Apple has applied for a patent with the U.S Patent and Trademark Office (via AppleInsider) on methods for using hyperlinks embedded into audio streams that could offer content creators the capability to link to other forms of media or control a device altogether. The main concept of the patent is outlined in the abstract of the filing, and explains how audio hyperlinks could be used to allow listeners to access such content within audio:
Hyperlinks within an audio stream provide a way for a listener to access linked resources. An audio hyperlink encoded in an audio stream indicates the presence of an audio hyperlink in the audio stream, as well as providing information for traversing the hyperlink to the linked resource. The hyperlink may be conditionally traversed upon a user interaction or automatically upon detection in the audio stream, possibly pausing the audio stream containing the hyperlink during the traversal of the hyperlink and resuming the audio stream if the audio stream is returned to from the linked material. The linked material may be other audio content, but may also be any other type of desired content that may be accessible by the system processing the audio stream.
In the patent application, Apple gives an example of a podcast which could link to other podcasts, websites, or other media, and Apple describes how software could either automatically activate audio hyperlinks when detected or offer a user interface to allow users to have control over activation of the links.
While the patent application does not make any references to specific devices, examples and drawings outline how the process could be applied to such mobile devices such as iPhones, iPads, and iPods.
Another one of those ideas that makes you wonder why nobody has thought of it until now.
This could be a great way for podcasts to link to relevant content such as news articles and for bands to link to their tour page from their album for example.
Another one of those ideas that makes you wonder why nobody has thought of it until now.
This could be a great way for podcasts to link to relevant content such as news articles and for bands to link to their tour page from their album for example.
or interactive audiobooks ... thinking like the old adventure books
Exactly. I'm sure there will be "good" uses for this but I too see it as a way to link to an external ad without having it encoded in the stream or at a particular time-stamp.
iOS 18 is expected to be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. iOS 18 is rumored to include new generative AI features for Siri and many apps, and Apple plans to add RCS support to the Messages app for an improved texting experience between iPhones and Android devices. The update is also expected to introduce a more...
Wednesday April 17, 2024 9:58 am PDT by Juli Clover
Game emulator apps have come and gone since Apple announced App Store support for them on April 5, but now popular game emulator Delta from developer Riley Testut is available for download. Testut is known as the developer behind GBA4iOS, an open-source emulator that was available for a brief time more than a decade ago. GBA4iOS led to Delta, an emulator that has been available outside of...
Tuesday April 16, 2024 11:33 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The first approved Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) emulator for the iPhone and iPad was made available on the App Store today following Apple's rule change. The emulator is called Bimmy, and it was developed by Tom Salvo. On the App Store, Bimmy is described as a tool for testing and playing public domain/"homebrew" games created for the NES, but the app allows you to load ROMs for any...
Apple today said it removed Game Boy emulator iGBA from the App Store for violating the company's App Review Guidelines related to spam (section 4.3) and copyright (section 5.2), but it did not provide any specific details. iGBA was a copycat version of developer Riley Testut's open-source GBA4iOS app. The emulator rose to the top of the App Store charts following its release this weekend,...
Tuesday April 16, 2024 6:54 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Last September, Apple's iPhone 15 Pro models debuted with a new customizable Action button, offering faster access to a handful of functions, as well as the ability to assign Shortcuts. Apple is poised to include the feature on all upcoming iPhone 16 models, so we asked iPhone 15 Pro users what their experience has been with the additional button so far. The Action button replaces the switch ...
A week after Apple updated its App Review Guidelines to permit retro game console emulators, a Game Boy emulator for the iPhone called iGBA has appeared in the App Store worldwide. The emulator is already one of the top free apps on the App Store charts. It was not entirely clear if Apple would allow emulators to work with all and any games, but iGBA is able to load any Game Boy ROMs that...
Top Rated Comments
What? :confused:
This could be a great way for podcasts to link to relevant content such as news articles and for bands to link to their tour page from their album for example.
or interactive audiobooks ... thinking like the old adventure books