The new patent suggests that the next AirPods Pro (commonly known as AirPods Pro 2, scheduled for later this year) may have brave new features. It could also be extended to current AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, depending on patent needs.
Apple AirPods Pro and AirPods Max have sensational noise cancellation. This means you can listen to movies and music on the plane, almost unaffected by engine noise, or work from home without being disturbed by your family's racket.
The new patent discovered by William Gallagher at Apple Insider isn't promised the title "Interrupt for Noise-Cancelling Audio Devices," but its core is pretty cool.
The goal is to be able to hear the world's sounds when needed, for example, when a loved one is trying to get your attention, even when the headphones are in noise canceling mode. ..
If they are "pre-specified contacts" called "interrupt approved contacts", their voice will reach your ears.
Alternatively, the patent states that noise canceling may be interrupted by "the person who speaks the keyword specified by the user." It is convenient to set the keyword to "chicken or beef". For example, when you're in the air, and you don't want to miss a really gourmet meal.
Or, if the authorized contact is a loved one who is tired of screaming and doesn't get a reply, this advance notice allows you to hear it now. If you understand the opaque legal terms in which these patents are written, this seems to stem from the form of speech recognition. In other words, since the speaker's voice is known to you and your device, the speaker recognizes their input as important and automatically "sends instructions to peripherals, a second Instructs you to switch from the operating mode to the first operating mode. We have determined that the person is one of the contacts allowed to interrupt. "
Or, as you say in English, AirPods turn off noise cancellation when the right person is trying to talk to you. Also note that it says "1" for the contact. This indicates that you can configure multiple approved interrupters.
Here's something cool that melts even more of your brain. AirPods can even determine if the specified voice is talking to someone else, not you, and even ignore such intrusions. Therefore, AirPods can use the "arrival time difference information collected by headphones" to determine if they should listen.
It's not specified what will happen after that, but how wonderful it would be if Siri said something like "Your husband talks to you, listen to you, for Pete's love" in that cheeky way. Is not it?
It's a patent, so it's hard to know when it's going to be real and when it's going to be real, but I'm looking forward to it here.
