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ApplePatent applicationBatteries & energyInterest 6/10

Apple patents phone feature that stops checking nearby towers to save battery

This filing describes a method for smartphones to save battery by stopping unnecessary checks of nearby cell towers. The phone looks at its movement, location, and battery level to decide when it is safe to pause these signal measurements.

Why it mattersIt could lead to slightly longer battery life for users by reducing background activity when the phone is idle or in a stable location.

In the filing’s own words

Some aspects relate to apparatuses and methods for implementing mechanisms for intelligent power saving in a wireless communication system. For example, a user equipment (UE) is configured to determine whether a movement state associated with the UE satisfies one or more movement conditions. The UE can further determine operational information associated with the UE, in response to the determination that the movement state associated with the UE satisfies the one or more movement conditions. The operational information can include location information, power level information, or background process information. The UE can further cease, at least based on the operational information and one or more operational conditions being satisfied, a signal measurement associated with a neighbor cell.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A user equipment (UE), comprising: a transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with a cell in a wireless network; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to: determine whether a movement state associated with the UE satisfies one or more movement conditions; determine operational information associated with the UE, in response to the determination that the movement state associated with the UE satisfies the one or more movement conditions, wherein the operational information includes location information, power level information, or background process information; and cease, at least based on the operational information and one or more operational conditions being satisfied, a signal measurement associated with a neighbor cell.

Facts

Company
Apple (APPLE INC.)
Official title
INTELLIGENT POWER SAVING IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
Publication number
US20260333236A1
Application number
19639840
Filed
Apr 6, 2026
Published
Oct 22, 2026
Inventors
8
Claims
1

Classified under

H04W 52/0254 Electricity & electronicsH04W 4/02 Electricity & electronicsH04W 52/0212 Electricity & electronics
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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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.