Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Before there was no such thing as "ecology" in Android devices, Apple's "Hand off" was the envy of all Android manufacturers. Through the closeness of the system, Apple allows all devices to be connected to the Internet and Bluetooth through iCloud, such as call synchronization, camera continuation, shared clipboard, and so on.

It is precisely because of these small and immeasurably small features that enable Apple to achieve the effect of 1: 1 > 2 between multiple devices.

Image source: Apple official website is the same, because of Apple's excellent multi-device ecology, iPad, Mac and so on have more room to play, so that the sales of these devices have always been in the forefront of the industry. IPad, in particular, really made Android manufacturers jealous for a while.

That didn't change until Huawei launched multi-screen collaboration.

Rather than Apple isolating each device, Android is more about merging devices together, such as opening the phone's mirror interface on PC, where computers can synchronize content and share files. For example, the audio and picture flow between the mobile phone and the Pad, the network, the mutual synchronization of call notification, and so on. It is Android that has chosen such a path, and sales of Android tablets, PC of mobile phone brands, and so on are also on the rise.

Image source: in addition to these basics, Huawei HarmonyOS has also introduced unique functions such as "application flow". In general, it turns every device into a screen, and the app can operate on any screen, which is what Huawei says: where the attention is, the service is there.

In addition, Microsoft has also made Internet applications: Phone Link is built into Windows 11, where users can view and use applications installed on their phones directly in Windows 11, and store App in their computers in the form of PC software.

Image source: this is where Microsoft started, and the collaborative ecology of Android surpassed Apple, and it is much stronger in terms of convenience and functionality. Although Apple has also introduced functions such as sharing keyboard and mouse between Mac and iPad, document relay and so on, it is still a drop in the bucket compared to the interworking function of Android.

So a new question arises. What exactly does Apple think when the whole world is talking about "synergy"?

Image source: some time ago, Apple updated the Public version of its new macOS system, which is what we call a public beta. The Public version of some details is more stable than the Beta version. So, I also updated all my Apple devices to the Public version.

In macOS Sonoma (the name of macOS's new system), I also saw some of Apple's views on collaboration.

One minor feature in macOS Sonoma is widgets. In macOS Sonoma, we can place widgets that can only be found in the secondary menu in the upper right corner directly on the desktop.

Image source: game ByArsT We right-click on the desktop-edit the widget, by dragging and clicking the plus sign, you can place the widget on the desktop.

Image source: game ByArsT in this interface, we can choose to place clocks, dates, weather, and even photo widgets to enrich desktop content, and desktop files will also avoid widgets.

Of course, all this, in my opinion, is superficial, and the real focus is reflected in the details.

Note that when we connect iPhone and Mac to the same network, the widget menu will change differently, that is, widgets on the phone will also appear in Mac.

Image source: game ByArsT in the widget menu, the upper right corner will identify which device the widget comes from. If there are applications such as photo albums such as Mac and iPhone, you will be prompted to select it in the upper right corner. However, it is still in the stage of public trial, the list of applications on the left still has a certain Bug, and some application icons cannot be displayed.

On the right, you will be prompted from the iPhone image source: play ByArsT.

At the same time, it also provides a source of options: play ByArsT in this option, we can put some of the widgets of the mobile phone App on the desktop, for example, rookie widgets can see the current delivery situation, App such as Flying Pig can see the next itinerary, drinking water metering components can see the amount of drinking water today, and so on.

Picture source: game ByArsT is worth mentioning that these App can not be opened in the computer, when we click, it will prompt us to open the phone to operate. However, widgets that can interact (click), such as reminders, work properly.

Mac cannot open mobile phone software image source: play ByArsT

But you can click on the interactive image source: game ByArsT in the widget data synchronization delay, after the actual test, the performance is general, the middle needs a certain data transmission time, occasionally can not be synchronized for a long time. However, as it is still a beta version, the specific performance should be based on the official version.

Synchronization speed performance can also be source: play ByArsT as a music widget, the performance is relatively poor, after switching songs for a long time did not synchronize to the Mac, after a long time to complete synchronization. Therefore, it can be seen that the widget is not suitable for real-time content, only for the display of important information.

However, there is a bit of confusion is that I set up a page turning clock widget, even if my phone is disconnected from the computer, the widget time is normal. From this incident, it can also be seen that Apple's widget collaboration is not a simple screen flow, but with the flow of data to the computer, some components can also be used offline.

Photo Source: from my personal point of view, Playplay ByArsT is of great significance, which means that Apple displays some of the phone's functions, such as information display, notes, to-do notices, and so on, on Mac, which in another way improves the synergy between the two.

This also reflects the different "synergy" ideas between Apple and Android.

Image source: Apple's official website, whether from the previous document relay, software interworking, to clipboard synchronization, record synchronization, and then to today's widget synchronization, the central idea is nothing more than magnifying the capabilities of a product.

This kind of thinking can also be said to "hand over professional matters to professional equipment."

Users can use iOS devices as a starting point and connect to iPad through iCloud, Bluetooth and other ways, so that the two can communicate with each other. Mobile phones can also be used as an auxiliary tool to maximize the collaborative ability of Mac. Personally, the core idea is to transmit only useful content.

Image source: although the multi-device collaboration on Apple's official website Android looks cool and complicated, from the point of view of product design, sending everything to the computer screen is a lazy way, because there is too much useless content, nominally needed for work, but in fact it has little effect on work.

While Apple's approach may seem simple, it actually includes most of the features needed to work together. Perhaps this is the fundamental reason why Apple can retain a large number of users.

This article comes from the official account of Wechat: non-objective Laboratory (ID:zhinan617).

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