IP Library Granted Patent US 12676927
Granted Patent B2
US 12676927 · App. 18/200,480 · Granted Jul 7, 2026

Phone user interface

Inventors: Lawrence Y. Yang (Bellevue, WA); Imran Chaudhri (San Francisco, CA); Anton M. Davydov (Gilroy, CA); Alan C. Dye (San Francisco, CA); Dylan Ross Edwards (San Jose, CA); Christopher Patrick Foss (San Francisco, CA); Jonathan P. Ive (San Francisco, CA); Zachery Kennedy (Marina Del Rey, CA); Stephen O. Lemay (Palo Alto, CA)
Assignee: Apple Inc.
H04M1/6066G06F1/163G06F3/04842G06F3/0488G06F3/04883H04M1/0258H04M1/2745H04M1/72412H04M1/72469H04M1/72484H04M3/428H04M3/4285H04W4/16H04W52/0254H04W52/027G06F2203/04105H04M1/663H04M2250/12H04M2250/22H04M2250/60Y02D30/70
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12676927
App. No.
18/200,480
Granted
Jul 7, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

An electronic device having a user interface for accessing phone features. The user interface accounts for whether the electronic device is connected to a companion cellular phone. The user interface accounts for a headset is available for use to carry on a call. The user interface permits transition between using one or more of cellular phone, headset, and/or the electronic device to be used for carrying on incoming or outgoing calls.

Claims (134)

1 . An electronic device, comprising:

a touch-sensitive display,

one or more processors;

a memory; and

one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs are stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs including instructions for:

displaying, on the touch-sensitive display, a phone icon;

detecting a user selection of the phone icon;

in response to detecting the user selection of the phone icon:

in accordance with a determination that a call is in progress, displaying an in-call indicator, wherein the in-call indicator includes a call participant identifier and a call duration indicator; and

in accordance with a determination that a call is not in progress, displaying:

a first affordance, wherein the first affordance, when selected, causes the electronic device to display a plurality of phone contacts; and

a second affordance, wherein the second affordance, when selected, causes the electronic device to display a user-designed subset of the plurality of phone contacts; and

while displaying the first affordance and the second affordance, detecting user input comprising at least a selection of a displayed affordance;

in response to detecting the user input, displaying one or more phone contacts;

initiating a call to a displayed phone contact; and

after initiating the call:

displaying the phone icon in response to detecting a second user input;

detecting a second user selection of the displayed phone icon; and

in response to detecting the second user selection of the displayed phone icon:

displaying an indication of the initiated call, and at least the first affordance.

2 . The electronic device of claim 1 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

in response to detecting the user selection of the phone icon, displaying a third affordance, wherein the third affordance, when selected, causes the electronic device to display a plurality of affordances representing voicemail messages.

3 . The electronic device of claim 1 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

in response to detecting the user selection of the phone icon, displaying a fourth affordance, wherein the fourth affordance, when selected, causes the electronic device to display a plurality of recent calls.

4 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein detecting user input comprises detecting a user selection of the first affordance, the one or more programs further including instructions for:

in response to detecting the user selection of the first affordance, displaying a plurality of contact affordances representing a plurality of phone contacts.

5 . The electronic device of claim 4 , wherein the electronic device has a rotatable input mechanism, the one or more programs further including instructions for:

detecting user input representing movement of the rotatable input mechanism; and

scrolling the displayed plurality of contact affordances in accordance with the detected user input.

6 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the indication comprises text indicating the called phone contact and a duration of the call.

7 . The electronic device of claim 1 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

in response to detecting a user selection of the indication, displaying an end-call affordance, wherein the end-call affordance, when selected, causes the electronic device to end the call.

8 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is configured to communicate with a cellular phone, the one or more programs further including instructions for:

sending an instruction to the cellular phone instructing the cellular phone to place a phone call.

9 . The electronic device of claim 1 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

obtaining a voicemail message and causing playback of the obtained voicemail message.

