Apple granted patent for location-based ticket books for iOS devices

Your iPhone and iPad may one day alert you to special offers at stores you’re visiting or are near. The company has been granted a patent (number 9,125,014) for “location-based ticket books.” It most likely involves the Wallet app in iOS 9 that’s replacing the current Passbook app.

According to the patent, an iOS device can present a virtual ticket to a service provider based on a location of the device. The device can receive a virtual ticket for accessing a service from a service provider. The virtual ticket can be associated with a signal source. The signal source can be pre-programmed to broadcast a beacon signal that includes an identifier identifying the signal source. 

Intel says the processors deliver up to two and a half times better performance, triple the battery life, and graphics that are 30 times better “versus the average 5-year-old computer.” They can also be half as thin and half the weight, have faster wake up time, and battery life that lasts virtually all day, according to Kirk Skaugen, Intel senior vice president and general manager of the Client Computing Group. Intel Core M processors (used in the 12-inch MacBook with Retina display) will now include brand levels Intel Core m3, m5 and m7 processors. 

Skaugen says the new generation of Intel processors also includes several firsts for mobile designs: a mobile “K” SKU that is unlocked to enable overclocking with even more user control, a new quad-core Intel Core i5 processor that offers up to 60 percent improved mobile multitasking8, and the Intel Xeon E3 processor family now powering mobile workstations. What’s more, new Intel Speed Shift technology improves the responsiveness of mobile systems so people can, for example, apply a photo filter up to 45 percent faster, he adds.

In addition, the 6th Gen Intel Core and Intel Xeon platforms will offer a variety of new features and experiences. More devices will feature Thunderbolt 3 for USB Type-C (also included on the MacBook). The Skylake platform will also advance Intel’s “no wires” initiative to allow users to share from their computer to a TV, monitor or projector without wires and dongles.