YouTubers Test Out macOS Ventura's Continuity Camera With Belkin Mount

[satchmo]

Why should she feel dirty? Apple clearly values her. She doesn't lie, or engage in unseemly behavior or influence. She's perky and manufactured—an excellent actress, carefully representing her client. She performs on cue for a company that is deathly afraid of not having absolute control of the narrative. It's not about the product, it's about the brand. The brand matters more.

I can’t detect sarcasm anymore.
I mean who knows, she may very well have formal written contract with Apple.

Then again, maybe she truly believes in all things Apple. She’s drunk the koolaid and still under Steve’s reality distortion field.

As George Costanza famously said, ‘It’s not a lie, if you believe it.’

 

[alexandr]

This makes me think of that dumb "bumper" case that they had, which helped prevent your signal drop when holding your iPhone 4 wrong... Kudos on the desk view, but for now it looks pretty horrible. As far as the rest of it — I like to use my phone during some work calls, so this would take that away from me.

 

[yabeweb]

Still amazed by the number of people who believe YouTubers….

 

[BB1970]

I think this is great for beginner vloggers, YouTubers, etc. No need for multiple cameras (for the bokeh effect or table top view). No need for learning to sync audio or editing separate devices. All in one solution… for the beginner.

 

[_Spinn_]

Very cool feature!

 

[blazerunner]

You all mock iJustine, but at the end of the day... she's getting well compensated.

Haters gotta hate 🤣

I'd trade all her money for integrity. She has zero.

 

[Thomas Davie]

I'm the only one that is fearful of broke the display and/or the iPhone...

No, I’m worried anout the stress on the display andmI am trying to working out bending moment from an old differential equations class (been a long time). I imagine Apple has taken this into consideration….I’m not sold. I’ll wit for others to hopefully not damage their screens.

Tom

 

[BB1970]

People gotta understand iJustine is an “overviewer” not a reviewer.
She opens the door to the non tech crowd to what’s new and gives an overview.
Im never gonna watch her for Ars Technica level depth.
But her videos are polished and a good entry way for some.
And frankly… good for her. She makes a living doing it.
The internet cynicism gets old.

 

[CarAnalogy]

This is cool and neat but still not sold if I find this useful or not.

Depends on the price. Should come free with all MacBooks bought in the last two years at least. Like the iPhone 5 Bumper Program.

If it’s not free or damn close I would be disappointed. Sadly I expect it to be at least $20, probably $30+.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

I would just use a small desk tripod, and place it a the right height and angle without having to adjust the angle of the display.

 

[CarAnalogy]

I feel like this is one of those technologies, that my 7 year old nephew will randomly find on the internet 10 years from now and be like „look what they did back in 2022 😂“

I was just thinking this. The mainstream tech press seems to be praising or at least accepting it. In a few years this will be a thing Mac users are infamously mocked for.

 

[gund1234]

The fact that Apple themselves are a partner and behind such a bandaid solution is pretty pathetic. It’s a workaround that admits they released a lackluster product from the get-go.

this is more than just using iPhone camera for Face Time on Mac, this camera can be used to show what's on the table in front of Mac Book.

 

[B4rbelith]

If you don't want it, don't use it. What the **** are people complaining about?

This makes the iPhone the best webcam on the market by far, and it works seamlessly with the Mac with no cables; perfect for people who stream, do lots of video conferencing, or teach online classes.

As others have already stated, there is not a laptop (or even desktop computer) in the world that has a webcam capable of producing an image of that clarity. Some people are just looking for something to moan about.

My wife teaches online Yoga classes through Zoom, and we already use Camo which allows us to use the iPhone camera in 720p, which already wipes the floor with the potato quality cam in our MacBook Pro. This has the potential to be a nice upgrade to that.

 

[erikkfi]

I highly recommend Camo Studio as an affordable alternative to this. You can use it with an older iPhone than Apple allows (back to at least the iPhone 6 if not older). Get real use out of an older device instead of letting it become e-waste!

 

[gund1234]

A polite way of saying "Yeah we know our laptop cameras suck — so try this!"

This feature is more than using iPhone camera for Face Time on MacBook.
Desk View option would be useful for lot of people.

 

[darngooddesign]

Depends on the price. Should come free with all MacBooks bought in the last two years at least. Like the iPhone 5 Bumper Program.

If it’s not free or damn close I would be disappointed. Sadly I expect it to be at least $20, probably $30+.

Continuity Camera is free.

Not sure why you think Belkin is going to give away something they make.

I love how Apple developed a free, seamless, wireless, and easy way to use the iPhone you already own as a webcam, and people are still complaining.

 

[xraydoc]

She's one of the few remaining (if not the only one) Youtubers who almost never say anything bad about Apple.
Imagine how much they love her at Apple HQ.

Does she say anything bad about anything on her channel? I'm not really one who watches a ton of videos like hers, but the ones that I have seen, she seems to be excited about everything -- not just Apple products. She seems to love everything she "reviews."

That said, I'm totally fine with Apple giving people the option of using their iPhone as a webcam. Center Stage (it supports that, right?) will be a nice feature for some people. And while I personally have no need for the desk view feature (nor am I sure it'll work without an iPhone Pro), I'm sure some will find it handy.

No idea why people are complaining about what amounts to a free software feature.

 

[NY Guitarist]

Tim Cook: 'With MacOs Ventura you can replace the $1599 Studio Display camera with your $1000 iPhone camera. Amazing.'