10 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the touch-sensitive display comprises one or more sensors to detect an intensity of touches on the touch-sensitive display, wherein detecting user input comprising at least a selection of a displayed affordance includes:

detecting a touch on the touch-sensitive display, wherein the touch has a characteristic intensity and is located at a position of one of the displayed first or second affordances;

determining whether the characteristic intensity exceeds a predetermined threshold intensity;

in response to a determination that the characteristic intensity exceeds the predetermined threshold intensity:

ceasing to display the first and second affordances, and

displaying additional affordances representing additional phone-related operations; and

in response to a determination that the characteristic intensity does not exceed the predetermined threshold intensity, performing a function associated with the first displayed affordance or the second displayed affordance.

11 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is a wearable electronic device.

12 . The electronic device of claim 1 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

in accordance with the determination that a call is in progress, displaying an application-specific persistent indicator.

13 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the in-call indicator is a fifth affordance that, when selected, causes the electronic device to display an in-call screen for accessing call-related features.

14 . The electronic device of claim 1 , wherein the electronic device is a wearable electronic device.

15 . The electronic device of claim 1 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

in accordance with the determination that a call is in progress, displaying an application-specific persistent indicator.

16 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs configured to be executed by one or more processors of an electronic device with a touch-sensitive display, the one or more programs including instructions for:

displaying, on the display, a phone icon;

detecting a user selection of the phone icon;

in response to detecting the user selection of the phone icon:

in accordance with a determination that a call is in progress, displaying an in-call indicator, wherein the in-call indicator includes a call participant identifier and a call duration indicator; and

in accordance with a determination that a call is not in progress, displaying:

a first affordance, wherein the first affordance, when selected, causes the electronic device to display a plurality of phone contacts; and

a second affordance, wherein the second affordance, when selected, causes the electronic device to display a user-designed subset of the plurality of phone contacts; and

while displaying the first affordance and the second affordance, detecting user input comprising at least a selection of a displayed affordance;

in response to detecting the user input, display one or more phone contacts;

initiating a call to a displayed phone contact; and

after initiating the call:

displaying the phone icon in response to detecting a second user input;

detecting a second user selection of the displayed phone icon; and

in response to detecting the second user selection of the displayed phone icon:

displaying an indication of the initiated call, and at least the first affordance.

17 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

in response to detecting the user selection of the phone icon, displaying a third affordance, wherein the third affordance, when selected, causes the electronic device to display a plurality of affordances representing voicemail messages.

18 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

in response to detecting the user selection of the phone icon, displaying a fourth affordance, wherein the fourth affordance, when selected, causes the electronic device to display a plurality of recent calls.

19 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein detecting user input comprises detecting a user selection of the first affordance, the one or more programs further including instructions for:

in response to detecting the user selection of the first affordance, displaying a plurality of contact affordances representing a plurality of phone contacts.

20 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 19 , wherein the electronic device has a rotatable input mechanism, the one or more programs further including instructions for:

detecting user input representing movement of the rotatable input mechanism; and

scrolling the displayed plurality of contact affordances in accordance with the detected user input.

21 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the indication comprises text indicating the called phone contact and a duration of the call.

22 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

in response to detecting a user selection of the indication, displaying an end-call affordance, wherein the end-call affordance, when selected, causes the electronic device to end the call.

23 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the electronic device is configured to communicate with a cellular phone, the one or more programs further including instructions for:

sending an instruction to the cellular phone instructing the cellular phone to place a phone call.

24 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , the one or more programs further including instructions for:

obtaining a voicemail message and causing playback of the obtained voicemail message.

25 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the touch-sensitive display comprises one or more sensors to detect an intensity of touches on the touch-sensitive display, wherein detecting user input comprising at least a selection of a displayed affordance includes:

detecting a touch on the touch-sensitive display, wherein the touch has a characteristic intensity and is located at a position of one of the displayed first or second affordances;

determining whether the characteristic intensity exceeds a predetermined threshold intensity;

in response to a determination that the characteristic intensity exceeds the predetermined threshold intensity:

ceasing to display the first and second affordances, and

displaying additional affordances representing additional phone-related operations; and

in response to a determination that the characteristic intensity does not exceed the predetermined threshold intensity, performing a function associated with the first displayed affordance or the second displayed affordance.

