Apple
Apple · Battery & power · Filed Apr 9, 2026 · USPTO published Nov 12, 2026 · This week's release
Apple Files Patent for a Charging Case That Works With Two Kinds of Wireless Chargers
Wireless chargers don't all fit all gadgets, so you often end up owning a few pucks. An Apple filing describes a charging case that lines itself up with two different kinds of charger.
- Publication number
- US 2026/0361106 A1(US20260361106A1)
- Applicant
- Apple Inc.
- Filed · Published
- Apr 9, 2026 · Nov 12, 2026
- Inventors
- Eric X. Zhou, Muhammad H. Kiani, Rohan Dayal, Ye Li
- Status when we published
- Waiting for an examiner
- Document
- 20 claims
- US classification
- 320/108
- Parent application
- Continuation of 17/824,480 (filed May 25, 2022)(17824480)
What Apple's two-charger case actually does
Imagine you're packing for a trip with a small case that holds your earbuds and other little accessories. Your desk at home has one kind of wireless charging puck, but the hotel nightstand has a different kind. If the case only works with one of them, you're stuck hunting for the right charger.
This Apple filing describes a case built to work with two different kinds of wireless chargers. A set of magnets around the case's charging coil snaps onto the first kind of puck. A single magnet in the middle of the coil snaps onto the second kind. Whichever puck you grab, the case pulls itself into the right spot.
Inside, the case also adjusts its electronics to match each charger, since the two can run at different frequencies.
… a first alignment feature positioned laterally around an outer perimeter of the charging coil; and a second alignment feature laterally surrounded by the charging coil …
Translation: The case uses two separate magnetic systems to line up properly with different types of charging pads.
How two sets of magnets line up the coil
The claims cover a power receiving device, with the accessory case as the main example. It has a charging coil that picks up power wirelessly and two alignment features. The first sits around the outer edge of the coil, such as a ring of magnets, and lines the device up with the first type of charger. The second sits inside the coil, such as a single magnet at its center, and lines the device up with the second type.
The case has a lid and a hinge, and the coil has to stay clear of the hinge. That leaves the coil off center from the outer magnets. To make up for it, the filing adds shielding made of magnetic material (ferrite or layered nanocrystalline material) that helps the coil and the charger's coil connect better. The center magnet is built into the reset and pairing button, which sits in the hole in the middle of the coil.
The two chargers can run at different frequencies (how fast their magnetic field switches back and forth). So the claims add a variable capacitor (a part that sets which frequency the circuit responds to) with one value for the first charger and another for the second. The filing's example uses a few capacitors and switches, set by a signal from the case's chip. A cable port is described as another way to charge.
What a two-charger case means for your desk
If you own more than one gadget, you know the drawer full of chargers. A case that accepts two kinds of wireless puck means the charger you already have, at home, at work or in a hotel, is more likely to work. That matters most for an accessory case, since you carry it around and plug it in wherever you land.
The filing also shows what that flexibility costs in engineering: magnets in both the lid and the base, a coil pushed off center by the hinge, and shielding to keep charging efficient. It describes a wired port as a backup too. Nothing here names a product, so treat it as a look at how Apple handles charger compatibility in small accessories.
Apple's 28th filing we've tracked in battery & power since May adds to a run that includes a heat-drawing charger lid and a simpler wireless puck.
Source: US 2026/0361106 A1 at the USPTO (PDF). Full patent text and figures are in the official publication.
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The drawings · 9 sheets
9 drawing sheets from US 2026/0361106 A1 · click any drawing to enlarge
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