On December 11, 2014, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals Apple's new iOS 8 Maps App Night Mode coming to CarPlay and working in sync with special in-vehicle conditions. On one hand this is a patent fulfilled with night mode for maps debuting with iOS 8. Yet on the other hand it is a patent application that foretells of the Maps App night mode working differently with vehicles using CarPlay.  

Apple was busy in the summer of 2013 acquiring several mass transit app companies such as HopStop, Locationary and most notably Embark that had a great app for customizing trips in your city or in a new city you're visiting. Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals their future mass transit "Commute App" that's now in the works.

On October 16, 2014, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals an invention relating to future iDevices and CarPlay that will be able to use seamless outdoor to indoor map transitioning. The mapping system could start with in-car navigation to a parking lot and then transition to an indoor parking map and eventually further transition to the inside your destination, be it the inside of a mall, a school, a convention center and beyond. In 2013 Apple acquired WifiSLAM and this invention likely borrows some of their technology.

On September 4, 2014, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals a new visual reminder system for the iPhone that could incorporate pop-up maps as a handy reminder of the location of your appointment. Our report also provides you with links to several other mildly interesting patents published today covering varying technologies. One is about an interesting sapphire process (which we covered earlier in a European filing weeks ago) to strengthen the material. The others cover camera related technologies, integrated pressure sensors for displays and a way to make mobile device displays even lighter and brighter. The last one covers a possible new Maps UI that will use a new virtual reality gimmick allowing users to experience a form of X-Ray vision effect.

Earlier today we posted a report titled "Apple Advances Automatic Vehicle Location Services for Parking." It was one of three new location based patent filings revealed today by the US Patent Office. In a third filing today titled "Sensor-Assisted Location Fix," Apple describes location scenarios beyond parking and discusses location-centric problems and solutions associated with driving in urban canyons, which is a powerful image when you think of cities like New York, Hong Kong, Osaka, Beijing, Toronto, Vancouver, Chicago and others that have massive buildings in their downtown business cores.