Future iPad cases could sport drastically different designs

Future iPad cases from Apple could sport some drastically different designs if those that appear in a new patent filing ever come fruition. The filing (number 10,466,749) is for a “peripheral housing for a computing device.”

In the patent filing info, Apple says that recent advances in computing devices have provided for the miniaturization or reduction in size of the components, such as computer components, used to power and drive the devices, such as processors, batteries, memory, integrated circuits, and the like. Consequently, further tailoring of housing designs, shapes, and configurations to provide additional or enhanced device functionality may therefore be desirable, the tech giant adds.

Similarly, Apple says the configuration of a display of a computing device with respect to a housing can be tailored to provide additional or enhanced device functionality. What sort of functionality? Per the patent data and accompanying graphics:

• A built-in handle for carrying;

• A built-in kickstand;

• A special nook for attaching an Apple Pencil;

• The ability to attach an external battery;

• And more.

Here’s the summary of the patent filing: “A computing device can include a housing including a peripheral housing defining an aperture, the peripheral housing having a constant cross-sectional area. The computing device can also include a display having a first major surface and a second major surface opposing the first major surface, the display disposed within the aperture defined by the peripheral housing and attached to the housing at one or more locations such that the first major surface and the second major surface of the display are substantially unobstructed by any other portion of the computing device.”

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.