Last updated: July 17, 2026

Application No. 18/956,727

VOICE ASSISTANT DISCOVERABILITY THROUGH ON-DEVICE TARGETING AND PERSONALIZATION

Non-Final OA

Filed

Nov 22, 2024

Priority

May 31, 2019 — provisional 62/855,390 +2 more

Examiner

SHARMA, NEERAJ

Art Unit

Tech Center

Assignee

Apple Inc.

OA Round

1 (Non-Final)

Interview Optional

— +11.9% interview lift. Interview lift (+11.9%) is below the 15.0% threshold. A written response is recommended.

Based on 466 resolved cases, 2023–2026

Examiner Intelligence

SHARMA, NEERAJ View full profile →

Grants 85% — above average

Career Allowance Rate

395 granted / 466 resolved

+24.8% vs TC avg

Moderate +12% lift

Without

With

+11.9%

Interview Lift

resolved cases with interview

Typical timeline

2y 8m

Avg Prosecution

25 currently pending

Career history

487

Total Applications

across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101

6.8%

-33.2% vs TC avg

§103

74.8%

+34.8% vs TC avg

§102

17.2%

-22.8% vs TC avg

§112

1.0%

-39.0% vs TC avg

Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 466 resolved cases

Prosecution Timeline

Nov 22, 2024

Application Filed

Aug 20, 2025

Response after Non-Final Action

Jul 01, 2026

Non-Final Rejection mailed (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

18/439,049

Patent 12676144

DEEPFAKE DETECTION

2y 4m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026

18/642,071

Patent 12676153

SPEECH RECOGNITION METHOD AND APPARATUS, ELECTRONIC DEVICE, AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM

2y 2m to grant Granted Jul 07, 2026

18/296,217

Patent 12664695

TEXT AND IMAGE GENERATION FOR CREATION OF IMAGERY FROM AUDIBLE INPUT

3y 2m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026

18/534,852

Patent 12664987

COMMUNICATION DYNAMICS METADATA TAGGING FOR TRANSCRIPTION

2y 6m to grant Granted Jun 23, 2026

18/494,984

Patent 12651594

Multi-Output Decoders for Multi-Task Learning of ASR and Auxiliary Tasks

2y 7m to grant Granted Jun 09, 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

85%

Grant Probability

97%

With Interview (+11.9%)

2y 8m (~1y 0m remaining)

Median Time to Grant

Low

PTA Risk

Based on 466 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.