Apple could use iPhones to stream WWDC 2020 sessions

Posted:
in General Discussion edited May 2020
Apple on Monday commented on Hollywood's recent, albeit limited, adoption of iPhone for at-home production during the ongoing coronavirus quarantine, saying the device offers a unique mix of portability and "broadcast quality" video suitable for professional applications. That could be a hint that the company plans to leverage iPhone to stream its Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

iPhone 11 Pro


Apple played up iPhone's industry-leading camera capabilities in a statement to TechCrunch.
We know that people are relying on their favorite shows while staying at home, and we are happy to be a part of that process with the team at American Idol. iPhone offers a unique solution to deliver broadcast quality video, in the palm of your hand, while keeping production staff and on-air talent safe and in their homes.
ABC in April detailed how a crew of 45 people have employed unconventional methods to wrap the current "American Idol" season. It was presumed at the time that the production relied on a flagship iPhone, either an iPhone 11 Pro or iPhone 11 Pro Max, and accompanying accessories.

Today's report confirms the arrangement, which consists of three iPhone 11 Pro handsets, a tripod and a ring light. Show staff helped judges and contestants set up the makeshift platform and is editing footage from home.

A number of broadcasters have found some success with an all-iPhone setup, including NBC, which recently aired a "Parks and Recreation" reunion special shot using a process similar to that of "American Idol." Late-night talk show "Conan" is also using iPhone to film daily segments aired on YouTube and other platforms.

Apple, too, is planning to rely on iPhone for streaming duties at WWDC this year, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Apple will likely rely on conventional high-end broadcast cameras and live streaming production gear -- previously used to air live product launch events from Steve Jobs Theater -- for important proceedings like WWDC's keynote. What is unclear, however, is how the company plans to stream the multitude of technical sessions typically planned for the week-long conference.

While the final schedule has yet to be made public, Apple will likely hold multiple concurrent presentations for viewing online. That would either necessitate the purchase or rental of additional production equipment or the use of alternative streaming platforms like iPhone.

Apple last week announced WWDC 2020 kicks off on June 22. A completely virtual experience, the conference is being held online for the first time due to COVID-19.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,033member
    The iPhone's cameras are perfectly fine for WWDC.

    The challenge is the handset's audio recording capabilities.

    I live in a suburban Silicon Valley community just like many Apple engineers. Weekday daytimes at my condo complex are NOISY. The landscapers are here at least twice a week, mowing lawns, running gas-powered leaf blowers. Today, they also did hedge trimming with gas-powered devices which also included leaf blowing for the debris after the trimming was done. And that's just my place. There's also landscape maintenance noise from the complex next door.

    Garbage trucks, recycling trucks. Then there is the nearly constant construction noises from both private units as well as work being done for the complex. Tree trimming, roof cleaning, metalwork. Monday through Friday there is usually some sort of noisy activity within earshot from 8am to 7pm, quiet times are rare.

    Assuming many Apple engineers live in similar Silicon Valley neighborhoods, the acoustical interruptions will be a major challenge. And that doesn't include screaming kids, barking dogs, beeping from commercial trucks backing up, etc.

    Heck, there are even more screaming kid noises from the neighbors because everyone is still "sheltering in place" when normally both parents would be at work and the kids would be in offsite daycare.

    The world is noisy as hell and that will be the big challenge for WWDC remote presenters.
    edited May 2020 dewme
  • Reply 2 of 11
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    mpantone said:
    The iPhone's cameras are perfectly fine for WWDC.

    The challenge is the handset's audio recording capabilities.

    I live in a suburban Silicon Valley community just like many Apple engineers. Weekday daytimes at my condo complex are NOISY. The landscapers are here at least twice a week, mowing lawns, running gas-powered leaf blowers. Today, they also did hedge trimming with gas-powered devices which also included leaf blowing for the debris after the trimming was done. And that's just my place. There's also landscape maintenance noise from the complex next door.

    Garbage trucks, recycling trucks. Then there is the nearly constant construction noises from both private units as well as work being done for the complex. Tree trimming, roof cleaning, metalwork. Monday through Friday there is usually some sort of noisy activity within earshot from 8am to 7pm, quiet times are rare.

    Assuming many Apple engineers live in similar Silicon Valley neighborhoods, the acoustical interruptions will be a major challenge. And that doesn't include screaming kids, barking dogs, beeping from commercial trucks backing up, etc.

    Heck, there are even more screaming kid noises from the neighbors because everyone is still "sheltering in place" when normally both parents would be at work and the kids would be in offsite daycare.

