WWDC 2021 Highlights and Discussion

[OtinG]

I read on MacRumors that tvOS 15 allows you to use Face ID or Touch ID on an iPhone or iPad to sign in to apps on your ATV. That is nice update to have. Some ATV apps already allow authentication by asking if you want to sign in by using your iPhone or iPad to enter your login information, but only if the corresponding app is already installed and activated on your iThingie. In that case, I usually get a message box on my iPhone or iPad asking me to allow the authentication of the app on my ATV 4K.

This will save a lot of time since you won’t have to lookup the password or spend time typing it into the ATV. Even if you use your iThingie to type into the ATV, you still had to know your password, or look it up. People like myself who use unique, long passwords will certainly find this a time saver. It is certainly a time saver on the iPhones and iPads, and now they have extended it to the ATV. Obviously the ATV doesn’t have a way of directly verifying you by facial recognition or fingerprint, but your iThingie does, so now we will be able use it activation of apps.

They could also accomplish this if they add a fingerprint scanner to the ATV remote, and add password functionality to tvOS like that in iOS, but I doubt they will ever do that.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by OtinG

iPhone only apps can run in landscape mode on the iPad in iPadOS 15. They will be letterboxed though, that is, a lot of black space on either side of the narrow looking app. That is still better than portrait only, which is inconvenient when you have your iPad in a keyboard case.

That's actually called pillarboxing.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

That's actually called pillarboxing.

That makes more sense because it looks like black pillars. Not sure where they got “letter” in letterboxing though!

Actually, with the iPad in landscape mode it looks like a black screen with a tiny sliver of an app running vertically in the center. It looks really odd, but like I said, it is good if you like to use your iPad in landscape mode, and especially if your iPad is in a keyboard case. Less awkward anyway.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Once again, after digesting, one of the cooler things that I noticed was the ability to use your AirPods almost as hearing aids, I guess it's like those devices you see advertised on late night TV and obscure cable channels that allow people who are a bit hard of hearing to focus on conversations. It wasn't clear to me if this was just for the next generation AirPods, or it this will be available for all AirPods. I can actually use that. I have trouble following conversations in a noisy environment. It looked like they have similar technology that allows you to block external noises when you are on the phone as well.

Okay I went back and rewatched the AirPods section of the Keynote video which appears at about 34:20-37:40. I turned on CC to ensure I heard everything properly.

Conversation Boost

• Specifically states AirPods Pro but doesn’t mention non-pro model.
• Helps those with mild hearing challenges.
• Uses computational audio and beamforming microphones to focus the AirPods Pro on the person talking in front of you (assuming you are facing them).
• You can also reduce the amount of ambient noise in settings.

So I doubt the AirPods Pro will really work as hearing aids as such. Basically it looks like they are pointing the mics right at the person’s face you are talking to, similar to reporters thrusting a mic near the mouth of the person they are interviewing. Reducing the ambient noise level will probably help out a lot too. I suspect the AirPods Pro will help with face to face conversation, but I’m skeptical these are nearly as sophisticated as they make them seem.

Spatial Audio

Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking is now coming to tvOS. The guy in the Keynote video shows the AirPods Pro, and then the AirPods Max, but it isn’t clear if both support spatial audio with dynamic head tracking while watching the ATV.

Personally I hate wearing headsets as they are uncomfortable since I wear eyeglasses, plus they make my ears sweat. But if spatial audio works on the AirPods Pro then they might be an option for watching TV, although at $250 they are way overpriced. The AirPods Max cost an insane $550, so there is no way I would buy them even if they were comfortable to wear!

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by OtinG

Yes indeed, and that is one of the best new features for 2021.



