Apple’s been thinking about remote controls for years now, about their current problems, and how they need to balance usability against a broad and growing feature set.

From a patent application Apple filed in 2002:

Remote controls for complex appliances such as home stereo systems or video disk players have myriad buttons and switches to control the many functions of the appliance. While all of these buttons and switches are necessary for complete control of the appliance, users typically use only a small subset of the total controls on the remote control. The controls that are not normally used clutter the remote control and can cause confusion to the user when trying to locate a seldom-used feature.
[...]

While universal remote controls attempt to address the problem of multiple remote controls, these devices are even more complex to operate, further confusing the user. [Emphasis added]
— Background, U.S. Patent 6,914,551, July 5, 2005

So Apple’s saying that the static arrangement of controls on a remote control forces manufacturers to include more keys and buttons than users typically need, making remotes hard to use and unable to adapt as needs change.

Steve Jobs did, when he introduced the iPhone last January.

Why do we need a revolutionary user interface? I mean, here’s four smart phones, right?
…
What’s wrong with their user interfaces? Well, the problem with them is…they all have these keyboards that are there whether you need them or not to be there.

And they all have these control buttons that are fixed in plastic and are the same for every application. Well, every application wants a slightly different user interface, a slightly optimized set of buttons, just for it. And what happens if you think of a great idea six months from now? You can’t run around and add a button to these things, they’re already shipped.

So what do you do? It doesn’t work because the buttons and the controls can’t change. They can’t change for each application, and they can’t change down the road if you think of another great idea you want to add to this product.

Well, how do you solve this? Hmm, it turns out we have solved it.
— iPhone introduction, Steve Jobs at MacWorld San Francisco, 2007

No. The iPhone is unlikely to make a good universal remote: it’s relatively expensive for one thing, and it might not be as durable as you’d like when you’re tossing it to someone sitting across the room.

But something like the iPhone might work. About that size, with a generous touchscreen and a Home button, without microphone or speaker. Press Home and you’d see your list of available devices as shown in that patent above.

Good point. Finding the devices is easy enough: the universal remote will use Boujour. Apple’s Bonjour is already included with QuickTime and iTunes. It’s what allows iTunes to find other people on your network to share their music. It would work fine for your living room digital devices, too.

As for your neighbors, Bonjour only works on your local network for now, though Apple has a wide-area network version ready to work over the entire Internet. But don’t worry—Apple filed another patent application this year describing how RFID would allow you to pair devices securely and easily to keep your neighbors out. Only your devices would show up on your remote control, because they’re the only ones you paired to your remote. This will be useful for all your devices, not just your universal remote:

Read more about how it might work with your iPhone.

…Many users, particularly home and small office users, lack the level of knowledge necessary to install and configure wireless network devices, and are thus unable to take advantage of the benefits of wireless networking.
…
An even greater problem lies in a lack of security of wireless networks.
…
Therefore, what is needed in the art is a system for simplifying the configuration of wireless network devices and minimizing the amount of traditional user interface required to do so, while still permitting users to employ robust authentication and encryption algorithms.
— Background, U.S. Patent Application 20070054616, March 8, 2007

According to yet another patent application Apple filed this year, the devices would tell it what to show. The media device would transfer everything the remote needs to control that device:

…each media-module…can obtain information needed to construct menus for its associated media-component….each media-module may select a user interface template (e.g., menus, window) from the User Interface Library (or library) and subsequently fill (or populate it) with the appropriate information (e.g., menu items). .
— Summary of the invention, U.S. Patent Application 20070083616, April 12, 2007

It’s too soon to say with any certainly, but yes, it might work like that. Or, you might initially see your devices along with an onscreen Assistant asking to you walk over and wand your remote over each device in turn.

Well, it would have a fancy touchscreen, 802.11n wireless networking, enough flash RAM to run Mac OS X, and a recharge cradle. Is $99 too much?

When Apple announces the next generation of its digital media devices. AppleTV is just the start.

Sunday, June 10th, 2007, 7:35 pm    Trackback.