A newly-awarded patent describes a way to alter the iPhone's interface to adjust to your movement. January 14, 2014 9:15 AM PST (Credit: Apple/USPTO) Trying to tap a precise spot on your iPhone while you're walking, jogging, or riding in a car can be a challenge. Apple may have a solution in the works via a new patent. Awarded to Apple by the US Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday, a patent dubbed "Variable device graphical user interface" envisions an interface that changes and adapts in response to your movement. The goal is to enlarge or adjust certain on-screen elements so they're easier to tap while you're on the go. Accelerometers, gyroscopes, and other sensors would detect your motion to try to determine if you're walking, running, or in a car. Icons and other elements on the screen would then change depending on the type and severity of your motion and the phone's position. The entries in your contact list may grow larger so you can more easily tap on a specific name. The confirmation box that appears when a call comes in could offer bigger "Yes" and "No" buttons for you to tap. A "fisheye" effect could also be used to enlarge specific elements on the screen while shrinking the surrounding area. Apple's patent describes the invention as follows: A method comprising: detecting changes in motion of a device; determine a pattern of motion of the device based on the changes in motion matching predefined criteria; while determining the pattern of motion, detecting user mistakes associated with user input to a graphical user interface of the device; determining a pattern of user mistakes for the pattern of motion based on the detected user mistakes associated with the user input; and in response to subsequently detecting the pattern of motion, adjusting the graphical user interface of the device based on the determined pattern of user mistakes. A technology that makes it easer to tap while in motion sounds fine. But what our phones really need is a way to tell when they're in our pockets so we can avoid the embarrassment of pocket dialing. (Via AppleInsider)
A newly-awarded patent describes a way to alter the iPhone's interface to adjust to your movement.
(Credit: Apple/USPTO)
Trying to tap a precise spot on your iPhone while you're walking, jogging, or riding in a car can be a challenge. Apple may have a solution in the works via a new patent.
Awarded to Apple by the US Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday, a patent dubbed "Variable device graphical user interface" envisions an interface that changes and adapts in response to your movement. The goal is to enlarge or adjust certain on-screen elements so they're easier to tap while you're on the go.
Accelerometers, gyroscopes, and other sensors would detect your motion to try to determine if you're walking, running, or in a car. Icons and other elements on the screen would then change depending on the type and severity of your motion and the phone's position.
The entries in your contact list may grow larger so you can more easily tap on a specific name. The confirmation box that appears when a call comes in could offer bigger "Yes" and "No" buttons for you to tap. A "fisheye" effect could also be used to enlarge specific elements on the screen while shrinking the surrounding area.
Apple's patent describes the invention as follows:
A method comprising: detecting changes in motion of a device; determine a pattern of motion of the device based on the changes in motion matching predefined criteria; while determining the pattern of motion, detecting user mistakes associated with user input to a graphical user interface of the device; determining a pattern of user mistakes for the pattern of motion based on the detected user mistakes associated with the user input; and in response to subsequently detecting the pattern of motion, adjusting the graphical user interface of the device based on the determined pattern of user mistakes.
A technology that makes it easer to tap while in motion sounds fine. But what our phones really need is a way to tell when they're in our pockets so we can avoid the embarrassment of pocket dialing.
(Via AppleInsider )
