Patents

Apple wants its Home app to be able to determine your location, suggest a corresponding accessory device 

FIG. 7 illustrates an overview of a system including controlling devices and accessory devices.

Apple has filed for a patent (number US 20230164222 A1) for “using in-home location awards.” It involves using various Apple devices to control smart home gadgets.

About the patent

In the patent application, the tech giant notes that the Home app on a Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch may be used to control other devices, such as accessory devices (e.g., kitchen appliances, lighting fixtures, thermometer, etc.), throughout a home. 

A user of the home application may be in the same room as the accessory device that is controlled or may be in a different room from the accessory device that is being controlled. For example, a user may be in their kitchen when they use the home application on their mobile device to close the garage door.

Apple notes that users often perform the same or repeated actions with accessory devices while in a particular location. For example, every time a user comes home from work, they may close the garage door when they are in the kitchen. In addition, when it is dark outside, the user may turn on a lamp in the living room or change a temperature on a thermometer while in the living room. 

Therefore, certain activities with respect to devices in a home may be performed regularly and repeatedly (e.g., daily, several times throughout a day) while the user is in a certain location. Apple says this can be a time consuming and tedious task for a user since these tasks are performed regularly or several times throughout the day.

The tech giant says there are improvements for identifying an accessory device that should be controlled upon determining a particular location of a mobile device of a user is desired. Apple wants the Home app on one of its devices to be able to determine a location of the user and suggest a corresponding accessory device that a user may want to control or automatically operate a corresponding accessory device based on the location of the mobile device of the user.

Summary of the patent filing

Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent filing: “Techniques for suggesting accessory devices controlled by an application executing on a mobile device are disclosed. A method includes measuring one or more sensor values using one or more sensors of a mobile device and the one or more sensor values are determined from one or more signals emitted by a first one or more accessory devices. An area of a physical space for the first one or more accessory devices can be determined based on the one or more sensor values. A second one or more accessory devices associated with the same area as the first one or more accessory devices can be suggested to a user.”

Dennis Sellers
the authorDennis Sellers
Dennis Sellers is the editor/publisher of Apple World Today. He’s been an “Apple journalist” since 1995 (starting with the first big Apple news site, MacCentral). He loves to read, run, play sports, and watch movies.