Apple has filed a new patent application, an Apparatus and Method to Facilitate Universal Remote Control. In the application, Apple claims that current remotes are cluttered, so they propose using a touchscreen that can automatically detect every AV device near you. Really?
According to the patent, the remote will have a discovery mechanism that will automatically detect every AV device near you and set them up properly. If the device is no longer available, it will disappear from the remote. That seems like a lot of magic to me, indeed. Especially if they get it to automatically detect and set up my Sony Beta VCR. Call me skeptical.
The patent may indicate that the fabled magical Apple TV set — which everyone has been talking about since 1634 — may be near its debut day. Or it may be one of those patents that are filed just because they can. [Apple Insider]
qbngeek
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 11:41 AMOnce again Apple are filing patents for random crap that they have no intention or ability to implement in the hope that when someone else does it in the future they can make some cash out of it.
Ozoneocean
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 12:07 PMYet more patenting of hugely vague obvious, universal ideas without any mechanism of how they would specifically implement them.
Surely something like this shouldn’t be allowed? Once you could only patent actual methods of achieving things that you’d specifically worked out, patents weren’t a race to cordon off every obvious interaction method with every type of technology known just so you could have exclusive control over them down the line.
Graham
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 2:04 PMMy bet is they are counting on future media devices too have NFC,RFID, wifi or other form of signaling that will enable the remote to automatically detect what is in the room. I would not imagine it would be compatible with older devices but they probably don’t care about that.
adam
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 2:34 PMapple maintaining compatibility with older things?
those words.. dont sound like they fit in a sentence
Joe Shmo
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 2:21 PMCant most smartphones already do something similar to this, I think a company even makes an IR transmitter add-on for smartphones. Logitech even makes a universal remote with a touchscreen, so once again this is yet another patent troll.
Chris
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 6:11 PMExactly and they do a few different models that do just that. It is just more media hype for apple that sites like this love to publish.
Free Speech
Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 3:24 AMThis is another patent head fake from apple. Just when you think you know what they’re going to do, they side step your predictions, blow you away and leave with your money and your girl in tow