John Voorhees for MacStories (line breaks added for emphasis):
The sources above are the component parts of what Detail calls Scenes, which can use one or more sources to create a single-view Scene or a Combo Scene that comes in five different layouts.
That allows you to mix and match camera sources with screen-sharing sources and even other scenes into one composite video.
The result is a flexible system that can be easily adapted for video interviews, tutorials and help documentation, video conferencing apps like Zoom, and more.
Moreover, you can set up multiple scenes in advance and switch among them using keyboard shortcuts or Apple’s Shortcuts app.
I’ve had my eye on Detail for Mac for some time, and their latest Detail Duo for iPhone/iPad is intriguing too. Over on Mastodon, John and I had this back-and-forth about the update:
I’ve been meaning to use this, looks pretty solid. I tend to record live or fully produced, haven’t found the right project to take advantage of this mix though.
John:
FWIW, it works with OBS and other streaming solutions, plus you can export to FCP XML for further production work
Iiinteresting. I do appreciate Ecamm’s controls though, that’s why I’ve ultimately stuck with it – that plus the Interview mode for guests.
Will definitely have to try that though, if I can make the most of all of them like why not
View the full piece on MacStories and check out Detail.
Ivan Mehta writing for TechCrunch:
Productivity-enhancing app Portal has launched a Mac app. The company helps users regain focus and become more productive with immersive backgrounds and natural sounds.[…] Portal for Mac has more than 80 environments to choose from, which include high-quality looping videos captured by the company’s own team.
Further on:
Users can control the sound and motion or change the background through the menu bar icon too. Given that Portal is a native Mac app, it integrates with Siri Shortcuts as well.
I’m a huge fan of apps like Endel for its generative audio soundscapes – Portal looks like an interesting visual version of the same concept.
Apple uses a default naming scheme for all kinds of image files, including screenshots, on the iPhone. But for many of us, this isn't ideal.
Thankfully, there's a trick to get around this and use custom file names for your screenshots on the iPhone. It involves setting up a shortcut in the Shortcuts app.
David Pierce for The Verge (line breaks added for emphasis):
If you squint a little, you can see the larger vision here. Apple imagines an app ecosystem in which data flows freely between devices: you take a picture here, edit it there, share it over there, save it in that place, all with a few drags and drops.
It wants to make apps work between and across your devices.
You should be able to access your apps and the data inside them from just about anywhere on your device.
In Apple’s wildest dreams, apps aren’t each their own universe; they’re like stars in a solar system, each one part of a larger coherent thing.
Siri Shortcuts is a prominent example of how Apple has already deployed some major AI features. This offering works by offering recommendations based on your location, app usage, habits, time of the day, and more. So, for example, iOS has learned about my commuting habits and surfaces the playlist I typically stream when on the go at the relevant time of day.
Similarly, if you have an upcoming flight in your Calendar app, then the trip number and its updates will surface in Spotlight Search. Additionally, Apple Wallet may surface your saved boarding pass when the time comes. That's not to mention that Maps could suggest directions to the correct airport, and Weather may display the forecast of your destination.
Siri Shortcuts can appear in the Notification Center, Spotlight Search, Siri Shortcuts widget, and other locations. After using your device for a while, you will notice the system suggesting all sorts of different actions and useful information based on your usual habits.
Tasks is one of my favorite to-do apps, and it has evolved a lot since I first wrote about it here on 9to5Mac. This week, Tasks was updated to version 3.0, which comes with a new design for the iOS app, a completely rebuilt macOS app, and new features like Tasks Cloud and collaboration
Plus, the goods:
Tasks has everything you expect from a great iOS and macOS app. It supports Dark Mode, drag-and-drop gestures, mouse and trackpad, multiple windows on iPad, and more. The app is even optimized for iPhone models with larger displays, featuring a two-column landscape layout. There’s also support for Siri Shortcuts, widgets, and Time Sensitive Notifications.
Congrats to developer Mustafa Yusuf on the big launch!
Get Tasks on the App Store and read about the update on 9to5Mac.
Darryl Dsouza for MacObserver:
When you enable iPhone Orientation Lock it prevents the device from switching to landscape mode every time you tilt it. However, Orientation Lock does not turn on and off based on the apps you’re using. Moreover, iOS doesn’t even provide an option to set up Orientation Lock separately for individual apps. And, this gets really frustrating because you have to access the Control Center and toggle it on and off depending on the app.
Fortunately, you can set up automation through the Shortcuts app that will automatically toggle on or off Orientation Lock based on the app you’re currently using.
@Esther on Mastodon:
Finally figured out how to play an alarm only through headphones on an #iPhone and NOT through speakers (for example when sleeping on a train and you don’t want to miss your stop but also not annoy others):
Open #iOS #Shortcuts, create an automation with a timer and have it play a music track that’ll wake you up. Turn off “ask before running” and “notify when run”.
Connect your headphones, set a good volume, and have a nap.
(Just don’t forget to disable it or else it’ll go off the next day too)
This is a great idea – to add onto it, you could also use the Alarm automation, set it to an “Existing” alarm, then choose one of your own Alarms and set the Sound to “None.”
That way, you can still snooze, toggle the alarm on/off regularly as needed, and avoid needing to disable the Automation each time – it’ll play Music from your Personal Automation instead of any alarm tone, headphones or not.
Otherwise, you could normally just have picked a Song in the Alarm menu – but this Automation also lets you choose playlists, radio stations, podcasts, or anything else you can think of!
@Timery on Mastodon:
Timery 1.5.3 is available! This update has four new Shortcuts actions and several small improvements & fixes!
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1425368544
What’s new in Shortcuts:
• Start Recent Timer
• Find Recent Timers
• Export Saved Report
• Start Live ActivityWhat else is new:
• Improvements to reordering saved timers
• Easier-to-tap time-adjustment buttons
• More project colors for paid Toggl accounts
• Fix for exporting reports on Mac
• VoiceOver improvementsHere are some more details [...]:
Developer Joe Hribar of Timery has revamped some of the Shortcuts actions for his app to activate the Live Activities feature, which begins a timer in the Dynamic Island if you have an iPhone 14 Pro – neat. 🤓
Check out the thread for more on the update and get Timery on the App Store.
Diego Jimenez on Twitter:
I made a quick Automation to protect my iPhone if someone steals it while unlocked:
If they turn on Airplane Mode (Find My), it asks for a passcode.
If wrong… it automatically locks the phone 🔒, turns ON all connectivity 📡 + Low Power Mode 🔋, and shares its current location📍
This is a clever use of the newest “Lock Screen” action available in iOS 16.5 – it’s a Personal Automation set up for the Airplane Mode trigger.
If your phone is already locked, a thief can’t get in to disable Find My; but, if your phone is grabbed out of your hands after entering your passcode, this shortcut will reverse any attempts to wipe the device, plus fully lock them out while enabling you to continue tracking it.
View the demo video on Twitter and check the ongoing thread for the latest version.