Your morning subway ride might soon become a smoother one. According to a recently awarded patent, US11822854B2, by Beijing ByteDance Network Technology Co., your TikTok videos may soon play at an audible volume, despite the noisy surroundings.
To put it in simple terms, when we try to enjoy a video on our devices while commuting to work or waiting at a bustling cafe, we often struggle with the volume levels. The humdrum of the outside world often drowns the sound from our devices, resulting in a less-than-perfect experience. This problem is especially bothersome when the noise levels around us constantly change, requiring us to repeatedly adapt the device's volume.
This is the issue the freshly patented technology seeks to address. In simple words, it proposes a smart method for devices like mobile phones or tablets, specifically on the TikTok platform, to automatically adjust the volume of videos based on surrounding noise.
Your device will do this by 'listening' to the noise around it through its in-built microphone. When the surrounding noise escalates, as you step into a roar-filled subway station or a busy street, the patented technology will smartly raise the volume of your TikTok video drowned by the increased noise. Conversely, it will lower the volume in a quiet setting, probably to save your ear drums from the unexpectedly loud sound when you finally reach your quiet home from a noisy ride.
The beauty of this technology is that it will not just intelligently take over the manual work of volume adjustment, but it would also gauge the noise only when the device is not playing any sound. This would mean the external noise won't mix up with the video's sound, leading to more accurate volume adjustments. Your device will be constantly on the 'listen mode' for noise when not playing any sound, making the volume adjustments a smoother experience rather than immediate leaps in sound levels.
The application of this technology, if realized, could dramatically improve our experience with portable gadgets. Imagine watching a video at a comfortable volume on your commute, without constantly fidgeting with volume controls. This patent might just make it possible.
PS: It's worth noting that being granted a patent doesn’t necessarily guarantee its implementation. It's up to Beijing ByteDance Network Technology Co., to decide whether this patented technology will make its way into our daily TikTok ventures.