It was a fun day in Apple patent news. The US Patent and Trademark Office Tuesday published 34 patents recently granted to Apple. They cover everything from the design of the iPad mini (and presumably the iPad mini 2) to magnetometers used by the Maps app.
Since there's not much to do until the iPad mini 2 and iPad 5 release dates besides speculate about the iPad mini 2 and iPad 5, as both devices wind through the rumor mill, we scoured the newly published patents for anything that might apply to the upcoming iOS devices. While we weren't able to turn up anything about the iPad 5 or iPad mini 2 release date or price, we did find a bit of information that might be relevant to battery life on the new Apple devices.
iPad mini 2 & iPad 5: Patent Rumors
Perhaps among the most interesting revelations in the newly minted group of patents (and one that could apply to the iPad mini 2 and iPad 5) is one that deals with an iOS iTunes interface specifically designed for multitouch devices. The patent focuses on the Movie section of iTunes and states that the method described by the patent helps conserve power and achieves greater intervals between charges.
The interface represented in the patent schematic bears a close resemblance to the current iTunes interface on iOS devices, including the iPhone 5, iPad mini and current generation iPad. There are however, a few differences, so it begs the question whether this technology has already been implemented, or if it's something we'll see on the iPad mini 2 and iPad 5. While the changes aren't especially dramatic from a design standpoint, the patent also talks about the design as it relates to increased battery strength, which is always welcome on iOS devices.
"Such methods and interfaces reduce the cognitive burden on a user and produce a more efficient human-machine interface. For battery-operated computing devices, such methods and interfaces conserve power and increase the time between battery charges."
The full list of patents can be found on Patently Apple. To view additional details about the iTunes interface patent, and which may or may not impact the iPad mini 2 and iPad 5, look up patent number 8,438,504.
