My favorite two announcements of the day: the ability to apply portrait mode in post, and spatial video on the 15 Pro models.

https://mastodon.social/@gruber/110862243938533453

@gruber I can’t understand how spatial video can work properly with the lenses so close. Surely they need to be eye spacing?
@marxy @gruber this is exactly my question as well. This is mouse eye spacing!
@jeffehobbs @gruber It’s going to have to be “at least three times bigger”.
@marxy @gruber If one can‘t understand what’s going on, there is probably ANN and computational photography involved. ;-)
@marxy @gruber even with stereo cameras, you’d only get one precise 3d perspective. Disallowing for any translational movement of the viewport before introducing perspective distortion. My guess is temporal NERFs. I bet the 3d effect will be worse with fixed camera shots than with hand held videos.
@gruber so did they just retcon that Vision Pro is „Apple‘s first 3D camera“ then?
@gruber So I finally don't need my 11 year old Lucky GoldStar phone any more to record spatial video! Nor the Nintendo 3DS, for that matter. ;-)
@gruber I just bought a 14 Pro, and I usually wait 2-4 years between new phones; but if the 15 Pro somehow does true 180º stereoscopic video, I may have to get one.
@mikailborg @gruber would you be buying VisionPro too? Because I think—and I might be wrong—that the second is a requirement, no?
@david @gruber From what I've read, the “spatial video” was specifically mentioned as being viewable on other headsets. I'm a filmmaker who wants to work with quality stereoscopic video but there is almost no consumer equipment available for doing so. If the 15 Pro can, that would be of enormous benefit to me.
@mikailborg @gruber I though that “other headsets” meant other people’s VisionPro headsets. As in, you will be able to share them. I am going to dig more into that to see what I find.
@gruber It also lends credence to those rumors that AppleTV+ shows are being quietly shot in a spatial format
@jpurnell Definitely. I think it's very likely for their high-end shows.
@gruber LivePhoto was disabled when they showed that. Would you think both can be on at the same time?
@flogehring @gruber It could be done, but I doubt they would change the deployed file format for a niche vision pro feature.
@gruber Did they let you demo? Shoot spatial video on iPhone 15, view it in Vision Pro?
@gruber I'd also include having three focal lengths from just the main camera
@gruber My one question for early reviewers: is spatial video viewable / usable in non-Vision Pro contexts? Does it "gracefully degrade” to a normal video? Basically, I'm wondering if every single video I shoot should be spatial video or is that going to leave me with a format that is only viewable on a headset?

@danprovost @gruber Thats how they get ya! 😝

But seriously…I had the same question. Maybe it records regular video simultaneously?

@johngrubb @gruber Yeah that would be cool. Basically, in the same way I don't have to think about taking a Live Photo (I just take a picture and get the Live Photo for “free”), it would be nice to not have to think about taking a spatial video. Just take a video, and it will look extra cool on the headset.
@gruber I wonder how the quality is compared to shooting spatial videos directly on VisionPro. Is it worse on iPhone because the lenses are closer to each other? Or is it even better because of the better sensor?
@gruber When you're wearing the Vision Pro, you can continuously record spatial video with an auto-delete timer system if you don't interfere. This is superior to the scenario where you wish you had your iPhone ready to record in your hand, but it does raise privacy concerns. It solves and avoids more crimes until audio and video are no longer evidence because of deepfakes that will change the privacy debate.
@gruber One question I have is if the name of the A17 Pro chip implies that this chip won’t appear “as is” in the iPhone 16. Maybe a non-pro version will be used in the next base level phone?
@gruber come to think of it, portrait mode in post should be a no-brainer. If they can do it IRT when taking a photo doing it in post should be easy!
@gruber I’d be interested if the user can change the action of the action button based on what focus mode they’re in.
@gruber John, forefinger and thumb double tap already exists in WatchOS- see Settings/Accessibility.

@gruber The ability to shoot Spatial Video on 15 Pro really is great.

Even if you don’t get the first gen Vision Pro, you might get one someday, so the sooner you can start to capture some special moments to enjoy on it, the better.