Apple has filed for a patent (number 20220279063) for “methods and interfaces for home media control.” The goal is to make it easier to operate your smart home devices.
And I’m sure the company would prefer you to use HomeKit-compatible gadgets. HomeKit is the software framework by Apple that lets users configure, communicate with, and control smart-home appliances using Apple devices. It provides users with a way to automatically discover such devices and configure them.
About the patent filing
In the patent filing, Apple notes that the number of electronic devices, and particularly smart devices, in users’ homes continues to increase. These devices are increasingly being interconnected with each other, are increasingly more capable, and are performing more complex tasks. Apple says that these devices are increasingly expected to have thoughtfully-designed user interfaces. The goal of the patent filing is to faster, more efficient methods and interfaces for managing media playback devices and smart home devices.
Summary of the patent filing
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent filing: “The present disclosure generally relates to interfaces and techniques for media playback on one or more devices. In accordance with some embodiments, an electronic device includes a display, one or more processors, and memory. The electronic device receives user input and, in response to receiving the user input, displays, on the display, a multi-device interface that includes: one or more indicators associated with a plurality of available playback devices that are connected to the device and available to initiate playback of media from the device, and a media playback status of the plurality of available playback devices.”
