Apple patent is for an AirPods case with a digital audio output port

Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,085,083) for a wireless headset (think AirPods) carrying case with a digital audio output port. Such a case seems designed for Apple’s long-long-delayed AirPower wireless charger should it ever see the light of day.

Per the patent the AirPods case is configured to house a pair of wireless earbuds and charge the earbuds when they’re in the case. Interestingly, the case would include its own wireless radio that can wirelessly communicate audio from a non-wireless source (an iPhone, iPad, or Mac seem likely) to the AirPods when they’re not in the case. 

Of course, Apple files for — and is granted — lots of patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Many are for inventions that never see the light of day. However, you never can tell which ones will materialize in a real product.