Apple patents a system to find the Apple Pencil through acoustic signals

The ultra-broadband chips that Apple has been incorporating into its devices for a couple of years allow incorporation into the Find My app. Thanks to these chips and the network of devices around the world, the possibility of finding a lost device is very great, especially if we are talking about AirTags associated with anything else. However, some accessories such as the Apple Pencil they do not have any integrated U chip. That is why Apple has patented a system based on acoustic signals to find the nearby Apple Pencil, based on the resonance frequencies of each object.

A patent based on acoustic signals to find an Apple Pencil

The Apple Pencil is quite a small accessory and the probability of losing it is very high. However, there are options to try not to lose it, such as adhering it to the magnetic side of the iPad or placing it in a suitable place if we are using a case. But if we lose it there is no way to find it Just like AirPods, AirTags, or any other great Apple device since it doesn’t have the ultra-wideband U chip.

Because of that Apple has registered a new patent, notified by PatentlyApple, and has already been published by the US Patent and Trademark Office under the name: «Peripheral device with acoustic resonator«. Actually what is being patented is the peripheral device itself and not the way to find it since it is based on the laws of physics.

The patent allows to find an Apple Pencil thanks to integrated acoustic resonators inside the pencil For example, a part of the lid that allows the accessory to be loaded could leave a millimeter gap between the connector and the lid and would create a small space that would generate a sound when it vibrates. Each object based on many parameters has a resonant frequency. That is, the iPhone would connect to Find My and would issue an acoustic frequency equal to the resonant frequency of the Apple Pencil. If the Apple Pencil is nearby, it would start to vibrate rapidly generating a sound (which is why we have discussed before).

It is the same system that is used to break glasses with a certain acoustic wave (which coincides with its resonance frequency). This system is very rudimentary and little technological since it would only allow to find the accessory in a nearby place and not if we have lost it in a place far from our position. But it is a breakthrough and one more patent that Apple could use at some point.