The iPhone needs super-fast terabit speed to help with ProRAW and ProRes file transfers and might enable wireless monitors or AR/VR headsets.
The iPhone has several different file transfer systems in place but a new Apple patent document describes a next-level method that employs laser technology that could enable terabit speeds. Optical transmission is potentially much faster than wired connections due to the physics of light and electricity. File transfers at light speed should be the quickest of all.
Laser communication and data transfer is not a new idea. Space X is planning on setting up similar communication between Starlink satellites, for example. Ground-based systems typically rely on fiber optic cable to enable longer distances and to bend around corners. Free space optical (FSO) systems that use lasers have been researched for many years, and typical scenarios involve transmitting relatively long distances of a thousand feet to over a mile in some military testing.
In most laser data transfer applications, the potential problems involve accuracy and interference. Since Apple’s patent application is referring to transfers between an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook, Mac computer, Apple TV, and accessories, the distances involved will be quite short, and likely within a single room. That means interference won’t be as much of a problem. The greater challenge is alignment since lasers travel in straight lines. An iPhone and many other Apple devices that might get this technology in the future are portable, so the alignment can’t be locked in. Much of Apple’s patent document discusses adjusting lenses within the laser diode on the sending device and the optical photodiode sensor on the receiving device to maintain alignment, using various radio signals to aid in detecting position.
iPhone Laser Transfer Uses
Since Apple describes possibly as fast as terabit speeds with this technology, it would greatly increase the rate of photo and video transfers, something that is becoming noticeable with the massive file sizes that come with shooting in ProRAW and recording in ProRes. AirDrop is great for standard file sizes using a Wi-Fi connection for speeds in the hundreds of megabits. A wired connection using the Lightning port offers similar speeds and isn’t really worth the effort of hooking it up unless transferring to a Windows PC which isn’t compatible with AirDrop.
So, a super quick laser transfer method would be welcome news for anyone using these large media files. The ability to rapidly transmit large amounts of data would also enable high-quality wireless monitors and Apple is expected to release an updated Pro Display XDR in 2022. An interesting possibility, with rumors heating up about Apple’s AR/VR headset, is a connection from the iPhone to the headset to help with processing. The option of terabit data transfer opens up plenty of possibilities and expands the iPhone’s ability for robust communication with a variety of devices and accessories.
Source: USPTO
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