OS X Yosemite first look video: Handoff
One of the more exciting features shown off at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference was Handoff, a piece of technology that lets OS X Yosemite recognize what a user is doing in an iOS 8 app and seamlessly transfer that action to Mac.
Handoff is one of four tentpole features -- alongside SMS, phone calls and Instant Hotspot -- in Apple's next-generation OS X and iOS operating systems the company is collectively referring to as "continuity." Baked in to OS X 10.10 Yosemite and iOS 8, continuity features let Macs recognize actions on nearby iOS devices to enable a new level of integration and cross-platform connectivity.
With Handoff, a Mac running OS X 10.10 Yosemite will monitor for iOS 8 devices via Bluetooth. Tying in iCloud as a registration backbone, OS X doesn't need to pair with an iPhone or iPad to log it as a viable target device, making the proximity-aware feature utterly seamless for users with properly configured Apple IDs.
Once the Mac establishes a connection with the iOS device, it appears to enter a low-power "listening" mode until an appropriate call signal is received. As seen in the video above, the iPhone sends out a call whenever a Handoff-capable app is opened, which in turn invokes an icon of the corresponding OS X version of the app to appear next to the Mac's dock.
Clicking on the Mac-side pop-up opens the app and transports the user's most recent action data from the iOS device. For example, users can start reading a webpage on an iPad and pick up where they left off on the Mac.
In the video, we demonstrated this "last action" transfer with Safari and Maps. While Safari took us to the relevant webpage, Maps was more granular in its assessment of most recent iOS device activity and navigated to the correct area and zoom level last displayed on our iPhone.
We also tested the feature with Mail, which returned a new message window with all data fields filled down to the last letter typed. Similar results were found with all supported apps, including Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Messages, Reminders, Calendar, and Contacts.
It should be noted that the feature was working only from iOS to Mac at the time of this writing, but Handoff should be completely two-way compatible at launch. When a Mac sends an appropriate call to a listening iOS device, a small icon of the app is displayed on the iPhone or iPad's lock screen. Swiping up on the icon will take users to the last action performed on the Mac side.
Handoff of Mail on iOS to Mac.
Looking more closely at the tech behind Handoff, we found the setup to be similar to AirDrop, which seeks out nearby devices via Bluetooth and transfers files over a higher-bandwidth ad-hoc Wi-Fi connection. With Bluetooth turned off, our Mac was not "aware" of the nearby iPhone and opening supported iOS apps would not trigger the Handoff mechanism.
Even in its beta form, Handoff is an impressive feature that fits seamlessly into Apple's multi-platform software environment. Further, Apple has provided the appropriate APIs to third-party developers so they can integrate Handoff in their own apps, opening the door to a completely connected ecosystem of Mac and iOS apps.
Aside from a few connectivity issues that required us to toggle our iPhone's Bluetooth on and off, Handoff worked as demonstrated on stage at WWDC by Apple SVP Craig Federighi. By the time Apple's next-gen operating systems hit the App Store this fall, the feature should be ready for action.
For more information on Apple's new push in cross-platform integration, see AppleInsider's hands-on iOS 8 videos.
Handoff is one of four tentpole features -- alongside SMS, phone calls and Instant Hotspot -- in Apple's next-generation OS X and iOS operating systems the company is collectively referring to as "continuity." Baked in to OS X 10.10 Yosemite and iOS 8, continuity features let Macs recognize actions on nearby iOS devices to enable a new level of integration and cross-platform connectivity.
With Handoff, a Mac running OS X 10.10 Yosemite will monitor for iOS 8 devices via Bluetooth. Tying in iCloud as a registration backbone, OS X doesn't need to pair with an iPhone or iPad to log it as a viable target device, making the proximity-aware feature utterly seamless for users with properly configured Apple IDs.
Once the Mac establishes a connection with the iOS device, it appears to enter a low-power "listening" mode until an appropriate call signal is received. As seen in the video above, the iPhone sends out a call whenever a Handoff-capable app is opened, which in turn invokes an icon of the corresponding OS X version of the app to appear next to the Mac's dock.
Clicking on the Mac-side pop-up opens the app and transports the user's most recent action data from the iOS device. For example, users can start reading a webpage on an iPad and pick up where they left off on the Mac.
In the video, we demonstrated this "last action" transfer with Safari and Maps. While Safari took us to the relevant webpage, Maps was more granular in its assessment of most recent iOS device activity and navigated to the correct area and zoom level last displayed on our iPhone.
We also tested the feature with Mail, which returned a new message window with all data fields filled down to the last letter typed. Similar results were found with all supported apps, including Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Messages, Reminders, Calendar, and Contacts.
It should be noted that the feature was working only from iOS to Mac at the time of this writing, but Handoff should be completely two-way compatible at launch. When a Mac sends an appropriate call to a listening iOS device, a small icon of the app is displayed on the iPhone or iPad's lock screen. Swiping up on the icon will take users to the last action performed on the Mac side.
