This video is brought to you by Trend Micro’s Cleaner One Pro!
macOS Ventura is a fact and despite being in a buggy developer beta, I had the chance
to spend some time with and I have some thoughts…and NO, I will not be talking about Stage Manager
because I am honestly not sure how I feel about it.
Instead, I’ll focus on the more day-to-day useful aspects and a list of improvements
that I personally find fascinating.
Starting with the most impressive and perhaps most useful integration that ties the iPhone
even further with the Mac - FaceTime, and continuity.
What does that mean?
When on a FaceTime call or even in Photo booth I can select the phone as my video source.
It happens automatically or it can be triggered manually by selecting the video source to
be the iPhone.
Of course, the iPhone needs to be running iOS16 as well.
Once the connection is established, by far the most impressive thing is the fact that
there is almost no delay or lag.
I can move around the iPhone and the feed remains immaculate and what’s more, it seems
to be running at 60 frames per second.
Since it can use the rear cameras of the device, I am shocked at how good it looks and how
it auto-focuses.
Far better than any webcam I have tested.
I can’t wait to experiment with it with more people as the software versions become
public.
This is a game-changer for meetings if you ask me.
Also, I am sure that accessories manufacturers are extremely happy right now since there
will be plenty of crazy solutions for propping the devices via MagSafe on desks and monitors.
On the other side, webcam manufacturers might not be as excited 😬 By using the rear cameras
for the connection, we can toggle portrait mode and later on center stage, studio light,
and even the top-down trickery that should be available.
The integration of using the iPhone with the Mac as a video source is pretty much throughout
the system and as expected you can select the iPhone as a microphone source as well.
One place that it doesn’t work at the moment that I hope will change further down the line
is using it with Final Cut Pro, directly recording in the timeline.
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Handoff or the ability to transfer a call from the iPhone to the Mac and back is also
something that I see myself using a lot.
While on the iPhone, once you get close to the Mac you get a prompt to transfer over
the call.
If the call is initially initiated on the Mac, while on it, the iPhone showcases a little
phone icon which you can tap to make the switch.
The transition is visualized with a nice transition on the other end of the line.
I see myself jumping from a FaceTime call from the phone to the Mac and then immediately
into a shared screen.
Live captions work fantastic on both the iPhone and macOS Ventura during a FaceTime call or
anywhere else for that matter.
It works fascinatingly fast and it will come in handy when on a group call where one might
miss a word or a statement due to something.
What might be even better is the option to save the transcribed conversation later, which
I am not sure if would be a feature to be expected.
If I really want to feel like I'm Tony Stark who’s talking to Jarvis, all I have to do
is activate voice control in system settings.
In fact, at this stage of creating the script for this video, the remaining of everything
I say is via voice command.
It is not only helpful when putting your thoughts into text but also for opening applications
and triggering all sorts of commands.
Let me show you what I mean!
SHOWCASE You see what I mean?
This is unbelievable!
In System settings I can create my own commands which means that even if I'm not using voice
command to its initial purpose I can take full advantage of it and integrate it into
my workflow.
It is not a problem to keep it active because when I'm not in need of it I can just put
it to sleep.
BTW, there is a spelling mode that I can activate for when I want to spell out a complicated
name or a place: EXAMPLE Spotlight has taken an example from apps such
as Alfred and it is now able to take action.
For example, I can trigger a timer from Spotlight by just typing timer and specifying the duration
of it.
Most people might find better use in activating shortcuts.
I have a shortcut for triggering a recording focus mode where my devices go into do not
disturb mode.
With just a few symbols, I can be ready for my next recording all without lifting my fingers
from the keyboard.
Searching can also use information from images in my photo gallery, messages, and notes to
quickly display the results I am looking for.
For example, if I want to refer to a photo of my bike, all I have to do is summon the
spotlight and type motorcycle and immediately I find what I am looking for.
Spotlight improvements are not features that we’ve ever seen before, but it’s nice
to have this out-of-the-box deep integration.
Now, here’s something really cool.
In Wifi settings, we can now copy the password for a specific network that has remained saved
on the computer.
Although you can’t reveal the password directly, copying it is just as helpful, especially
if you have forgotten it by any chance.
I see this as a great parents and grandparents hack.
Deleting and making corrections to messages can also save the day.
You can edit a message for up to 15 minutes after it was sent.
The same goes for un-sending any message.
Since I have the habit of leaving to-do emails unread, the ability to mark a message as unread
is definitely something that I’ll take full advantage of.
Unfortunately, I can’t demonstrate it at this stage of the Ventura beta that I have.
BUT while we are at it, I have to point out the additional Memoji upgrades that we can
take advantage of.
There is one in particular that describes my current situation.
Take a look at it - the body language reads - if you are enjoying this video subscribe…because…WHY
NOT?
Hidden deep under the accessibility settings is my favorite white noise option called Background
sound.
When in a loud public place and most often when putting the kids to sleep, white noise
is something that I use a lot.
Now, I am not sure why it’s buried so deep into accessibility settings again, but it’s
a feature that I’ll take advantage of.
I just hope that we’ll soon be able to place it in Control Center like on the iPhone and
the iPad.
Reference mode is a feature that made me upgrade my iPad Pro to the latest iPadOS developer
beta.
In my recent desk setup video which I’ll link at the end of this one, I briefly mention
it and showcased my workflow.
When enabled, Reference mode brings the iPad into a color-critical mode that should be
experienced in a controlled environment - meaning a dark editing room.
When that mode is enabled, the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Liquid Retina XDR display matches
the color requirements in workflows like color grading, and compositing, where accurate colors
and consistent image quality are critical.
Note that this works only with the XDR iPad and Apple silicon.
Now, let’s get to some more exciting and well-deserved features.
The home app now looks the way it was supposed to look years ago.
It is finally useful and makes sense.
It is organized in a meaningful manner where I have groups and categories of Homekit accessories
that give me an understandable overview of the house, or in my case the studio.
Categories for Lights, Climate, Security, Speakers, and TV allow me to quickly access
all the relevant accessories organized by room.
We now have a dedicated weather app, which makes me wonder why it took so long.
I can click on any module to reveal a deeper set of data such as hourly temperature and
precipitation over the next 10 days.
Animated backgrounds of the weather conditions are very cool BTW.
Also and most importantly I can get notifications, including critical alerts which is much appreciated.
Here’s an interesting fact, we still don’t have a calculator widget for the notification
pane.
Give it another 4 to 6 years.
If you are recently switching to the Mac, check out my MacOS beginners guide here and
if you are an avid Mac user, my latest cool Mac recommendation apps video might catch
your interest.
If you enjoyed this video, subscribe and click on the bell icon and as always, it’s been
an absolute pleasure, This is E
Over and out