iPad Air Now the Only iPad in Apple's Lineup That Lacks 12MP Ultra Wide Front Camera With Center Stage
Yesterday during Apple's virtual "California streaming" event, Apple debuted a refreshed ninth-generation entry-level iPad ($329) and a redesigned sixth-generation iPad mini ($499). Like the iPad Pro, both devices include a 12-megapixel Ultra Wide front camera enabling Center Stage, which makes the iPad Air ($579) the only tablet in Apple's lineup that lacks this feature.
Center Stage is a feature that automatically keeps users perfectly framed during video calls, and it does this by using the much larger field of view of the Ultra Wide front camera.
As users move around, Center Stage automatically pans to keep them in the shot. When other people join in on the call, the camera detects them too, and smoothly zooms out to fit everyone into the view and make sure they are part of the conversation.
Apple debuted the feature in April with the latest iPad Pro. At the time, it was thought the machine learning capabilities of Apple's M1 chip were required to power the feature, but given that the new iPad and iPad mini use A13 and A15 Bionic chips, respectively, that's patently not the case.
The current iPad Air, which debuted in September 2020, has an A14 Bionic processor, but only a f/2.0, 7-megapixel front-facing FaceTime HD Camera for selfies and video calls, making it incompatible with Center Stage. The iPad Air is in its mid-product cycle, however, so it's likely to get the 12-megapixel Ultra Wide front camera in a refresh, perhaps early next year.
Related Stories
The recently launched sixth-generation iPad mini brought a huge upgrade to Apple's smallest tablet, and with 2020's iPad Air starting to show its age, the new iPad mini could give a number of indications about what we can expect from the next-generation iPad Air.
The iPad mini is now very similar to the iPad Air, with both devices featuring squared-off edges, an all-screen design with no...
Apple is planning to release a fifth-generation iPad Air with similar features as the sixth-generation iPad mini, including an A15 Bionic chip, 12-megapixel Ultra Wide front camera with Center Stage support, 5G for cellular models, and Quad-LED True Tone flash, according to Japanese blog Mac Otakara.
Citing reliables sources in China, the report claims that the new iPad Air could be...
Apple is preparing to update three of its iPad models in 2022, including the entry-level iPad, iPad Air, and iPad Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman reiterated Apple's plans to release a new iPad Pro in 2022, featuring a new design and wireless charging, and clarified the company's intention to release new versions of the entry-level iPad...
Apple's brand new M1 iPad Pro features drastically improved performance thanks to the new chipset and an improved TrueDepth camera system with a new "Center Stage" mode.
The new 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro features a 12MP Ultra Wide front-facing camera with a 120° field of view, compared to the standard 7MP wide-angle front-facing camera on the previous generation.
The new TrueDepth...
At today's "California Streaming" event, Apple introduced refreshed versions of the iPad mini and the low-cost iPad, which was something of a surprise as we were expecting new tablet announcements later in the year. Both the iPad mini 6 and the iPad 9 are available for pre-order starting today, with orders up and live following the conclusion of the event.
The iPad 9, which replaces the...
Apple today filed unreleased iPhone and iPad models in the Eurasian Economic Commission database, as spotted by French blog Consomac.
The filings likely represent the rumored third-generation iPhone SE, fifth-generation iPad Air, and potentially more. The unreleased iPhone models have the identifiers A2595, A2783, and A2784, while the unreleased iPad models have the identifiers A2588, A2589, ...
Apple's newly announced M1 iPad Pro models boast a new video calling feature called Center Stage, which uses machine learning to automatically pan and zoom the front-facing camera to keep you center in the frame as you move around. Apple envisages Center Stage being used for video calls that involve things like whiteboarding with coworkers or attending a virtual family gathering. Presumably ...
When Apple releases a new product with upgraded camera technology, the developers behind popular photography app Halide often take a deep dive into the revamped camera features to provide us with some insight into how things work behind the scenes.
Halide developer Sebastiaan de With today shared a look at the cameras in the new 11 and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models, uncovering a hidden macro...
Popular Stories
Apple's AirPods have been credited with saving a woman's life after a potentially fatal fall, People reports.
When a 60-year-old florist in New Jersey tripped and hit her head in her studio, she lost consciousness and awoke heavily bleeding. With nobody around to call for help, she realized she had her AirPods in, and used a "Hey Siri" command to call 911. An operator was able to stay on the ...
Apple is working on a number of new products that are set to launch this fall, and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman says that it will be "the widest array" of new devices that Apple has introduced in its history.
In his latest "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explains that Apple is working on four new flagship iPhones (iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Max, iPhone 14 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro Max), an updated low-end Ma...
Apple has always emphasized the depth of thought that goes into the design of its products. In the foreword to Designed by Apple in California, a photo book released by the company in 2016, Jony Ive explains how Apple strives "to define objects that appear effortless" and "so simple, coherent and inevitable that there could be no rational alternative."
But every once in a while even Apple...
As we roll into the latter half of January, we're starting to hear more about a potential spring Apple event, which is likely to take place in March or April. There are a number of potential announcements on deck, so an event would be a good opportunity for Apple to get them all out there.
We've also been going back and forth on some iPhone 14 rumors, and we've taken a look at a number of...
AT&T today announced the launch of upgraded AT&T Fiber plans, which support speeds of up to 5 Gigabits for some customers. There are two separate plans, one "2 GIG" plan and one "5 GIG" plan, available to new and existing AT&T Fiber subscribers.
According to AT&T, the new plans are available to nearly 5.2 million customers across 70 metro areas including Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, San...
Three months after their launch, the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros continue to experience high demand and seemingly short supply, with shipping dates for both models stretching into multiple weeks in several of Apple's key markets.
In the United States, the baseline 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 Pro chip is estimated to ship in three to four weeks, promising an arrival by at least...
Following months of bleak news about Peloton's "precarious state," including the revelation that it has halted production of its bikes and treadmills, Apple is being floated as a potential buyer of Peloton's troubled fitness business.
Yesterday, CNBC reported that Peloton will temporarily stop production of its connected fitness products due to a "significant reduction" in consumer demand, a ...
Earlier this week, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman tweeted that Apple "will be holding a spring event" to announce a new iPhone SE and other hardware. In a recent edition of his newsletter, Gurman said the event is likely to occur in March or April.
Gurman did not elaborate on what "other hardware" will be announced at Apple's purported spring event, but rumors suggest at least four products are...
Top Rated Comments
Sometimes I think the forum users should form a committee to make rules for the portal area.