The Apple Vision Pro has a virtual keyboard feature, but Apple is looking for ways to make it better. The company has applied for a patent for “Devices, Methods, and Graphical User Interfaces for Displaying a Virtual Keyboard.”
About the patent filing
In the patent filing, Apple notes that some methods and interfaces for providing a virtual keyboard that include at least some virtual elements (e.g., applications, augmented reality environments, mixed reality environments, and virtual reality environments) are “cumbersome, inefficient, and limited.”
For example, systems that don’t provide proper placement of a keyboard, systems that provide insufficient feedback for performing actions associated with virtual objects, systems that require a series of inputs to achieve a desired outcome in an augmented reality environment, and systems in which manipulation of 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, the tech giant says. In addition, these methods take longer than necessary, thereby wasting energy of the computer system.
Apple’s patent filing involves “improved methods and interfaces for providing virtual keyboards to users that make interaction with the computer system more efficient and intuitive for a user.” Apple says that such methods and interfaces optionally complement or replace conventional methods for providing virtual keyboards to users. What’s more, Apple says that such a virtual keyboard could be used with computers and tablets.
Summary of the patent filing
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent filing: “The present disclosure generally relates to methods and user interfaces for positioning a virtual keyboard in a three-dimensional environment, displaying various types of virtual keyboards, for switching between virtual keyboards, and/or displaying a virtual keyboard based on a position of a user.”
I hope you’ll help support Apple World Today by becoming a patron. Patreon pricing ranges from $2 to $10 a month. Thanks in advance for your support.
