Apple’s Vision Pro headset is packed with incredible features, and its gesture control system is one of the highlights. And there could be good news for users of other Apple devices if an intriguing development comes to fruition.
As noted by AppleInsiderIt looks like Apple is working on bringing the Vision Pro’s gesture platform to its other devices. That means you’ll soon be able to use gestures to send a text message on your iPhone or launch an app on your MacBook. No more fruitless digging into settings or laboriously rummaging through your files — just a quick wave of your hand and the task is done. It would be the best thing about the Vision Pro on all your other Apple devices.
That’s the idea anyway. It’s all in a recently published patent which describes different ideas about using gestures on different Apple devices. While many of the illustrations and comments focus on the Vision Pro, Apple also included several drawings of people gesturing in the air while using tablets and computers, and they are not wearing headsets.
That suggests that Apple could be working on gestures that can be detected without the help of a Vision Pro. That has several implications: First, it could make gesture controls a lot more accessible if a pricey $3,499 headset isn’t a requirement. Second, it could help make this air gesture system much more widespread across Apple devices, making it a major selling point for the company and a great experience for users no matter what product they own.
Apple’s iPhones and iPads already use gesture controls (albeit ones that require contact with the touchscreen). Bringing air gestures to these devices might therefore be fairly simple, since iOS users are already accustomed to interacting with their products in a similar way. Gestures are also a key part of using a Mac, thanks to Apple’s trackpads and Magic Mouse, both of which use these controls.
Apple is taking this idea seriously
AppleInsider suggests another possible implication of this idea: touchscreen Macs. A subset of Apple fans have been clamoring for touchscreen Macs for years, but Apple has consistently maintained that doing so would be bad for ergonomics. If Macs used in-air gestures instead, perhaps touchscreens would be unnecessary, something both users and Apple would be happy about.
Adding these types of systems can also have implications for user accessibility, something Apple devices have always excelled at. If someone has a hard time using a mouse or keyboard, air gestures can be a much easier way to control their device.
Interestingly, the patent also delves into how a monitoring system that pays attention to your gestures could avoid false positives, like when you scratch your head or adjust your glasses. Getting that right would be a major milestone in ensuring that Apple’s gestures are more intuitive than frustrating.
This patent isn’t the first time Apple has explored an idea like this. For example, we’ve seen the company file patents for iPhone mid-air gestures and AirPods Pro controls in 2020, and a Kinect-like mid-air gesture control system filed in 2008, among many other examples. So it’s clear that Apple has had an interest in this for a long time.
Of course, since this is just a patent, these concepts may never make it into a finished product. But the sheer number of in-air gesture patents Apple has filed over the years suggests the company is taking the idea very seriously.