Trademarks for 'AirPod Case,' 'Iris Engine,' 'Touch Bar,' and More Hint at Future Apple Products

Trademark lawyer Brian Conroy today shared the culmination of months of intensive research on Apple trademarks, giving us some solid insight into what the company might be working on based on its trademark filings around the world.

First and foremost, Conroy has tracked down a trademark filing for the iPhone 7, seemingly confirming the "iPhone 7" name just ahead of tomorrow's event. The larger version of the iPhone, the "iPhone 7 Plus" is also mentioned in a separate filing, confirming that name as well.

appletrademarkfilings
Conroy has also found a trademark filing that confirms the "AirPods" trademark has been registered by Apple. MacRumors first discovered the AirPods trademark late last year and linked it to a lawyer associated with Apple, but Apple was careful to use a shell company for trademark registration. While there was little doubt the AirPods trademark belonged to Apple, there is now no question.


Alongside the AirPods, which are said to be wireless Bluetooth earbuds, Apple also appears to have trademarked the name "AirPod Case," which is in line with rumors suggesting the AirPods will come with a battery case that is aimed at charging them on the go to increase battery life. The AirPods are rumored to feature four hours of battery life sans case and they could be announced at tomorrow's event along with updated Beats headphones.

Conroy has also found trademark filings for future Apple products that include "Apple Iris Engine," "Apple Iris Image Engine," "Apple Smart Button," and "Apple Touch Bar," which he plans to cover in greater detail in later posts. Apple is rumored to be working on iris recognition capabilities for the 2017 iPhone, and "Apple Touch Bar" could potentially refer to the touch panel that's built into the next-generation MacBook Pro, rumored to be coming this October. Apple Smart Button is less clear, but could potentially refer to the new touch-based flush Home button coming in the iPhone 7.

Software-based filings have also been discovered, including "Apple Swift Labs," "Apple Progress Card," "Apple Breathe," "Apple Smart View," "Apple Rich Links," "iBooks Storytime," "Control Strip," and many other trademarks for known iOS 10 features. macOS Sierra trademarks that hint at alternate names Apple might have used for the operating system have also been discovered and will be shared later.

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Top Rated Comments

MrGimper Avatar
115 months ago
Trademark lawyer Brian Conroy today shared the culmination of months of intensive research ('http://brianconroy.com/') on Apple trademarks

Dude needs a woman, badly
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Born Again Avatar
115 months ago
I keep confusing Airpods with Air Bud

Sorry - it can't be unseen

Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
smacrumon Avatar
115 months ago
Love the sound of the "Iris Engine".
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jdillings Avatar
115 months ago
I keep confusing Airpods with Air Bud

Sorry - it can't be unseen

Fingers crossed Air Bud makes an appearance at tomorrow's event.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Gorms Avatar
115 months ago
Bet cash money right now that Iris Engine relates to the dual lens camera tech (Lytro camera style ability to refocus image after the fact on the fly) and NOT iris scanning.

Now please up-vote the **** out of this comment so it gets in front of more people's eyes before they start daydreaming about getting them scanned.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
115 months ago
If only people would remember that Apple trademarks countless terms that they never end up using. Just because they've trademarked a term does not mean it'll be part of a product at any point in time.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)