Today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published continuation patent application 20160033994 from Apple. This particular patent application originally ignited the excitement behind the idea of a future iWatch. We originally covered this invention in a detailed 2013 report titled "Talk about Timing: Apple's iWatch Patent Arrives." The only thing that Apple has changed is the all-important patent claims and boy did they change.

The original patent application was filed with 21 detailed patent claims covering important points such as the invention being in context with a "wearable video device;" and that it would come with a next-gen "kinetic energy gathering component;" as well as use a bi-stable spring substrate" and much more. Today's continuation patent flattened the claims down from 21 to just a single claim that covers the specifics as follows:

"An electronic device, comprising: a flexible substrate; and a flexible display disposed upon a first surface of the flexible substrate, the flexible substrate further comprising: an electronic module in communication with the flexible display, the electronic module providing information to the display, at least a part of which is presented in real time for presentation by the flexible display."

The entire focus of the single claims is now on the flexible display with the focus of "wearable video device" being removed entirely. That puts the emphasis on a future flexible iPhone display as noted in patent FIGS. 1 and 3A above. To compare the patent claims in full, compare the original to the continuation filing.

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