Apple's future AirPods case might gain a built-in interactive touchscreen display.
A new patent shows how the iPhone maker plans to bring new features to the case of its wireless earbuds.
(Photo : Stephen Lam/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 07: Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller announces AirPods during a launch event on September 7, 2016 in San Francisco, California.
Apple AirPods with Interactive Display
Apple AirPods have become a go-to choice for consumers with iPhones, Macs, or iPads. It delivers wireless earbuds features that seamlessly work with the Apple ecosystem. Although if you mainly use a PC or an Android device, other choices out there might come to mind.
The case of the AirPods currently is not much of an attention grabber. For its users, it only primarily lets them keep and charge their truly wireless earbuds when they are not using them. However, it looks like Apple is looking to change just that.
It seems that the iPhone maker is working to make the AirPods case a bit smarter than ever. According to a report by 9to5 Mac, the renowned tech giant is likely working on an idea that incorporates a built-in touch screen on it. Rather than a plain white look, it might gain a display in the future.
The interactive display on the AirPods case could likely let users control their earbuds, including tweaking noise canceling and spatial audio features. It might also gain some widgets or apps along the way, bringing basic options like navigation and notifications.
Read Also: New Apple Patent Highlights 'Ear-Free' AirPods | Could See it Sooner?
New Apple Patent Shows How it Works
A new patent, as seen by Patently Apple, gave us a glimpse of how a potential future AirPods case might look like. It also provides a few possible uses for the built-in touch screen.
(Photo : Stephen Lam/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 07: An attendee wears an Apple AirPods during a launch event on September 7, 2016 in San Francisco, California.
It turns out that the Cupertino-based tech giant applied for the patent last year, or on September 19, 2022, to be more exact. However, the United States (US) Patent and Trademark Office only published it last week, as per Mac Rumors.
The patent notes that "there is a need for a headphone case device that can control operations that are traditionally associated with headphones (e.g., playback controls, changing audio sources, changing audio output modes, etc.)."
These are just some potential features that might make it to the future AirPods case.
Above and beyond that, the Apple filing says that "there is a further need for a headphone case that can also convey information to a user, through haptics and/or display devices."
So it looks like the display will not only bring controls and tweaking options, it might display a notification and other information as well.
Mac Rumors notes that some photos show how apps could be available on the case of the earbuds, including Messages, Weather, Calendar, and Maps.
Meanwhile, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently predicted that Apple plans offer a USB-C-powered case for the AirPods Pro 2.
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