Patently Apple

Apple Invention Advances Force Touch through to Hardware providing new Controls for Gaming & Video Playback

Apple Patent envisions new Backside Force Touch Gestures for Added iDevice Functionality

Apple Files Patent for a new Temperature Sensor tied to a new Interactive Battery Indicator

Apple Invents Keyless Keyboards for Macs and iPad Pro with Morphing Interface Options for Gaming, Music & more

Apple Invents 'Acoustic Touch sensing' that allows Apple Pencil or Touch to work on Metal Surfaces

A Secretive Apple Patent Filing discovered in Europe today relates to Plural Haptics Output

Apple invents another Series of Haptic Mice but has yet to bring a single version to Market

Apple Invents a Tactile UI that will deliver all-new Sensory Experiences to Next-Gen Devices and Displays

Apple Continues Work on Future Sports Oriented AirPods with Biometrics & Noise Cancellation Features

A Major Tactile Output Patent Surfaces Covering Trackpads, iDevice Displays and even a Feature for Foldable Devices

Apple invents new 'Shear Force' Sensors Designed to work with Future Devices of any Shape

Apple Advances the Concept of the Apple Watch's Digital Crown Coming to all iDevices eventually

Apple Invents an Energy Harvesting Component to Augment Battery Power for iOS Devices

Some of Apple's Patent Pending Haptic & Taptic Engine Technologies Came to Light this Week

Apple Invention Covers Haptic System for Apple Watch, Sports Bands and Biometric Monitors

An Apple Watch Patent Surfaces Regarding Haptics based on Orientation, Positioning & Environment

Apple Invents an Incredible Stylus with Texture Sensing Capabilities, 3D Image Generation & More

Apple's Force Touch for iPhone Invention was Published Today

An Apple Patent Reveals More Force Touch Details for Controlling a Virtual Paint Brush and Interacting with 3D Buttons

Apple Working on Bending Beam Sensors for Force Sensor System

Apple Invents an Advanced Diamond Layered Trackpad that Delivers Next-Gen Tactile Sensations Including Texture

Apple Wins Patent for Advanced Haptics for Gaming & Far Beyond

The US Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 40 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover a patent relating to advanced haptics that could be used in many environments including video games. Apple notes that "in some instances, the signals outputted by the accelerometer may be used with interactive software (such as a video game) to provide an additional input device for user gameplay…" Today, Apple's advanced haptics are being incorporated into their upcoming Apple Watch.  

Apple Reveals Advancing Magic Mouse with Force Sensing

Apple introduced a vision for a future version of their Magic Mouse back in 2010 that was the most descriptive patent filing on this subject matter. It described and illustrated how the next generation Magic Mouse would be able to sense a plurality of forces and applied velocities. It went into great detail about advanced gesture profiles for new "brush, scoop, tilt, and slide" capabilities. In 2013 Apple was granted their first patent on force sensing related to the Magic Mouse. Today, Apple has applied for a second patent on this future feature with refinements. In one example of using this future version of their Magic Mouse, Apple notes that "the amount of force may correspond to a height that a character in a video game is instructed to jump." Apple also envisions force sensing capabilities in a future Magic Mouse could apply to very sophisticated custom applications such as flight simulator and beyond.

Apple Granted a Patent for Samsung-Like Beam eDoc Transfers

On April 9, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a new granted patent from Apple that reveals a new feature that has yet to come to market. As such, Patently Apple will present this granted patent in the form a new patent application report that goes deeper into the technology presented. Apple has been razzed for a while now for not having a technology for the iPhone that is similar to Samsung's Beam that lets users share large files from one smartphone to another using NFC. Apple's newly granted patent provides such an interactions and so much more. Apple's solution works between a Mac and iPhone and provides editing software to crop, scale and adjust images. Apple had the technology mapped out in January 2010, or about 30 months prior to Samsung's public release of this feature for the Galaxy SIII.  

New Haptics to Enhance Virtual Keyboards, Replace Home Button

On December 20, 2012, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple titled "Haptic Feedback Device." In the last eighteen months, Apple has worked on projects involving smart haptics and integrating a haptics layer into future devices so as to provide users with a greater sense of texture to their multitouch displays. Today's invention describes Apple's goal of creating virtual buttons that will feel like actual physical buttons to the touch and more importantly, having keys of virtual keyboards feel more like physical keys. As Apple describes it, they want the "user to feel as though the keys had been depressed." Considering that Apple lists "a keyboard of a computer and a track pad for a laptop," we see that Apple is thinking of adding haptics to devices beyond the iPhone and/or iPad. Apple revealed some rather elaborate work on this theme last September.