Apple looks into ways to improve the displays of its various devices

Apple has filed for a patent (number 20190180669) for “interlaced or interleaved variable persistence displays” with the goal of improving the displays on its various devices such as Macs, iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches.

In the patent filing, the tech giant notes that numerous electronic devices, such as televisions, portable phones, computers, wearable devices, vehicle dashboards, virtual-reality glasses, and more, include electronic displays. As content is shown on the pixels of the electronic displays, visual artifacts may occur. For example, perceived motion (e.g., a moving object) that appears on the electronic display may look blurry to users of the electronic device. Apple wants to eliminate these visual distractions.

Here’s the summary of the invention: “An electronic device that includes processing circuitry configured to generate a frame of image data that has a frame duration is provided. The electronic device includes a display that has a plurality of pixels. Each of the plurality of pixels displays image data from the frame of image data for a pixel emission period that is less than the frame duration. 

“A first pixel of a column of pixels of the plurality of pixels begins displaying the image data from the frame of image data at a first time for a first duration. A second pixel of the column of pixels that is adjacent to the first pixel begins displaying the image data from the frame of image data at a second time for a second duration. The first and second durations are equal to the pixel emission period. The second time begins after the first duration of time.”

Of course, Apple files for — and is granted — lots of patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Many are for inventions that never see the light of day. However, you never can tell which ones will materialize in a real product.