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More Apple drone patent applications spotted, with apparent attempt at secrecy

Apple drone patent applications

A patent application published last month suggested that an Apple drone might be in the works. Two further drone-related patent applications have come to light today – with the original filings suggesting some attempt on Apple’s part to keep the work secret.

Patent applications are a matter of public record, and there are of course people who make a habit of scouring those filed by Apple in an attempt to get an early steer on potential new products. Apple appears in this case to have attempted to hide its applications …

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Remains of Jawbone suing Apple for patent infringement over AirPods noise-cancellation

Jawbone suing Apple over AirPods

The zombie-like remains of bankrupt wearables company Jawbone is suing Apple for patent infringement. The claim relates to the noise-cancelling features used in AirPods Pro and AirPods Max models.

Jawbone was once a successful company in the wearables and audio business, with its fitness bands sold in Apple stores …

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Chinese company that failed to ban Siri files lawsuit trying to stop iPhone production

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A Chinese company has filed a lawsuit as it seeks an injunction to stop iPhone production in China, including the upcoming iPhone 13.

Xiao-i (whose full name is Shanghai Zhizhen Network Technology Co) previously made an unsuccessful attempt to block sales of all devices with Siri in China, claiming that Apple’s intelligent assistant (IA) violated a “chat robot” patent the company owns …

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iPhone periscope lens plans hit Samsung patent problem

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A new report from Korea says that the iPhone periscope lens expected to debut in Apple’s 2023 lineup has hit a snag. Samsung has the most sophisticated technology for those, and Apple wants to use it, but there are patent problems with the optical image stabilization system the iPhone maker wants to include.

Periscope lenses are a way to allow longer optical zoom without having lenses that stick out farther from the phone …

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Apple might leave the UK market, claims its lawyer in patent troll case

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Apple might leave the UK market if it is forced to pay too much money to a patent troll, after losing a case last month, says the company’s lawyer. The case relates to a claim by Optis Wireless, which initially won a $506M award against Apple in the US, before the judgment was overturned on appeal.

Optis – which bought some standards-essential LTE patents in order to make claims like this – then won a separate case against Apple in the UK, this time claiming billions rather than millions …

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AliveCor seeks to ban US sales of Apple Watch as it alleges ECG patent infringement

ITC rules that Apple Watch infringed AliveCor's ECG patent, US sales potentially threatened

AliveCor is accusing Apple of three counts of ECG patent infringement in the Apple Watch, and is seeking to block the importation of all Apple Watches into the US.

The company – which bills itself as “the global leader in FDA-cleared personal electrocardiogram (ECG) technology and services” – has also accused Apple of trying to eliminate the company as a competitor …

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Apple patent shows how retractable keyboard could make MacBooks thinner

MacBook retractable keyboard patent

Apple has long been on a mission to make MacBooks ever thinner, and a new patent granted today describes how a retractable keyboard could help.

Earlier patents suggest that Apple’s long-term goal is a completely solid-state keyboard, which uses electrostatic charges to allow users to “feel” keys so that touch-typing remains possible, and haptic motors to simulate key presses for the feel of a physical keyboard …

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Another Apple patent application for under-screen Touch ID, using reflected light

Will iPhone 13 offer under-screen Touch ID

There have been multiple suggestions that Apple plans to adopt under-screen Touch ID for the iPhone 13, given that masks have greatly reduced the usefulness of Face ID. The company already has a bunch of patents for different ways to pull this off, and has today applied for an interesting new one.

Apple explains that optical fingerprint reading can be unreliable for two reasons, and explains how it would address these …

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Apple patent application describes a simple way to boost battery life

Apple patent application describes a simple way to boost battery life

For years now, we’ve been promised exciting new battery technologies that claim to dramatically boost battery life, and none of them ever seem to materialize. But a new Apple patent application describes a simple way to achieve a worthwhile increase in battery life with nothing more high-tech than a metal housing.

The invention is a little ironic, as it solves a problem Apple originally created back in 2015 with the batteries in the 12-inch MacBook, before subsequently adopting the same tech in the rest of the MacBook lineup …

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Almost 200 patent infringement claims against Apple may have been rejected illegally

Patent infringement claims against Apple

Almost 200 patent infringement claims against Apple may have been rejected illegally, says a new report today.

Apple succeeded in having the patents declared invalid by a panel of judges who form an entity known as The Patent Trial and Appeal Board. But now the US Supreme Court has agreed to rule on a claim that this process is unconstitutional…

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