Apple’s accessories, whether they include watch bands, covers, cases, screen overlays, camera attachments or Bluetooth accessories, perfectly complement Apple devices without interfering with their operations or functions.

 

 

 

Apple Mouse

The Apple mouse was one of the first commercial digital mice to be available to consumers. Over the course of many years, Apple has maintained a consistently distinct form and function of its mice that reflect its design philosophies.

 

Features

The mice that are developed by Apple are renowned for their single button control interface. It wasn’t until 2005 when Apple introduced a mouse with a scroll ball and four programmable ‘buttons.’

Every Apple-manufactured mice had a ball-tracking control mechanism until 2000 when the brand introduced optical LED-based control mechanisms. These days, Apple’s mice use laser-tracking.

 

 

Apple Magic Mouse

 

 

The Apple Magic Mouse (A1296) was introduced on October 20, 2009, replacing the Wireless Mighty Mouse. The mouse features multi-touch gesture controls identical to those found on the iPhone and the MacBook’s trackpads, laser-tracking and wireless Bluetooth capabilities. The Magic Mouse is featured with the new iMac and the Mighty Mouse is no longer included as an option.

 

Apple Magic Mouse 2

 

 

On October 15th, 2015, a second generation of the Apple Magic Mouse (A1657) was released, which could charge via a Lightning Connector. The only difference in this version, however, is that the Lightning Connector is located on the bottom of the mouse. This simply meant that the mouse could not be used while charging, which was a poor design choice received by most outlets.

 

 

Apple Trackpad

 

 

Magic Trackpad

 

 

Apple’s Magic Trackpad is a multi-touched trackpad that was announced on July 27, 2010, that is 80% larger than the one found on the current MacBook family of laptops. 

The trackpad was made of aluminum and glass, was designed in the same style as Apple’s Wireless Keyboard and could sit flush to it. The entire trackpad could be used as a button on a mouse, which by pressing down on it puts pressure on the two circular feet below to register a click. It connected via Bluetooth and ran on two AA batteries.

 

Magic Trackpad 2

 

 

On October 13th, 2015, the Magic Trackpad 2 was introduced. It is a multi-touch and Force Touch trackpad which is the successor to the first generation Magic Trackpad.

In design, the Magic Trackpad 2 is similar to its predecessor, only this model comes with a larger form factor, Force Touch and rechargeable lithium-ion battery. It also provides haptic feedback via Apple built-in Taptic Engine which is the same in MacBook trackpads. The Lightning provides the charging and pairing facilities.

 

Apple Keyboard

 

 

 

Apple Wireless Keyboard

 

The Apple Wireless Keyboard was a wireless keyboard that introduced on September 16, 2005, and was built for Macintosh computers and compatible with iOS devices. It interacts over Bluetooth wireless technology and unlike the wired counterpart, it has no USB connectors or ports. The keyboard discontinued on October 13, 2015, and was succeeded by the Magic Keyboard.

 

Magic Keyboard

 

 

This is the current keyboard produced by Apple. It was released alongside the Magic Mouse 2 and the Magic Trackpad 2 and is the successor to the Apple Wireless Keyboard.

The Magic Keyboard is similar in design to its predecessor but with a lower profile. Apple redid the scissor mechanism in order to increase key stability by 33 percent and reduce key travel. The model also comes with a sealed non-replaceable rechargeable Lithium-ion battery that can be charged through a Lightning Connector in the middle rear of the keyboard. The rechargeable battery is capable of lasting one month between charges.

 

Apple Earbuds

 

 

 

Apple EarPods

 

 

These are white in-ear headphones that are included with music players and smartphones. These earphones are designed to fit the ear while also retaining a new design pushed by Apple alongside the iPod and iPod Touch products. These are the standard headphones that are provided with Apple iPhone purchases.

They were introduced on September 12, 2012, and were first included with the iPhone 5 and features a microphone and remote control. They were later shipped along with the iPod Touch (5th generation) (without a remote and mic) and the iPod Nano (7th generation) (also without a remote and mic). 

Then, the EarPods with Lightning Connector was introduced and was shipped along the iPhone 7 and later models and worked with other devices that had a Lightning Connector and support iOS 10 or later. Later on September 12th, 2018, every iPhone model from the iPhone 7 to the iPhone X shipped with a Lightning-to-3.5mm headphone jack adapter that allowed customers to connect 3.5mm headphones to a Lightning port.

 

 

 

AirPods

 

 

AirPods are wireless Bluetooth earbuds, which apart from playing music and relaying phone calls, support Siri and a physical user interface which can detect taps and in-ear placement.

These devices include the proprietary Apple W1 SoC, in which its additional connectivity functions require devices running iOS 10, macOS Sierra, watchOS 3, or later. The earbuds automatically sync through Apple’s iCloud service allowing users to switch audio sources to other supported devices connected by the same Apple ID.

They also function as standard Bluetooth headphones when connected to any device that supports Bluetooth 4.0 or higher, including Android devices.

 

 

 

Cases

 

 

A case that is well-designed will secure a device properly without interfering with its operation. These cases have been made to protect the device from a 1 m drop onto a hard paved surface in any device orientation. More importantly, the exposed glass of the device must not come 1 mm of a flat surface, such as a table or floor, in any orientation when the case is attached. This is possible by covering the exposed glass or making features around it that that will space the exposed glass at least 1 mm away from the flat surface.

 

Cases should allow users to access as well as operate the device’s mechanical control, including:

  • Volume buttons
  • Ring/Silent switch
  • Side button
  • Home/Touch ID sensor
  • Home button
  • Sleep/Wake button

 

 

 

Screen Overlays

 

 

Screen overlays are touch surfaces in devices that sense the presence of one or more fingers on their surface. Any material that is between the surface of the product and the user’s hand, be it a very thin piece of plastic, could affect the performance of the touch surface.

