There have been rumors that upcoming versions of macOS, iPadOS, and iOS would adopt features — perhaps even the look — of visionOS. A newly granted Apple patent suggests this may be true, as least in regards to the use of gestures.
The patent is for “Devices, Methods, and Graphic User Interfaces For Using A Cursor With Three-dimensional Environments.” It describes techniques for controlling and/or moving a cursor, such as by using air gestures.
The patent relates generally to computer systems that computer with a display generation component and one or more input devices that provide computer-generated experiences, including, but not limited to, electronic devices that provide virtual reality and mixed reality experiences via a display. In other words, a Vision Pro.
In the patent, Apple says the development of computer systems for augmented reality has increased significantly in recent years. Example augmented reality environments include at least some virtual elements that replace or augment the physical world. Input devices, such as cameras, controllers, joysticks, touch-sensitive surfaces, and touch-screen displays for computer systems and other electronic computing devices are used to interact with virtual/augmented reality environments.
Apple says that some methods and interfaces for interacting with three-dimensional environments are “cumbersome, inefficient, and limited.” For example, some systems do not enable use of a cursor to interact with virtual objects, which can make performing precise operations, such as text editing or drawing, cumbersome and/or inefficient.
What’s more, other systems that enable the use of a cursor to interact with virtual objects are “complex, tedious, and error-prone, create a significant cognitive burden on a user, and detract from the experience with the virtual/augmented reality environment,” Apple says. In addition, these methods take longer than necessary, thereby wasting energy of the computer system, the tech giant adds.
Apple says there’s a need for computer systems with improved methods and interfaces for interacting with virtual objects using a cursor to make interaction with three-dimensional environments more efficient and intuitive for a user. Such methods and interfaces would complement or replace conventional methods for interacting with three-dimensional environments.
And, according to Apple, they would “reduce the number, extent, and/or nature of the inputs from a user by helping the user to understand the connection between provided inputs and device responses to the inputs, thereby creating a more efficient human-machine interface.”
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