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AppleGranted patentPhones & computersInterest 6/10

Apple patents buttons that change actions based on how hard and long you press

This patent describes how a device can tell the difference between a light tap, a hard press, and a press that moves slightly. It allows the same physical button to trigger different commands, like playing media or taking a photo, depending on the strength and duration of the user's touch.

Why it mattersIt could make physical buttons on phones or watches more versatile, allowing users to perform more actions without adding extra buttons.

In the filing’s own words

User interfaces integrating variable hardware inputs are described, including user interfaces that perform different operations in response to presses of different intensities with and without movement, user interfaces that perform different media capture operations based on presses of different lengths with and without movement, user interfaces with controls that can be customized by swiping near a hardware control, user interfaces for media playback with dynamic speed adjustments, and user interfaces that perform adjustments before and after contact with a hardware control ends.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A computer system configured to communicate with one or more display generation components and a first input device, comprising: one or more processors; and memory storing one or more programs configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for: detecting, via the first input device, a first set of one or more inputs directed to the first input device; in response to detecting the first set of one or more inputs: in accordance with a determination that the first set of one or more inputs satisfies a first set of criteria, performing a first operation, wherein the first set of criteria includes: a first criterion that is satisfied when the first set of one or more inputs includes a first input intensity that exceeds a first threshold intensity; and a second criterion that is satisfied when the first set of one or more inputs includes more than a threshold amount of movement in a respective direction; and in accordance with a determination that the first set of one or more inputs directed to the first input device satisfies a second set of criteria different from the first set of criteria, performing a second operation different from the first operation, wherein the second set of criteria includes a third criterion that is satisfied when the first set of one or more inputs includes a second input intensity that exceeds a second threshold intensity that is higher than the first threshold intensity; after performing the second operation, detecting, via the first input device, a respective movement input; and in response to detecting the respective movement input and in accordance with a determination that a lift-off event was not detected in between detecting the second input intensity that exceeds the second threshold intensity and detecting the respective movement input, performing the first operation based on the respective movement input.

Facts

Company
Apple (Apple Inc.)
Official title
User interfaces responsive to an input directed to an input device
Patent number
US12737107B2
Application number
18892230
Filed
Sep 20, 2024
Granted
Sep 15, 2026
Inventors
12
Claims
66

Classified under

G06F 3/0487 Physics & computingG06F 1/1671 Physics & computingG06F 3/02 Physics & computingG06F 3/0481 Physics & computingG06F 3/0482 Physics & computingG06F 3/04845 Physics & computing

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.