26 . The computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the in-call indicator is a fifth affordance that, when selected, causes the electronic device to display an in-call screen for accessing call-related features.

27 . A method, comprising:

at an electronic device with a touch-sensitive display:

displaying, on the touch-sensitive display, a phone icon;

detecting a user selection of the phone icon;

in response to detecting the user selection of the phone icon:

in accordance with a determination that a call is in progress, displaying an in-call indicator, wherein the in-call indicator includes a call participant identifier and a call duration indicator; and

in accordance with a determination that a call is not in progress, displaying:

a first affordance, wherein the first affordance, when selected, causes the electronic device to display a plurality of phone contacts; and

a second affordance, wherein the second affordance, when selected, causes the electronic device to display a user-designed subset of the plurality of phone contacts; and

while displaying the first affordance and the second affordance, detecting user input comprising at least a selection of a displayed affordance;

in response to detecting the user input, displaying one or more phone contacts;

initiating a call to a displayed phone contact; and

after initiating the call:

displaying the phone icon in response to detecting a second user input;

detecting a second user selection of the displayed phone icon; and

in response to detecting the second user selection of the displayed phone icon:

displaying an indication of the initiated call, and at least the first affordance.

28 . The method of claim 27 , further comprising:

in response to detecting the user selection of the phone icon, displaying a third affordance, wherein the third affordance, when selected, causes the electronic device to display a plurality of affordances representing voicemail messages.

29 . The method of claim 27 , further comprising:

in response to detecting the user selection of the phone icon, displaying a fourth affordance, wherein the fourth affordance, when selected, causes the electronic device to display a plurality of recent calls.

30 . The method of claim 27 , wherein detecting user input comprises detecting a user selection of the first affordance, the method further comprising:

in response to detecting the user selection of the first affordance, displaying a plurality of contact affordances representing a plurality of phone contacts.

31 . The method of claim 30 , wherein the electronic device has a rotatable input mechanism, the method further comprising:

detecting user input representing movement of the rotatable input mechanism; and

scrolling the displayed plurality of contact affordances in accordance with the detected user input.

32 . The method of claim 27 , wherein the indication comprises text indicating the called phone contact and a duration of the call.

33 . The method of claim 27 , the method further comprising:

in response to detecting a user selection of the indication, displaying an end-call affordance, wherein the end-call affordance, when selected, causes the electronic device to end the call.

34 . The method of claim 27 , wherein the electronic device is configured to communicate with a cellular phone, the method further comprising:

sending an instruction to the cellular phone instructing the cellular phone to place a phone call.

35 . The method of claim 27 , further comprising:

obtaining a voicemail message and causing playback of the obtained voicemail message.

36 . The method of claim 27 , wherein the touch-sensitive display comprises one or more sensors to detect an intensity of touches on the touch-sensitive display, wherein detecting user input comprising at least a selection of a displayed affordance includes:

detecting a touch on the touch-sensitive display, wherein the touch has a characteristic intensity and is located at a position of one of the displayed first or second affordances;

determining whether the characteristic intensity exceeds a predetermined threshold intensity;

in response to a determination that the characteristic intensity exceeds the predetermined threshold intensity:

ceasing to display the first and second affordances, and

displaying additional affordances representing additional phone-related operations; and

in response to a determination that the characteristic intensity does not exceed the predetermined threshold intensity, performing a function associated with the first displayed affordance or the second displayed affordance.

37 . The method of claim 27 , wherein the electronic device is a wearable electronic device.

38 . The method of claim 27 , further comprising:

in accordance with the determination that a call is in progress, displaying an application-specific persistent indicator.

39 . The method of claim 27 , wherein the in-call indicator is a fifth affordance that, when selected, causes the electronic device to display an in-call screen for accessing call-related features.