“Apple has applied for a patent (number 20150370425) with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office for an ‘application menu for a video system.’ Should it ever come to fruition, it could mean a radically revamped interface for OS X and iOS, as well asthe Apple TV’s tvOS,” Dennis Sellers reports for Apple World Today. “Interestingly, the patent mentions a television with a touch-sensitive surface (either a touch screen display or a touch pad).”
Sellers reports, “Here’s Apple’s summary of the invention: ‘The invention is directed to an electronic device. The electronic device generates for presentation on a display a user interface including a plurality of groups of icons. A plurality of the icons have been grouped based at least in part on metadata of applications associated with the icons. The electronic device receives input selecting a respective icon. In response to receiving the input selecting a respective icon, the electronic device invokes an instance of an application associated with the respective icon.'”
More info, along with Apple’s patent application illustrations and diagrams, in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple TV’s tvOS, in particular, cries out for intuitive ways to group apps.
These days you really don’t know whether to look forward to such changes.
Part of Apple’s perceived magic, in their products, was the quiet, silence, mystery as to what is to come next. The digging through patent filings, manufacturer’s disclosures, leaks, does not seem to aid apple’s mystique. Too bad too.
A new open Apple is not what’s needed. Jobs seem to understand what having four Christmases per year would do for Apple. It was good for Apple and retailers. I hope we are not in for another product dump like we have seen in the resent past. 4,5,6 products released very close to one another. Magic… hold products for quarterly release, it keeps Apple in the news and on people’s mines year round…
Well, that’s how it seemed to me.
I think we will see new Macs with Skylake processors in the next few months. But I agree with your point. With iOS products being released in unison in September, it seems like a 1 year wait between major updates.
“Iff’n it ain’t broke, then why fix it?” is what my uncle Enos would say.
iOS in particular needs to get smarter and more expansive while retaining simplicity so new concepts are always welcome in my book. As far as Mac interface goes consistency with iOS is important and increadingly so, but not to the detriment of its own sometimes different logic.
Retro, not Metro!
Most of the shit on my Apple TV should be removable by the end user. i do not want to hide them, I want them gone.
The first thing would be anything connected to Rupert Murdoch and his empire of bullshit and disinformation.
The interface would be fine without the cruft.