Apple is about to make the Smart Cover on iPad even smarter. The company has filed for a patent that will show notifications on the on the Smart Cover itself. This will enable users to check their notification like email, SMS and other alerts without opening the screen.
The official name of the patent is “Integrated visual notification system in an accessory device” and according to the images provided, the accessory device looks a lot like an iPad Smart Cover. Also, this resembles HTC Dot View Case that was launched for the HTC One M8. The patent describes two ways of achieving the notifications, either by using Smart Covers with built-in LEDs or displays, using translucent or selectively transparent materials. The level of illuminations which are embedded in the cover can be controlled by the user.
In some cases the illumination states can be human readable. For example, the illumination elements can form recognizable words or symbols. In other cases a series of lights can be understood by a user to signify a specific operating state.
according to Apple’s patent filing.
In case of the transparent window, the cover’s flap will allow the light to shine through from the tablet which will make the notifications visible on the screen directly. It must be noted that as usual, this is a mere patent and hence does not mean that Apple will launch these covers.