Apple patents notifications that appear and vanish based on context
Apple describes a system where notifications appear on top of existing content only when specific conditions, or context, are met. These alerts offer actions that are not available elsewhere in the interface. If the context changes and no longer fits the criteria, the notification automatically disappears.
In the filing’s own words
The present disclosure generally relates to methods and user interfaces for providing contextual notifications, including methods and user interfaces for providing proactive contextual notifications and methods and user interfaces for providing variable confidence notifications, in accordance with some embodiments.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A computer system configured to communicate with one or more display generation components, 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: displaying, via the one or more display generation components, in a first user interface, a contextual notification, wherein: the contextual notification is displayed based on a context of the computer system being a first context that meets a first set of context criteria; the contextual notification is associated with an action that is not displayed as being available in the first user interface other than through interaction with the contextual notification; and the contextual notification is overlaid on first content of the first user interface; after concurrently displaying the first content and the contextual notification, detecting that the context of the computer system has changed from the first context to a second context that does not meet the first set of context criteria; and in response to detecting the change in context of the computer system from the first context to the second context, automatically dismissing the contextual notification.
Facts
- Company
- Apple (Apple Inc.)
- Official title
- USER INTERFACES FOR PROVIDING CONTEXTUAL NOTIFICATIONS
- Publication number
- US20260259809A1
- Application number
- 19435231
- Filed
- Dec 29, 2025
- Published
- Sep 3, 2026
- Inventors
- 2
- Claims
- 23
Classified under
G06F 11/32 Physics & computingG06F 11/3055 Physics & computingMore from Apple in AI & software
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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.