Apple is preparing for a revolution in the user interfaces: in collaboration with the biotechnology firm Synchron, it is working on technology that will allow you to control the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro without touch - only with brain signals. About it reports The Wall Street Journal with reference to sources in the company.
It is a STENTRODE device - a microimplant that is inserted into a vein near the motor cortex of the brain. Electrodes read brain activity and transform it into digital signals. Apple is currently developing a special protocol that will allow these signals to interact with iOS, MacOS and VisionOS - operating systems of the company.
Since 2019, tenrode has been implanted for ten patients, and Apple has already started real tests: Mark Jackson, an American with lateral amyotrophic sclerosis that paralyzed his body, became one of the first testers. Thanks to the combination of saintrode and Apple Vision Pro, he was able to "visit" the Alps in virtual reality and even reported a feeling of trembling in his legs when he "looked" from the slope of the mountain.
Development has an ambitious goal - not only to promote innovations in managing technology, but also to change the quality of life of millions of people who have lost the opportunity to speak or move. The company emphasizes that these developments are primarily intended for people with disabilities, not just for technology enthusiasts.
As part of the iOS 19, which Apple plans to introduce in the fall, the company will also improve the function of Personal Voice, running in iOS 17. If the creation of a digital voice earlier required 150 phrases and processing hours, now only 10 phrases will be ready in less than a minute. In addition, the quality of the synthesized voice has become even more natural.
Also in the IOS 19 and VisionOS 3 updates, a new Switch Control protocol will be implemented, which will allow you to control devices at all without physical actions - through sensors, brain activity or other alternative methods of input.
Apple once again proves that inclusivity can be a driver of a technological breakthrough. The combination of neurotechnology and digital platforms opens a new era in interaction with technology - when touch and language are no longer necessary to control devices.
In the future, such interfaces can be used not only in the medical environment, but also in everyday life-from games to work in the office or travel in the VR environment.
