“On March 21, 2013, the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that reveals an audio codec with vibrator support,” Jack Purcher reports for Patently Apple.

“A dual channel audio coder decoder (codec) chip that has two output pins, which can be used to drive a pair of speakers in stereo mode, or a vibrator and a single speaker in mono mode,” Purcher reports. “Each channel has its own Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) and audio power amplifier to receive an audio signal for driving a speaker.”

Purcher reports, “This invention will allow the iPad to finally deliver ‘original message alerts’ that are available today on the iPhone.”

Much more, including Apple’s patent application illustrations and diagrams, in the full article here.