In 2018, Apple Inc. filed a patent for technology that allows users to create virtual group selfies without being physically together.
Interestingly, Apple developed this concept before the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea could help friends and family take group photos, even when they live far apart.
How Does Apple’s Group Selfie Patent Work?
We’ve all seen creative ways to include absent friends in group photos. Some people edit their faces into pictures. Others use video calls to include distant friends in a group shot.
Apple’s group selfie patent offers a simpler solution.
Each person takes a selfie using their own device. The technology then removes the background and isolates each person’s portrait.
Next, users share their individual selfies with a designated device. The software combines these images into a single virtual group photo.
As a result, everyone can appear together in one picture, regardless of their physical location.
Will Apple Introduce This Technology?
Apple has not confirmed whether it will introduce this feature to the public.
Nevertheless, the concept highlights how innovative technology can bring people closer together.
With Apple’s virtual group selfie technology, friends and family could capture memorable moments together without meeting in person.
The patent also demonstrates how intellectual property protection plays an important role in technological innovation.