Apple unveils brain-control tech for iOS devices in a video

At the beginning of the year, Apple shared its preliminary plans to support device control via brain-computer interfaces. Now, the first live demonstration of this technology has emerged, showing a user controlling an iPad with their thoughts alone.

This is reported by 9to5Mac.

How Apple's new technology works?

Apple has always prioritized accessibility, and this is one of their coolest moves yet. As we learned in the spring, iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and more include support for brain control in users with supported neural implants.

The company is developing brain-computer interface (BCI) technology that can convert brain signals into actions to control iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Vision Pros. Synchron's BCI solution involves placing an implant in the motor cortex on the surface of a blood vessel using a minimally invasive endovascular procedure through the jugular vein.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported on Mark Jackson, one of the first participants in Synchron's implant trials who lives with ALS. Synchron has now released a video showing Jackson fully controlling his iPad with his mind.

The video's caption states that Mark, a participant in the COMMAND study, controls the iPad exclusively with his mind using Synchron's BCI technology and Apple's new BCI Human Interface Device (HID) protocol. During the demonstration, Mark navigates the home screen, opens apps, and types messages without physically interacting with the device. Synchron representatives Kurt Haggstrom and Peter Yu explain how the BCI HID protocol works and how the Stentrode system provides native, "mind-controlled" operation of Apple devices.

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