Meta’s VR Predicament
With Apple Vision Pro now officially on sale, Meta finds itself in quite the predicament. After initially pooh-poohing Apple’s headset, there are signs of Mark Zuckerberg and company already pivoting to reinvigorate their own headset strategy. Such a change in mindset suggests Meta will be a different kind of competitor than Apple has seen in the past, and yet I don’t have confidence that Meta can compete against what Apple is selling.
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The Rabbit r1 Unveiling
Rabbit has the appearance of being the hardware startup that AI-centric folks have been waiting for. Unlike Humane’s $200 million multi-year tease that culminated in one of the oddest consumer gadget unveilings in recent memory for its Ai Pin, Rabbit unveiled its $199 r1 to little fanfare with a taped keynote posted to X. With its $30 million of funding, Rabbit won’t be able to escape the same fundamental AI hardware issues facing Humane in its attempt to get around Big Tech.
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Tech Questions for 2024
Predictions don’t excite me. They are often lackluster attempts at providing answers to the unknown. To then get the timing behind such predictions correct makes the whole thing a charade with little to no added value. Instead, for the first Inside Orchard essay of 2024, we will embrace the unknown and look at tech questions that are on my mind for 2024.
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Big Tech’s Hardware Paralysis
It’s been a very busy two months for consumer gadget enthusiasts. With Samsung kicking off the fall product cycle earlier than usual in July to Google’s product event in NYC last week, we now have a good view of how tech companies are positioned heading into the holiday season. As the gadget recession rages on while AI mania remains palpable, the way companies are thinking about hardware is splintering, leading to more questions and unknown.
In terms of the underlying themes found with product events (six to be exact – Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Samsung, Apple, and Meta), there is a growing recognition / acceptance that ecosystems will dictate long-term success. Wearables are finally getting the attention they deserve. At the same time, years of Apple ecosystem momentum is front-and-center with most companies. There is no more denying that Apple’s billion-user installed base is a force to be reckoned with. Thoughts of competing with Apple on price are firmly in the rear-view mirror.
Here were more granular takeaways from this year’s fall product event cycle:
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Google Pixel’s Photo Editing Features Point to a Scary Future
Earlier this week, Google held its annual fall event for new products. Along with new hardware, Google unveiled various AI-powered editing features for photos taken on Pixel 8 smartphones. The features make me nervous about where we are headed from the perspective of AI.
Among the announcements, the following three new features stood out to me:
Best Take relies on “an on-device algorithm [that] creates a blended image from a series of photos to get everyone’s best look.” This is another way of saying a fake scene is created by swapping out one’s facial expression for a different (fake) one.
Magic Editor relies on “generative AI to help you bring your photos in line with the essence of the moment you were trying to capture.” This is another way of saying that a new scene is created by moving the subjects around.
Audio Magic Eraser “lets you easily reduce distracting sounds in your video, like howling winds or noisy crowds…[by using] advanced machine learning models to sort sounds into distinct layers so you can control their levels.”
The stated mission behind these features is a big one – redefining memories using generative AI in photography.
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The Spatial Battle for Our Home
Earlier this week, Apple unveiled Vision Pro, it’s first headset. After I spent 30 minutes using the headset at Apple Park, it was clear that the technology powering Vision Pro is going to change the world. Entire industries will implode while new ones will be born. Spatial computing headsets will not be a novelty toy only found in tech circles. Instead, we are going to see the headsets usher in new competitive battles in our homes, offices, and on the road.
Thinking of tech’s progress via battles for our spaces (home, office, car) is appropriate. Doing so reflects how companies are competing for our attention and workflows. Given a finite amount of time each day, there are only so many devices and services that can earn a place in our lives. While some devices may be swapped out over time with new services mixing in with old ones, the battle lines are formed around value propositions and the degree to which problems are addressed.
In the home, we have seen premature tech winners crowned.
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Receive Exclusive Essays. The cornerstone of an Inside Orchard subscription is access to Neil’s weekly essays on the latest developments in the technology industry. Weekly essays are 1,000 words and sent via email on Tuesdays. Essays revolve around the following topics: technology industry analysis, business model analysis, technology’s impact on societal and consumer trends. A sample essay can be viewed here.
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