Apple Acquires Patent for Innovative External Display Functionality on Apple Vision Pro

Apple has recently been granted a patent that envisions utilizing an external display on a wearable headset, such as the Apple Vision Pro, to give nearby individuals insight into what the user is viewing. When the headset was introduced last year, Apple disclosed that it would display the wearer’s eyes while also showing a visible indicator when engaged with immersive virtual reality (VR) content. The first wearable spatial computer from Apple is anticipated to hit the US market in early 2024.

As reported by Patently Apple, US 11,861,255 BL patent was awarded to Apple on Wednesday, more than five years after it was filed with the US Patent Office. The “Wearable Device for Facilitating Enhanced Interaction” patent lists Jonathan ‘Jony’ Ive as one of its inventors and includes several examples of how the external display might be employed to reveal what a user is watching on their Apple Vision Pro to people nearby.

In the document, figure 9B depicts a graph displayed externally that could signify the user engaging with the Stocks app in immersive mode. Another figure, 9D, demonstrates weather information being shown on the outer screen. Figures 9F and 10B also exhibit indicators suggesting that the wearer might prefer not to be interrupted.

While Apple has laid out multiple designs for the external display functionality of the Apple Vision Pro, it is yet unknown how many will be incorporated into the wearable headset. It is possible that some features revealed in the patent will be included in the first-generation device, while others may appear in a second-generation headset currently under development.

Apple announced plans to release the Vision Pro in the US during early 2024. Although no specific timeline has been confirmed for its debut, Bloomberg states that production has increased in China and a release date as early as February 2024 could occur.

TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo forecasts that the Vision Pro will be available in the US by late January or early February. According to Chinese investment news outlet Wall Street Insights, a reported US launch date of February 27 (or February 26 in the US) has surfaced. More information about the Apple Vision Pro is expected to emerge in the coming weeks prior to its US release.