Insider Lite | TalkingPointz - Webcams Be Gone

The end of the webcam business.

I still remember my first webcam. It was a ball-shaped Logitech camera. I don’t recall if it was serial or USB, but I do recall it being really crappy.

Webcams have come a long way since then. I was a big fan of the Logi Brio a few years ago, my first 4K webcam. I’ve been generally frustrated with what passes as acceptable quality when it comes to cams on PCs, laptops, phones, and tablets. The camera on my current Windows laptop is about the same quality as the one that came with Windows 98.

The pandemic elevated the importance of webcams (finally). So much that the standalone webcam may actually disappear. More devices are getting cameras, and more cameras are getting good – or acceptable.

Almost everything from Apple now has a minimum of a 12 MP webcam The new Apple Studio Display combines a high resolution 27" monitor, a 12 MP webcam, and high end spatial audio components in a single form factor. Dell and Samsung have new similar products, and I expect more.

[MP as in MegaPixel which means .. something. Good look comparing camera specs. There’s more specs than resolutions. Field of View (FOV), aperture, and image sensor all affect the quality. I’ll just say “HD” to generally refer to the above average, not-cheap or free cams.]

Or, go with meeting appliances like the Webex Desk Pro from Cisco. It works without a PC and offers comparable specs to the Apple Studio. The Desk Pro is also a 27" display, has a 4k webcam, and spatial audio that connects to a PC with a single USB C cable. Both the Apple and the Cisco have AI-assisted camera framing and background substitution. The Cisco also has (really good) built-in noise filtering and supports Apple Play.

There’s other appliances at every price point including the DTEN Pro for Zoom, the Neat Frame for Zoom or Windows. and the Meta Portals. Still looking? Consider the iPhone as a webcam for your Mac? Can’t wait to see what HP does with the Poly P21.

I don’t have anything against the standalone webcam, but they really shouldn’t exist. A decent camera should be built into whatever you are using. Smartphones accelerated cam R&D, and they have gotten pretty impressive - and cheap.

I think it’s safe to say, you have purchased more standalone webcams than you will.

RCS Is Here: I love writing about RCS — it’s the new standard that’s always a year away. Even worse, I always believe it. I’ve only really been excited about RCS for a few years now, so I am not as sour as those that have followed it for the past 15. RCS is the next gen of SMS, and it’s desperately needed. SMS is so limited that most of us prefer to use proprietary islands from Apple or Facebook in order to get things like typing indicators. 

A few years ago, Google decided to step into the fray and sort things out. It was not altruistic as Android needs something better than SMS to compete with iMessage. Whatever the motivation, it was clear the carriers will never resolve RCS on their own. Google offered an implementation specification, the willingness to host services, and a free client for Android phones. 

Google announced at its IO event this month that RCS now has 500M global MAU. That’s a bigger number than expected, but it may not be big enough for Apple to acknowledge. Apple confirmed last year that it does see iMessage on iOS as a competitive advantage.

Google also announced E2EE support is coming to RCS group chats (encryption for 1:1 was added in 2020). The lack of encryption is an area critics use against RCS. Of course, encryption is one of the traits that’s also used against Apple and WhatsApp #GoFigure. The group encryption feature will launch in open beta later this year.

Does your UCaaS provider support RCS?

[I was texting someone in Europe the normal way on my Android phone, and I noticed an indicator stating they were typing. I think that means it was an RCS conversation. A bit anticlimactic - no trumpets?]

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I just published a research note called UCaaS Mobility 3.0. It was inspired by three EC22 keynotes features a native dialer mobile option. The more i dug, the more I realized how significant this shift will be - to put it simply: UC Mobility 3.0 changes everything, but just for UCaaS and mobility users, channels, and providers. This note is restricted to cool, savvy, and smart paid subscribers to TalkingPointz - an exclusive club that is accepting new members.