The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 63 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today. In this particular report we cover the use of QR Codes to pair devices such as an iPhone to an Apple Watch and to set up a device for the first time quickly.

Apple notes that the proliferation of various wearable devices has resulted in many different versions of processes for establishing a connection between a wearable device and another electronic device. In order to initially establish this coupling, a pairing process is performed on the wearable device and/or on the other electronic device.

The present method of pairing a device to another could take some time and multiple steps that is frustrating to some newbies and seniors.

Apple's granted patent provides a method of minimizing the set-up process of pairing two devices seamlessly and quickly. This is particularly true of small form factor wearable devices which are intentionally configured to minimize the inclusion of external mechanical interface elements, such as buttons, displays, and keys.

Overall, Apple's granted patent technically covers a method for providing enhanced configuration features that include receiving, by a computing device, indication that a wearable device has started a pairing process with a second electronic device and obtaining images corresponding to the wearable device.

Moreover, the method includes analyzing, by the computing device, the images (e.g. A QR Code) to determine one or more aspects of the wearable device and configuring the wearable device using the one or more aspects of the wearable device.

Particular implementations provide at least the following advantages. The user of the wearable device does not need to input various details about the wearable device into the second electronic device in the pairing process or during configuration of the wearable device, as these details are provided to the second electronic device as a result of analyzing the images, thereby providing an easier and more efficient pairing process. Moreover, aspects of the wearable device may further be used to configure the wearable device and to provide suggestions to the user as to how the wearable device may be better utilized based on analysis of the images.

Apple's patent FIG. 2 below is a simplified diagram of an iPhone capturing image(s), such as a QR Code shown on the display of an Apple Watch. 

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, a process #200 for capturing image(s) and/or video(s) of an Apple Watch is shown in one implementation. The second device is an iPhone used to capture the image(s) and/or video(s) of the Apple Watch that may be used to provide enhanced configuration features that may be triggered in a pairing process.

These image(s) and/or video(s) may be sent to the Apple Watch (and/or a configuration server that provides remote configuration service for Apple Watch) to be analyzed to provide information useful in configuring the Apple Watch in the pairing process with the iPhone.

Moreover, a graphical code #206 shown as a QR Code may be output to a Apple Watch display (#202) in anticipation of the image(s) and/or video(s) being captured, and the iPhone may capture an image and/or video of the Apple Watch displaying the QR Code thereby allowing the QR Code to be analyzed in addition to the image(s) and/or video(s).

Apple's granted patent 10,782,651was originally filed in Q2 2019 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office. To drill into the details, review the full patent here.