Apple has a healthy R&D budget for a company of its size and spends quite a bit of time patenting interesting technology. Sometimes the technology ends up in future products and sometimes it doesn't, but the patents always give us a glimpse into what directions Apple is heading. A recently published patent application for a 3D display that automatically adjusts its view based on the position of the viewer's head is one such patent.
In "Systems and Methods for Adjusting a Display Based on the User's Position," Apple proposes a display that can automatically adjust the point of view and angle of 3D objects, or even 2D objects arranged in 3D space, based on the changing position of the viewer in relation to the display. Example: imagine you are viewing some 3D object on your monitor. A sensor could let the computer know when you move your head to the left, and the object would subtly change position and/or rotation so you could see the left side of the object. Alternatively, you could move your head up so you could see the top better.
The same technique could be used to display 2D objects arranged in 3D space. Apple uses the example of windows on the desktop; suppose one window is obscuring details on the window below it. Moving your head to one side or the other could change the relative positions enough to see whatever details are hidden.
A further refinement to the technique would involve using the sensor to evaluate the environment of the viewer to create more realistic views of 3D objects. It could map lighting sources and reflections onto the surfaces of 3D objects, giving them an appearance as if they were part of the user's environment. A nearby lamp could cast a warm glow on an object, or the user and her surroundings might be reflected in polished surface.
AppleInsider notes that Apple has a history of researching 3D and spatially-oriented interface elements, such as an auto-stereoscopic display, a three-dimensional interface for Mac OS X, and experiments with Wiimote-like controls for the Apple TV. MacRumors also demonstrates that Apple's interest in "hyper reality" goes back as far as 1995.
Less exciting, perhaps, are some recent patents for interface refinements for iPods or iPhones. One patent describes methods for automatically learning usage patterns for media files and adjusting to user preferences when playing back those files. Apple offers two examples of how this might work. For instance, if you usually skip forward past a particular section of a song or movie, that section could be remembered and automatically skipped in the future. Also, the frequency of listing to particular songs could be used to adjust the "graphical representation" of the songs displayed in the interface, such as displaying more frequently listened to tracks in a larger or bolder font.
Another patent describes an interface to warn users when playback of a certain file may drain the battery in a portable device, perhaps offering options to optimize playback to extend the life of the battery. If you want to playback a 45-minute episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" but only have 30 minutes of juice left based on your current settings, then the device would display a warning. It may also offer to dim the backlight, play a lower-resolution file, or some combination of the two to ensure enough playback time for the whole episode.
Neither of these iPod-related patents are as cool as an automatically adjusted 3D display, to be sure, but they show us that Apple is always looking for better ways to do things—even if it's as simple as picking your favorite song out of a list.