A new patent granted today to Apple shows us how augmented reality glasses o Apple Glasses could automatically unlock all our devices from our Apple ecosystem. The system would work in a very similar way to how the Apple Watch unlocks our Mac currently.
The patent indicates that having to unlocking each of our devices individually can be annoying and more when we are in a situation in which we use several of them at the same time
Some electronic devices restrict access to various features based on authenticating the user's identity. When multiple devices are being used concurrently, individual unlocking procedures can delay user access and reduce the quality of the user experience.
The patent does not mention the term "Apple Glasses", but it clearly refers to what a pair of glasses could be, referring to it at the beginning of it as "an authenticated device that the user would use while wearing it on his head."
The patent explains to us, with its technical and precise vocabulary, how the system would work, but the key is in the proximity between devices, in the same way that the Apple Watch is capable of unlocking the Mac when it is close to it. In this way, the devices could be unlocked if they are close while we use this new device.
The authenticated device is capable of detecting nearby devices to try to give the user access to the restriction functionality of the nearby device while it is blocked and to be able to transmit authentication information. Based on the information received, the nearby device identifies the user and is unlocked so that its restricted functionality is open to use.
The patent also mentions other unlocking methods in case the user does not want them to be unlocked automatically without any interaction. This includes a Device 'special orientation', which may refer to having to look at the device we want to unlock, gestures with the body or even the eye or some movement of these devices how to lift them.
There is not much information we have about the possible augmented reality glasses from Apple, but It would not be strange if Apple let them see them during this next year with all the weight that AR is being given within the rest of devices such as the iPhone and iPad with the recent inclusion of LiDAR and software improvements.