Thoughts on iOS 12 and Mojave
Some time has passed since WWDC 2018 and I have had time to play with the betas of IOS 12 and Mojave for the Mac. Here are some thoughts.
Betas On Main Devices
FYI, unlike some people who are afraid to put betas on their main devices, I have been putting brand new betas on my main devices for several years now and I haven’t really suffered that much. I have benefited from using the brand new bells and whistles in the new operating systems. And the most I have suffered is a crash here and there. The crashes usually have occurred my iOS devices, not the Macs that I have put betas on. And the thing is that back in the old days of Apple, back before OX 10 on the Mac, Macs used to crash a lot. It was a normal thing. So a few crashes here and there is not a big deal for me. The crashes have occurred this year on my iPhone X. It just now and then crashes and reboots. Same for the Apple Watch.
iOS 12
The big thing this year at WWDC is that Apple didn’t announce or release any new hardware. Instead, it was all about software. In particular, Apple announced hundreds of new features and services in iOS and OSX operating systems for all its current hardware. Here are some of the features I have teste out and which I really like and stand out.
Performance.
With iOS 12, Apple says it is optimizing performance. In particular, it will run much more efficiently and powerfully on older iPhones. For years, Apple has been critized when it releases new iOS systems because older phones would be bogged down and not run quickly after upgrading to a new OS. Apple was accused of purposely doing this to force consumers to upgrade to new model. Because every year I got a new iPhone, I never experienced this phenomena. However, my daugther, the youngest in my family (now 12), has observed this as she has an iPhone several generations older than the newest — she has an iPhone 6s. Her phone is a hand me down. Prior to the release of iOS 12 beta, she was complaining about the lack of performance of her iPhone 6s. Two things drastically improve her performance. First, I had a local Apple Store change iPhone 6s battery. They were going to charge $35 but then they saw that the serial numbers of the phone made it eligible for a free upgrade. So no charge. Around the same time, I installe iOS 12 beta. My daughter says her phone now feels like a completely new phone. It is running much zippier. She is much happier with it.
I haven’t seen the same performance boost on my iPhone X. Others conducting tests say there is a performance boost. My iPhone X was already running very fast. So I haven’t really seen a big boost running iOS 12 beta.
Animoji and Memoji Upgrades
These features really only work on iPhone X which has the built in face recognition and face tracking hardware. But eventually, probablly this fall, more iOS devices, like the iPad, will have this type of hardware, as well as the entire lineup of iPhones. Animoji and Memoji are gimmicky, but they also feel to me like the future. As you may remember when the iPhone X was launched, Animoji is the feature where you can layer anmimated face over your face, and it will replace your face, and will move around and have facial movements similar to that of your real face. Now, Apple has upgraded this feature by adding toungue and eye wink tracking. Also, Apple had expanded the use of this feature by allowing you not only to use this as a video clip insert into iMessage, but also use it live in Facetime. Also, Apple has expanded this not only by adding new Animoji faces, but also by allowing you to create your own Animoji face, or what Apple calls a Memoji. You can now build your own Memoji, or many Memojis by using a built-in Memoji builder and choosing from a menu of different features that makes humans look different – hair color, hair style, eyes color, eyes shape, etc. Then Apple expanded where you can use these Animojis and Memojis. Before you could use them only in iMessage on an iPhone X. If you wanted to use that Animoji some where else, you would save the short video clip from your iMessage to Photos and then from there transfer them to another app. That is how last year when iPhone X came out so many people figure out how to make Animoji Karoke videos. Now Apple puts the Animojis and Memojis for you to use in other apps, most notably Facetime.
I think this technology is huge. The customization you now have with Memojis means we are getting closer and closer to something that evenutally will be ubiquitous. Soon, when we do video calls or shoot videos of ourselves or others, we will be able to swap out the faces or other body parts in real time. And it wont’ be just Animojis and Memojis. Eventually this technology will do the equivalent of photo touch but on real time video. I am sure there will be filters that clean up your face of any blemishes or age lines or anything else you don’t like. Or, the filters will give you other human faces, not just Animojis and Memojis. You will soon have anyone’s face instead of your face or the faces of those in your video. Crazy stuff. But also useful stuff. There a lots of people who don’t Facetime Video because they are selfconcious of thier look. Using an alternative face will make it easier for them to use the technology. Similarly, there are people who might be hesitant to make videos, like the tutorials or vlogs on YouTube. They may be hesitant because they don’t like their looks or because of privacy. The Internet allows anonymity. But if you use your real face in videos or photos, eventually you will be identified. Particiularly with software that identifies faces. Having another face will make it easier for people to particpate on the internet with video, live or recorded, without giving away their identity. Couple that with technology to give different voices, and you have even more anonymity.
There are other upsides: For example, it will be easier for individual creaters or small crews to make movies with many characters without hiring a large cast or using expensive animation software.
There will also be huge downside problems. How will we know what is real? With this techology imposters could pretend to be various famous politicians an individuals, and it will be tough to tell who is reall and who is not? We have already seen how people fall for fake news. What happens when people see videos or live feeds of someone like Hillary Clinton saying something when it isn’t really her? Or Putin? Or Trump? The posiblities for mischief are huge. This technology could be so powerful and disruptive that it may be come regulated. Just like color copiers in the United States are required not to copy United States currency, it is possible we could have regulations preventing providers of this type of software and hardware from allowing individuals to copy reall people to become the new “skin” for someone else. Given the nature of digital and how technology advances, I don’t know how any government will be able to effectively regulate this type of technology.