Apple patent filing involves ‘In-Box Software Updates’

Sometimes when you buy an Apple product, you may have to immediately update its software before using it. Apple wants to change that as the tech giant has filed for a patent (number US 20230393837 A1) for “In-Box Software Updates.”

About the patent filing

During manufacturing, a mobile device’s hardware components are loaded with software. However due to the inconsistent hardware and software development timelines, the software may be out of date by the time the mobile device reaches a point of sale. 

Currently, the out-of-date software can be addressed by updating the software after the device has been purchased. A salesperson can update and configure the mobile device in the store or the customer can update the device at home, after taking the device out of the box.

However, Apple notes that updating the device after a sale is inefficient and costly because an update can take 30 minutes or more to download and install. During installation, space in a store, and an employee, are occupied by the purchasing customer. Performing a software update after sale can mean that stores are larger and staffed with more employees than would be the case if updates were performed elsewhere.

Apple says that store efficiency and the customer experience can be improved by updating mobile devices after manufacturing but before sale. However, mobile devices are often packaged in sealed containers to protect inventory from theft or tampering. Apple’s patent filing involves updating mobile device software after manufacturing and without opening the device’s packaging.

Summary of the patent filing

Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent filing: “In some implementations, the device may include exiting a shelf-life mode and turning on a peer-to-peer wireless protocol in response to detecting a power source. A device identifier can be provided to a host device via the peer-to-peer wireless protocol. 

“A connection ticket authorizing the electronic device to connect to a wide area network can be received from the host device via the peer-to-peer wireless protocol. The connection ticket can be being generated by a server system using a private key. The connection ticket may include the device identifier associated with the electronic device. A connection to a wide area network can be requested from an access point using a network wireless protocol. A software update can be performed over the wide area network via the access point.”

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