Since we’re apparently never going to get withing six-feet of each other ever again, Apple has won a new patent that would enable social distancing-friendly “synthetic group selfies.”
The Verge reports should the software patent come to fruition, users would be able to take group selfies while not physically around each other.
The patent application indicates a user could invite others to take part in a group selfie, and all participants would be arranged accordingly into the frame. The patent also describes a window that appears on the invited individuals’ screens, prompting them to participate in the group selfie.
Once everyone has accepted the invitation and are positioned in the frame, there will be options for “still photos, stored video images, or live streaming images.”
It should be noted that this patent wasn’t filed due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and the resulting “social distancing.” Apple first filed the patent in 2018 and it was only recently granted. Also worth noting is that Apple files and received numerous patents each year, and the granting of a patent doesn’t necessarily mean a product or service using the patent will ever make it to the end-user.