The US Patent & Trademark Office this week published a new patent filed by Apple that reveals a privacy feature designed to show iPhone contents only through special glasses, so that only the owner of the phone can see what’s on the screen.
As reported by Patently Apple, the patent application refers to a system that can display “vision-corrected graphical outputs and standard graphical outputs on an electronic device.”
Interestingly, one of the features described by this patent is “Privacy Eyewear,” which blocks people around you from seeing the content on the screen of your device, since the only way to see what’s on the screen is through the glasses. With Apple rumored to be working on its own mixed-reality headset, a feature like this would likely be a huge selling point for the product.
A key new dimension discussed in this patent application covers “Privacy Eyewear.” In some embodiments, a user may interact with the calibration graphic to intentionally blur the graphical output presented on the display of the device (iPhone). If a user desires privacy or doesn’t want a nearby person to view what is presented on the display, the user may interact with the calibration graphic to make the graphical output illegible.
In addition to the new privacy technology, it seems that Apple is working on profiles for Face ID. The patent describes another system capable of distinguishing unique details on the user’s face, such as hairstyles, beard, mustache, glasses, no glasses, reading glasses, sunglasses, and more.
Having profiles in Face ID may be a step forward in the direction of having such technology on the Mac, as Touch ID lets users quickly switch accounts just by placing the right finger on the sensor.
Of course, it’s important to note that Apple won’t necessarily use its patents in actual products. Yet, it’s still interesting to see that the company is working on technologies to add even more value to its ecosystem.
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