Last updated: July 17, 2026

Application No. 18/679,998

TECHNIQUES FOR FINDING A DEVICE IN MOTION

Non-Final OA

Filed

May 31, 2024

Priority

Jun 02, 2023 — provisional 63/470,695

Examiner

KINCAID, LESTER G

Art Unit

2649

Tech Center

2600 — Communications

Assignee

Apple Inc.

OA Round

1 (Non-Final)

Interview Optional

— +6.5% interview lift. Interview already conducted in this application's prosecution history. This examiner has a 56% grant rate with +6.5% interview lift. Since an interview has already been tried, recommend written response with narrowed claims based on precedent claim evolution patterns.

Based on 64 resolved cases, 2023–2026

Examiner Intelligence

KINCAID, LESTER G View full profile →

Grants 56% of resolved cases

Career Allowance Rate

36 granted / 64 resolved

-5.7% vs TC avg

Moderate +6% lift

Without

With

+6.5%

Interview Lift

resolved cases with interview

Typical timeline

2y 9m

Avg Prosecution

20 currently pending

Career history

103

Total Applications

across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101

1.0%

-39.0% vs TC avg

§103

94.2%

+54.2% vs TC avg

§102

2.9%

-37.1% vs TC avg

§112

1.0%

-39.0% vs TC avg

Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 64 resolved cases

Prosecution Timeline

May 31, 2024

Application Filed

Apr 13, 2026

Non-Final Rejection mailed

Jul 09, 2026

Applicant Interview (Telephonic)

Jul 09, 2026

Examiner Interview Summary

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

18/485,969

Patent 12684494

VARIABLE POWER TRANSMISSION FOR BATTERY-POWERED DEVICES

2y 9m to grant Granted Jul 14, 2026

18/339,514

Patent 12666230

METHOD FOR DISCRIMINATING REQUESTS IN A REGROUP OF GROUPS IN A 3GPP MCS NETWORK

3y 0m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026

18/531,270

Patent 12659768

CHANNEL IDENTIFICATION AND QUALITY EVALUATION USING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) / MACHINE LEARNING (ML) PATTERN RECOGNITION

2y 6m to grant Granted Jun 16, 2026

18/281,077

Patent 12634840

COMMUNICATION METHODS AND COMMUNICATION APPARATUS

2y 8m to grant Granted May 19, 2026

18/256,247

Patent 12618934

METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR VALIDATING LOCATIONS

2y 11m to grant Granted May 05, 2026

Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.

Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2

Expected OA Rounds

56%

Grant Probability

63%

With Interview (+6.5%)

2y 9m (~7m remaining)

Median Time to Grant

Low

PTA Risk

Based on 64 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.