Given Steve Jobs' distaste for styluses, it comes as a surprise that Apple has recently applied for a patent application exploring the use of a stylus for the capacitive touch sensors found on the iPhone. Unlike the recently revived Newton patent, this new patent was actually filed with today's technology in mind.
The document explores the use of a stylus on modern devices such as the iPhone which are typically tuned for finger detection. Unlike older resistive screens, the new capacitive screens require styluses to have special conductive tips in order to be recognized. While we don't expect Apple to offer a stylus for the iPhone, the input methods for the upcoming tablet has remained up for debate.
The patent application is authored by John Elias, one of the co-founders of Fingerworks.
Friday November 6, 2026 3:27 pm PST by Juli Clover
When the iPhone Duo launched, we shared a list of some of the fun apps developers created for the new form factor. Two weeks out, developers are continuing to come up with fresh ideas, so we thought we'd share some of our favorites.
Games
Marbles Unhinged ($2.99) - Marbles Unhinged is a marble maze designed for the Duo. When you fold it, the floor turns into a ramp. If you stand the top...
Thursday November 5, 2026 12:59 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is launching five new products on Friday, November 6, following pre-orders that opened last week, including its first touchscreen MacBook Pro models.
The following new products will be available from today:
iPad mini with OLED display and A20 Pro chip
iMac with M6 chip
14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 chip
14-inch MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreen
16-inch MacBook Pro with OLED...
Apple plans to merge the iPhone's Action button with the Camera Control starting next year, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital."
In a new post on Weibo, the leaker claimed that a single press of the combined button would open the camera, while a long press would trigger the function assigned to the Action button. They explicitly clarified that the dedicated Action button would ...
