Can anyone guess what this “Apple Pebble” device is for?

Last year, we wrote about an intriguing patent for an “Apple Pebble” device that was apparently intended to serve as some kind of Vision Pro accessory.

Now the company has applied for a new patent for what appears to be another take on the small, mysterious device…

Last year’s patent for “digital stone”.

The patent granted last year covered a small device that Apple described as a digital “stone.” It appeared to be something resembling an AirTag in size and shape, and intended for use in conjunction with the Vision Pro or some future VP-like device.

We then noticed that the patent language was intentionally vague, making it difficult to determine what exactly the company had in mind regarding this subject matter.

There were various indications of potential uses. One was to physically replicate objects in the virtual world, allowing them to persist between virtual reality sessions and transfer them between different headsets and users.

Another was the controls, where we could rotate or squeeze the rock to manipulate a virtual object in Vision Pro.

Today’s patent application for “apple pebble”

In a follow-up patent application published today, Apple expands on this idea – equipping the device with a display, voice recognition capabilities and more.

Again, the company describes so many different possibilities that it’s hard to figure out how the company might actually plan to take advantage of them.

For example, a handheld electronic device (the size of a pebble or coin) may have a small, touch-sensitive display for collecting touch data and providing an image, one or more microphones for collecting the voice signal, one or more speakers for providing audio output, and a location tracking system for tracking locating a handheld electronic device and/or to track the location of external electronic devices. If desired, the handheld electronic device may include touch output devices to provide a touch signal to the user.

The handheld electronic device can serve as a voice-controlled assistant, can serve as a standalone electronic device running one or more applications (e.g. weather app, music streaming app, calculator app, calendar app, payment app, etc.), can serve as a remote control for home appliances such as speakers, lighting, kitchen appliances, etc., can be used as an anchor or visual marker in an augmented or virtual reality system, can be used as an additional device to collect input data and/or provide output data related to an external electronic device, such as a pair of headphones, a speaker, a mobile phone, a tablet, a laptop, a headset, etc., and/or can be used for other functions.

One illustration shows a real-world remote control option – a device that turns on a floor lamp – although it’s unclear why this would be preferable to using a watch, iPhone or Siri command to the HomePod. In another drawing, it’s stuck to the fridge, fridge magnet style, and appears to display some text.

Apple says that in this drawing “it is used as a marker in a virtual reality system in accordance with an embodiment.”

This Princess Leia lookalike is the same idea in a video call.

Then there’s coffee in the main image at the top. Check out the text and drawings of the patent and share your theories in the comments…

Spotted by Patently Apple