there was enough evidence to call it an official trend worth following. So we opened a special Apple TV archive on our site to keep tabs on this project's progress. Today, the news broke that Steve Jobs had been working on this project until the very end and that Apple may have finally cracked the Smart TV mystery.