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ApplePatent applicationPhones & computersInterest 3/10

Apple patents clock face with background that changes size with time

Apple describes a digital clock design where the background is split into two sections with different looks. As the time changes, the size of one background section adjusts to reflect the current hour or minute.

Why it mattersIt offers a subtle visual cue for the time of day, potentially making it easier to glance at the clock without reading numbers.

In the filing’s own words

A device receives a request to display a clock face with a first background segment and a second background segment that has a different appearance from the first background segment. In response to receiving the request, the device displays the clock face.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. An electronic device, comprising: a display device; one or more processors; and memory storing one or more programs configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for: receiving a request to display a clock face with a first background segment and a second background segment that has a different appearance from the first background segment; and in response to receiving the request to display the clock face: in accordance with a determination that a current time is a first time, displaying, via the display device, the clock face, the clock face at the first time including: the first background segment having a first edge at a first position and a second edge at a second position, wherein: the first edge at the first position indicates a first unit of time of the first time, the second edge at the second position indicates a second unit of time of the first time, and at the first time, the first background segment has a first size; and in accordance with a determination that a current time is a second time different from the first time, displaying, via the display device, the clock face, the clock face at the second time including: the first background segment having the first edge at a third position and the second edge at a fourth position, wherein: the first edge at the third position indicates a first unit of time of the second time, the second edge at the fourth position indicates a second unit of time of the second time, and at the second time, the first background segment has a second size that is different from the first size.

Facts

Company
Apple (Apple Inc.)
Official title
CLOCK FACES FOR AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE
Publication number
US20260267462A1
Application number
19560493
Filed
Mar 9, 2026
Published
Sep 10, 2026
Inventors
4
Claims
15

Classified under

G06F 3/04817 Physics & computingG06F 3/0481 Physics & computingG06F 3/0482 Physics & computingG06F 3/0488 Physics & computingG04G 9/0064 Physics & computingG04G 9/007 Physics & computing

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.