A future Apple Pencil may serve as a TV antenna

I didn’t see this coming: Apple is eyeing ways for the Apple Pencil to serve as a ….. TV antenna.

The tech giant been granted a patent for an “Accessory For Electronic Device Including Broadcast Signal Tuner.”

About the patent

The patent relates generally accessories for electronic devices, and in particular to accessories for electronic devices configured to receive and process broadcast signals, such as broadcast television signals. In the patent filing Apple notes that electronic devices have become ubiquitous for entertainment, allowing for consumption of audio, video, and other media in a convenient manner. 

For example, mobile phones and tablet computers typically include high-resolution displays for displaying videos, movies, and the like. However, reception for over-the-air content is often lacking. 

Apple’s idea: an Apple Pencil with multiple antennas. One would be configured to receive a broadcast signal, the broadcast signal including video content. A second antenna would configured to communicate with a remote electronic device (Mac, iPhone, iPad) via a wireless communication protocol, and a processing system within the stylus body.

Summary of the patent

Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent: “A stylus usable with an electronic device to provide an input to the electronic device, may include a stylus body, a battery within the stylus body, a first antenna configured to receive a broadcast signal, the broadcast signal including video content, a second antenna configured to communicate with a remote electronic device via a wireless communication protocol, and a processing system configured to receive the broadcast signal from the antenna, demodulate the broadcast signal to produce a digital content signal including the video content, encode the digital content signal according to the wireless communication protocol to produce an encoded digital content signal, and send to the remote electronic device, via the second antenna, the encoded digital content signal.”

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