Apple patent filing shows the company is working on ways to make the Vision Pro more comfortable

One of the complaints about the Apple Vision Pro is that it’s uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. I agree, as it makes my nose bridge sore about a couple of hours. 

Apple is working on ways to make the spatial computer more comfortable to wear for long periods as evidenced by a new patent filing (US 20240061254 A1) for a “Conformable Facial Interface.”

About the patent filing

The patent filing involves facial interfaces of a head-mountable device that can dynamically conform to provide increased comfort, flexure, and fitting. Users of such devices obviously have a myriad of different anatomical features, including head size, eye location, cheek and forehead bone structure, and so forth. 

Apple says, that unfortunately, conventional head-mountable devices fail to provide a custom, comfortable fit for a fully immersive experience. Indeed, conventional head-mountable devices have rudimentary customization features, if any. For example, users of a conventional head-mountable device may have differing facial structures that the head-mountable device cannot accommodate. 

This user-to-user variation can create a poor user experience, causing too much or not enough pressure on a user’s face from the head-mountable device. Apple wants the Vision Pro to be capable of comfortably and dynamically adapting to different user facial profiles.

Summary of the patent filing

Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent filing: “A wearable electronic device including a display, a frame attachable to the display, a facial interface movably attached to the frame, and a linkage assembly movably connecting the facial interface to the frame. The linkage assembly can include a first arm pivotably attached to the frame, the first arm comprising a first end and a second end, a second arm pivotably attached to the first end and attached to the facial interface, and a third arm pivotably attached to the second end and attached to the facial interface.”