Apple to enable iPhone control using brain signals only
iPhone will be controllable by thought (photo: Unsplash)
Apple has announced a major update to accessibility features, which will appear on devices later this year. Among the new features is a breakthrough technology that allows users to control iPhones using only their thoughts, reports 9to5Mac.
Apple is working on an interface that will enable users to interact with the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and the Vision Pro headset via brain activity.
In this area, the company is collaborating with the startup Synchron, which has developed a unique device called Stentrode—an implant in the form of a stent that is inserted into a vein on the surface of the brain’s motor cortex. It can read neural signals and transmit commands to Apple devices. Since 2019, ten people have already received such an implant.
The special feature of Stentrode is that it is installed with minimal surgical intervention, through the jugular vein (a group of veins in the neck), without the need for open brain surgery. This gives the technology the potential for widespread use, especially among people with neurological conditions such as ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).
Although the technology is still in its early stages and currently doesn’t support, for example, cursor movement, Apple is already preparing neurointerface support in iOS 19 and visionOS 3. The new protocols will allow users with such devices to control them entirely without physical contact.
In addition, iOS 19 will feature an improved Personal Voice function, aimed at people at risk of losing their ability to speak. Previously, creating a personal voice required saying 150 phrases—now only 10 will be enough. Processing will take less than a minute, and the voice will sound more natural.
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