The original iPhone changed a lot of things. It made touchscreen phones cool and in fashion. It set the standard for what a full touchscreen phone should and should not have. Manufacturers flocked to copy or beat the iPhone. One of the things that iPhone standardised is the physical packaging that the phone comes in. The small white coloured box is now used by nearly all smartphone OEMs. This new patent filing from Apple shows us what the company intends to do with future iPhone and iPod packaging.
The patent was originally filed in May 2011 but was published today. The image above shows what Apple intends to do. It’s an iPod case with a lid that can be removed and a base that transforms into a dock. The dock seems to be permanently fixed in place. It’s an interesting solution and would save users the task of purchasing an additional dock. How it will be implemented remains to be seen.
But whether this is a patent filing that Apple actually intends to use, or a patent just for the heck of it remains to be seen. For now we’re stuck with regular cardboard boxes which are not nearly as fun.