Apple wants to make it easier to display movies, photos, music, and more across its multiple devices. The company has been granted a patent for a “Network System for Content Playback on Multiple Devices.”
About the patent
The patent relates generally to a network system and framework that enables an intelligent automated assistant to perform content playback on multiple devices. In the patent, Apple notes that intelligent automated assistants, or digital assistants, can provide a beneficial interface between human users and electronic devices.
Digital assistants may be invoked in order to perform various user requests, such as facilitating media playback. However, Apple says that conventional digital assistants are not well integrated into systems having multiple user devices capable of playing media, such as home entertainment systems. For instance, a user may wish to play specific media content on a specific device, although the user’s speech request may be provided at a device which is different than the intended playback device.
Apple adds that conventional digital assistants may not be well equipped to handle these requests. Such problems are magnified when more complex or ambiguous requests are issued by a user. For example, a user may wish to transfer playback of currently playing media from a first device to a second device, such as from mobile phone to a television.
What’s more, the user may ambiguously refer to content and devices using references such as “this” or “that,” resulting in failed attempts to play the desired content. Ultimately, these problems create a poor user experience.
Apple says that an improved system for content playback on multiple devices is desired. The patent seems to involve a future version of Siri that could overcome such issues.
Summary of the patent
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent: “Embodiments described herein provide a network system to enable content playback on multiple devices. An electronic device can receive information associated with media playback request and resolve a media item and intended playback device for the media request based on a set of available media items and player devices. The device can then transmit, via the data interface, a request to play the media item at the player device via a secure device to device communication system.”
