

I don’t know how this performs on the recently updated entry-level iPad, which has an A13 Bionic chip, but I expect comparable performance. It is highly responsive on the iPad Pro, which has an M1 chip like the one used on Macs, and on the iPad mini, which used an A15 Bionic chip similar to those used in the new iPhone 13 line. (Scroll down for auto-framing demos of all the competing products.) There is a compelling three-dimensional flavor to this. I had a blast trying out Center Stage, which provides the illusion of a camera physically pivoting to keep me in the frame, even though nothing moves. Here’s how Apple shows off the feature note how the framing adjusts on the fly when a second person enters the frame. When others join in or leave the call, the view expands or contracts to compensate for the changing group dynamics. If you move around while on a Center Stage-enabled chat, the camera automatically shifts to keep you in the frame. I also briefly tried it on the new iPad mini, which I purchased at about the time this article was published. I tested it with the iPad Pro’s ultra-wide camera, which has a 12-megapixel sensor and 122º field of view. Earlier this month, Apple added Center Stage support to the less-expensive sixth-generation iPad mini and the value-priced ninth-generation iPad (see “ Apple Redesigns the iPad mini, Upgrades the iPad,” 14 September 2021).Ĭenter Stage is by far the best auto-framing implementation I’ve seen.
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It first arrived on pricey iPad Pro models released in April (see “ New iPad Pros Boast M1 Chips and Liquid Retina XDR Display,” 20 April 2021). There are others, and I’ll get to those later.Īpple has now leveled the playing field when it comes to auto framing, and then some, with a feature called Center Stage. IPads, for all their power, have long been subpar video chat devices, and lack of auto framing is one reason. The camera doesn’t physically move in most cases-the framing is achieved via software. The latest smart displays even provide “auto framing.” That is, the camera follows you when you move around so you stay roughly centered on the other person’s screen during a video chat. This is largely due to their integrated cameras, which have wide-angle lenses, provide decent image quality, and require little to no adjustment to pull off nice-looking video calls even under iffy lighting conditions.
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Plus, they’re primarily dependent on voice commands even though they have touch screens, which means figuring out how to accomplish anything on these things is often maddening.īut smart displays do have one superpower: they’re pretty good for video chats.

Smart displays, on the other hand, are simplified devices with a minimal set of capabilities. The iPad is superior to Amazon’s Echo Show, Google’s Nest Hub Max, and Facebook’s Portal in many ways-it boasts top-notch hardware, a powerful operating system, and a massive ecosystem of apps. How cool would it be to have a HomePod with a touchscreen, working like a rough equivalent of the CarPlay displays in vehicles? Then it dawned on me: Apple already has a smart display.

