“Apple was issued a couple of interesting new patents today (spotted by AppleInsider), including one that could make an iPhone aware of changes in a user’s situation, and alter phone settings accordingly. That would make for a mobile phone that might be able to automatically switch to silent mode when in a movie theatre, for instance, or which could wake from sleep upon being pulled out of a pocket.
The patent was originally designed to apply to iPod devices way back in the days of the click wheel controller, but it has been amended to account for wireless mobile devices like the iPhone. The whole point of the invention is to limit GUI requirements for certain functions, and to instead use a device’s sensors, combined with a “situational awareness module” to trigger changes to things like audio settings, music playback and more.
It’s a tech that sounds like it could easily go wrong; you obviously wouldn’t want your iPhone screen locking when a set of conditions are met that, while similar to another situation, actually isn’t the same one. But you can also see the advantages: Already, Siri can be set to activate when you bring the iPhone to your head. Imagine if other functions, like composing an email, could be auto-triggered via similar functions, like gripping the phone with two hands horizontally as if to begin typing. And an auto-lock function when you slide your phone into a pocket would actually add a lot of convenience in the aggregate, even if it seems like a small thing at first.
Another patent issued to Apple today by the USPTO describes a way for iPhones to share their location data with secondary, external devices, or vice versa. The system could be used in tandem with a standalone GPS module to help your Wi-Fi-only iPod touch become a fully functional navigation device when you get into a car, for instance. But the more interesting potential behind this patent lies in how it might be applied to an iWatch….”
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