 

Product Design

 

The thickness of the screen overlay must not exceed 0.1 mm for the following devices:

  • iPad Pro (12.9-inch) 3rd Generation
  • iPad Pro (11-inch)
  • iPad (6th generation)
  • iPad Pro (12.9-inch) 2nd Generation
  • iPad Pro (10.5-inch)
  • iPad Pro (9.7-inch)
  • iPad Pro (12.9-inch) 1st Generation
  • The screen overlay thickness must not exceed 0.3 mm

 

Screen overlays must not:

  • Be electronically conducive
  • Include air gaps between the overlay and the touchscreen

 

 

 

 

Edge Swipe Gestures

 

Users can easily use iOS edge swipe gestures even with the presence of a screen overlay.

 

Examples of swipe gestures include:

  • Swipe in from the bottom edge for Home, App Switcher, or Reachability.
  • Swipe in from the top edge for Control Center or Notification Center.
  • Swipe in from the left edge in Messages or Mail to go back from a conversation.

 

Edge swipe gestures can be widely used in both portrait and landscape orientations for the following devices: 

  • iPhone XS Max
  • iPhone XS
  • iPhone XR
  • iPhone X
  • iPad Pro (12.9-inch) 3rd Generation
  • iPad Pro (11-inch)

 

 

 

Edge Press Gestures

 

Users can also easily use iOS edge press gestures even with the presence of a screen overlay.

 

Edge press gestures are supported in the following devices: 

  • iPhone 8 Plus
  • iPhone 8
  • iPhone 7 Plus
  • iPhone 7
  • iPhone 6s Plus
  • iPhone 6s

 

 

 

 

Watch Bands

 

 

 

 

Requirements

 

The bands for Apple Watches must blend two lugs that get attached to the Apple Watch Band Interface. Apple Watches use a high precision interface profile for a basic 2D lug profile. Using a ‘lug latch’ feature, the lugs should lock into the band mating slot, preventing accidental removal of the band.

The lug latch should never be jammed in the extended position. The bands must never integrate magnetic charger.

 

Lugs and bands should:

  • Pass a 72-hour salt mist test as specified in ASTM B117 with no visible sign of corrosion.
  • Withstand a 5-20 kg lateral slide-out force when installing on Apple Watch.
  • Resist a 20 kg or greater pull force as specified in ISO-6245:1996, Specifications for Diver’s Watches, section 3.
  • Are able to detach easily from Apple Watch when the band release buttons are pressed.
  • Take into account the weight of Apple Watch

 

When considering compatibility with Apple Watch heart rate sensors, the bands should:

  • Have the length sizing adjustment pitch of less than 7 mm (center to center).
  • Offer adequate adjustability for the user to achieve a snug, yet comfortable, fit that prevents movement of Apple Watch relative to the skin.

 

The bands shouldn’t keep the skin of the user from maintaining direct contact with the Apple Watch heart rate sensors and the back of the device and must make use of sufficient margin to compensate for the band material’s shifting or dimensional changes. If the user doesn’t comply with this, it could interfere with Apple Watch wrist detect and Apple Pay features.

 

 

 

Bluetooth

 

 

Any accessory that is compatible with a device of any brand, should support the Bluetooth Core Specification Version 2.1 + EDR or higher. This introduced an important security feature Secure Simple Pairing and Extended Inquiry Response.

 

 

 

Enhanced Data Rate

 

The Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) feature that was introduced in the Bluetooth 2.0 specification allows accessories to communicate more efficiently. All accessory must use the EDR for the following reasons:

  • It provides higher data rates than Basic Data Rate (BDR).
  • It communicates more efficiently, which transfer more data bits per unit of time.
  • It reduces the amount of power used per bit transferred.
  • It improves coexistence with Wi-Fi as well as other connected Bluetooth devices due to freeing up more air time.
  • It improves performance in multipoint configurations.

 

 

 

Adaptive Frequency Hopping

 

The Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH) feature that was introduced in the Bluetooth 1.2 specification improves coexistence with Wi-Fi and other connected Bluetooth devices. Every accessory has to use AFH.

 

 

 

 

 

Sniff Mode for Low Power Consumption

 

All mobile devices have to make minimal use of power consumption. Therefore, any accessory that is compatible with a device:

  • Must support and should request Bluetooth sniff mode.
  • Must accept requests for sniff mode and support every valid parameter that is listed in the Bluetooth specification.
  • Must support a sniff interval of 15 ms.
  • Must not renegotiate sniff after being established.
  • Must support sniff subtracting.

 

Should use the following recommended sniff mode values:

  • Max Interval: 15 ms
  • Min Interval: 15 ms
  • Sniff Attempt: 1
  • Sniff Timeout: 0

 

 

 

 

Extended Inquiry Response

 

All accessories that are compatible with a device have to provide the following information in its Extended Inquiry Response packet:

  • The Local Name of the accessory.
  • The TX Power Level.

 

During the discovery process, the device prefers to display the Friendly Name of discovered accessories.

 

 

 

Secure Simple Pairing

 

Every accessory that is compatible with a device must:

  • Use Secure Simple Pairing.
  • Use the Numerical Comparison method if it includes a display and input device supporting it.

 

The Secure Simple Pairing boosts a device’s security and is a mandatory security feature introduced in the Bluetooth 2.1 specification.

 

 

 

Siri

 

 

Siri is Apple’s own virtual assistant that is able to assist users with their device’s various functions and have casual interactions with as well. Siri uses a natural language user interface and voice queries to make recommendations, answer questions, and perform actions by delegating requests to a set of Internet services. With the passage of time and continuing use, the software adapts to users’ individual language usages, searches, and performances.