    The world is noisy as hell and that will be the big challenge for WWDC remote presenters.
    That's a really longwinded way to say "what about background noise?" — as if Apple hasn't considered this. Also, they happen to make a wireless headset with noise canceling capabilities; I doubt anyone is going to be using the internal mics from a distance for presentations.
    cornchipmwhite
  • Reply 3 of 11
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Dark mode front page! It looks nice, I like it.

    It was weird having the forum in dark mode, yet the front page was all bright and white. It's good that they got around to fixing the front page too to match the dark mode of the forum!
  • Reply 4 of 11
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    Everyone else is doing it... why not?
  • Reply 5 of 11
    rotateleftbyterotateleftbyte Posts: 1,630member
    apple ][ said:
    Dark mode front page! It looks nice, I like it.

    It was weird having the forum in dark mode, yet the front page was all bright and white. It's good that they got around to fixing the front page too to match the dark mode of the forum!
    That double height ribbon! Ugh! What a waste of vertical space on my screen. Then all this scrolling and embedded ads! This site was once easy to use. Now it is a [redacted][redacted] nightmare. I predict a large drop in visitor retention. To me a front page must be clear. This is anything but.
    Whatever happened to people desiging stuff that was Easy to Use... you know like Apple did once uupon a time?
  • Reply 6 of 11
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    That double height ribbon! Ugh! What a waste of vertical space on my screen. Then all this scrolling and embedded ads! This site was once easy to use. Now it is a [redacted][redacted] nightmare. I predict a large drop in visitor retention. To me a front page must be clear. This is anything but.
    Whatever happened to people desiging stuff that was Easy to Use... you know like Apple did once uupon a time?
    I'm not sure what you're viewing it on (phone, iPad, macbook etc.), but it looks fine to me on on desktop Mac OS X.

    I'm probably a little biased, because I love dark mode on everything, and I'm just glad that the front page finally turned dark. 
  • Reply 7 of 11
    apple ][ said:
    That double height ribbon! Ugh! What a waste of vertical space on my screen. Then all this scrolling and embedded ads! This site was once easy to use. Now it is a [redacted][redacted] nightmare. I predict a large drop in visitor retention. To me a front page must be clear. This is anything but.
    Whatever happened to people desiging stuff that was Easy to Use... you know like Apple did once uupon a time?
    I'm not sure what you're viewing it on (phone, iPad, macbook etc.), but it looks fine to me on on desktop Mac OS X.

    I'm probably a little biased, because I love dark mode on everything, and I'm just glad that the front page finally turned dark. 
    I'm viewing it on a Macbook Pro (2015). The new front page is awful from a usability POV (light or dark). To have two ribbons that take up acres of vertical space seems to me like someone trying to copy MS Office ribbon. The only thing to do to get beyond that quickly is to click on the number of comments for an article.
  • Reply 8 of 11
    Beats said:
    Everyone else is doing it... why not?
    They did the right thing by respecting user settings.  Dark mode is worse on your eyes. Leads to more eye strain due to lower legibility and lower comprehension.  
    ‘And additionally does some people, it just plain hurts. I can’t  look at dark mode text for more Than 5 seconds without getting significant after images in my field of view.  They last 30 seconds or more.  
  • Reply 9 of 11
    BigDannBigDann Posts: 66member
    I had a thought!

    As the front facing camera is not the greatest, does it make sense to create a display panel which can slide under the rear facing camera assembly offering the user a view of the rear facing selfie setup or offer a way to use an iPad as a live prompter.
  • Reply 10 of 11
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    apple ][ said:
    That double height ribbon! Ugh! What a waste of vertical space on my screen. Then all this scrolling and embedded ads! This site was once easy to use. Now it is a [redacted][redacted] nightmare. I predict a large drop in visitor retention. To me a front page must be clear. This is anything but.
    Whatever happened to people desiging stuff that was Easy to Use... you know like Apple did once uupon a time?
    I'm not sure what you're viewing it on (phone, iPad, macbook etc.), but it looks fine to me on on desktop Mac OS X.

    I'm probably a little biased, because I love dark mode on everything, and I'm just glad that the front page finally turned dark. 
    I'm viewing it on a Macbook Pro (2015). The new front page is awful from a usability POV (light or dark). To have two ribbons that take up acres of vertical space seems to me like someone trying to copy MS Office ribbon. The only thing to do to get beyond that quickly is to click on the number of comments for an article.
    110px is "acres" to you? 
  • Reply 11 of 11
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member

    BigDann said:
    I had a thought!

    As the front facing camera is not the greatest, does it make sense to create a display panel which can slide under the rear facing camera assembly offering the user a view of the rear facing selfie setup or offer a way to use an iPad as a live prompter.
    There are a ton of teleprompter apps for iPhone/iPad with live video preview.
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