I, like millions of others, listened with interest to the Apple WWDC 25 keynote. It was exciting to see the new features in macOS Tahoe. However, I was also struck by three things:
Nothing Available Yet
WWDC is not targeted at users, but at developers. Apple’s core goal, each year, is to encourage developers to create software that takes advantage of all the new tools Apple is announcing.
Yes, Apple wants users to upgrade, but the reason we will upgrade is that the software we depend on will have features that we’ve never had access to before.
WWDC is the ultimate forward-looking sales event. Nothing announced today is available… yet.
Apple has always had a fraught relationship with developers, starting from the day the Macintosh was first launched. Apple needs developers just as much as the developers need Apple. And, as in many families, that close dependency causes friction. But, that’s a discussion for another time.
“Video” was never mentioned
My focus is on video. To show how far out of the spotlight video has fallen, the word “video” was never mentioned. In the past, computer performance was measured and demoed using video. But, with the release of M-series Apple silicon, any current Apple system is fast enough to edit any form of video up to 8K. Video is still important, in fact, it is critical to everyday life, but it no longer requires state-of-the-art tech. That’s a big change from the past.
Still smarting from all the abuse hurled in their direction after delays in some Apple Intelligence tools, Apple didn’t announce anything that won’t be shipping in the fall. This is a good thing. Delays happen, I’m not worried about the delays with some of these features. But, I’m glad Apple is taking a more conservation approach to product announcements.
(In meetings after the keynote, Apple stressed that what they demoed last year was actual software, but it wasn’t reliable to ship. I believe them. We’ve all had to estimate how long an edit will take only to discover that key footage that the client thought they shot didn’t exist. So much for estimates.)
I’m also impressed with the AI tools Apple is announcing. Apple does not seem to be chasing the ephemeral rainbow of generative AI, which, current research shows, spends most of its time hallucinating while burning cash. I have no use for any tool that I can’t trust.
I want to be enabled, not replaced.
Nothing for us to do right now
But, more importantly, none of these features are currently debugged or shipping. Betas are exactly that – software with bugs. For anyone depending upon their gear to get real work done, betas should be avoided. There’s enough stress in meeting a deadline. Dealing with buggy software won’t help.
Play with, explore and test beta software? Sure – on systems that you don’t depend upon. Use beta software for real projects with real deadlines? No. Life is too short to take on that level of stress.
Recently, one of the rumor sites spelled it out clearly: by definition, all betas are buggy. Some bugs can totally corrupt a system. That is why software is tested – to find and remove as many bugs as possible.
It’s fun to think about what the future holds. I’m looking forward to playing with many of these new features. But, I’m not installing any of the betas. In fact, I won’t upgrade my main system even when the software is released – I’ll wait until a .1 version is available.
Editing is hard enough. Dealing with bugs at the same time makes it impossible. It’s OK to wait. No one will ever pay you to edit with beta software. They will pay you to get their project looking good and finished on time.
Just my thoughts.
2,000 Video Training Titles
Edit smarter with Larry Jordan. Available in our store.
Access over 2,000 on-demand video editing courses. Become a member of our Video Training Library today!
Subscribe to Larry's FREE weekly newsletter and
save 10%
on your first purchase.
4 Responses to Apple WWDC – Good News, But Not Ready for Prime Time
Thanks Larry. These are undoubtedly interesting times for software developers, especially with the growing influence of artificial intelligence on Apple’s strategic direction.
Another major concern for us creative folks is how all of this will impact multi-media development in the years ahead—on both the software and hardware fronts. I’m increasingly worried about Apple’s competitiveness in this space. The pace of innovation in software automation and high-performance computing is accelerating so rapidly that it feels like us creative professionals are being left to unravel it all in real-time. As an independent artist who wants to focus on writing, production, and editing, I now find myself reading more about AGI, large language models, IP theft, and cybersecurity than I’d like. I’d much rather be composing music or storyboarding using technology, instead of constantly trying to keep up with the shifting landscape.
“We know the past but cannot control it. We control the future but cannot know it.” Claude Shannon
While “video” may not have been mentioned, there was a demonstration of recording high quality video calls in iPad OS 26 via Local Capture. From what I can tell, as long as all participants are using an iPad with OS 26 and compatible software (FaceTime, Zoom, etc.) both the audio and video are recorded locally and then uploaded. I’m guessing to your iCloud account. Then you can download the files and then edit them in your editor of choice.
This is a potential replacement for me for using Skype and Call Recorder (neither are viable anymore). Right now I’d have to use a service like Riverside to get the same level of control over audio and video for editing. The difference vs. Skype/Call Recorder is that Riverside also records locally. But it’s OS agnostic. You BYOCamera/Mic with them.
I’m hoping that with a lot of features spanning across all of the OS 26s that the Local Capture feature will extend to the iPhone and Mac. But we’ll have to wait to see what it does exactly I guess. I have yet to see anyone test this feature.
Mark:
Thanks for this post. I used Riverside on a recent interview, solely to take advantage of the local record feature. It is tricky to export just the source files – they really want you to use it as an editor. But the quality was good.
Based on your description, it seems the only real limitation to local capture is that both sides need to use iPads. I look forward to learning more about how this new technology works.
Larry
“…generative AI, which, current research shows, spends most of its time hallucinating while burning cash. I have no use for any tool that I can’t trust.”
Preach, Larry, preach!!!