Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) is researching magnetic fasteners for clothing and cases because it considers buttons and zippers as "unsightly" and "time-consuming."
What Happened: The Tim Cook-led tech giant filed a recent patent titled “Magnetic Fastener,” first noted on Apple Insider, which explores doing away with the limitations of more traditional fasteners.
Apple described the apparatus as having a fabric body with body portions that can be opened and closed alongside a seam in its patent application.
“The magnetic fastener may have first and second portions on opposing sides of the seam,” said Apple in the patent.
“When the magnetic fastener is operated in a closed state, the magnets in the first and second portions attract each other and pull the first and second portions of the fastener together to close the seam."
Apple said when the fastener is open, the magnets in the first and second portions repel each other to open the seam.
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Why It Matters: Apple said that “Zippers can be unsightly and may be time-consuming to open and close.”
The iPhone maker was even more critical of buttons and clasps and said, “Buttons and snaps may also be incapable of forming sufficiently tight seals for openings and maybe even more time consuming to use than zippers.”
Apple has deployed magnets in several of its products, including charging ports and some laptop lids.
The Cupertino-based tech giant also filed a patent recently to use magnets for charging electric vehicles.
Price Action: On Tuesday, Apple shares closed 1.9% higher at $141.56 in the regular session and fell 0.1% in the after-hours trading, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
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Photo via pio3 on Shutterstock
