Gurman: FaceTime for Apple AR/VR Headset Could Rely on Memojis and SharePlay

[w5jck]

Gurman is an idiot guesser.

As far as Memojis go, they are for 30 somethings and younger. There is no Memoji for 40 and older folks. All Memojis look like they are 30 years old or younger. That is an insult, and shows that Apple only thinks in limited terms. Memojis for my age group simply don't work. Where are the wrinkles, gray and balding hair lines, splotchy skin, etc.? The idiots that run Apple are old guys like me, but they cater to extremely young people while leaving their own age group out in the dark.

 

[ProVideo]

Being in a virtual conference room with a bunch of Memojis is more creepy than being on a Zoom call with Jeffrey Toobin.

 

[ttyRazor]

The WWDC virtual events where there have been crowds of Memojis and the recap videos might be good hint of what to expect.

 

[reyesmac]

High quality video chat takes too much bandwidth. But sending animated characters is much easier on the servers than video. I can totally see them going this way. But is there a way to make sure adults can’t impersonate children and vise versa?

 

[Karma*Police]

Great. So now Apple is going to erode people’s ability to socialize even more. As if some people today aren’t confused enough about what’s real/true and what is not.

 

[ttyRazor]

remember 3d touch? the thing that could easily be used for enhanced productivity navigation (think mouse right-click, drag and drop, stuff like that) but instead it was used for, uhm, quick actions i think?
having proper tech and inventions is one thing. using them properly is quite another. doing memojis with AR would just make this as useless as 3d touch in the long run.

3D Touch failed because it was mostly undiscoverable and nothing essential could use it since iPads and older phones would never have it. There always had to be an alternative way to do the same thing, and most people just stuck with that. For something like this, the not good alternative would be a separate webcam taking video of someone with a headset obscuring most of their face.

 

[FranApple]

The people whining about how pointless this is clearly don't see where the future is going. Memojis in their current iteration are what they are because of technology limitations. FaceTime in the future will involve 3D interaction with someone to give the appearance that you're in the same room with them - without having to be in the same room with them. Now, no one knows at the moment whether 20 years into the future we'll be using our real selves or imagined selves when we meet with people virtually. But, the future clearly will involve interactions in photorealistic spaces that give the appearance of being in a particular location.

 

[MayaUser]

Nobody wanted apple watch in 2012-2013 when the rumours started....and now its a top 500 fortune business
Apple and mostly Tim Cook (the accounted) plays safe , they study the market far better than anyone else
This headset will be bought by teenagers especially, not in large quantities since the price is on the mac level...but the profit margins will be there for this company

 

[LeadingHeat]

Quit teasing me and just announce these already!!

That being said, I hope they partner with AAA game devs and have games off the bat ready to go. Don’t rely on Apple Arcade puzzle games. This thing is gonna be too powerful for that.

 

[now i see it]

Until 2023 or whenever this thing launches, if ever, we’re going to have dozens and dozens of posted rumors about it.
And every article will have a comment section and 99% of those leaving a comment will state in no uncertain terms that they’ll never buy it, that it has no useful purpose, it’s too expensive, they’d never wear one even if it was given to them, and it’ll be a flop.

The fact that Facebook (meta) has now redirected itself to VR as the future- the future for all of us may not be what we had envisioned

 

[tuckerjj]

Oh man, Memoji’s? I really don’t find them useful. Just keep it simple and let it be Face-ID. Memoji’s are seriously outdated now.
View attachment 1958366

If you’re in a FaceTime call with other people all wearing AR headsets, no phone with a camera in front of you, Memoji are going to be the only way to show each other’s facial expressions.

 

[Le0M]

Great. So now Apple is going to erode people’s ability to socialize even more. As if some people today aren’t confused enough about what’s real/true and what is not.

You obviously make a good point.
But the thing is that with every change, with every new thing, humans will have to decide what to do with it.
We know for a fact that socialising face-to-face should not be replaced by videocalls or anything else, for the matter, so VR is gonna be a new challenge for all of us. Some will get totally absorbed by it, some will take advantage of the technology but also compensate with real, tangible experiences.
But fundamentally I agree with you, cuz it's gonna hit us hard.
Body, mind and feelings should always be balanced in quantity and quality.

