Apple has filed for a patent (number 20220291726) for a “transferrable interface.” The tech giant wants to make it easy to move one customized user interface from one of your devices (Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch) to another.
About the patent filing
In the patent filing, Apple notes that folks all over the world are commonly and consistently carrying at least one portable electronic device on their person. Portable electronic devices, such as iPhones, iPads, Mac laptops, and Apple Watches can provide functionality that is beneficial in organizing, planning, and executing various daily tasks.
For example, portable electronic devices can provide valuable utility to a user of the electronic device relating to time management, appointment scheduling, exercising, communications, navigation, shopping, entertainment, and many other activities.
What’s more, some portable electronic devices can provide utility relating to health monitoring, such as, sleep tracking or heart-rate monitoring. Since user interfaces keep track of such data, Apple thinks it would be useful to be able to easily move a unique interface among your devices.
Summary of the patent filing
Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent filing: “A portable electronic device can include a display, a processor, a sensor, and a wireless communication module. The sensor can detect a presence of an operable object near the portable electronic device. The processor can cause the display to depict an interface corresponding to the operable object based at least in part on a detection of the presence of the operable object. The wireless communication module can emit a signal instructing the operable object to perform an action based at least in part on an input to the interface.”
