patents

The PlayStation 5 is coming really soon and yet there's still some uncertainty as to what it would look like. The "V" shaped console that was revealed in a patent and a subsequent photo may be interesting but there's also a slim chance that this PS5 was only meant to be seen and used by developers. It isn't just the console itself that is shrouded in mystery but the DUALSHOCK5 controllers as well. While rumors claim that the PS5 controller won't differ that much from its predecessor, at least two patents from Sony show how the company had ideas that could make the input device a lot more interesting.

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While Apple sticks to its wide notch and Samsung plays around with punch holes, Xiaomi may be trying to push for a blemish-free bezel-less screen instead. It already revealed that intention a few months back but has yet to make good on that boast. Xiaomi's notch-free and cutout-free phone is still a no-show, not even a shadow, but a patent may reveal how exactly it plans to pull that off.

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The Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Huawei Mate X take a slightly different solution to the same problem, that of offering smartphone users a larger screen while not forcing them to shove tablets in their pockets. While this type of foldable device does have some allure, there are other problems that can also be addressed by such flexible screens. The Motorola Razr 2019, for example, makes a regular phone even more compact. This Samsung patent also does the same, this time for a phone-like tablet instead.

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It might be doing terribly on smartphones but Sony is, fortunately, doing well in most of its other businesses. Its PlayStation, under the Sony Interactive Entertainment company, remains one of the top two (or three) gaming systems in the world and it could get an infusion of new interest and profits with the expected launch of the PlayStation 5. That may not be the only thing that Sony is preparing for, however, as hints of a new gaming device may be on the way thanks to a patent for a gaming cartridge.

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Foldable phones, ones with actual flexible and folding screens, are slowly becoming a dream come true for phone makers and tech pundits. Consumers, however, are still on the fence on the drawbacks of such experimental devices. The announcement of the Microsoft Surface Duo, not to mention the launch of the LG G8X ThinQ Dual Screen, seems to have struck a chord with more practical users and, unsurprisingly, Samsung may have a solution for that as well.

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It's a period of experimentation when it comes to foldable devices. There are, of course, literal ones that have foldable screens like the Samsung Galaxy Fold and the Huawei Mate X but there are also ones that use two screens like the LG G8X ThinQ and the upcoming Microsoft Surface Duo. And then there are prototypes like TCL's tri-fold phone and patents like this one from Oppo. What stands out from this patent isn't that it has a foldable tablet with a large flexible screen but that it practically requires a smartphone to be the brains and muscle behind the scenes, literally.

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Foldable phones with foldable displays may be the hot topic in smartphones these days, it's really more of a passing distraction, at least for now. For the majority of OEMs, the goal is still in banishing as much bezel as possible, even when it means putting some sensors in inconvenient or extremely conspicuous places. Perhaps the biggest offender in the latter is the so-called punch-hole camera cutout but ZTE may have thought of a creative way to make it at least less obnoxious.

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Documents pointing toward Apple's use of LED lights on an iPhone suggest that Apple may take a page out of gaming company Razer's playbook for smartphones. True, technically the iPhone had a glowing Apple logo well before Razer Phone 2, but imagine Razer's surprise when they awake one morning in the near future to find one of the biggest, most successful companies in the world using that same smartphone feature? And for real, this time, not just in a DIY mod sort of sense.

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A USPTO patent application was made public today as filed by Apple back in March of 2019 for a so-called "Display Device." This device is also described in the patent as "an augmented reality headset." The details of this patent - the drawings, the methods - aren't nearly as important as the patent's filing details. Let's take a peek at where Apple's at when it comes to working with augmented reality holograms in a pair of smart glasses.

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Nintendo's launch of the simplified Switch Lite may worry fans that the gaming giant may have run out of ideas for its revolutionary Joy-Con controller. That couldn't be further from the truth, with Nintendo teasing a new Joy-Con accessory this week. But more than that, it also still has a few ideas up its sleeve to spruce up the controllers, including a hinge that could allow part of the sticks to bend backward for a supposedly more ergonomic playing style.

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A Google patent application published on Friday details a baby monitor powered by artificial intelligence, enabling it to monitor a baby for signs of activity in order to alert parents over WiFi. The patent details technology that monitors a baby's eyes, among other things, not just detecting movement and audio, but rather intelligently understanding it in order to determine whether it's time to check on the infant.

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While the majority of patents never really get implemented into actual products or features, they can still be a useful indicator of a company's vision for the future. They can even hold clues to features that may someday actually make it into products, provided the technology or hardware already exists. That may be the case for three out of dozens of patents that Apple granted today which relate to the Apple Watch. Interesting on their own, the three also paint the picture of a future wearable that isn't only more secure but also more health-focused.

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