For no particular reason, due to the Eurovision Song Contest last month, I was wandering around a Gen Z space and noticed an old-fashioned gadget making a comeback. Wired headphonesAnd now it seems the appetite for single-function gadgets is back in full force. compact camera On your MP3 player.
That’s probably why it’s notable that Apple, the company credited with popularizing the music player as a quintessential accessory, is looking into a two-year-old patent. 9to5Mac This week, Apple September 2022 Patent for iPod nano-style devices. The patent is titled “Device, method, and graphical user interface for interacting with a headphone case.”
The original patent was so interesting that it made headlines on the blog. When discoveredThe patent drawings show an improved AirPods case that appears to have the display removed. 2012 model iPod nano—You might remember it as that little square MP3 player that clips onto your shirt or bag.
The patent also shows Apple Music appearing as a “source” app on a screen for the proposed device that resembles the Apple Watch’s interface. The display would let you control audio playback, summon Siri, reply to messages, and check the weather on your iPhone. It also mentions a squeeze gesture to move between music tracks.
Just because there’s a patent doesn’t mean it’ll come to fruition — Apple treasures its patents like roses in a walled garden, and all the plants and animals that aren’t the dominant part of the ecosystem are well tended — but it’s fun to speculate about what’s going to happen next and tie it in with what’s going on in the zeitgeist.
In this hyper-connected world where digital assistants have evolved into content-generating AI companions, a return to a simplified device seems like a comfortable fit, and there is evidence that Apple has previously repurposed and remarketed with devices like this one, so why not flesh out this type of device? Apple Watch?
