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Showing posts with label update. Show all posts

WWDC 2017: Apple adds augmented reality to your iPhone / iPad with iOS 11; adds 360 support to Final Cut; adds support for Steam VR with VR-Ready Mac



At WWDC 2017, Apple demonstrated augmented reality on the upcoming iOS 11 using existing iOS hardware. 
UPDATE:  Apple has announced 360 video editing in Final Cut Pro; Apple will support Steam VR and HTC Vive; Apple has announced Metal API for VR.

1. AUGMENTED REALITY

At WWDC 2017, Apple announced several things including a new iPad Pro variant.  For readers of this site, the highlight was Apple's demonstration of augmented reality on an iPad and an iPhone on the new iOS 11.  Your iPhone or iPad would be like a 'window' that shows AR objects, similar to how Pokemon Go is played for example, except now your iPad or iPhone will be able to estimate the three dimensional surfaces within its view and place AR objects on it more realistically.  For Pokemon Go for example, Pikachu would not just be floating in space, but would appear to be standing on a sidewalk that you are pointing at.  A missed Pokeball would seem to hit the ground and roll off, following its contours.

This SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) demo looks similar to what Mark Zuckerberg showed at Facebook F8 almost 2 months ago.  The difference according to Apple is that its demo is live, whereas they implied that Facebook's demo is merely a carefully edited video.

Here is Apple's demo (around 3hrs and 48 minutes into the video)


Here is another purported video of Apple's AR by Facts Uncovered:


Apple rolled out ARKit to enable developers to create AR apps for the iPhone and iPad, declaring iOS 11 as the "largest AR platform in the world."  iOS 11 will be rolled out in the Fall for iPhone 5S and above (whew, my aging iPhone 6 squeezes by...).

2. 360 VIDEO EDITING IN FINAL CUT PRO

Apple announced that Final Cut Pro would be updated to add support for 360 video editing. This gives Mac users an option for 360 video editing in addition to Adobe Premiere Pro.

3. STEAM VR SUPPORT; HTC VIVE on MAC

Apple announced that it would create a VR-Ready version of the Mac that would use a Radeon RX 580 graphics card.  The new VR-Ready Mac will support SteamVR, enabling it to play HTC Vive natively.  Moreover, the new Metal 2 video processing API will support VR.

Xiaomi updates the Mi Sphere iOS app; PC software rumor; stabilized underwater 360 video


Some updates on the Xiaomi:
- Over the weekend, Xiaomi updated the Mi Sphere app for iOS to give it the same features as its Android version, including stabilization!
- There's a rumor that Xiaomi is working on a desktop app.  See the evidence.
- Meanwhile, I used my Xiaomi Mi Sphere to take some 360 videos while swimming.  Check out the video!

iOS APP UPDATE
Xiaomi updated the Mi Sphere app to version 1.6.4 which added several features, including:
- can export stabilized 360 video
- shutter speed up to 32 seconds in photo mode
- video editor
Here is a short sample stabilized video:


However, the 360 video seems to be missing 360 metadata (the Android version has 360 metadata on export). I expect they'll fix this in the next update.  More importantly, the maximum resolution is still 2304 x 1152.  This seems to be a hardware limitation therefore I don't expect the resolution to increase unless perhaps the next iPhone is powerful enough to stitch the Xiaomi's video at full resolution.  Thank you very much to Zim, Andrew Falzon, and one more reader (he even listed the changes, but I'm sorry I can't find your message!) for bringing this to my attention!

DESKTOP APP
One of the biggest issues with the Xiaomi is that there's no desktop app.  This forces you to use your phone, which makes the workflow much less convenient compared to other 360 cameras.  However, it appears that Xiaomi is working on a desktop app.  On their mini-site for the Xiaomi, there is a placeholder for a desktop software:

If you click on PC client right now, it just sends you back to the home page.  However, I hope this really does indicate that they are working on a desktop app, which would make the Xiaomi more usable for many more people (especially those who don't have a phone with Snapdragon 820 or higher processor).  Thank you very much to Zim and tech vlogger Pepe Vazquez for bringing this to my attention!

STABILIZED UNDERWATER VIDEOS
Meanwhile, I also took the Xiaomi swimming.  The Xiaomi is water resistant but not waterproof.  I didn't want to risk ruining mine, so I used a smartphone waterproof pouch. This is the case that I used:  it's called the Stalion waterproof pouch (mine is black, but in retrospect, blue is more invisible).

Here is the video:


I've used this pouch for other 360 cameras such as the 2017 Samsung Gear 360, Insta360 Nano (by itself, not with a phone), and Ricoh Theta S.  If you want a pouch that can fit the original 2016 Gear 360 or the Nano with a phone, you need this larger case.

BTW in case you're wondering about that snorkel mask, I think it works well.  It gives a clear view that doesn't fog up, and the water doesn't come in.  It's more sanitary than a regular snorkel when sharing it.  I also like that the mask has a GoPro-style attachment.  The disadvantage is that you can't go very deep with it due to water pressure because you won't be able to hold your nose and blow.   The one I got is this one.

If you are interested in the Xiaomi Mi Sphere, here is a Facebook group for it.
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