By this point it seems like we’ve heard every rumor possible about the iPhone 6, but the rumor mongering around the device will likely just keep happening until it comes out. We’ve heard that there will be a plastic version of the iPhone and that the iPhone 6 will be gold-trimmed and have 128 GB of storage space. We’ve heard a nearly endless list of alleged specs for the device and seen numerous concept videos in which the iPhone 6 sports dream-like features.
Now Patently Apple has uncovered a batch of 30 new Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) patents which are adding some new rumors to the pile.
iPhone 6 With Easier Wireless Data Transfer?
One of the new rumors that has surfaced based on this latest round of patents is the addition of AirDrop to the iPhone 6. This feature was added to Mac computers in 2011, and it makes it possible for two Mac computers on separate networks to be able to swap files.
The new patent enables data to be transferred by tapping two devices together. Of course there is already other technology which exists in competing products, but Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has described similar tech in previous patents from past years. And with rumors that the iPhone 6 will have 128 GB of storage space, adding AirDrop or similar technology to the device would seem to indicate that the company is going after the enterprise sector even more heavily than it has been.
There’s no doubt that the enterprise sector has become increasingly important in recent years as Research In Motion Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) (TSE:BB) tries desperately to get its foot back in that door after many of its BlackBerry devices were replaced by the iPhone 5.
Multi-Touch Gesturing On The iPhone 6?
There’s also a new patent describing something referred to as multi-touch gesturing. It describes functionality which detects more than one type of gesture, like a tap and then a swipe. Of course it would make sense that such technology would appear on the iPhone 6 and the iPad, but this particular patent is in relation to the MacBook Pro / Air track pads.
Other Potential iPhone 6 Patents
We won’t go through all 30 of these patents, but there is one that describes a “device, method and graphical user interface for tracking movement on a map.” This tech would be an extremely important addition to the iPhone 6 after the mapping debacle which plagued Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) after the iPhone 5 came out. We don’t want a repeat of that to happen with the iPhone 6.
These patents also include the flex circuit which provides “electrical connections to both sides of a touch sensor panel.” The flex circuit patent is likely related to an earlier one for an “electronic device with wrap-around display. Those patents, paired with a job listing from earlier this year, undoubtedly provided for one of the earlier iPhone 6 rumors which featured a wrap around display.
