London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 29, 2025

These five patents offer hints about what an Apple car could look like

These five patents offer hints about what an Apple car could look like

Talk of a possible Apple car is back.

Apple (AAPL) hasn't commented publicly on its plans for the project, nicknamed Titan, so it's not clear exactly what will come of the effort. Some who follow the company think it could release a whole Apple-branded, electric, self-driving car. Others think it's more likely Apple will partner with existing automakers to sell an operating system (iDrive, maybe?), self-driving tools or other technology.

There are some clues available, though. Apple holds a host of patents for car-related inventions that offer a peek at what an Apple car could look like. Patent documents filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office paint a picture — albeit a relatively vague one — of a luxury vehicle designed to be highly automated and user friendly.

Here are a few of Apple's most interesting car-related patents.

'Augmented virtual display'


This invention could be a big one for Apple, making it easier for people to use their iPads, Macs or other devices while riding in a car, especially a self-driving one, without getting car sick.

The patent describes a virtual reality system that would help prevent passenger motion sickness by providing "augmented or virtual" displays correspondent with physical motions the passenger is experiencing.

In one example, the system could project content a passenger wants to view, such as a book, as virtual content outside and at a distance from the car. In this way, a passenger could read the page as a fixed object in the external environment while still seeing visual cues about the car's movements, allowing them to "work, view, or read in comfort without experiencing motion sickness as may occur if the passenger was trying to work or view the content on a physical screen on a portable computing device sitting on their lap," the patent states.

"Thus ... the VR system may aid in productivity, as passengers in vehicles may more comfortably perform work while riding in the vehicle," it says.

What's more, it notes that VR experiences in a moving vehicle could provide "enhanced immersive virtual experiences" to passengers that aren't possible from, say, a VR entertainment system in one room of your home.

'Climate control'


This invention reads basically like a mostly automated climate control system for your car.

It uses sensors inside and outside a vehicle, in addition to other potential inputs, to measure such data as the temperature of car seats or certain passenger body parts, or the amount of sunlight radiating onto a window or sunroof. That information can be used by the climate control system to create a comfortable environment inside the car for passengers.

The system is also designed to communicate with wireless user devices to access information such as "user health data, user activity, user preferences" to further inform the ideal climate inside the car.

Based on the description, a car with this technology might be able to sense, based on the temperature of the leather seats and other data, that it's a hot day outside. And it might know, by communicating with your iPhone, that you just went on a run. Thus, it could automatically adjust the climate settings in the car
to help cool you off.

'System and method for dynamic privacy and window tinting'


Conventional car windows can't adapt the amount of light they let through to factors like who is riding in the vehicle, what they're doing or what the weather is like outside, this patent notes, and therefore would "benefit from many improvements."

The invention described in this patent is a tinted film covering on the exterior of a vehicle that adjusts based on data from various sensors, as well as "explicit" and "implicit requests or commands for tinting."

For example, at nighttime, the system could automatically lessen the tinting level so a vehicle passenger could see light through the window, such as from streetlights and other cars. But if the passenger closed their eyes, it could darken the tint to make sleeping more comfortable, according to the patent.

"As an additional example," the patent states, "an occupant of the vehicle may place packages in a rear zone of the vehicle. The tinting system of the vehicle may automatically adjust the tint of the adjustable exterior facing surface to prevent others from viewing the packages."

While the invention is discussed in the context of a vehicle, the patent adds that it could also be used for privacy and tinting in other environments, such as residential or commercial buildings.

"Method for locating a vehicle"


This invention could help prevent the minutes (hours?) of wandering the parking garage when you forget where you left your car.

It's a method whereby your "portable computing device" — say, your iPhone — could communicate with either your car or the parking structure using a wireless connection like Bluetooth to help locate your vehicle. The location is determined using sensors on the car and in a parking garage.


One of Apple's car-related patents describes an invention wherein a wireless connection between your car and phone could help you locate your car in a parking structure.


In some cases, other information could be provided in addition to or instead of location data, including payment information such as "rates to be charged for parking, where and how to pay, and/or how much is owed depending on the particular parking location and duration of parking," the patent states.

'Charging station with passive alignment mechanism'


Most of us are familiar with the annoyance of having to get out of the car to get gas when it's raining, cold or dark outside. What if, with an electric vehicle, you didn't have to exit the car to plug it in? That's what Apple's aiming to enable with this invention.

"Exiting a vehicle to connect (it) to a charging station may be inconvenient for the operator," the patent states. It adds that cars that need to be manually plugged in wouldn't be able to be charged without a human operator present, an issue the company apparently also wants to address.

With this tool, an electric car could auto-connect to a charging station without human help after being parked next to the charger (either by a driver or with its self-driving capabilities). The charger also has an optional mechanism for adjusting its height, to ensure the plug can reach the car's charging port.

Comments

Oh ya 5 year ago
So let me get this straight. For years the phone companies and health authorities have been telling us not to carry our cell phones close to our bodies, not to hold them close to your head, not to have them near you when you are sleeping, and yet its ok to have yourself and your family sit on a huge battery in your car. If electro magnetic radiation was bad then why is it not bad now? I think i will pass but you do as you see fit

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
Explosive Email Shows Sarah Ferguson Begged Forgiveness from Jeffrey Epstein After Taking His Money
Corrupt UK Politician Ed Davey Demands Elon Musk’s Arrest for Supporting Democracy
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Alibaba Debuts Open-Source Deep Research Agent with Benchmarks Rivaling OpenAI
Marcos Faces Legacy-Defining Crisis as Flood Projects Scandal Sparks Massive Tide of Protests
China’s Micro-Drama Boom Turns Stalled Real Estate Projects into Lavish Film Sets
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
'Company Got 5,189 H-1B Visas, Then Laid Off 16,000 Americans': US Defends New $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Golf legend tells Omar she should be 'sent back to Somalia' after her Kirk comments
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
×