We are still almost a year away from Vision Pro. While the device amazed people, especially those who received its demo, Apple is yet to reveal important details about its wearable AR/VR headset. A new patent spotted by Patently Apple has revealed that Apple is working on a mysterious accessory for the device. This accessory was referred to as a ‘digital stone’ in a reference in the patent. Let’s find out more about this Vision Pro accessory.
Patently Apple describes the patent accessory as a ” completely alien concept with nothing else to compare it to in the industry.” The accessory could bring extended reality to Vision Pro by allowing users to interact with virtual representations of content even after they have turned off the Vision Pro.
Physically, this device looks like an AirTag and could bundle a couple of sensors and complex circuitry similar to the tracking device by the company.
Extended XR experiences
It is known that Apple’s AR/VR headset can overlay virtual objects over the physical world which would disappear as soon as you turn off Vision Pro However, Apple is seemingly working on a companion device that would continue to generate virtual experiences even after the headset has been shut down.
While the patent document is quite complex to read and understand, there is one particular section that describes the workings of this mysterious Vision Pro accessory in a clearer manner. Here’s what Apple’s latest patent has to say about this accessory:
“The systems and methods disclosed herein associate system generated and/or stored content with the physical companion device such that the association persists even when the XR components of the system are idle or powered off.
In this way, a user of an XR system can be provided with a portable companion device (sometimes referred to herein as a “stone” or a “go stone”) that can be carried with the user to transport content from the XR environment within the physical world.”
A possible use case scenario of this accessory could be using the stone to store files and photos from the real world or captured from iPhones to the Virtual Reality headset without actually wearing it or even turning it on.
Apple has discussed implementing a multitude of cameras and sensors to this accessory. Therefore the possibilities are truly endless.
The patent also mentions that the AR/VR headset could open a plethora of opportunities and features and different users might like to use it as per their preferences. Therefore, Apple has plans to bring features in the form of additional accessories instead of adding all the features into the device at once, which would make it considerably expensive.