A newly filed Apple patent application has revealed the company
harbours plans for a docking station designed to enable hands-free use
of its devices via Siri.
More than just your average iPhone
dock, Apple’s ‘smart dock’ patent details a base unit boasting both a
microphone and speaker that serves to wake the device up upon
recognition of a voice command.
Apple users currently have to
press the home button on their iPhone or iPad to activate Siri and this
can prove inconvenient and cumbersome when their device is hooked into a
docking station. Apple’s proposed device seeks to eliminate these
inconveniences by having a dock continually awaiting voice cues;
potentially putting an end to mornings of bleary eyed fumbling for your
iPhone or iPad, when attempting to get the mild mannered Siri to
responds to your commands.
The ‘smart dock’ patent reveals that,
as of yet, Apple remains unsure whether to include a screen, tacticle
controls of a touch panel to allow its users to interact with the dock. While it is believed the device would come equipped with standard features such as
a 24 hour clock and radio, both voice recognition and most of the heavy
lifting would be performed by the user’s iOS device.
Given the
device would constantly be awaiting commands, Apple has proposed
listening thresholds which will enable the dock to intelligently filter
out and ignore irrelevant ambient noise, whilst still allowing for use
via recognised audio cues from the user. And if users start to feel
uneasy about the big brother-esque ears of their iOS device, the dock
will also recognise specifically programmed voice commands that disable
the ‘smart dock’ entirely.
As Apple is currently in talks with
car manurfacturers over Siri’s implementation within customer’s
vehicles, the company stands to gain considerable revenue should its
‘smart dock’ patent get given the go ahead by the US Trademark Office.
Considering that the company first filed the patent in May 2012, with
Jesse Dorogusker and Eric Wang credited as its inventors, it’s evident
that this proposed ‘smart dock’ has been a longstanding aim for the
technology giant. There is currently no word on a potential release for the device.
Read More: iPad mini 2
Via: AppleInsider
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
