Latest hardware patents
Chips, displays, cameras, phones, batteries and robots. These filings show what devices Big Tech is building, often long before they ship. The hardware patent applications we have broken down from the companies we track, from semiconductors to foldable screens, newest first.
- in the Nov 12 release
- 48
- in November so far
- 102
- filings tracked
- 2,316
- sub-topics
- 13
Recent filings
Newest first · 2,316 total-
Sony · Published Nov 12
Sony Patents a Neckband That Blows Air at You as Game Enemies Close In
Sony has filed a patent for a neckband that blows air at you from different directions, so you can feel a VR monster creeping up behind you.
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Samsung · Published Nov 12
Samsung Patents a Fix for Watches That Misread Altitude When You Flip Your Wrist
The waterproof gel that protects your watch's pressure sensor also weighs on it, so turning your wrist can shift an altitude reading by up to about 1.6 meters. Samsung's filing describes a way to cancel that weight out.
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Qualcomm · Published Nov 12
Qualcomm Files Patent for Letting Devices Sleep Through Minor Background Tasks
Every time a sleeping gadget wakes up, it burns battery. Qualcomm's filing has the chip hold minor wake-ups in a line and handle them all at once.
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Apple · Published Nov 12
Apple Files Patent for a Watch Where the Glass Curves Into the Case
Apple's latest filing, part of a family that traces back to 2014, describes a wrist-worn device whose glass top curves down and meets the case in one continuous surface. It also covers a domed back plate that carries health sensors.
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Samsung · Published Nov 12
A New Samsung Patent Turns Smart Rings Into a Stylus for Phone Drawing
Samsung describes a way to draw on a phone with a bare finger while two smart rings stand in for a stylus. One ring tracks how far you bend a finger, and the other tracks how you tilt the finger doing the drawing.
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Samsung · Published Nov 12
Samsung Files Patent for a Folding Screen That Shows Notifications in a Mirror
Samsung describes a screen that folds twice into a G shape, hiding itself completely, then uses a mirror on the outer fold so you can still read the time and messages.
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Sony · Published Nov 12
Sony Patents a Ranging System That Borrows Unused Detector Hardware to Measure Longer Distances
Sony found a pile of unused circuitry inside its own depth sensor: when only a small patch of pixels is working, the counters behind the rest sit idle. A new patent application wires them in to help.
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Sony · Published Nov 12
Sony Patents a Camera That Maps Objects in 3D While Using Less Power
Sony describes a depth camera that flashes coded light patterns at your hand and listens only for the pixels that change. That lets it keep measuring distance even while its own light is switched off.
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Microsoft · Published Nov 12
Microsoft Files Patent for Squeezing More Data Into Glass Storage Plates
A hard drive might last 5 to 10 years, while data etched in glass could last thousands. Microsoft's new patent application tries to cram more information into each tiny etched spot by changing its shape.
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Sony · Published Nov 12
Sony Files Patent for Camera Dimming Filters That Fill Without Blotches
Sony's latest filing is about a manufacturing detail that decides whether a camera's built-in dimming filter leaves bright dots on your footage. The fix is a set of tiny walls that send liquid down a short path and a long path at the same time.
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Microsoft · Published Nov 12
Microsoft Files Patent for a Laptop Touchpad That Adjusts as It Wears Out
Many laptop touchpads fake the click you feel, and the sensors behind that fake wear out over time. A new Microsoft patent application describes a touchpad that checks each sensor against its factory readings and corrects itself as you use it.
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AMD · Published Nov 12
AMD Files Patent for Laptop Cameras That Cut Video Quality as the Battery Drains
A video call keeps your laptop's camera chip working hard, and AMD has a patent application for turning it down on purpose when your battery runs low. The idea is to drop from 30 or 60 frames per second to as few as 5 and switch off the extra picture polish.
