Apple patents 3D app windows that stay inside a set area
Apple has been granted a patent for managing how apps appear in a 3D space. The system allows apps to run in a 'bounded' mode, where their interface stays within a specific area of the room, or an 'unbounded' mode, where elements can move freely. Users can switch between these modes to control how much of the physical environment the app occupies.
In the filing’s own words
Aspects of the subject technology provide for various user interface modes for a user interface of an application. The user interface modes may include one or more bounded modes, a single application mode such as an exclusive mode, and/or one or more full screen modes. In one or more implementations, access to various types of information by the application may be constrained based on the user interface mode of the user interface.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A method, comprising: displaying, by a display of an electronic device, a user interface of an application to appear, in a first user interface mode, at a perceivable location, remote from the display, within a physical environment; receiving, by the electronic device, a user request to change the user interface to a second user interface mode; and modifying, responsive to the user request, the displayed user interface of the application to the second user interface mode, wherein the first user interface mode comprises one of a bounded three-dimensional display mode, in which user interface elements of the user interface are constrained, by a system process at the electronic device, to be displayed within a boundary that is assigned, by the system process, to the application and that defines a portion of the physical environment including the perceivable location, or an unbounded mode, in which the user interface elements of the user interface can be moved to locations outside the boundary and within the physical environment, and wherein the second user interface mode comprises the other of the bounded three-dimensional display mode or the unbounded mode.
Facts
- Company
- Apple (Apple Inc.)
- Official title
- User interface modes for three-dimensional display
- Patent number
- US12743184B2
- Application number
- 18125112
- Filed
- Mar 22, 2023
- Granted
- Sep 22, 2026
- Inventors
- 5
- Claims
- 23
Classified under
G06F 3/04815 Physics & computingG06F 3/017 Physics & computingG06F 3/04847 Physics & computingG06T 19/003 Physics & computingG06T 19/006 Physics & computingG06T 2200/24 Physics & computingMore from Apple in AR, VR & displays
- Apple patents AR glasses that zoom in on what you look at Sep 8, 2026
- Apple patents finger ring that controls VR with taps and waves Sep 15, 2026
- Apple patents head-mounted device that types via eye swipes and hand pinches Oct 6, 2026
- Apple patents eye-tracking and hand gestures to select screen items Oct 20, 2026
- Apple patents AR glasses that adjust lenses to fit your eyes Sep 17, 2026
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.