'I Don't Get Why Apple's Multitrack Voice Memos Require an iPhone 16 Pro' (engadget.com)
- Reference: 0174990577
- News link: https://apple.slashdot.org/story/24/09/13/1751253/i-dont-get-why-apples-multitrack-voice-memos-require-an-iphone-16-pro
- Source link: https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/i-dont-get-why-apples-multitrack-voice-memos-require-an-iphone-16-pro-175134621.html
Engadget argues the [2]feature's exclusivity to the new $1,000+ model is unnecessary , given modern smartphones' processing power far exceeds that of early digital audio workstations. They contend that basic multitrack recording functionality could be implemented on older iPhone models. Apple's decision to limit this feature contradicts its inclusion of GarageBand on all iPhones and the availability of Audio Mix on base iPhone 16 models, which offers similar noise reduction capabilities. The story adds:
> Why is this particular feature walled behind the iPhone 16 Pro? It's a simple multitrack recording function. From the ad, it looks like the app can't even layer more than two tracks at a time. This can't exactly be taxing that A18 Pro chip, especially when the phone can also handle 4K/120 FPS video recording in Dolby Vision.
[1] https://mobile.slashdot.org/story/24/09/09/1851240/apple-unveils-iphone-16-pro-featuring-bigger-screen-new-chip-and-pro-recording-options
[2] https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/i-dont-get-why-apples-multitrack-voice-memos-require-an-iphone-16-pro-175134621.html
ummmm (Score:2)
Classic apple upsell?
Re: (Score:2)
There's no doubt that upsell is a large piece of this. All companies want more profit, but apple is very aggressive. But there could be other things too. Maybe some specialized hardware bits which make this work better on some phones (the "ambient noise reduction" may be a hint); maybe it would suck battery life on older devices; maybe something else. Apple is 80% profit driven, but decisions like this always have multiple factors.
Re: (Score:1)
Yes. The Pro models have 4 microphones. The regular non-Pro phones have 2. That almost certainly factors into this.
Re: (Score:2)
"maybe it would suck battery life on older devices;" This would be such a piss poor excuse, but I wouldn't put it past Apple to use this or the average Joe buying into it. "bAtTeRy lIfE" would make a nice universal excuse for withholding features from devices that can technically run them, but they are a bit old so "battery life". So that means more $$$ for Apple in the form of customers buying new hardware.
I get why (Score:3, Informative)
Apple sucks
Re: (Score:1)
Ding ding ding! Guess what? That phone your bought last year - it's under powered and junk.
Re: (Score:2)
Because the company says so therefore it must be. But I highly doubt that last year's phone models are junk unless you are buying bottom of the barrel prepaid junk sold at a drugstore and those tend to be junk no matter when you buy them.
It's because... (Score:2)
It's because "courage".
Because (Score:2, Insightful)
Because... shut up!
Re:Apple likes money (Score:5, Funny)
I feel the same way about Ford. Why can't Chevy sell me a F150?
o nooos (Score:3)
since the only way to do this is with apple pro 16...!!?
i will just have to continue not doing this thing or caring about it
Re:The reason why Apple requires something (Score:4, Funny)
Same reason as why a dog licks ... her balls:
You seem confused.
Marketing (Score:1)
Nobody ever said there was an _engineering_ reason.
Apple has done this with umpteen hardware/software things in the past. If you're surprised..... welcome, newbie.
As Expected (Score:2)
I'm not sure why Engadget is so hung up on "can/can't" when the problem is "won't." Apple's here to make money. What's not to get about that? I'd probably be upset if I had an Apple 15 and wanted to use the feature without getting a device upgrade, but I wouldn't be confused about why I would be gouged, especially by Apple.
Re: (Score:2)
100% this.
also, "utilizing advanced microphone technology and machine learning algorithms to reduce ambient noise".
it's probably an in-house dev app that was developed to target the latest "neural processing engine" (or whatever apple calls it, the "more parallel than a CPU but still not quite a GPU/TPU" cores), and then release time came around and they took the most promising experimental apps to bundle with their new phone with that latest in-house hardware.
could Apple go out of their way to develop an "
Re: (Score:2)
And it's a shitty app that isn't even ready for one model. Apple's software engineers suck at making software almost as bad as their hardware engineers.
Re: (Score:2)
At hardware. In case, someone misinterprets that.
Re: (Score:2)
Engadget exists to make money as well, and that is done by clickbait. 99% of the internet is trash.
Because they want it to be... (Score:2)
Bow to your corporate masters.
