Apple Inc.

Jahan C Minoo

Jeffrey J Terlizzi

Jonathan Sarjeant Aase

Zachary C Rich

Eric Steven Jol

Albert John Golko

Robert D Watson

Arun Dhyaneshwar Chawan

David John Shaw

Wendell B Sander

Mathias W Schmidt

Fletcher R Rothkopf

Ian A Spraggs

Alexei Elias Kosut

Cameron P Frazier

Scott P Mullins

Baptiste Pierre Paquier

Kurt R Stiehl

Anthony Joseph Guetta

Jerzy S Guterman

Esge Brandt Andersen

Yacine Azmi

Augustin Prats

Michael B Howes

Axel Dominique Berny

Benjamin W Cook

Aarti Kumar

Patrick L Coffman

Christopher D Prest

Daniel D Sunshine

Keith Walter Rauenbuehler

Jonathan Anderson Bennett

Jonathan Robert Peterson

Ganesha Adkasthala Ganapathi Batta

Jeffrey Chandler Moore

Claudio Di Leo

Patrick Ian Bernhard

Baek San Chang

Matthew Gillette

Benjamin Adair Cousins

Patrick T Ryan

Daniel A Podhajny

Lawrence G Bolton

Scott Peter Krueger

Michael Nikkhoo

Kathryn P Crews

Daniel C Wagman

Benjamin A Cousins

Nicholas Ainsley Sims

Ching Yu John Tam

Yohji Hamada

Stanley Rabu

Nathan P Bosscher

Jay S Laefer

Xingqun Li

Robert D Zupke

Derek J DiCarlo

Brian C Menzel

Tony Chi Wang Ng

Di Zhao

Chi Kin Ho

Carlos Ribas

Evan J Thompson

Nagendra Bage Jayaraj

Roderick D Bacon

Surya Musunuri

Anthony P N Bidmead

Wendel Sander

Scott James Forstall

Jesse Lee Dorogusker

Michael F Culbert

David Tupman

Gregory Thomas Lydon

John Meron Ananny

Lee M Panecki

Daniel S Keen

David M Kindlon

Victor Manuel Tiscareno

Roberto G Yepez

Brian Sander

Kenneth Ryan Loo

Robert Denton Silfvast

Yehonatan Perez

Joseph R Fisher, Jr

Nicholas Seroff

Kevin M Keeler

Stephen John Chick

Robert J Walsh

Nicholas C Soldner

Kirill Kalinichev

James L McPeak

Daniel S Naito

Eugene Lvovich Shoykhet

Tushar Gupta

Jason Brinsfield

Ryan Jeffrey Du Bois

Joseph A Sarlo

Kevin Saul

Anthony P Bidmead

Jeff Terlizzi

A housing has a bud portion abutting an elongated stem portion. The bud portion is to fit within an ear. The bud portion has a primary sound outlet at its far end that is to be inserted into an outer ear canal, and abuts the stem portion at its near end. A speaker driver is inside the bud portion. Electronic circuitry inside the housing includes a wireless communications interface to receive audio content over-the-air and in response provides an audio signal to the speaker driver. A rechargeable battery as a power source for the electronic circuitry is located inside a cavity of the stem portion. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

Wireless earphone

Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for detecting a wearing status of a wearable device, the wearing status indicating whether a user is wearing the wearable device and sending wearing status data to a companion communication device to control a behavior of the companion communication device.

Changing companion communication device behavior based on status of wearable device

An electronic device such as a pair of headphones may be provided with left and right speakers for playing audio to a user. Control circuitry in the electronic device may play audio through the speakers in an unreversed configuration in which left channel audio is played through a first of the speakers that is adjacent to a left ear of the user and right channel audio is played through a second of the speakers that is adjacent to a right ear of the user or a reversed configuration in which these channel assignments are reversed. The headphones may have ear cups that house the speakers. Capacitive touch sensors, force sensors, and other sensors on the ear cups may measure ear shapes and finger grip positions on the ear cups to determine whether to operate in the unreversed or reversed configuration. Sensors may gather gestures and other user touch input.

Electronic devices with orientation sensing

A system that includes an audio source device configured to obtain audio data of at least one audio channel of a piece of program content. The audio source device has an optical transmitter for transmitting the audio data as an optical signal and a radio frequency (RF) transceiver. The system also includes a wireless earphone that has an optical receiver for receiving the audio data as the optical signal, a RF transceiver for transmitting feedback data indicating a reception quality of the received optical signal at the wireless earphone as a wireless RF signal, and a speaker for outputting the audio data contained within the optical signal and/or the data packets as sound.

Optical audio transmission from source device to wireless earphones

A voltage of a first pin that is one of several pins of an external connector of a system is measured, while the first pin is un-driven except for being pulled to ground through a first resistance, and a second pin of the external connector is being used as a power supply rail of the system. The measured voltage is compared to a short circuit threshold and in response to that threshold being exceeded, the power supply voltage on the second pin is reduced. In such an embodiment, no test stimulus needs to be applied to any of the pins of the external connector. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.

Corrosion mitigation for an external connector of an electronic device

Simplified interfaces for charging and communication between accessories and docking stations. One example may provide an interface for charging and communication between an accessory and docking station where data and a charging voltage are provided over the same pins. An accessory may determine that it is in a powered docking station by receiving a charging voltage. The accessory may determine that it is in an unpowered docking station by providing a voltage to the unpowered docking station, where the unpowered docking station uses the voltage to power an oscillator. The oscillator signal may be received by the accessory, which may use the presence of the signal to determine that it is in an unpowered docking station.

Accessory communication over power pins

A dual orientation connector having a connector tab with first and second major opposing sides and a plurality of electrical contacts carried by the connector tab. The plurality of contacts includes a first set of external contacts formed at the first major side and a second set of external contacts formed at the second major side. The first plurality of contacts are symmetrically spaced with the second plurality of contacts and the connector tab is shaped to have 180 degree symmetry so that it can be inserted and operatively coupled to a corresponding receptacle connector in either of two insertion orientations.

Dual orientation connector with external contacts

A case for a portable wireless listening device (e.g., a pair of wireless earbuds) is configured to house a pair of wireless earbuds and charge the earbuds when they are in the case. The case is further configured to receive media received by the wireless earbuds and transmit the media to a non-wireless output device connected to the case. The case can further include its own wireless radio that can wirelessly communicate audio to the wireless earbuds when the earbuds are not in the case. The case can further include an input port to receive an audio signal from a non-wireless source and can be configured to wirelessly transmit the audio received from the source to the wireless earbuds.

Wireless headset carrying case with digital audio output port

Embodiments relate generally to mobile devices and more particular to notification accessories capable of displaying alerts generated by mobile devices. In one embodiment, a notification accessory in the form of a wristband is disclosed. The notification accessory can receive notifications wirelessly from a mobile device and display the notifications to a user. Icons illuminating in different colors and haptics can be used to alert the user to the presence of the notification. In other embodiments, the notification accessory can also be used to send commands back to the mobile device.

Notification systems for smart band and methods of operation

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Jahan C Minoo