A patent granted to Apple has further fueled rumors that Apple Glass (Apple Glass) will no longer require power lenses because the smart glasses will automatically adjust for those with poor vision.

The "Head Mounted Display Apparatus for Holding a Portable Electronic Device with Display" patent, granted Tuesday by the US Patent and Trademark Office, envisions a head mounted display with an "optical subassembly" that is adjusted based on the wearer's prescription.

"The optical subassembly comprises at least one dynamic optical component and the processor is configured to adjust the dynamic optical component based on prescription information," the patent states.

Having such a system would effectively avoid the major drawbacks of smart glasses and the best VR headsets. And the patent points out that the head-mounted display also adapts to the "limitations and corrections" of a person's vision through automatic eye analysis.

"For example, if a user is nearsighted in one eye, the optical module associated with that eye may modify the image displayed to compensate for the user's nearsightedness," the patent explains. "The system can use an appropriate approach to determine the correction needed for each eye. For example, the user can enter a prescription for eyeglasses or contact lenses indicating the correction needed.

This is definitely a bit of a sci-fi concept, but based on the images in the patent, this head-mounted display would not necessarily look super futuristic. This is because Apple expects it to be used with an iPhone, as well as other VR headsets that do not require a powerful PC connection. From the patent drawings, the device looks like a cross between a smartphone VR headset and traditional glasses.

So this may not be a patent directly related to the Apple Glass smart glasses, but instead Apple's idea for an easy-to-use smartphone VR device. However, the patent also details how the headset could effectively use a camera to view the outside world and thus be used as an augmented reality headset as well as a VR device.

"The head-mounted display system can operate in an external viewing mode that allows the user to view the outside world. The head mounted display system 200 can provide an external view of the user's surroundings using any suitable approach," the patent notes." In the illustrated embodiment, the portable electronic device includes a camera on the back side opposite the display screen, and the head-mounted device includes an opening in the mounting area that provides camera access to the exterior of the head-mounted device."

Automatically adjusting optical elements could still be a feature of future Apple glasses. However, according to previous rumors, the first generation of Apple Glass wearables are set to require prescription lenses if people need them.

The patent, like many things, may bring nothing to the table. But it is solid evidence that Apple is definitely looking beyond the Apple Watch 6 to wearable devices. And if it can create smart glasses with this kind of intelligence, Apple could move the entire category forward.