Patently Apple reports that Apple has been granted a patent that may hint at a new design direction for the Smart Case.
The included Smart Case stirred up a lot of online chatter for its odd appearance and poor protection when compared to the traditional hard cases that come with other premium headphones.
Apple's case has been compared to everything from handbags to lingerie and even body parts. The mixed reception has led many to wonder if Apple will rethink its design in future models, and a newly approved patent may offer a possible idea of where Apple could go next.
The patent was approved today by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, but the accompanying images leave little doubt about the specific use case Apple has.
A full-coverage two-part housing that opens and closes via a pair of magnetic "mating strips" that run along the seam is described in the patent. A headband can be seen arching over a separator as a pair of headphones are divided inside.
The images offer a top and side view of the headphone case, along with a perspective view, and they all look like a much more traditional design compared to the current one-piece folded over design, which left some reviewers feeling that Apple de-prioritised function in its pursuit of icon
With all patents, this one could well come to nothing, but Apple may well be planning a new version of AirPods Max for the company to include features that it had to leave out because of development challenges and production issues.
There were rumors that the headphones would not have a left and right orientation, but these features did not make it into the final product.
It's possible that a future version of the AirPods Max will include the function that was left out of the first launch version, but we don't know what color options are in the works for a future launch
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