Apple’s forthcoming mixed reality headset could benefit from the Continuity and Handoff interoperability features that currently allow iPhone, iPad and Mac users to easily switch between devices.
According to a European patent filing spotted by Patently Apple, a future version of the headset could see Apple enable gestures or the switch of gaze to transfer content from the iPhone to the virtual reality environment.
The example mentioned in the filing shows the user continuing to draft the email with air-typing picked up by the cameras. Earlier this week it was reported Apple will have an air-typing input method instead of a remote control, but thus far it has proved finicky in testing.
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Another inventive possibility mentioned by the patent is the way the wearer of the headset could transfer music to a HomePod speaker, just by looking at it or gesturing with the hands – without having to touch the speaker, or the phone or use Siri.
In yet another example, a user could send or extend their Mac desktop into a virtual environment to create an “extended reality environment”. This could be especially useful from a productivity perspective.
In the filing (via MacRumors), Apple writes: “Implementations of the subject technology provide continuous transfer of content editing and/or control between various devices in an extended reality system. The extended reality system includes at least one device that is capable of determining the locations of other devices in the system.
“This device can manage continuous transfer of control between other devices in the system responsive to three-dimensional location-based user inputs, and/or can manage continuous transfer of control between one or more of the other devices and the device itself.”
It’s this type of inventive seamless feature set, with very practical uses, that could enable Apple to separate itself from others in the VR/AR/XR market and make its device much more desirable than rivals.
It might not be that Apple will have these features ready for the first incarnation of its headset hardware, or they may stay in the patent realm forever.
We’re expecting to see the long awaited first device at Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) in June ahead of a potential consumer launch by the end of 2023.
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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.
