Fuel cells could give future Apple devices weeks of battery life

By Williams Pelegrin July 15, 2014

While sand could be used to increase battery performance threefold, Apple is reportedly working on environment-friendly fuel cell batteries that could potentially allow your iOS device to run for days, even weeks.

Cited by “senior sources in the U.S.” and reported by Daily Mail, Apple is reportedly working with British fuel cell firm Intelligent Energy to try and bring its long-lasting battery project to the Cupertino-based company’s iPads and MacBooks. The report did not mention the iPhone, though it’s likely that Apple will embed the technology into its smartphones once fuel cells are miniaturized enough.

In December of last year, Intelligent Energy purchased patents that pertain to the practical application of fuel cell, from battery firm Eveready. Intelligent Energy revealed that it purchased the patents in tandem with a major “international electronics company,” with a source familiar with the partnership saying the company in question is Apple.

Intelligent Energy already has close ties to Apple, as represented by its recruiting of former Apple product specialist Joe O’Sullivan to its board as chief operating officer. In addition, the British fuel cell firm opened an office in San Jose, California, a short distance away from Apple’s headquarters. Neither company has yet to confirm or deny the partnership, though the fuel cell technology won’t be seen in Apple products for another few years.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Williams Pelegrin

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…

Computing

If iOS 17 is a letdown, you can blame this one Apple device

iOS 16 Work Focus with a Fantastical widget and two rows of work-related apps

Apple is going all out on developing the operating system for its secret mixed-reality headset. In fact, that ongoing effort could mean Apple’s other systems miss out on exciting new features this year, including iOS 17 and macOS 14.

According to a new report from journalist Mark Gurman, Apple has reassigned engineers to the headset’s operating system, dubbed xrOS, and away from other projects. That might be bad news if you were hoping for major software updates to the next iPhone, iPad, and Mac models.

Mobile

Your next Apple Pencil could select colors from real-world objects

Drawing with the Apple Pencil on the iPad Pro (2022).

Apple recently filed for a patent that indicates a major feature update is coming to a possible future generation of the Apple Pencil. The patent is for image sensors that can detect colors on real-world surfaces, plus their physical texture. If implemented, new Apple Pencils could make it easier than ever before for artists and designers to find and match color samples without needing to search for them digitally.

The patent, spotted first by Patently Apple, indicates that the sensor would be toward to tip of the pencil, meaning that to get a color sample, all someone would need to do is position the "drawing" end of the smart pencil toward an object to seamlessly sample its color and texture onto a paired Apple device. If brought to Apple Pencils, the feature would be a huge step forward for digital artists.

Mobile

iOS 17 could be amazing if Apple makes these 7 changes

iOS 16 Work Focus with a Fantastical widget and two rows of work-related apps

Apple recently released the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro, and the latest and greatest iPhones were equipped with iOS 16. While some features that Apple announced for iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 are still making their way to our devices, it’s never too early to start thinking about what’s to come next.

Given Apple’s usual schedule, we should expect an announcement of iOS 17 during its 2023 Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC). Here’s what I’m hoping to see in the next iteration of iOS.
Better customization for lock and home screens