If Apple's latest patent comes to fruition, the much-rumored Apple Glasses will include an external trackpad that will allow users to control the smart glasses with a tap or swipe

The patent, recently published by the USPTO (discovered by AppleInsider), suggests that the so-called Apple Glasses will use touch controls rather than the motion and joystick controls found in other AR and VR devices It suggests

Filed in September 2018 under the name "Remote Touch Detection Enabled by Peripheral Device," the patent shows a separate trackpad for what could be a pair of augmented reality smart glasses

Glasses, or indeed a headset that appears to be a trackpad, are not depicted in the patent However, the AR-like image is placed in front of the trackpad user's field of view, suggesting that this peripheral is for some form of head-mounted display

The trackpad in the patent closely resembles the Magic Trackpad used to operate MacBook and iMac machines And the patent also indicates that the trackpad could be used similarly to the one on the MacBook to convert various swiping gestures into a means of manipulating the AR objects that the wearer of the Apple Glasses sees

A VR or AR headset used with a trackpad not only receives input, but also detects the trackpad's position in the environment and knows which object the user is trying to interact with If the trackpad is hidden by another object or oriented incorrectly, the headset will alert the user and instruct them to reposition it

It is important to remember, however, that patents do not necessarily translate into products If Apple were to introduce this as an accessory to Apple Glasses or to the new iPad Pro with LiDAR, it would take several years from the start of product development until the trackpad hits store shelves Nevertheless, rumors suggest that Apple Glasses will be available in 2023, so perhaps Apple will have a chance to develop one or two accessories in the meantime