Apple wins advert-skipping patent

Future iOS devices able to switch to user’s own content.

Apple has been awarded a patent in the US which has the potential to allow future devices to skip in-app audio or video adverts.

The patented technology automatically detects adverts and plays the user's own music, video or podcast content instead.

It describes a mobile device able to automatically switch between broadcast content (i.e. a web radio station) and stored media. The automatic switching won’t be limited only to ads.

"A user may not be interested in every media item provided as part of a broadcast stream. For example, a user may not like a particular song broadcast by a radio station, or may not like a particular segment of a talk radio station (e.g., the user does not like the topic or guest of the segment).," the patent stated.

"As another example, a user may not be interested in content originally generated by sources other than the media source (e.g., advertisement content). Because the user has no control over the media broadcast, the user can typically only tune to a different media broadcast, or listen to or consume the broadcast content that is not of interest."

[via Apple Insider]

This article originally appeared at Stuff.tv