Apple patents stylus for iPhone, iPad

It seems as though Apple are looking at stylus pens for the iPad, and iPhone, according to a new patent from the Cupertino-based company. Apple's latest patent applications have shown that they're definitely working on one, but whether we see it eventuate into a physical product is another thing.

The patent filed is for an optical stylus, with haptic feedback. The optical stylus is an input device with an optical camera on the tip, when you move the stylus over the touchscreen, the optical camera tracks specially formatted pixels, or special, user eye invisible markings on the display.

So as you can see, it's not just a simple stylus pen. The stylus with haptic feedback comes with a built-in haptic actuator and a short-range wireless receiver. The vibration commands are transmitted through a tiny wireless transmitter built into the bezel of the iPad. Right now, these products are just teases, nothing concrete yet. But it's definitely funny for Apple, a company that once laughed at stylus pens, with the late Steve Jobs saying "if you see a stylus, they blew it."