by Apple has filed for a patent for an Apple Headset Continuity feature so that a user can (for example) create a document on a Mac and then use a really slick user interface to transfer it to a headset as expected Reality Pro.
It also describes an equally slick way of handling Handoff audio using only looks and gestures…
Record
Apple’s Continuity feature is designed to allow customers to work seamlessly between devices. You could, for example, create a Pages document on a Mac and write the first few paragraphs. fill it out on an iPad. and then make changes on an iPhone.
The reality is often not enough as seamless given iCloud sync delays, but it’s a handy feature for those who want to mix and match devices.
Apple’s Slick Headset Continuity feature
Fortunately Apple found the patent application. Apple sometimes obscures the exact purpose of a patent by using very general language, but in this case it lays it out right in the title: Cross-device continuity for use with augmented reality systems.
The document describes an easy way to open a document in the headset.
Embodiments of the subject technology described herein provide content transfer, content processing control, and/or control of one or more applications from one device to another device using an XR system. For example, with subject technology, a user composing an email on their smartphone can place the smartphone in the field of view of an XR device (eg, a tablet device or a head-mounted system) and continue composing of email in an XR environment created by the XR device.
In other words, if the document is open on your iPhone, just look at it (and possibly perform some kind of gesture). The headset will recognize the document, find it in iCloud, and then open it in the headset.
In terms of how you’ll work on the document, the Reality Pro headset is said to include a “typing in the air” feature that would work similarly to existing augmented reality keyboards. Instead of a laser image, however, the virtual keyboard will only be visible to the headset user.
Equally intuitive Speaker Handoff
The patent also describes how the Handoff feature, which allows you to transfer music from your iPhone to a HomePod, could be achieved through the headphones.
In another example, with the subject technology, a user using an XR device (eg, a user holding a tablet device or wearing a head-mounted system) in a physical environment that includes a smart speaker device and the smart user’s phone can look or gesture towards the smart speaker device. In response to a detection of the user looking at or gesturing towards the smart speaker device from the XR device, a song playing on the user’s phone can be transferred for playback on the smart speaker device. 3D information about the devices in the physical environment may be collected by the XR device and used to facilitate the smooth and continuous transfer of control and/or content between the devices and/or the XR device.
Again, if your iPhone is playing music and you want to transfer it to a HomePod:
- Look at the iPhone
- Look at the HomePod
- (Probably) make a gesture
And the music is transferred automatically.
FTC: We use affiliate links that automatically earn you income. More.
