14 DAY TRIAL // The United States Patent and Trademark Office has published a new invention by Apple relating to touch-sensing devices and to touch-sensitive devices that can accept input from a stylus. This is the tenth such filing from the Cupertino giant spanning several years.
The patent application describes “a stylus signal detection and demodulation architecture that can allow for the stylus, display, and touch to be synchronized with one another” and dates December 4, 2014 – last week.
Continued interest in styli
Apple has been filing these kinds of patents for years, and you’d think that with six or so tablet generations released so far without a stylus, the idea is all but dead for Apple. Well, you’d be wrong to think that, as the California tech juggernaut has filed the tenth such invention with the USPTO and hopes to see it granted sooner rather than later.
In all fairness, the invention at hand could be for the rumored iPad Pro / iPad Plus we’ve been hearing about lately.
Apple explains in its filing that “As touch sensing technology continues to improve, touch sensitive devices are increasingly being used to compose and mark-up electronic documents. In particular, styli have become popular input devices as they emulate the feel of traditional writing instruments.”
The documentation goes to mention that styli are generally bulky and cumbersome – “ conventional styli lack the precision and control of traditional writing instruments,” – suggesting that Apple wants to introduce a thin yet versatile instrument for jotting down, annotating, drawing, etc.
The invention, however, mostly resides in the way the stylus is synchronized with the display and touch controllers on the touch-screen device.
iPad Pro rumors
The aforementioned iPad Pro / iPad Plus is slowly but surely becoming a reality, if we’re to believe the latest leaks and rumors. For example, a Japanese magazine last month claimed to have obtained the blueprints for the tablet device, and it even went as far as to publish these specifications.
Apple has been known to sue for this kind of thing, but apparently, nothing happened this time around. Either because the company has decided to stop bullying publishers or simply because the specs are inaccurate or fake altogether.
Nevertheless, the latest industry checks with suppliers in the Far East have determined prominent analysts to report that Apple is indeed planning such a device. The new patent filing bodes well with these plans, especially since no one can explain what the Cupertino giant is really aiming for with its uber tablet, aside from competing with Samsung in the enterprise sector.
