Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,585,708) for a “system with multiple electronic devices” that suggest future iPads (and perhaps iPhones, but that seems less likely) could automatically “couple” with each other when they touch. The patent also hints at foldable devices.
The tablets may use sensor measurements and other information to detect when an edge of one is adjacent to an edge of another. In response to detection of adjacency between the edges of the first and second devices, the iPads could transition from an independent operating mode in which each device operates separately to a joint operating mode in which resources of the devices are shared.
In the joint operating mode, images may extend across displays in the devices, speakers in the devices may be used to play different channels of an audio track, cameras and other sensors may be used in cooperation with each other, and other resources may be shared. Magnetic components could hold the iPads together in a variety of orientations.
Why do this? Apple says that devices are often used in isolation. For example, a user may present a video or book on the display of a single electronic device. Using devices in isolation can be unsatisfactory. For example, devices that operate independently are not able to help each other when presenting a video or book to a user.
