Apple may integrate multiple cameras in future devices with flexible housings to assist users in capturing vastly superior panoramic photos
Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that relates to future foldable devices with multiple cameras integrated into the flexible housing that could capture vastly superior panoramic photos by having the cameras in different locations on the housing providing different angles.
Apple notes that it can be challenging to capture panoramic images with a traditional wide-angle camera on an iPhone. The images may likely become blurred due to camera movement and/or portions of a scene may move during image capture operations. Alignment issues may also arise causing desired portions of an image to be cut off unintentionally.
Apple refines one of their future headset inventions that relate to Multimodal Audio
Yesterday the US Patent & Trademark Office published a continuation patent from Apple that relates to future wearable display devices and systems that may incorporate multimodal audio components that are operable in a variety of selectable modes to allow for different user experiences.
Apple noted in their patent that Flexibility in audio operation is often desirable in that it allows for use of the system in a variety of settings or environments. For example, in the context of virtual reality (VR), a more immersive audio experience may be desirable (e.g., to block out or cancel external noise), whereas in the context of augmented reality (AR) or mixed reality (MR), external noise may be of less import.
A new Apple Patent covers Under-Display Touch ID for iPhones and Apple Watch using a Narrow Field-of-View Collimator & more
2020 was a relatively busy year for Apple s under-display project with three new patent applications (01, 02 and 03). The three patent applications explored various methods of bringing this feature to future iPhones. Apple also was granted a patent in September 2020.
Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published yet another patent application from Apple relating to under-display Touch ID. More specifically, Apple s invention generally relates to an under-display optical fingerprint sensor with narrow field-of-view (NFV) collimator and a thin-film transistor (TFT)-based organic imager.
An optical fingerprint sensor may be particularly advantageous for verification and/or authentication in an electronic device and, more particularly, a portable device, for example, a portable communication device. The optical fingerprint sensor may be carried
Future Mac & iDevice Displays may include Peripheral Display Regions that could display illuminated icons, flashing notifications & more
At a time when consumers are expecting thinner bezels on MacBooks and iPads, at least one R&D team at Apple is taking a contrarian position. Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple titled Electronic Devices Having Peripheral Display Regions. Future Mac and iDevice displays may include peripheral display regions that could present illuminated icons, logos, alphanumeric text, flashing notifications and more.
Apple notes that it may be difficult to efficiently use displays to present certain visual information to a user. Their solution involves having a peripheral display that has an array of pixels that form an active area of the display in which an image is displayed.
Apple Invents Object Tracking and Recognition of Objects, Including In-Air hand Gestures, for Future HMD & Glasses
Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that relates to a future mixed reality headset device and more specifically to object tracking for an HMD. A future HMD or Glasses will use sensors that could recognize and track objects, surfaces and in-air gesture commands.
Apple s invention covers Head-mounted devices, such as head-mounted displays, headsets, visors, smartglasses, head-up display, etc., can perform a range of functions that are managed by the components (e.g., sensors, circuitry, and other hardware) included with the wearable device.