For years it’s been sort of a running gag all the ridiculous errors you can make thanks to iOS’s autocorrect system, with full websites and even books having been made to cover the phenomena. A newly filed Apple patent, however, offers a potential solution to the problem.
The patent details a method to help users avoid making mistakes with autocorrect by prompting them with a notice that pops up when a user hits the “send” button. Users will see all of the words that were autocorrected become highlighted, and a short timer will allow changes to be made in case an error is detected.
The idea doesn’t sound all that bad, although it would have to work incredibly quickly if people were to adopt it. The patent says that it would be an option in the iPhone’s settings, so users who aren’t concerned about sending texts super quickly could choose to activate it.
Another keyboard related patent was also filed by Apple today, this one having to do with language detection. The patent details a system that would autodetect the language used by a person that texted you, before then auto-changing your keyboard to that language. If your Spanish speaking friend texted you, your keyboard would automatically change to a Spanish language keyboard when you go to respond. This system would also work intelligently and improve over time with specific contacts.
Like all patents, these concepts might never actually make their way into iOS. If there is one aspect of iOS that many users have long been asking to see updated, however, it would be its keyboard.
