Triforce – a beamformer for Apple Silicon laptops
Read More
0 items
-
$0.00
0
Be the first to know the latest updates
Whoops, you're not connected to Mailchimp. You need to enter a valid Mailchimp API key.
13 Comments
pvg
Github repo https://github.com/chadmed/triforce
boesboes
> Much like with the speakers, Apple are trying way too hard to be fancy here, and implement an adaptive beamformer in userspace to try and isolate the desired signal from background noise.
Might be fancy, but it does make for surpisingly good audio from a laptops.
swyx
ok noob here – what can i use this thing for? a better desktop-only voice app?
is there a reason apple hasn't exposed a higher level api for this given the hardware (mic array) looks like it's already sufficient in macs?
everfrustrated
I can't speak for this implementation, but on MacOS, the beamforming is amazing. When used in a noise office or cafe environment it eliminates background noise to an extent I can always tell if a colleague is using it or their worse headphone mic.
llm_nerd
For the software to perform beamforming it must be provided the discrete microphone inputs, as opposed to being provided some sort of pre-mixed feed. As such, why is Apple "trying way too hard to be fancy here" if you can just use one of those mics? Or is the alternative that they do the "beamforming" in hardware regardless of the OS?
amelius
It would be great if this was implemented in a way that also other manufacturers can easily start building mic arrays such that it would make them immediately useful.
011110111110111
lol
pzo
> the microphone array found in the following Apple Silicon laptops:
> MacBook Pro 13" (M1/M2)
> MacBook Air 13" (M1/M2)
> MacBook Pro 14" (M1 Pro/Max, M2 Pro/Max)
> MacBook Pro 16" (M1 Pro/Max, M2 Pro/Max)
> MacBook Air 15" (M2)
Does it mean M2/M3 don't have similar array of microphones or rather not tested?
I'm even curious if this is only supported on Linux or MacOS as well – not sure if apple provides dedicated microphone stream for each mic?
_zoltan_
I think the title should say "for asahi linux", else it's misleading.
of course Apple has this implemented.
com2kid
Over 20 years ago I had a Toshiba Tablet PC convertible that had a beam forming array of microphones and it came with software that let you point where you wanted to record from.
The use case was for lectures, you could tell the laptop to just record from behind it, pointing the beam in the direction of the professor.
Amazing idea and something I haven't seen since.
raphlinus
Regarding the SIMD optimizations, the authors may want to look into faer. I haven't had a great experience with its underlying library pulp, as I'm trying to things that go beyond its linear algebra roots, but if the goal is primarily to accelerate linear algebra operations, I think it will go well.
I've got a blog post and associated podcast on Rust SIMD in the pipeline, we'll touch on this.
[1]: https://docs.rs/faer/latest/faer/
rob74
Wow, this really puts into perspective how much work has to be put into even the most insignificant details of getting Linux to run on (Apple Silicon) Macs. I say "insignificant" with all due respect because, well, the built-in microphone sees very little use (except if you have forgotten your headset).
Or, to quote the progress report (https://asahilinux.org/2025/03/progress-report-6-14/#is-this…): "This is Apple though. Nothing is ever simple."
Aurornis
> Much like with the speakers, Apple are trying way too hard to be fancy here, and implement an adaptive beamformer in userspace to try and isolate the desired signal from background noise.
That’s a rather unfair characterization. I’ve found the array to work very well in practice. It’s hardly trying to hard.