If you use an iPhone, Apple probably controls most of your waking hours. The company could take over your time spent in dreamland sometime in the near future, too, by using all the data it collects about you to push you toward a better night's sleep.
Apple might be working on a new system to help improve user sleep patterns, if a new patent recently granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is any indication.
The filing, which was unearthed by Apple Insider, describes new methods to automatically control alarms and notifications to manage bedtime at night and waking times in the morning. The system would offer a service that's usually against the company's MO: making users disengage with their phones to hit the hay.
SEE ALSO:If this alarm clock doesn't get you out of bed nothing willThe system described by the patents depends on the various biometric sensors and other data gathered by the device to create a sleep schedule. Mobile phones and smart watches are both mentioned in the filing, making iPhones and Apple Watches prime platforms for the tracking system.
The sleep tracker would adjust alarms using input from a user's typical bedtime routine and "sleep onset latency," aka the gap of time between the act of going to bed and the actual moment the user goes to sleep. By using the device's sensors to determine when the user is actually conked out, the system would tack on the lost latent sleep time and change the alarm -- unless a calendar event takes precedence.
If the system senses users aren't getting enough rest, it would send push notifications and suggestions tailored to their sleep patterns. Essentially, Apple would make Siri your mother, nagging at you to shut down and go to bed.
The sleep system uses more than just notifications to send you to sleep.Credit: usptoFor more controlled snoozes during the day, the patent describes a next-level nap function, which could potentially be engaged and tracked via pressure on the phone's screen as the user falls in and out of sleep.
Better control for next level power naps, courtesy of your iPhone.Credit: usptoThere's no way of knowing if Apple is actually working to integrate this system into future devices, since it's just a patent, but the company is definitely invested in health and sleep tech. iOS 10 brought Bedtime, a sleep management suite that lets users manually set their sleep goals and nags them to get to sleep, but it's a less sophisticated version of the system described by the new patent. More tellingly, Apple acquired sleep tracker Beddit last month, which could help kick off the next gen efforts.
Wearable rival Fitbit has invested heavily in the space, and as Apple focuses more on health care with the Apple Watch and other major projects rumored to be coming to the iPhone, sleep tracking is certainly well within its sights.
TopicsAppleiPhone
(责任编辑：綜合)
Nate Parker is finally thinking about the woman who accused him of rapeDisney is giving us a Star Wars TV show, plus more movies from LucasfilmBrands have no idea how to deal with being caught in a political firestorm'Civilization VI: Rise and Fall' expansion pack revealed and detailedFiji wins firstGive your kitchen sponge a rest on this adorable bed
Our kitchen sponges do a lot of work. Don't they deserve a good night's rest?"Sure," said design stu
...[详细]Joe Biden chats to Oprah about running in 2020
Joe Biden's been constantly asked whether he's considered running for president in 2020. One person
...[详细]Apple released two base models of the iPhone in 2017 -- the iPhone 8/8 Plus and the iPhone X -- whic
...[详细]Woman threatened for 'f*ck Trump' sticker says f*ck the sheriff too
Another day, another angry sticker added to that headline-making, Trump-hating pick-up truck. This t
...[详细]Plane makes emergency landing after engine rips apart during flight
A Southwest Airlines flight bound for Orlando, Florida, made an emergency landing Saturday morning d
...[详细]Top media watchdog accused of playing dirty to help Trump's friend
The allegations are explosive: Ajit Pai, President Donald Trump's hand-picked head of the main U.S.
...[详细]NASA turns on a set of Voyager 1's thrusters after 37 years
Billions of miles from Earth, at the edge of interstellar space, a long-dormant part of a far-flung
...[详细]Omg 'Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp' is getting Christmas
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp 。is getting into the holiday spirit starting today with festive new furn
...[详细]Here's what 'Game of Thrones' actors get up to between takes
Warning: Contains some mild Season 6 spoilers right at the end (the video is spoiler-free). 。LONDON -
...[详细]Matthew McConaughey teamed up with Wild Turkey to hand out free... frozen turkeys
We didn't think the McConaissance would include so much poultry. 。 Matthew McConaughey teamed up with
...[详细]U.S. government issues warning on McDonald's recalled wearable devices
This live TV celebrity eating challenge is the stuff of nightmares
