User interfaces for managing live communication sessions

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12417596-B2
Application number	US-202318367418-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 12, 2023
Priority date	Sep 23, 2022
Publication date	Sep 16, 2025
Grant date	Sep 16, 2025

Abstract

The present disclosure generally relates to managing live communication sessions. A computer system optionally displays an option to invite the respective user to join the ongoing communication session. A computer system optionally one or more options to modify an appearance of an avatar representing the user of the computer system. A computer system optionally transitions a communication session from a spatial communication session to a non-spatial communication session. A computer system optionally displays information about a participant in a communication session.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer system configured to communicate with a display generation component, the computer system comprising:
one or more processors; and
memory storing one or more programs configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for:
while participating in a communication session that is a spatial communication session that includes displaying, via the display generation component, representations of a plurality of participants in the communication session in a spatially distributed arrangement in a 3D environment, wherein displaying the plurality of participants in the spatially distributed arrangement includes displaying:
the representations of the plurality of participants spaced apart from each other and a user of the computer system by at least a threshold amount in a first non-vertical direction in the 3D environment; and
the representations of the plurality of participants spaced apart from each other and the user by at least the threshold amount in a second non-vertical direction that is different from the first non-vertical direction;

while displaying the representations of the plurality of participants distributed in the 3D environment, detecting an event; and
in response to detecting the event, transitioning the communication session from the spatial communication session to a non-spatial communication session that includes displaying, via the display generation component, representations of at least a subset of the plurality of participants of the communication session in a grouped arrangement, wherein in the grouped arrangement:
the representations of the plurality of participants are spaced apart from each other by less than the threshold amount in the first non-vertical direction in the 3D environment;
a representation of a first participant in the grouped arrangement has a different position than a representation of the first participant in the spatially distributed arrangement; and
a representation of a second participant in the grouped arrangement has a different position than a representation of the second participant in the spatially distributed arrangement.

2. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein:
in the non-spatial communication session:
a representation of a first participant of the plurality of participants is in a first window region, and
a representation of a second participant of the plurality of participants is in a second window region that is different from the first window region; and

in the spatial communication session:
a representation of the first participant of the plurality of participants is not in a window region, and
a representation of the second participant of the plurality of participants is not in a window region.

3. The computer system of claim 2 , wherein the representation of the first participant is a simulated three-dimensional representation and the representation of the second participant is a two-dimensional representation.

4. The computer system of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of participants are two-dimensional representations.

5. The computer system of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of participants are three-dimensional representations.

6. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the event is a request received during the communication session to transition a representation of the user of the computer system from a 3D representation to a 2D representation.

7. The computer system of claim 6 , wherein the request is based on an input in a communication session control region.

8. The computer system of claim 7 , wherein the communication session control region includes an option to transition the representation of the user of the computer system from the 3D representation to the 2D representation and one or more options corresponding to other communication session controls.

9. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the event is a request received during the communication session to transition the communication session from the spatial communication session to the non-spatial communication session.

10. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the event is an additional participant joining the communication session.

11. The computer system of claim 10 , wherein the additional participant joining the communication session causes a number of participants represented by simulated three-dimensional representations to exceed a threshold number of participants.

12. The computer system of claim 1 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:
while the communication session is a non-spatial communication session, shifting a position of a respective window region corresponding to a respective participant based on the respective participant moving.

13. The computer system of claim 12 , wherein the respective window region moves forward and/or backward in a virtual environment based on a head position of respective participant.

14. The computer system of claim 12 , wherein the respective window region tilts based on a head position of respective participant.

15. The computer system of claim 12 , wherein a first window shifts in a first direction based on movement of a participant displayed in the first window and a second window shifts in a second direction, different from the first direction, based on movement of a participant displayed in the second window.

16. The computer system of claim 1 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:
while participating in the communication session that is a non-spatial communication session, detecting a second event; and
in response to detecting the second event, transitioning the communication session from the non-spatial communication session to the spatial communication session.

17. The computer system of claim 16 , wherein the second event is a participant leaving the communication session.

18. The computer system of claim 16 , wherein the second event is a request received during the communication session to transition a representation of the user of the computer system from a 2D representation to a 3D representation.

19. The computer system of claim 16 , wherein the second event is a request received during the communication session to transition the communication session from a non-spatial communication session to a spatial communication session.

20. The computer system of claim 1 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:
while in a spatial communication session, displaying, via the display generation component, a self-view of a representation of the user of the computer system in a self-view window region.

21. The computer system of claim 20 , wherein the self-view window region overlaps a window region that includes a representation of another participant of an ongoing communication session.

22. The computer system of claim 20 , wherein the self-view window region is smaller than a window region that includes a representation of another participant.

23. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein:
during a spatial communication session, a first participant of the communication session is enabled to move a respective representation of the first participant and a second participant of the communication session is enabled to move a respective representation of the second participant; and
during a non-spatial communication session, a user of the computer system is enabled to move respective window regions that i

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Chand Jesse
• Bauerly Kristi E
• Lemay Stephen O
• Dascola Jonathan R
• Chiu Shih-Sang

Classifications

• H04N7/152

  Multipoint control units therefor · CPC title

• G06T19/20

  Editing of three-dimensional [3D] images, e.g. changing shapes or colours, aligning objects or positioning parts · CPC title

• G06T2219/2004

  Aligning objects, relative positioning of parts · CPC title

• H04N7/157 Primary

  defining a virtual conference space and using avatars or agents (computer conference optimisation or adaptation H04L12/1827) · CPC title

• G06F3/0482

  Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus · CPC title