Solar Powered iPhone: Could a Solar Powered Apple iPhone be the Future?

Solar Powered iPhone: It may sound farfetched to some, but is it possible that a solar powered smartphone could make its way to the market sometime in the near future? While there is no reason to believe that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is getting ready to announce something like this soon, it is safe to say that the Cupertino-based company realizes the potential.

Today, the U.S. Patent and Trademark office published a patent application from Apple entitled: Integrated touch sensor and solar assembly

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) Press Info

If you want to see the patent application in its entirety, you can visit this page.

While the name pretty much says it all, the abstract of the patent shares some more information on what Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is thinking:

“Integrated touch sensor and solar panel configurations that may be used on portable devices, particularly handheld portable devices such as a media player or phone are disclosed. The integrated touch sensor array and solar cell stack-ups may include electrodes that are used both for collecting solar energy and for sensing on a touch sensor array. By integrating both the touch sensors and the solar cell layers into the same stack-up, surface area on the portable device may be conserved. In addition to being used for capacitive sensing, the integrated touch sensor and solar panel configurations may also be used for optical sensing.”

Again, this may not be something that comes to market anytime soon. That being said, if this patent ever becomes reality it would give Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and iPad owners the ability to charge their device using solar power.

This sounds like a great idea on the surface. If any company has the ability to make it happen, one would think that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) would be first in line. But remember, just because the company filed for a patent does not mean it is going to immediately devote an abundance of resources to developing the technology.

Would you like to see a solar powered Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone at some point in the future? Do you think this will ever happen?

Check back here for more updates on Solar Powered iPhone.

DISCLOSURE: I have no positions in any stock mentioned.

For more Apple news, visit the following pages:

An Update on the Apple Inc. iPad Market Share

App Wars: Apple Inc. vs. Google Inc, Betty Liu Reports

Two More Patents Awarded to Apple Inc.