What you need to know
- Apple released a brand new iPad Pro with M1 at its Apple event yesterday.
- It includes a beefier TrueDepth camera with a feature called Center Stage.
- A new report says that Center Stage will be available to third-party apps and developers.
At its April Apple event Tuesday the company unveiled a brand new iPad Pro featuring an all-new M1 processor and a mini-LED display.
One major new feature is the iPad's new front-facing camera and Center Stage technology, as explained by Apple:
The TrueDepth camera system on iPad Pro features an all-new 12MP Ultra Wide front camera designed specifically for iPad, enabling Center Stage, a new experience for video calls. Center Stage uses the much larger field of view on the new front camera and the machine learning capabilities of M1 to recognize and keep users centered in the frame. As users move around, Center Stage automatically pans to keep them in the shot. When others join in, the camera detects them too, and smoothly zooms out to fit everyone into the view and make sure they are part of the conversation. So whether whiteboarding with coworkers or attending a virtual family gathering, the experience of connecting is now more engaging than ever.
A new report says Center Stage will be available for third-party apps. From Federico Viticci:
Center Stage, the new iPad Pro feature that uses the front-facing camera to automatically follow the user during video calls, is *not* exclusive to FaceTime. Third-party apps can use Center Stage and there'll be an API available to toggle it on/off. #AppleEventCenter Stage, the new iPad Pro feature that uses the front-facing camera to automatically follow the user during video calls, is *not* exclusive to FaceTime. Third-party apps can use Center Stage and there'll be an API available to toggle it on/off. #AppleEvent— Federico Viticci (@viticci) April 20, 2021April 20, 2021
It means the feature could be included in other apps like Facebook Messenger, Zoom, and more.
As mentioned, the new iPad Pro is also powered by Apple silicon thanks to the M1 chip. It has an awesome new mini-LED display, up to 2TB of storage, and even up to 16GB of RAM.
