Apple submits a lot of patent applications. Mountains of paper work go from Cupertino to the US Patent & Trademark Office every year and it seems like almost every idea Apple idly toys with gets picked up and analysed with the false assumption that it will end up in some future product.
Companies apply for patents for a variety of reasons including to store up a stash of them to use in lawsuits like the current Apple/Samsung brouhaha. Not every sketch or schematic will one day take physical form.