 

[symphony]

Awesome feature. Personally, I am too nervous about damaging my devices. The polish stainless steel easily gets permanent scuffing just by gently touching aluminum (when I put my iPhone up against my Magic Keyboard it easily left a mark). Not sure I would risk having this collapse on top of each other with force.

 

[CarAnalogy]

Continuity Camera is free.

Not sure why you think Belkin is going to give away something they make.

I love how Apple developed a free, seamless, wireless, and easy way to use the iPhone you already own as a webcam, and people are still complaining.

It's not just that they Sherlocked Camo. I don't have any complaints software-wise.

The thing I find weird is that they suggest you mount it to your laptop like this. Right after they released a new batch of laptops of which one of the few real complaints was the camera.

It's just bad...optics...

That's why I compare it to the bumper program. This would cost Apple very little to provide to the few people who bought their expensive hardware and care enough to apply for one. They also sold those bumpers. They could sell this too. But I'm hoping they sell it for something like $10 for at or close to cost, and don't take this as an opportunity to sell another high margin questionable accessory.

It's not exactly the same but it's similar. They created a product that addresses an unnecessary weakness with one (in this case, several) of their main products. Without admitting it was a mistake, one that will almost certainly be addressed with the next hardware refresh, just like the iPhone 4.

 

[LinusR]

If Apple put decent webcams into their laptops, there would be less of a need for this.

There’s no way you could fit a camera system of iPhone quality into these thing laptop displays. This is not a workaround, it’s a cost-Effective, simple solution. Some people hook up their DSLRs — now there’s no need anymore! And you get DeskView, Center Stage etc…

 

[kiranmk2]

One of the new features coming with macOS Ventura and iOS 16 is Continuity Camera, which is designed to allow an iPhone to be used as a webcam for a Mac. The feature is enabled in the current betas, but it is designed to be used with special mounts being made by third-party companies like Belkin.

​

Belkin has designed a MagSafe-enabled Continuity Camera mount that allows an iPhone to be set up in an ideal spot on a Mac to be used as webcam, and while the mount is not yet released, several YouTubers have been able to test it out to give us an idea of how it works.

Brian Tong, iJustine, and ZolloTech have prototype versions of the mount, which is deceptively simple. It attaches to the back of the iPhone and a small plastic lip on the back of the mount rests on top of the MacBook in the ideal position.

When the mount is attached properly to a Mac, Continuity Camera is automatically activated, with the Mac swapping over to the iPhone's camera.

With Continuity Camera, there are a number of options to take advantage of, including Center Stage for keeping someone in the frame, Portrait mode for blurring the background, Studio Light for adjusting the lighting, and Desk View, which is a unique feature that uses the Ultra Wide lens to show off your desktop.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1553040454429528064

Belkin's Continuity Camera accessory will likely be ready for launch alongside the debut of macOS Ventura and iOS 16 in a few months.

Article Link: YouTubers Test Out macOS Ventura's Continuity Camera With Belkin Mount

Brian Tong, iJustine, and ZolloTech have prototype versions of the mount, which is deceptively simple. It attaches to the back of the iPhone and a small plastic lip on the back of the mount rests on top of the MacBook in the ideal position.

​

So no doubt it will cost $69.99...

 

[darngooddesign]

It's not just that they Sherlocked Camo. I don't have any complaints software-wise.

The thing I find weird is that they suggest you mount it to your laptop like this. Right after they released a new batch of laptops of which one of the few real complaints was the camera.

It's just bad...optics...

There are a coupe of things I find incorrect in your statement.

The improved 1080P webcam was released almost ten months ago.

There have been complaints with the Studio Display webcam; also the 13" MBP webcam because it's the old webcam. But not really the new laptop webcam.

Apple will release Continuity Camera in a couple of months, not now, with MacOS Ventura.

Apple has been demoing new features in beta ever since WWDC so to me the timing is coincidental and only bad optics if you are cynical.

That's why I compare it to the bumper program. This would cost Apple very little to provide to the few people who bought their expensive hardware and care enough to apply for one. They also sold those bumpers. They could sell this too. But I'm hoping they sell it for something like $10 for at or close to cost, and don't take this as an opportunity to sell another high margin questionable accessory.

Apple doesn't set the price because Belkin makes it. Apple made the bumper.

I had and returned the iPhone 4, but I don't see this as the same thing.

It's not exactly the same but it's similar. They created a product that addresses an unnecessary weakness with one (in this case, several) of their main products. Without admitting it was a mistake, one that will almost certainly be addressed with the next hardware refresh, just like the iPhone 4.

That's like saying that Apple should admit that the M1 SoC was a mistake because the M2 SoC is an improvement.

Continuity camera is great for people who have Mac minis, Mac Studios, MacBooks in clamshell, hooked up to external displays, etc.

 

[cateye]

I can’t detect sarcasm anymore.
I mean who knows, she may very well have formal written contract with Apple.

Then again, maybe she truly believes in all things Apple. She’s drunk the koolaid and still under Steve’s reality distortion field.

As George Costanza famously said, ‘It’s not a lie, if you believe it.’

Sorry, no sarcasm intended, despite my somewhat florid language.

I just meant that the relationship between her and Apple, whether formal or not, is not by chance. She recognizes an opportunity to leverage a loyal and uncritical audience, and Apple finds brand-safety in her softball fangirl style. My criticism is of Apple's timid, infomercial approach to partnering with someone like iJustine, not that iJustine has chosen the personna and presentation that she uses. iJustine is obviously smart as a whip. She knows where the money is and she grabs it with both hands.

 

[philosopherdog]

Will it do wide angle?