The Tech Landscape #160 ☎️
This is issue 160 of The Tech Landscape, a weekly collection of news about consumer digital technology. Stories are selected by me, Peter Gasston, with a little insight and opinion where appropriate.
Between 1966 and 1991 the UK’s Post Office ran a service called Dial-A-Disc where you could call the number 160 to hear chart hits. In its peak year, 1981, it received 200 million calls.
As it’s the halfway point of the year I was going to write a short intro about some of the tech/cultural trends I’ve noticed so far this year, but I went out for a really long (20km) hike today and I’m just too tired, so I’ll do it next week.
XR
Google updated its AR search results to include dinosaurs, in partnership with the Jurassic World movie and game.
blog.google/products/search/travel-back-time-ar-dinosaurs-search/
Niantic announced two new XR experiences: a new game based on the popular boardgame, Settlers of Catan; and a partnership with experiential theatre company, Punchdrunk.
nianticlabs.com/en/blog/new-real-world-adventures/
Verizon Media, owner of a network of sites including TechCrunch and Yahoo, announced a new suite of tools for creating XR ads and branded experiences.
forbes.com/sites/jessedamiani/2020/06/30/verizon-media-immersive-launches-to-foster-next-gen-5g-ar-and-vr-advertising-ecosystem/
AR prototyping app Torch is closing down. Quite a useful app but dwarfed by the very similar Adobe Aero and without a clear path to revenue.
torch.app/blog/torch-service-announcement
Samsung removed its XR app, which collated 360° videos, from app stores. It’s the latest company to lose interest in VR.
protocol.com/samsung-hulu-giving-up-360-degree-video
Entertainment
Amazon announced Watch Party for Prime Video, which lets up to 100 people watch video together (as long as they all have a Prime account) while chatting. Social watching/listening is one of the tech trends that I should have written about this week.
theverge.com/2020/6/29/21307519/amazon-watch-party-prime-video-virtual-parties-streaming-netflix-disney-hbo-scener-twitch
Facebook is closing down Lasso, its TikTok competitor. With the introduction of Reels in Instagram, leveraging its existing social graph, building a new community with a standalone app no longer makes sense.
techcrunch.com/2020/07/01/lasso-facebook-tiktok-shut-down/
Stat of the Week
Twitch saw an almost two-thirds increase in hours watched on the platform over the previous quarter, hitting 5bn hours viewed in the past three months.
techcrunch.com/2020/07/01/twitch-breaks-records-again-in-q2-topping-5b-total-hours-watched/
Wearables
Google’s Wear OS may have one more (last?) shot at success as Qualcomm announced a new smart watch chip with significant improvements to speed, power, and battery. You have to feel a bit sorry for Wear OS; it’s at the mercy of Qualcomm to make chips, whereas Apple uses its own so Watch is much more capable.
theverge.com/2020/6/30/21307368/qualcomm-snapdragon-4100-google-wear-os-smartwatch-wearables-faster-battery-life
Google has acquired smart glasses maker, North. The next version of North’s Focals glasses has been cancelled, so looks like Google has other plans for the team.
blog.google/products/hardware/focus-helpful-devices-google-acquires-north/
Everything Else
Google is adding free retail listings to its Search page, replacing the current sponsored links. This follows April’s move to do the same on the Shopping tab, and is a result of Google trying to regain ground on Amazon for product searches and advertising.
blog.google/products/shopping/bringing-free-retail-listings-google-search/
The government of India has banned 59 apps from Chinese companies, including TikTok and WeChat. This follows the two countries’ border dispute which saw fighting recently.
indiatoday.in/india/story/centre-announces-ban-chinese-apps-privacy-issues-1695265-2020-06-29
The UK Competition Authority released its report into anti-competitive practices by Facebook and Google, with recommendations including forcing Google to hand over search data to its competitors, and for Facebook to increase compatibility with its.
gov.uk/cma-cases/online-platforms-and-digital-advertising-market-study#final-report
WhatsApp gained a few small features including animated stickers and QR codes for easier contact sharing.
about.fb.com/news/2020/07/animated-stickers-qr-codes-more/