There's an old Korean proverb that says, "If there's no fire, there's no smoke." Smoke can't rise without a fire. So, I guess it means there's no effect without a cause.

This proverb can also be applied to the field of patents. When Apple's iPhone first came out in 2007, the world was captivated by its innovative touch UI. The iPhone's emergence ushered in a new paradigm for smartphones. However, going back two years, this innovation was already anticipated.

In 2005, Apple acquired Fingerworks, a company specializing in touch recognition technology. At the time, the company held only five patents, but Apple acquired a total of 17 patents by 2007. By filing a large number of patent applications, Apple foreshadowed the arrival of the touch-based iPhone. This trend was also evident with the iPhone 4, released in 2011. Apple acquired Siri in 2010, prior to the launch of the iPhone 4, which featured Siri, to prepare for its voice recognition technology.

In other words, a close look at patent technology trends can reveal which technologies will emerge and be commercialized in the future. It's as if a smoking chimney already had a fire (patent registration) burning before it even started. According to iPnomics's patent future technology in the machinery and device sector, interesting results can be found.

For example, the growth rate of wearable technology, which is technology that attaches computers to clothing or the body, reached 72.8% over the past three years. This demonstrates a high level of commercialization and citations. The company with the most patents is Google, with 205, followed by Samsung Electronics with 78. Regarding flexible device technology, which has a 54.1% growth rate, Samsung Display holds 206 patents, while LG Display holds 68.

Let's look at a few more. Google holds 146 patents related to autonomous driving, Bosch 113, and Boeing holds 113 patents for drones, while Honeywell holds 83. Moving on to software patents, looking at AI algorithm patents, Microsoft (204) leads the pack, followed by IBM (158) and Google (74).

Patents in the electrical and electronics field are also worth examining. FinFET semiconductor patents accounted for 66% of the total patents over the past three years, with GlobalFoundries (649), Taiwan Semiconductor (559), and IBM (197) holding the patents. Samsung Electronics (231), Qualcomm (221), and WiTricity (113) ranked in the top three for wireless power transmission patents. Microsoft (140), Magic Leap (131), and Qualcomm (86) held the most AR patents.

Companies with such a large number of patents are either already leaders in their fields or not, and some even specialize solely in patents. Having so many patents can have the effect of enabling companies to develop products using their patented technologies in the coming years or preemptively blocking other companies from easily commercializing them. It goes without saying that if these patents are bought back or infringed upon, enormous costs will be incurred.

In light of these facts, the reality that domestic companies are failing to secure a lead in future device technologies like self-driving cars, 3D printing, drones, and electric vehicles, as well as patented technologies in biochemistry and software, is bleak. Of course, owning a patent doesn't guarantee future technology, but you can't expect smoke to build in a house without firewood.

So, back to the beginning, what does Apple have in store for its next-generation weapon? Next year marks the 10th anniversary of the iPhone, so many are predicting further innovations in terms of specs. So far, there's been a lot of talk about OLED displays, all-glass designs, and wireless charging. However, a look at Apple's recent patent trends might offer a glimpse into the iPhone 8, which will be unveiled in the second half of next year.

The technologies that Apple has focused on acquiring in the past three years are patents for telecommunications (99.5%), antennas (100%), memory circuits (100%), data transmission between computers (84.4%), image analysis (100%), and information security (95.2%). The technologies that it has focused on self-citing in 2014 are patents for speech recognition and audio signal processing (595), image analysis (99), UI and screen expression (91), data transmission between computers (43), and information security (28). In addition, the technologies that it has focused on registering in the past three years are patents for graphics processing (77.7%), UI and screen expression (76.4%), telecommunications (76.8%), antennas (79.4%), image analysis (80%), and information security (73.3%).