As much as Apple improves the performance and consumption of the different devices, it is of little use if in the end we leave them on while we are not using them. IPhones and iPads lock their screens after a few minutes and Macs go to sleep similarly, but still there is much room for improvement in this field.
More precision and more reliability for better battery consumption
All Apple devices go to sleep after a certain time. The key to the phrase here is “time.” Why? Because it means that the decision to go to sleep or turn off the screen does not depend as directly as we would like on our use of the device, but of a certain type of interaction. It will have happened to all of us that reading on a Mac the screen suddenly darkens and we have to move the mouse to wake it up.
The We saw the first change in this behavior with the iPhone X. Thanks to the Face ID system, the iPhone was able to detect when we looked at the screen and while we were doing it, keep it always on. If we diverted our attention, a 30-second countdown would begin before it was turned off. Now Apple wants to go further in the evolution of these systems.
Artificial intelligence is called upon to control even the smallest processes, such as the idling of our devices.
The patent “Attention detection service” explores the different sensors that can power the system. The touch screen, cameras, buttons, various haptic sensors, keyboards, external sensors, mouse, biometric sensors, or accelerometers, to name a few examples, can provide data that the system will then use to reliably determine whether or not it is time to go to rest.
It may seem like a minor detail, but fine-tuning the timing of devices to sleep can contribute to substantial improvements in battery consumption. All this, in addition, without having to forcefully interact with the device to prevent it from falling asleep. A Mac could, for example, know if we are in front of it thanks to our Apple Watch or if we are leaning on the keyboard (without pressing any key) and act accordingly. Something similar could happen with Apple TV, which could pause playback if it detects that we are not watching.
When we hear phrases like “artificial intelligence is the future” we can think of great applications, but small details such as our iPad turning off just at the moment we put it on the table, but not while we are reading it also enters the field of AI. And this is just one of the many examples that we can find in our devices, which little by little change the old ways of making decisions for more complex, more reliable and more precise processes. Won’t you look at me? Well, I turn off.
Image | Priscilla Du Preez