Apple has been granted a patent (number 10,764,670) for a “system having device-mount audio mode” for its rumored “Apple Glasses.” It would allow users of the upcoming (though Apple hasn’t confirmed such a device) head-mounted display (HMD) to easily interact with audio devices such as AirPods.
HMDs such as Apple Glasses are display devices that can be worn on a head to display images to a user. They’re used for gaming, aviation, etc.
HMDs include virtual reality and augmented reality headsets, which are head-mounted devices that provide realistically simulated experiences for the user. Some virtual reality headsets include an HMD mount to hold a mobile device, such as a smartphone, in front of the user.
The mobile device displays images of a virtual reality scene and may play sounds corresponding to the displayed images. The HMD mount can include electronics, such as a processor or an inertial measurement unit, and the mobile device may communicate electrical signals with the HMD mount through electrical cables and connectors. For example, the user may manually control the mobile device by interacting with the HMD mount to input control signals that are communicated through the electrical cables and connectors to the mobile device.
Here’s the summary of the invention: “A system having a head-mounted display (HMD) mount and a mobile device, are described. A processor of the system can determine whether the mobile device is mounted on the HMD mount and handle an audio signal communicated from the mobile device to a wireless headphone based on whether the mobile device is mounted on the HMD mount.
“When the mobile device is not mounted on the HMD mount, the mobile device or the wireless headphone may operate in a first audio mode. When the mobile device is mounted on the HMD mount, the mobile device or the wireless headphone may operate in a second audio mode. The second audio mode can reduce audio signal latency between the mobile device and the wireless headphone and increase motion-to-sound quality. Other embodiments are also described and claimed.”
When it comes to Apple Glasses, such a device will arrive next year or 2022, depending on which rumor you believe. It will be a head-mounted display. Or may have a design like “normal” glasses. Or it may be available in both. The Apple Glasses may or may not have to be tethered to an iPhone to work. Other rumors say that Apple Glasses could have a custom-build Apple chip and a dedicated operating system dubbed “rOS” for “reality operating system.”
