Apple has filed a patent that could completely reinvent the idea of a mixtape
One of Apple's latest patents could revive the idea of the mixed tape for the digital age.
If the patented system were to go live, it looks as though the option to create and gift a personalised album would be added to iTunes. The person sending the "digital mixtape," as the patent calls the system, would be able to pick the songs they want to add and what sequence the album should play in.
This doesn't have to be limited to songs either. The mixtape could be made up of a combination of audio files, images, movies, or photos from the user's library or the online store.
The person gifting the album could also choose to hide the names of songs until each one begins to play, kind of like a cassette mixed tape where there was no way to tell what was coming next.
Once the album was complete, the store would send out a push notification to tell the recipient that there is a mixed tape waiting for them. If they accept it, then the sender would be charged a fee for creating it, and probably for the media taken from the iTunes store. If the recipient decides they don't like the idea of getting such a thoughtful gift from that person, they can refuse it, and the sender will get their money back.
If the sender doesn't want to waste all their hard work, they could also send the digital mixed tape on to a third party.
Apple doesn't always create the features of products it patents, so there's no way of telling whether this feature will be added to iTunes anytime soon, if at all.