The Apple Car could help drivers and passengers work out where they dropped their iPhone within the vehicle using the car's vibrations, with the same system potentially allowing an iPhone to be used as an in-vehicle remote control.
Future iPhone cameras that capture the direction light is traveling may provide greater 3D detail that will improve Apple AR walk-through experiences.
An iPhone or another remote control may one day take advantage of Ultra Wideband to provide users with information about nearby devices or change what controls are available, simply by pointing it at different things.
Future "Apple Glass," or other Apple AR headsets, could use air deflectors to direct heat away from a wearer's head.
Claims that a future Apple Watch will be able to sense the temperature of the wearer's skin have been further backed up by a newly-revealed patent application.
A new filing shows that Apple started working on effective speakers for the small space within the new 24-inch iMac from late 2019.
Apple is researching how to make "Apple Glass," or other AR devices, sense and automatically adjust the ambient lighting around the wearer using HomeKit.
As part of making virtual objects appear to fit in with the real-world environment, "Apple Glass" may adjust AR elements depending on light and other factors in the real world.
Apple Watch will shortly gain AssistiveTouch features such as being able to stop an alarm when the wearer gestures with their hand, and newly-revealed Apple research may have all the details.
As the wearer of "Apple Glass," or any Apple AR device, sees an object they're interested in, Apple wants the system to understand that and provide useful details.
Apple wants the iPhone to be able to lead injured or stranded people to where they can get help, even where lack of internet means traditional location-finding is impossible.
The rumored Apple Glass could take advantage of force-sensing gloves, with a collection of sensors used to detect hand movements including typing on a virtual keyboard and how the user grips physical objects.
Apple wants MacBook Pro and foldable iPhone lids to move smoothly when you open them, but then be rigidly strong supports for the display — and automatically adjust to what you need.
Apple is researching ways to allow multiple users to benefit from Touch ID, or similar biometric systems, while keeping the protection of the current secure enclave.
A Federal Circuit judge has rejected Uniloc's challenge of a previous FaceTime VoIP patent ruling that was chiefly in Apple's favor.
The windshield of "Apple Car" may present the driver with an augmented reality view for lane control, hazard avoidance, and otherwise obscured details of the environment.
Future versions of Apple's CarKey could detect when it's being used near wireless chargers, and alter how it works to avoid interference.
Apple wants to avoid the discomfort of a user taking off an Apple AR headset like "Apple Glass," and going from darkness to the brightness of the real environment around them.
A future iPad, iMac, or MacBook may offer a unique form of privacy for a user looking at sensitive documents, by tracking their gaze to work out what part of the screen they are looking at, while simultaneously obscuring the rest of the display with bogus data to throw off onlookers.
Apple is examining how to produce iPhone cases from knitted fabric instead of molded silicone, similar to not just the braided Apple Watch band, but also potentially like the long-gone iPod Socks.
{{ summary }}
Malcolm Owen
William Gallagher
