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

SilentDoom said:
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
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I think the problem is Gurman calling this a FaceTime equivalent. Few people are going to grab their VR headset to do the same thing they would over FaceTime, but any kind of shared VR thing is going to need some sort of customizable avatar, and Memojis are already most of the way there.

Edit: Hopefully there are either more customization options or other avatar styles, since clearly current Memojis aren’t everyone’s taste
 
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I hope there are other compelling use cases for this headset other than Memoji-ified FaceTime video chats and gaming.
 
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reyesmac said:
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?
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It is more about cartoon characters not suffering from the uncanny valley. If they use your real face with some sort of ML or reconstruction to fill in the gaps it would be hard to get right without it feeling unnatural. Perfect 3D capture would require a rig that just isn't practical for inside an AR experience. Using real faces is probably something that will happen outside of toy scenarios someday though.
 
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Marbles1 said:
>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?
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I think the Hollywood Squares Zoom experience is better than Memojis around a virtual table trying to recreate facial expressions.
 
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reyesmac said:
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?
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But we already have the video chat system and are dealing with the bandwidth. How much less would an Emoji video stream be? And the interaction experience would be much worse. I don’t see the benefit for this use case.
 
Michael Scrip said:
If we're worried about conveying facial expressions... why would we put on helmet/goggles in the first place?

Aren't webcams good enough?

Plus... I can't wait for a conference call where Jim from accounting is a dragon, and Sally from logistics is a unicorn...

?
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It is for the other collaborative aspects. I hope expressing yourself in business scenarios becomes an accepted norm.
 
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dbwie said:
This sounds absolutely silly. So instead of looking at an actual camera and see the actual faces of others as we can now, I will have to look at Memojis of others through AR/VR headset and that will be a better experience? And, use of SharePlay will be better than someone simply sharing their screen with us using current technologies. It seems like putting on a AR/VR headset on will create simply a DIFFERENT experience, but not necessarily a BETTER one.
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Even Apple Silicon ML has limitations to make imperfect faces presentable. ?
 
nfl46 said:
That sounds like something I can’t afford. Lol.
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This actually sounds unhealthy, we already have peoples head and neck bent while interacting and waking with their smart devices in public and crossing the street becoming a potential hazard.

Maybe it will be limited to enclosed areas with obstacle warning and shuts down to take a break, because you know this is calling for a Jack Ass TikTok challenge.
 
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4nNtt said:
It is for the other collaborative aspects. I hope expressing yourself in business scenarios becomes an accepted norm.
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There is more to a visual interaction to business, I hope you are aware of this. VR/AR cannot replace it, it’s just a tool like videoconference but it is still recommended to be present in-person.

Yes, all animals and humans are shallow it’s in natures biology.
 
TheYayAreaLiving ? said:
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.
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It's easier to tell if someone is distracted, paying attention, has questions, joint presentation, etc. in AR. If you check out reviews of Oculus' Workspaces that might give a better idea the appeal. There is also no reason there couldn't be a mix of both AR and webcam. That might make more sense in some cases.

Your avatar will certainly be used outside of FaceTime too. Maybe you are collaborating on CAM design of a new product with another designer. You might want to see the parts of the model they are working on while you are working on another part of the model.
 
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canyonblue737 said:
Is it just me or does this sound... terrible?
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Don’t even understand how something like this would even work considering the camera would be inside the enclosure capturing what your eyes. Unless this thing is going to cover your entire face, people will get claustrophobic and remove this within 3 mins. Oh I can see it now I have Apple VR/AR acne ?
 
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dbwie said:
This sounds absolutely silly. So instead of looking at an actual camera and see the actual faces of others as we can now, I will have to look at Memojis of others through AR/VR headset and that will be a better experience? And, use of SharePlay will be better than someone simply sharing their screen with us using current technologies. It seems like putting on a AR/VR headset on will create simply a DIFFERENT experience, but not necessarily a BETTER one.
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Well if your wearing a AR/VR headset your face can’t be seen. Still no one should attend a FaceTime conference wearing that $2000 headset in the first place IMHO, but in virtual worlds your whole body could be some form of avatar, just not a emoji. :)
 
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