The Tech Landscape #175 🎶
Apple iPhones, Google search, and Amazon AR: this is issue 175 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.
My former colleague (and awful joke pundit) Gordon Midwood founded Anything.World, a platform for creating endless 3D worlds, in realtime, using your voice if you wish, with AI behaviours applied. It’s just launched in Beta, so if creating limitless 3D worlds sounds like something you’d be interested in, check it out at Anything.World—it’s free for personal use.
This isn’t a sponsored link. It’s a favour.
A fairly quiet newsletter this week, as most companies tend to not announce anything in the week that new iPhones are revealed because they suck up all the journalistic attention.
Top Stories
Apple announced the new iPhone, available in several models: the 12, Mini, Pro, and Pro Max. All are 5G capable, and the two Pro models also come with LIDAR for better photography and AR. It also announced a smaller, cheaper HomePod, the Mini, with a UWB chip which adds awareness of other enabled devices nearby.
theverge.com/2020/10/13/21508028/apple-iphone-12-pro-max-homepod-mini-event-recap-biggest-announcements
Google announced new Search features at its first Search On conference, including more direct links to relevant sections of pages and videos (rather than the whole content), live busyness data for businesses on Maps, finding songs by humming or whistling, finding matching clothing from image search on iOS, and dedicated AR for cars in Google Lens. Machine learning is completely transforming the search experience beyond text queries.
blog.google/products/search/2020-search-on-collection/
Everything Else
XR Amazon launched an app to trigger AR experiences using QR codes printed on its packaging. It seems a bit of a half-hearted launch, with only a single Halloween pumpkin available right now, but potentially a big deal as a new advertising vector.
techcrunch.com/2020/10/12/amazon-launches-an-ar-app-that-works-with-new-qr-codes-on-its-boxes/
XR Snapchat updated Snap Studio, its AR creation tool, with Lenses which can use the new LIDAR camera in the iPhone 12 Pro.
lensstudio.snapchat.com/news/create-lidar-powered-lenses-for-the-new-iphone-12-pro/
Audio Spotify is testing a feature which allows podcast creators to include mix talk and music in their shows. The feature is only available on Spotify, as it uses licensed music.
newsroom.spotify.com/2020-10-14/spotify-launches-new-audio-experience-combining-music-and-talk-content/
Audio Snapchat is adding licensed music, although only a handful of tracks and only on iOS so far. With this and the news from Spotify, and Twitch a couple of weeks ago, there are more opportunities emerging for musicians to earn a few pence.
9to5mac.com/2020/10/15/snapchat-sounds-let-iphone-users-add-song-clips-to-snaps-and-stories/
Games Game engine Unity is moving into publishing, with the Game Growth accelerator program that supplies tools, expertise, and promotion to indie game developer partners, in exchange for 50% of revenue.
blogs.unity3d.com/2020/10/13/introducing-the-game-growth-program/
Messaging Zoom announced an online events marketplace (OnZoom), and apps (Zapps) as it looks to build on its success and create its own platform. It also revealed a new SDK which makes it easier for developers to include Zoom’s tools in its own apps.
blog.zoom.us/zoomtopia-2020-recap-thank-you-all-for-an-epic-virtual-event/
Messaging Google Chat will become free for all users next year (it’s currently for Google Workspace subscribers) as it proceeds on the long, slow path of phasing out Hangouts.
blog.google/products/workspace/latest-google-hangouts-and-upgrade-google-chat/
Smart Home Google announced a new Nest Thermostat, notable mainly because it has the Soli chip built in for detecting movement in the house which, combined with phone location, can turn your heating down when you’re out of the home.
blog.google/products/google-nest/new-nest-thermostat-energy-savings/
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