A recent Apple patent describes how the firm intends to use the Vision Pro’s exterior display to show what the wearer is seeing at within the gadget.
The patent, co-authored by Jony Ive, describes how an outside screen on a generic head-mounted display may be used to communicate what the wearer is viewing to those around them. While the patent does not expressly mention the Vision Pro and its “EyeSight” display function, it is evident that some of the ideas in the patent inspired the features in the final headset.
For example, Apple has publicly said that the outside screen of the Vision Pro can allow onlookers to see the user’s eyes or display a colorful pattern that signals the wearer is completely immersed in VR. However, images in the patent show how an external display may be utilized for some far-fetched purposes, such as showing the weather, sunglasses on your face, a DO NOT DISTURB notice, or even replacing the wearer’s eyes with Zoom symbols.
See more for yourself below — I grabbed a few screenshots from the patent filing, which was reported on by Patently Apple.
As entertaining as they are, Apple being granted a patent does not guarantee that these concepts will appear in the Vision Pro or future Apple headsets. I seriously doubt that the Vision Pro would replace your eyeballs with Zoom symbols when you’re in an essential business meeting, for example. (That appears to be nightmare fodder for anyone who chances to glance at you and your headset while you’re on the phone.)
Apple, on the other hand, is venturing into unknown territory with the EyeSight display. We don’t know whether the display will be a helpful method to interact with someone wearing a Vision Pro headset or just odd. And, because Apple hasn’t yet demonstrated EyeSight to the press, it’s uncertain whether it will operate at all. Will we all be able to identify what someone is doing on their headset by looking at an array of dots?
Apple is supposedly quite close to releasing the Vision Pro, so we won’t have to wait too long to find out whether that’s the future. I’m assuming it won’t be, and I really hope Zoom eyes don’t become a thing.
You can check out the full patent below.
