One day you may be able to use multiple iPads or iPhones in tandem. Apple has been granted a patent (number 11,175,956) for a “system with multiple electronic devices.”
In the patent data, Apple notes that electronic devices such as smartphones are often used in isolation. For example, a user may present a video or book on the display of a single electronic device.
However, Apple says that 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.
The tech giant’s idea is to allow multiple iPhones or iPads to be used together in a system. They could use sensor measurements and other information to detect when an edge of one device is adjacent to an edge of a second device. In response to detection of adjacency between the edges of the first and second devices, the devices may 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.
Apple says that 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 may hold devices together in a variety of orientations.
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