Apple’s been looking at Kinect-like 3D gestures for a while now, and now it’s filed for a new 3D GUI patent that would make using an iPhone or iPad a lot like a cross between a portable little Kinect and a window into a parallel world.
The patent lays out an interface that would use proximity sensors to let a user control a “camera view” that would shift around a 3D environment as the mobile device is rotated or moved. Imagine a viewfinder in the middle of a cube, with apps and videos on the walls. The interface itself would be controlled by gestures made above the screen. That seems a bit unwieldy, but being that it’s just a patent application who knows if this ever sees the light of day. [Patently Apple]