Handoff of Mail on iOS to Mac.
Looking more closely at the tech behind Handoff, we found the setup to be similar to AirDrop, which seeks out nearby devices via Bluetooth and transfers files over a higher-bandwidth ad-hoc Wi-Fi connection. With Bluetooth turned off, our Mac was not "aware" of the nearby iPhone and opening supported iOS apps would not trigger the Handoff mechanism.
Even in its beta form, Handoff is an impressive feature that fits seamlessly into Apple's multi-platform software environment. Further, Apple has provided the appropriate APIs to third-party developers so they can integrate Handoff in their own apps, opening the door to a completely connected ecosystem of Mac and iOS apps.
Aside from a few connectivity issues that required us to toggle our iPhone's Bluetooth on and off, Handoff worked as demonstrated on stage at WWDC by Apple SVP Craig Federighi. By the time Apple's next-gen operating systems hit the App Store this fall, the feature should be ready for action.
For more information on Apple's new push in cross-platform integration, see AppleInsider's hands-on iOS 8 videos.
Comments
I hope that older devices will support this option, such as 2008 iMac. I don't see why they wouldn't.
I suspect 2010 or later.. unless you add a Bluetooth 4.0 device that supports Bluetooth LE.. I think BT LE is the key to the feature...
In theory you could add a BT 4.0 USB adaptor and this would still work on your 2008 iMac
Just wonder if there is Mac to iOS.
The seamless connectivity between devices makes way more sense than Microsoft's idea of trying to make a single device that is a jack of all trades, master of none.
Can anyone confirm this is possible?
Clicking on the Mac-side pop-up opens the app and transports the user's most recent action data from the iOS device. For example, users can start reading a webpage on an iPad and pick up where they left off on the Mac.
Big deal.
The question is whether they also send over the content of edit fields, like the one I'm typing into now.
My major workflow issue is starting a response on a web page on my iPhone, and then deciding I'd like to move to the desktop because it's going to be long.
If they solve that problem, I'll buy another iPhone.
What do you mean, "starting a response"? "Hello Mr. Glockenspiel,"...then decide? Or type several paragraphs, THEN decide?
The assumption is that as long as you are using an iWork app or presumably a program like Mail, it is taking snapshots of whatever information you've entered and will be reflected on your alternate choice of device as long as you are logged in.
I'm a bit curious to see this in action myself.
Apple did not announce which features will be supported by which devices. It's likely that the coolest ones will not be on the 4S.
I don't believe they promised the ability to handoff a call in progress, just the ability to select which device you prefer to answer the call with while it is ringing.
Is the video made with the Preview version? Or a special version available at WWDC? Because on https://appleseed.apple.com/sp/betaprogram/ is is stated:
"Since the beta software is unfinished, some new features will not be available, such as phone calls, SMS, Handoff, Instant Hotspot, and iCloud Drive."
How does the SMS part of continuity work? Are they synched between devices similar to iMessages or are they only available when the iPhone is connected to / in reach of a Mac/iPad?
I wish they would create a unified messenger API other providers could tap into and/or make open iMessages to other OSs...
It's already the case on iOS that you have to write code to save the state of your app to a file, and code to read this file and restore the state again. This is because if the user switches to another app, and that app needs all the memory, your app will be purged by the OS, and will need to restore it's state later if it's switched back to.
So it should be fairly easy for developers to implement Handoff. All they need to do is use the same format of state file on both the Mac and iOS, and when the time comes for a handover, just transmit the state file over the provided BTLE link. If that is in fact how it works.
I suspect 2010 or later.. unless you add a Bluetooth 4.0 device that supports Bluetooth LE.. I think BT LE is the key to the feature...
In theory you could add a BT 4.0 USB adaptor and this would still work on your 2008 iMac
2010... I dunno, with the Macbook Pro try 2012 cause that's when they started to add Bluetooth 4.0. My Late-2011 MBP only has 2.1 It would be strange to see Apple feature out a system they sold just 2 years ago, but then again they do this often with their iOS devices so it's definitely possible.
Good question.
I'm a paid developer for both iOS and Mac OS X and I can't get any of the Continuity features to work, except SMS from my Mac, but that's really just sending a tagged iMessage that will then be forwarded as an SMS once it reaches your iPhone.
I can't figure out how to make a voice call from my Mac, get any apps to handoff, or figure out how to create a hyperlink of an item in iCloud. Ally my devices are on the same network connected via an AirPort Extreme. I have a Late-2013 MBP, iPhone 5S and Retina iPad mini. I thought it would be automatic with WiFI but I also tried to connect them via Bluetooth but that didn't work.
So what am I missing?
PS: I also can't figure out how to enable Dark Mode.
I still don't understand why I can't click on a phone number on my iPad and have it dial from my iPhone...