New ONSCREEN Features: Pinch-to-Zoom and Auto-Landscape Mode

With the latest release (2.3) of the ONSCREEN Mobile App, we introduced two new features that we think will make using ONSCREEN even better:

1. Pinch-to-Zoom Video
2. Auto-Landscape Mode

Let's find out what each feature does!

Pinch-to-Zoom in a Video Call

You just called up mom, but she's sitting further back in the room, and looking quite small on your mobile screen.  Well, the new Pinch-to-Zoom feature will let you enlarge the picture of mom, the same way you would do it on a photo on your phone: just pinch to zoom in on the area and enlarge that section.  You will now see mom up to 2X larger than before.  You can also pan around the picture using your fingers, and you can also squeeze the image to zoom back out.  This is a simple enhancement that we think will make your video calls much more enjoyable.

Auto-Landscape Mode when calling to Spark

Most of us smartphone users are used to making FaceTime or Google Duo calls where we talk to each other while holding the phone upright, in what's called "Portrait Mode."  However, all TVs are sideways, in what's called "Landscape Mode."  This creates a less than ideal use of space when having a video call with a mobile phone that's in Portrait Mode to a TV that's in Landscape Mode.  Why?

Take a look at this image:

Notice how much black space there is.  This is because we're trying to fit a Landscape image within a Portrait canvas.  There is no better way to display this image without distorting it by stretching or zooming in and cutting off the sides.  However, this leaves a lot of empty space on the canvas, since the two images are not properly oriented with each other.

Now take a look at this image:

Everything fits perfectly, and everyone experiences the best use of space on their device.  On the TV, your image takes up the entire picture, just like it does on the phone.  This way, there are no black areas in the canvas, because both devices are sending Landscape oriented images.

We made this Landscape mode automatic now whenever a mobile users calls a Spark user, ensuring the best experience for both parties.

We hope you enjoy these innovations, and we would love to hear your feedback and any other suggestions you might have for how to improve our product.