 

[MakeAppleAwesomeAgain]

>I imagine a virtual reality version of FaceTime where you can be in a conference room with dozens of people. Instead of seeing their actual faces, you'll see 3D versions of them (Memojis). I assume the headset will be able to determine a person's facial expressions in real time, making the experience fairly lifelike.

Why is this good?

Who wants this?

All hipster startups. Besides them, absolutely no one.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

If you’re in a FaceTime call with other people all wearing AR headsets, no phone with a camera in front of you, Memoji are going to be the only way to show each other’s facial expressions.

What if you don’t have an AR headset on? Apple can just keep it simple and have your picture up. It’s as simple as it gets. I don’t think many people out there rely on using memoji’s to communicate.

In my opinion. I really don’t see a point in it. Memoji’s is just a distraction.

 

[SilentDoom]

why isn’t this clicking with people? If you have a headset on, why and how would it be capturing your face? Is everyone in here just old or something and has never put on a vr headset? What is missing for you all

 

[orbital~debris]

One of the things I really like about Apple is the way that, sometime _after_ various software technologies and capabilities appear, the larger picture comes into focus.

By that I mean we get something, for example SharePlay, that seems pretty useful and cool and is a good feature to have by itself… But then later on, it becomes clear that it was originally developed in service of a larger thing and was ready to release sooner for a smaller goal (while development of the larger thing continues).

Users get a chance to become familiar with the smaller component, and when the larger product is eventually revealed, that familiarity helps make the concept of the new thing more understandable and easier to picture how you can integrate it into your life.

I think in time we may realise that the 'Center Stage' feature on iPad is an example of this, with the technology conceived for the rumoured living room FaceTime device.

 

[jz0309]

Until 2023 or whenever this thing launches, if ever, we’re going to have dozens and dozens of posted rumors about it.
And every article will have a comment section and 99% of those leaving a comment will state in no uncertain terms that they’ll never buy it, that it has no useful purpose, it’s too expensive, they’d never wear one even if it was given to them, and it’ll be a flop.

The fact that Facebook (meta) has now redirected itself to VR as the future- the future for all of us may not be what we had envisioned

I guess it is up to us and our wallet to decide whether or not we want to participate in that kind of a (consumer tech) future ... I for one will definitely not

 

[SilentDoom]

And has anyone ever felt camera shy/not wanting to be on camera. Just seems like a lot of closed mindsets

 

[Le0M]

how would it be capturing your face?

Inward cameras.
For the bottom part of the face, an external camera

 

[jz0309]

why isn’t this clicking with people? If you have a headset on, why and how would it be capturing your face? Is everyone in here just old or something and has never put on a vr headset? What is missing for you all

why would I put a headset on in the first place? what benefit does it offer?

 

[giggles]

If you’re in a FaceTime call with other people all wearing AR headsets, no phone with a camera in front of you, Memoji are going to be the only way to show each other’s facial expressions.

Interesting.
Hadn’t thought of this. The only way to have a regular Facetime call while wearing the headset would be in front of a mirror. Whereas TrueDepth sensors pointed inwards could easily detect the facial expressions and transfer them to the Memoji.

 

[dannyyankou]

So it would seem they're going to try to create their own metaverse. Count me out lol

 

[giggles]

Inward cameras.
For the bottom part of the face, an external camera

Even if they managed to solve this by AI-stitching the feed from 4 cameras (2 inward cameras in the inside and 2 external lower cameras on the outer shell pointed slightly inwards), you would still
- miss the part of the face pressed against the memory foam cushion around the headset
- have a tricky situation in terms of different lighting of the enclosed part of your face vs the bottom part of the face

Whereas detecting in broad terms the facial muscles movements via TrueDepth/LiDAR and transferring them to the Memoji poses none of these problems.

 

[dannyyankou]

And has anyone ever felt camera shy/not wanting to be on camera. Just seems like a lot of closed mindsets

I think it's just the opposite, people who aren't into the VR thing prefer real-world physical interaction.

 

[4nNtt]

>I imagine a virtual reality version of FaceTime where you can be in a conference room with dozens of people. Instead of seeing their actual faces, you'll see 3D versions of them (Memojis). I assume the headset will be able to determine a person's facial expressions in real time, making the experience fairly lifelike.

Why is this good?

Who wants this?

Even if lifelike 3D scan of your face is used, you would still want it to convey facial expressions.