Hardware (Score:5, Informative)
I'd guess it's because only the Pro features the 4 studio-quality mics. The other models only feature 2 standard mics.
Re: Hardware (Score:1)
Makes sense. Apple doesnâ(TM)t like to ship anything less than great, so if two mics is âoeonlyâ pretty good, theyâ(TM)ll limit it to the 4 mic version. Of course it could be a conspiracy based on a click bait headline.
Re: (Score:2)
Honestly, I don't know why you'd need multi-track recording in a voice memo in the first place. How many people want to lay a quick demo and can't be bothered to download an app outside the factory installed Voice Memo app? Seems pretty silly to care about. Anyone actually looking for multi-track recording is going to be 10000x better served with something like GarageBand, which is also free to all iPhone users, or one of the many other audio recording apps.
But hey, the tech media needs to make all these cl
Re: (Score:2)
Exactly. This feature is just to demo the new hardware in the Pro and every is suddenly acting like everyone in the world wants... no... NEEDS this feature in the voice memo app!
Re: (Score:2)
If I see something that says "Voice memo" I assume that it's just there to take voice memos. In fact, I would expect Dictaphone quality audio and not something that is suitable for music, but that's just me.
Come on now... (Score:2)
You can't give a serious answer to a rage-bait question.
This is Slashdot, where there are exactly two attitudes towards Apple allowed:
Fan-boy enthusiasm
Walled-garden rage
Re: (Score:2)
That's true. Sorry, forgot the rules.
It's so obviou$ I'm surpri$ed you had to a$k! (Score:3)
Apple discovered that people spend too much of their time multitrack recording. It's becoming so epidemic and gravely serious that people are letting their family and personal relationships and even their employment and physical health and grooming fall by the wayside because they are so addicted to multitrack recording during every waking hour. So Apple, being the socially responsible company it is, only made it available on their most expensive phone so people will not fall into the trap of multitrack recording addiction, and serious, professional musicians always pay big bucks for their gear. So kudos to Apple for recognizing this widespread problem and taking a solid moral stand to combat it. The world thanks Apple for taking the inevitable blows from an angry public, and standing up for what's right. - - So why else did you think Apple was doing thi$? :-]
There is an actual reason if anyone cares (Score:3)
This is yet another consequence of vertically integrated markets. Apple makes the hardware, the operating system, and the most popular applications. How does Apple finance improvements to those applications? By selling new hardware. They won't do that if they allow the software to run on old hardware.
We all complain about OS vendors putting ads into their operating systems, muscling out 3rd-party vendors, or crippling the OS on older hardware. But we consumers created this problem by demanding that the OS and software be essentially free with years of free updates, then refusing to pay for software updates, while also refusing to use F/OSS alternatives. So we boxed ourselves into having a market where the only one who can make money is the hardware vendor. We are moving to a world where the only commercial software in existence is either tied to a piece of hardware, or tied to a web site that sells your data to advertisers.
This is similar to how Camera vendors release the identical camera under different names with different capabilities soft-locked behind the firmware.
It would be interesting to see what would happen if Apple offered a $10 upgrade to add support for multitrack voice memos. Would people pay?
If every phone could do that... (Score:3)
Why doesn't every Android phone have that feature? Or at least one?
It is called "artificial scarcity". (Score:2)
Obviously, the other models could do it too. But apple wants to give you the illusion that the IPhone 16 pro is worth more. So it puts artificial limitations into the others.
When most old hardware is good enough. (Score:2)
You have to market software features to sell the new hardware.
They want us all in the cloud anyway, some company should just make a good economical thin client phone that just does basic voice calls with a very good screen to stream your OS image running on the cloud. It would have great battery life and you can pay for the new cloud features instead of new hardware that goes to the dump every other year.
I don't see the problem here (Score:2)
It's an AI gimmick for a voice recording app that removes the backing track it just played back over the speaker from your voice. It's a demo and maybe even only works on the new processor that way. We all know it could be done on older hardware. In fact, it can be done with different software. That's not the point, though. This is not anything anybody needs. It's not like you'll get a studio-quality recording from this. And if just want to record an idea, it doesn't matter if your voice is isolated or not.
apple is paying walling that feature! (Score:2)
apple is paying walling that feature!
Re: apple is paying walling that feature! (Score:3)
The term is "planned obsolescence".
Re: (Score:2)
Wasn't there a car recently...that charged a monthly fee just for heated seats?
I mean, the hardware is obviously there....like with the iPhone...