A new patent application published by the USPTO this week indicates that Apple has been thinking about how to practically deliver the benefits of solar power to mobile devices, without requiring clumsy and gigantic external convertors. Solar charging is still fairly fringe when it comes to the general gadget-using population, but Apple’s patent, filed originally in 2012, looks like it could provide a way to make getting your power from the sun something that’s generally palatable within a few years’ time.
