App developer Jeremy Provost has discovered that Apple has granted Zoom access to the iPad Camera API. With the exception of Apple’s FaceTime app, this is the only meeting app the camera can use when multitasking in iPad Split View.
With this feature, which is only available in the Zoom app, it provides, among other things, an app feature that allows the user to access Twitter, the Notes app, etc. with the Split View feature.
As the university president explains in his book Enter the blog When he first discovered that Zoom could use the Split View feature, he began searching the process for other developers who could do the same.
”We asked Zoom, and to our surprise, they gave us the answer, revealing a seemingly special process that is only available to those Apple deem worthy of.”
In order to access some APIs, Apple must grant a “permission,” which is a right or privilege that grants certain executable functions. Apple explains:
For example, the application requires a file
HomeKit Entitlement– along with the user’s explicit consent – to access the user’s home automation network. The app stores its permissions as key-value pairs found in the executable file’s binary code signature.”
For example, while Apple provides general and practical documentation on how to request access to permissions, Provost has determined that there is no general process for requesting this specific API.
As we learnedIt is called com.apple.developer.avfoundation.multitasking-camera-access. Unfortunately, unlike CarPlay, there is no general procedure for claiming this feature. In fact, its existence has not been publicly documented by Apple. At Google, you only participate in the Zoom Developer forum.
While it is not known why Apple has only made this special feature available for the Zoom app – the company claims it treats every developer equally – the App Store VP on Thursday saw an Epic beta. The emails revealed exclusive API access to Hulu and other developers::
”An email shows that there was an internal question why Hulu was able to switch between App Store and Hulu billing. As it turns out, Hulu is part of a “whitelisted developer group” with access to an API to cancel / redeem the subscription. The company initially granted Hulu access to this API to support changes to the upgrade and downgrade plan before it was originally integrated into the App Store.”
On the other hand, at the Spring Loaded event in April, Apple announced a feature called Center Stage, which is available exclusively from M1 iPad ProIt will allow all video conferencing applications to take advantage of it if the developers choose to do so.
With Center Stage, the ultra-wide front camera can follow a user in a conference and place them in the middle of the frame. If you use the iPad in landscape orientation, you probably don’t look good in front of the camera.
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