Mac OS X for phone/voice calls: progress in the decade since Panther

[grahamperrin]

Mac OS X for phone/voice calls (mobile phone, POTS, VoIP): progress in the decade since Panther

A few points on a timeline:

• 2003, October: Apple Announces Mac OS X “Panther”
• 2004, October: BluePhoneElite beta
• 2005: I used both BluePhoneElite 1 and Jon's Phone Tool (JPT)
• 2008: transition from JPT to Leopard-compatible Dialectic
• 2010: end of availability of BluePhoneElite 2
• 2014: limited continuity of calls with OS X Yosemite

– note, transferring a voice call to an iPhone is not a handoff.

Essentially: using a Mac with a phone is not a novelty.

Thoughts

I was surprised to read that OS X Yosemite does not feature transfer of calls from iOS.

I wonder why the years of development, of the two operating systems, have not resulted in better continuity.

Given the history – years of development, with some constraints that are beyond the control of Apple – how do you feel about the limited ability of Yosemite to work with mobile phones?​

– I'll add a poll to this topic.​

A few links and quotes

In Wikipedia:

• mobile phone
• plain old telephone service (POTS)
• Voice over IP

Under Apple's Software Quality Decline:

Initially I looked forward to the iPhone integration, but honestly it hasn't brought me much. I've either turned off or avoided using nearly everything.

Hopefully they are done with this kick and can move on.

To me it's not exactly a decline, it's more a lack of progress.

From elsewhere, in no particular order:

"… it's early in the game. If Continuity catches on, perhaps Apple will make the initial setup a tad more intuitive. As to devising ways to add support for older Macs, I wouldn't bet on it. "​

– Yosemite and Continuity: The Half a Loaf Report | The Tech Night Owl — Cutting-Edge Tech Commentary (2014-10-22)​

"… With Continuity, you will be able to seamlessly shift between Mac OS X and iOS devices …"​

– Complete guide to Apple Continuity - Features - Macworld UK (2014-06-13)​

Um, 'seamless' should include transfer of calls.

"… One of this unique feature is making calls through Mac, using the cellular network …"​

– Handoff & Continuity: Finally phone and computer are talking to each other - The Times of India (2014-06-03)​

iOS7 does not have the code or features to allow Continuity …

Innovation - a completely overused word. This is the meme - everything Samsung et al are doing is innovative; everything Apple does is iterative or incremental. …

… have your Mac make a call using your cell phone …

Is Apple loosing their touch?

As cliche as this sounds, ever since Steve died, I feel like the innovation of both new iPhones and iOS has stopped. …

Losing its touch, no, but then Apple is also dealing with much more competition then it had when Jobs was actively running the company.

I'm liking what's coming out of Apple these days but they definitely need to up their game.

… stuck on the phone …

… Carrier limits on phone minutes per month? Is Apple about to roll out some sort of 'pure' VOIP network so that we can "say more", so that we can somehow ditch cell minutes? Just a thought. …

Wow! Received iPhone Call on my Yosemite desktop …

lol, yeah its pretty cool when you see it first time...especially when you realise that it isn't just a gimmick and that it works brilliantly. …

… Had no idea I could place calls directly from my contacts. …

I routinely used the Mac OS X Address Book, or third party software with that application, to initiate calls … years before Yosemite was previewed.

"… Calls can be initiated from the Contacts application …"​

– http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/10/os-x-10-10/19/#iphone-calls​

… My phone rang before I got to the computer. …

You can't. If you initiate the call with your phone, and then go to your Mac, you can't transfer the call. Would have to call again and answer on Mac.

2015, folks. I'm disappointed that Yosemite can't work with iOS in that way.

Continuity/USB

… I think they should add this functionality if the devices are connected through USB. …

… Macs are evolving to compete in an ever changing industry. … more useful then they ever were. I can use my Mac to make phone calls. …

OS X is not perfect and never was, but I think its moving in the right direction …

I think during Cooks watch we've seen a lot of updates and improvements to Macs that we hadn't seen during Jobs watch (other then the transition form PPC to Intel).

I suspect that in the Steve Jobs era there was better recognition of the differences between Mac hardware and iPhone hardware.

Continuity Calling using USB Headset

… Anyone figured out how to successfully use any USB Headset when calling via Continuity on Mac? …

It would seem like the simplest possible application of Continuity … to stop playing music on my iPhone & have iTunes on my Mac cued up and ready to pick up from the same spot. But no ...

That's a bit of a dropped ball, Apple, IMHO ...

… relatively minor. … hardly first to market …

 

[Nermal]

I voted that Yosemite is "limited", but "buggy" might be a better term. When it lets me answer a call on the computer, then I can hear the other person but they intermittently can't hear me. Sometimes Yosemite will immediately pop up "missed call" while the phone itself is still ringing.

Text messaging seems to work reliably though, and I find it much more convenient than pecking on the on-screen keyboard.

 

[grahamperrin]

Now, I don't know …

I voted that Yosemite is "limited" …

Me too.

Now, whilst I can't change my vote, I don't know how I feel.

Whilst Apple might have "… no problem spending ten figures for the right company that’s the right and that’s in the best interest of Apple in the long-term …", the 'right company' (or an existing solution) might be simply not available to Apple.

Money can't buy everything. So I don't know how I feel. And from a more recent topic:

"… don't expect the feature set of a person-oriented OS to match the feature set of an enterprise-oriented platform. …"​

 

[grahamperrin]

… OS X Yosemite does not feature transfer of calls from iOS. …

Will OS X 10.11 allow transfer of calls from iOS 9?