What you need to know

  • An Apple patent shows how it could use your device's logo to show notifcations.
  • Different decorations on a device give wide variety of options.
  • Could work with any Apple device.

A patent published Thursday has revealed that Apple is exploring the possibility of using its logo as a means to signal notifications on its devices. The patent covers the iPhone but also shows how the feature could improve other devices such as the MacBook. The patent, titled "Electronic Devices with Adjustable Decoration" and picked up by Apple Insider details how a decorative piece could be added to casing, in the form of a company logo or a piece of trim.

This would be transparent with an optical component to alter the appearance, adding tint, haze, mirroring and more. This would all be connected to the device and controlled via the operating system. In practice, this could mean that a devices Apple logo could be controlled by iOS or macOS to change in a particular way based on a certain set of circumstances. For example, your phone's logo could change color to signify a battery life warning, a notifications or a Health update. Similarly it could be applied in just about any way concievable to iPad or Mac.

It's a really interesting concept and would certainly offer up lots of possibilites for notifications on devices, but it probably won't work with a case on...