I missed that, but I zoned out on the AirPods stuff because I have only about 30% normal hearing in my right ear because of a childhood illness, so stereo headsets and earpieces don’t work for me. Therefore I just didn’t pay much attention while they were discussing AirPods. I paid $3600 for hearing aids back in 2008 but they really didn’t work that well. But the technology is so much better now that even the OTC kind of hearing aids are probably much better than the ones I bought 13 years ago. I’ll go back and listen to that part of the event to see what was said. I would consider buying AirPods if they can block out background noise. I too am totally lost in a crowd of people talking because all the noise goes into my good ear and overwhelms my ability to comprehend the individual words.

I’m interested in Conversation Boost myself. I have some sort of (unevaluated) hearing deficiency and can’t understand what people more than 2 feet away are saying in a crowd. And I have to plug my ears up when (as is too often the case) live music is too loud.

[OtinG]

Originally Posted by tomsem

I’m interested in Conversation Boost myself. I have some sort of (unevaluated) hearing deficiency and can’t understand what people more than 2 feet away are saying in a crowd. And I have to plug my ears up when (as is too often the case) live music is too loud.

Read post #34 above. They didn’t really say much more that what I included in the post. I think Conversation Boost will help in face to face conversations, but I’m not convinced yet that they will be as good as Apple claims. Hopefully we can get some reviews before too long.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by OtinG

That makes more sense because it looks like black pillars. Not sure where they got “letter” in letterboxing though!

Actually, with the iPad in landscape mode it looks like a black screen with a tiny sliver of an app running vertically in the center. It looks really odd, but like I said, it is good if you like to use your iPad in landscape mode, and especially if your iPad is in a keyboard case. Less awkward anyway.

It is better, but you cannot use Slide Over or Split Screen with an iPhone app, which would be neat. Maybe later.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by OtinG

Read post #34 above. They didn’t really say much more that what I included in the post. I think Conversation Boost will help in face to face conversations, but I’m not convinced yet that they will be as good as Apple claims. Hopefully we can get some reviews before too long.

Before this, there was Live Listen, but it used iPhone mic so it was pretty limited (I guess I could toss it to the other end of dining table so I could hear what they were saying over there).

[OtinG]

See last year’s version of Conversation Boost, attached.




……

[OtinG]

iOS 15 brings back the large wheel-style dial picker for entering time. They killed it off in iOS 14 to use a crappy, clunky method of entering time, but I guess there was enough negative reaction over iOS 14 to bring it back to life.

They never should have killed off the large wheel-style dial picker in iOS 14. Apple really needs to learn the old adage, "If it ain't broke, don’t fix it!"

[OtinG]

According to a MacRumors article, several of the new features in macOS 12 Monterey will only work on a Mac with the M1 chip. Here is a short list of features from the article that require an M1 chip:

• Portrait Mode blurred backgrounds in FaceTime videos
• Live Text for copying and pasting, looking up, or translating text within photos
• An interactive 3D globe of Earth in the Maps app
• More detailed maps in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and London in the Maps app
• Text-to-speech in more languages, including Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, and Finnish
• On-device keyboard dictation that performs all processing completely offline
• Unlimited keyboard dictation (previously limited to 60 seconds per instance)

[OtinG]

BTW, I looked at the AirPods Pro online yesterday, and they only have a 4.5 hour battery life. So they probably are not a good choice for day long wear to help someone who is hearing challenged. They would still likely be a good choice for watching TV in the evening though. They are kind of pricey, but compared to professional level hearing aids they are fairly inexpensive, depending on your medical insurance of course.

I don't know when they were released, probably last Fall, but maybe they will get an upgrade this year and improve the battery life a bit.

[Almamida]

They charge really fast when put back in their carrying case.

[OtinG]

That is good to know.

[OtinG]

This Engadget article explains how Apple will make Spatial Audio work with AirPods Pro and AirPods Max even though the ATV 4K doesn’t have the U1 chip to track head movements. Once you sit down and watch TV for a while it will assume you are staring at the TV based on the AirPods signal that you are looking in the same direction for a set period of time. If you get up and walk away, it will reactivate. I don’t know, but this whole concept seems awfully gimmicky to me. It might work fine, but I’m definitely skeptical.