The latest pair of Apple patents to make the rounds actually look like two that could be realistically implemented sooner than later: one for a charger with an integrated battery pack, and one for more five-finger gestures in OS X.
According to Apple, the charger/battery pack combo would be for those times you need an emergency recharge and don’t have an AC power source. An integrated processor would manage the power distribution between what goes to the computer and what goes to the auxiliary battery, and could even include a USB port for charging a second gadget. Apple even gets ambitious and mentions the possiblility of introducing solar or wireless charging into the mix.
As for the five-finger gestures, Apple has a found a new use for them. While they’re currently using the five-finger reverse pinch to bring up the launchpad in OS X Lion, the patent indicates that a normal five-finger pinch would zoom the screen out, giving you a broad look at all your open “spaces.” And it seems feasible that the two actions could be meshed together at opposite ends of the five-finger pinch spectrum. [Apple Insider and The Register via CrunchGear]