The Apple Vision Pro headphones are potentially just weeks away from release, if the latest rumors are to be believed, but some new details about the external display may have leaked via an Apple patent.
According to the document (first reported by Patently Apple), the headset’s external display will not only be able to enable EyeSight, which shows viewers the user’s eyes in a somewhat creepy way, but will also be able to display a much wider range. of pictures.
So far, Apple has only shown the Vision Pro’s external display showing two things: the user’s eyes when in mixed reality, and a colorful pattern when fully immersed in virtual reality. But using the screen to display a broader combination of icons makes a lot of sense and would be useful.
A flashing “Do Not Disturb” sign, for example, could alert people around you that you are in an important virtual meeting or trying to focus on something, while displaying a virtual scene on the external screen would give people around you an idea of what you are looking at.
The patent also reveals alternatives to Apple’s realistic EyeSight feature. Instead of displaying a photorealistic image, the user’s eyes could be displayed as digital dots and lines, in the style of an expressive robot; still looking a little creepy, but maybe not so strange in practice.
Other examples in the patent document, such as the clock or current weather conditions, are not very useful while you are using the headphones, but can be useful when you are not using them. While the Vision Pro charges on your desktop, the external display can be configured to show you useful information, such as what’s on your calendar for the day or simply how charged the headphones are.
As with all tech patents, there’s no guarantee we’ll ever see these features in action, and even if they’re on the way to the Vision Pro, they may not be ready at launch or for some time afterward. Until the headphones are in people’s hands we won’t know what they are capable of or not.
However, if Apple is really close to releasing the headphones, it shouldn’t be long before all of our questions about the Vision Pro are finally answered.
