Apple is continuing to investigate ways of making fabric touch sensitive so that it could embed controls or detect gestures on products far beyond Apple Watch bands or iPhone cases.
The U.S. sales and import ban on the Apple Watch started but was swiftly stopped. Here's what you need to know about the ban and Apple's reprieve, as of December 27, 2023.
Apple is continuing to research how to split up the keyboard, screen, trackpad, and more of a MacBook Pro so that you can mix and match whatever components you need, whenever you need it.
Future iPhones and iPads could come with a new cooling system that uses magnets to circulate fluids and transfer heat.
Apple has been researching how an iPhone could switch apps or present different information depending on what case you put it in.
Forget solid-state buttons on the iPhone, Apple has been working for over a decade on making "sidewall" displays to show information and even include virtual buttons.
Apple could be planning for a future where we no longer need screens or an Apple Vision Pro to do our work, or to interact with AR.
A newly-granted Apple patent proposes an Apple Ring that would give Apple Watch-style haptic notifications, and let the wearer press on the surface to respond.
Apple may never allow us to create whole Apple Watch faces ourselves, but it is looking at how you could show the Watch a band, or any object, and have it adapt to its color.
Apple is researching the use of liquid lenses that could be adjusted within a future Apple Vision Pro headset instead of requiring some users to buy and fit separately prescribed lenses.
Apple is working on how to use Apple Vision Pro as a tool to help prospective buyers seen an annotated AR guide or get virtual help for other Apple devices.
Future Apple devices may be able to use motion detection to read lips, and so trigger Siri without needing a microphone to constantly listen out for commands.
A newly-granted patent suggests Apple Vision Pro could be used to show energy and objects not visible to the naked eye like electrical current, radio signals from Wi-Fi, or HVAC air flow to help engineers and troubleshooters.
If Apple's research pans out, the familiar puck-shaped AirPods charging case could be joined by versions that can be worn like a necklace or bracelet.
MagSafe may not just be for iPhone and Mac. Apple has researched how to make a folio case that protects an iPad, or other device, which also integrates wireless charging.
Touch screens on the MacBook Pro haven't arrived yet, but Apple is working on inventing a force-sensitive display for the line — and maybe a revamped Touch Bar, too.
Apple wants a future iPhone or AirPods to watch the user and learn a user's movements with Machine Learning so that swiping on any device or surface can cause a reaction like turning volume up or down.
It sounds like a joke, but in the future, if you want to turn the volume up on your Apple TV 4K set, you could wave a hand, a baseball bat, or any object lying around you to get the job done.
A future version of the iPhone or iPad could use a radical new design of case, one that includes an outer ring that not only protects the mobile device but also holds other components and can be used as a kickstand.
From patents for 'smart rings' to ones for projecting a Mac's desktop out onto the wall, Apple has been hiding Apple Vision Pro in plain sight for years.
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William Gallagher
Malcolm Owen
