Apple is famous for many of its patents, mainly because even though most of these reach a final product, some don’t. That being said, Cupertino is also famous for taking its time in not launching products until it feels ready to shine with them, and that sometimes means holding patents for years until implementation, like in the case of the iPad. Today we learn of some old Apple patents that gain a new status, and we’re talking about features that competitors are already using to a certain degree.
The USPTO has granted Apple a patent it filed back in 2012, and it has to do with eye-tracking technology. We’ve seen how Galaxy smartphones and tablets can scroll a page on their displays when you direct your eyes to the top or bottom of the display. Apple’s patent is actually not focused on this, but mainly designed to counteracting the Troxler Effect. Have you ever noticed that at any given point when staring at a display for a long time, you can’t distinguish where the mouse cursor is? This patent intends detect where the eye is focused, and to blink items like a mouse cursor when you’ve lost focus with it for a prolonged period of time.
Call it something basic or not, but we’ve all gone through this problem, and it would make sense for Apple to address something so simple with a software solution. Let’s see if it ever makes it to a product in the future.
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