APRIL 2020 MACWORLD 49ability for Siri to read messages to you as
they arrive. Rather than just providing an
audible alert chime, Siri will lower the
volume of whatever audio is playing and
then read the entire message. The virtual
assistant will even describe emoji sent in
messages, or relate the action from a
tapback in iMessage (“John laughed at
your text”, for example).
This kind of seamless integration could
be a preview of what a pair of augmented
reality glasses from Apple provides. Sure,
such a device could simply barrage you
with notifications like your Apple Watch,
but does anybody really want that?
Instead, it will almost certainly allow you to
choose specifically which apps are
allowed to provide you with information—
and, in truest Apple fashion, it may not
even let that many apps take advantage of
your attention in its earliest versions.
And if you’re wondering how Siri would
work in a visual environment, look no further
than the Siri watchface on the Apple Watch.
Granted, it’s an interface that’s still in need of
improvement, but there’s something to be
said for using machine learning to surface
only the notifications and data that you need
when you need them.
OUTSIDE IN
One of the most interesting features of the
AirPods Pro is its spectrum of isolation
technologies, from noise-canceling mode
to its Transparency feature. Apple’s
certainly not the first company to
implement such capabilities, but by
designing them to be quickly toggled
between, there’s a strong indication that
the company expects these modes to be
used—and switched between—frequently.
The Transparency mode, which
essentially pipes in outside sound from the
AirPods Pro’s mics, provides a way for users
to interact with the world without having to
remove the AirPods. Think of it like an
augmented reality mode, where the noise
canceling feature is more like a virtual reality
that insulates you in a world where your
audio is the more important factor. I found it
handy, for example, when waiting for my
name to be called at the coffee shop.
Could a similar set of features find their
way into whatever heads-up display
hardware Apple might be developing? I
don’t find it hard to imagine an ability to
toggle between an AR mode where you
are getting information about the world
around you and a “transparent” mode
where the glasses focus more on the
world itself. That’ll be particularly important
if you’re ever expected to wear these
devices while doing a task like, say, driving
a car; some sort of Do Not Disturb mode
would seem to be a must-have. Because
in investing in a wearable heads-up
display, Apple will have to walk a very fine
line between “augmented” and “reality.” ■