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Apple patent may (slightly) hint at touchscreen iMac similar to Microsoft Surface Studio

Touchscreen iMac hint along the lines of Microsoft Surface Studio (shown)

Although Apple has long rejected the concept of a touchscreen iMac or MacBook, and for good reason, there was one product which made us wonder whether there might be a role for such a device: the Microsoft Surface Studio (above).

Take away the Microsoft logo and Windows UI, and you could easily imagine it was designed by Apple. It’s today being suggested that a new patent application might hint at the possibility of making a Mac version …

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Apple Ring patent granted, as reports circulate – but this one is likely dead

Apple Ring patent granted | Purely illustrative photo of rings

An Apple Ring patent application has been granted, amid conflicting reports about the status of the company’s development of such a device.

However, while recent reports focus more on the applications of a ring as a health sensor as a cheaper alternative to an Apple Watch, this patent is more concerned with using it as an input device …

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You might not need prescription lens inserts for future Apple Vision products

You might not need prescription lens inserts | Illustrative image of inside of VR headset

Vision Pro isn’t large enough to accommodate eyeglasses, so wearers will need prescription lens inserts instead. But that might not always be the case: A new Apple patent describes a way to electrically adjust the displays to suit your vision.

The system Apple describes is done dynamically, so it can effectively match a different prescription for each eye, and also allow switching the same device between multiple users with different prescriptions …

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Intriguing Vision Pro accessory described by Apple: a digital ‘stone’

Intriguing Vision Pro accessory digital stone | Abstract color pebble image

Apple has been granted a patent for an intriguing Vision Pro accessory, which is at one point referred to as a digital “stone.”

The description of the device is intentionally vague, as Apple wants to cover all potential uses, but it appears that the company sees it as a way to allow augmented or virtual reality objects to persist even after a Vision Pro session has ended …

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Apple has been working on Vision Pro since the first iPhone launched

Working on Vision Pro | Patent image versus reality

Vision Pro may only have been announced this year, and go on sale in 2024, but we’ve known for many years that the company was working on a product of this kind. What we didn’t know was quite how many years.

A newly-published patent reveals the answer to that question – at least since 2007, the year that the original iPhone launched …

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Color-coordinated Apple Watch faces could automatically match your band – or clothes

Color coordinated Apple Watch faces | Light gray face matching shirt

If your commitment to fashion runs as far as color-coordinated Apple Watch faces to match your band or outfit, a future Watch may be able to automate the process.

A newly granted Apple patent describes how a future model could have a sensor embedded beneath the display, which can detect the color or a band or item of clothing, and then adjust the Watch face to match …

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A future Vision Pro headset could automatically adjust itself to different users

Future Vision Pro headset could automatically adjust | Close-up of existing model

I know, the first model hasn’t even gone on sale, and we’re already talking about a future Vision Pro headset, but blame Apple, not us!

The company has just filed a patent application for a method of allowing a future model to automatically adjust its fit and display positions to suit different users, which would make it more practical to share between several people …

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Apple vs. Masimo court battle ends in mistrial; jury 6-1 in favor of Apple

Apple vs Masimo mistrial | Apple Watch O2 reading

The Apple vs. Masimo court battle has ended in a mistrial, after six of the jurors found that Apple had not stolen trade secrets to create the O2 sensor in the Apple Watch – but the seventh juror disagreed.

The judge had already rejected half of Masimo’s patent infringement claims before handing the rest of them to the jury to decide …

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Apple Pay patent infringement claim by South Korean company

Apple Pay patent | Using a payment terminal

A South Korean company has made an Apple Pay patent infringement claim, arguing that it owns a 2005 patent for the mechanism used by Apple’s mobile wallet service.

The claim follows shortly after the launch of Apple Pay in the country, but the company doesn’t appear to have filed a lawsuit, or even contacted the Cupertino company …

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Apple Headset Continuity and Handoff features sound really slick

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Apple has applied for a patent for an Apple Headset Continuity feature, so that a user could (for example) create a document on a Mac, and then use a really slick user interface to transfer it to a headset like the anticipated Reality Pro.

It also describes an equally slick way to handle audio Handoff using nothing more than glances and a gesture …

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iMessage to voice note: Apple patent to play messages in your voice

iMessage to voice note

A new Apple patent application describes a way to transform an iMessage to a voice note. In this way, the recipient can choose to have your message read to them not in Siri’s voice, but in yours.

To do this, you would each need to share a voice file containing the data the iPhone would need to mimic your voice when reading the message aloud …

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Apple Watch patent infringement confirmed, as Masimo seeks import ban

Apple Watch patent infringement | Pulse oximeter feature shown

Apple has suffered a setback in its long-running Apple Watch patent infringement battle with medical technology company Masimo. A court has ruled that Apple has indeed infringed one of Masimo’s patents in the Apple Watch Series 6 and up.

Masimi is seeking a US import on all current Apple Watches. If granted, this would effectively end Apple Watch sales in the US, as the company would not be allowed to bring in the devices from China …

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Apple satellite plans may extend beyond emergencies, suggests new patent

Apple satellite plans | NASA satellite image

The Emergency SOS via Satellite feature rolled out to four new countries yesterday, but a patent granted the same day suggests that Apple satellite plans may extend much further than getting help in an emergency.

While the emergency service is limited to text-based communications, Apple’s patent describes how it could use satellite comms for voice, video, and more …

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