In early August, Patently Apple posted a report titled “Apple invents a GUI System to assist users adjust content on multiple device displays like smartglasses & Apple Watch using Eye-Tracking.” Yesterday Patently Apple discovered a secondary patent filed in Europe in late August on this same theme with additional details.

 

User Interfaces for Adjusting Device Settings

Apple’s patent covers a computer system detects the occurrence of a respective event that indicates that a person is about to start using the computer system. In response to detecting the occurrence of the respective event: in accordance with a determination that a detected interpupillary distance of the person does not correspond to a current interpupillary distance setting of the computer system, the computer system displays a prompt to adjust an interpupillary distance setting of the computer system; and in accordance with a determination that the detected interpupillary distance of the person does correspond to the current interpupillary distance setting of the computer system, the computer system forgoes display of the prompt.

In some embodiments, a computer system displays content in a first region of a user interface. In some embodiments, while the computer system is displaying the content and while a first set of controls are not displayed in a first state, the computer system detects a first input from a first portion of a user. In some embodiments, in response to detecting the first input, and in accordance with a determination that a gaze of the user is directed to a second region of the user interface when the when the first input is detected, the computer system displays, in the user interface, the first set of one or more controls in the first state, and in accordance with a determination that the gaze of the user is not directed to the second region of the user interface when the first input is detected, the computer system forgoes displaying the first set of one or more controls in the first state.

In some embodiments, a computer system displays content in a user interface. In some embodiments, while displaying the content, the computer system detects a first input based on movement of a first portion of a user of the computer system. In some embodiments, in response to detecting the first input, the computer system displays, in the user interface, a first set of one or more controls, where the first set of one or more controls are displayed in a first state and are displayed within a first region of the user interface. In some embodiments, while displaying the first set of one or more controls in the first state: in accordance with a determination that one or more first criteria are satisfied, including a criterion that is satisfied when attention of the user is directed to the first region of the user interface based on a movement of a second portion of the user that is different from the first portion of the user, the computer system transitions from displaying the first set of one or more controls in the first state to displaying a second set of one or more controls in a second state, where the second state is different from the first state.

While Apple’s patent covers Vision Pro, it also covers future smartglasses that this report focuses on.

In Apple’s patent FIG. 7N below, HMD #X700 determines the inter-pupillary distance (IPD) of the user, and in response to determining the interpupillary distance of the user, the HMD (smartglasses) displays user interface #712.

In some embodiments, user interface #712 is indicative of the HMD (smartglasses) successfully determining the interpupillary distance of the user, and determining that the IPD setting of smartglasses doesn’t match the interpupillary distance of the user.

At patent PFIG. 7O above, the smartglasses determines that it’s not able to detect and/or determine the interpupillary distance of the user, the system reverts to a manual IPD adjustment mode in which the user can manually adjust the IPD setting of the smartglasses.

The smartglasses UI #750 includes a text prompt (#752), as well as a visual prompt (#754) which prompt the user to press button #X703 (represented by object #716b in the UI to enter the manual IPD adjustment mode.

At FIG. 7P above, in response to user input #756, HMD X700 displays UI #758 which displays visual pattern #762, as well as text prompt #760 which prompts the user to hold a left button (e.g., button #X705) to move two physical components of the smartglasses (e.g., two optical components, such as display generation components and/or optical lenses) (e.g., display screen 1-322a, display screen 1-322b, display sub-assembly 1-420a, display sub-assembly 1-420b, optical module 11.1.1-104a, and/or optical module 11.1.1-104b in FIGS. 1A-1P) further apart. Text prompt #760 also prompts the user to hold a right button (e.g., button X703) to move the two physical components of the smartglasses closer together.

The text prompt instructs the user to move the two physical components of the smartglasses until the visual pattern in focus. In this way, the user can provide inputs (e.g., via buttons X703, X705) to manually adjust the IPD setting of the smartglasses until the visual content displayed in the glasses is clear and/or in focus for the user.

To review the full details of this invention, check out patent application 20240289007.