Brain 'stent' for iPhone: Apple might soon let users run their devices through just their mind

Apple iPhone users might soon be able to control their devices through their minds. The company has joined hands with the brain-computer interface (BCI) company Synchron, which is working on a device that would be implanted into the brain of the user. It would consist of electrodes that can read brain signals.

According to a statement, using the technology provided by Synchron, Apple would translate the signals into actions. So anything that a user wants to do, they could perform by thinking about it. If they want to open a particular app on the phone, all they need to do is think about opening and the device would fire it up.

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WSJ details Apple's mind device for disabled users

A detailed report on the technology by the Wall Street Journal stated that Apple and Synchron have been working with testers on the technology. One of them quoted by WSJ is Pittsburgh resident Mark Jackson. He is suffering from ALS and now has a Synchron brain implant called Stentrode in his brain. It is a "stent-like device that is implanted in a vein atop the brain’s motor cortex." The device "effectively translates brain waves, allowing a user to navigate around a screen and select an icon," WSJ wrote.

Jackson, while using the Apple Vision Pro was able to virtually "peer over the ledge of a mountain in the Swiss Alps and feel his legs shake." However, navigating on the device is not the same as using a mouse to move a cursor or fingers on a touchscreen device.

Brain "stent" for iPhone users

If and when it is made available on Apple iPhones and other devices, the stent for brain technology would prove to be a boon for disabled people. Synchron claims to be "the first BCI company to achieve native integration with a new BCI Human Interface Device (BCI HID) profile."

Meanwhile, Elon Musk's company Neuralink, is also working on similar technology.

Apple is also upgrading the Personal Voice accessibility feature for people who are facing difficulty speaking. It will be made available with iOS 19.