elproducto #43 👉 a weekly round-up of Tech and Product goodness
iPhone X review, Youtube TV App, Facebook Q3 results, Amazon AR shopping, 1st users, Shazam for fonts, Pitching ideas, The science behind viral Apps & more.
Welcome to a new week full of fresh ideas and innovation at elproducto!
đź“° Seen on the news
Nilay Patel provides an early review of iPhone X for The Verge; notes relatively large side bezels, but an excellent OLED display; says the notch is intrusive, especially in landscape mode; apps that have been updated provide inconsistent solutions to the notch; apps that haven’t been updated still show large black borders; camera performance is comparable to iPhone 8; Face ID performance is mixed.
Apple rolls out iOS 11.1; includes new emoji and reintroduces 3D Touch App Switcher; also fixes several bugs including the KRACK vulnerability
Apple releases watchOS 4.1; adds LTE streaming for Apple Music and the new Radio app; provides full access to iCloud Music Library over Wi-Fi or LTE; users were previously limited to syncing certain playlists over Wi-Fi; also adds GymKit support for sharing data with smart exercise equipment.
Apple rolls out SiriKit for HomePod, letting developers create third-party interactions; the voice functions are limited to messaging, lists, and notes, all of which must be processed via an iPhone or iPad within range of the speaker; HomePod is set to launch in December.
YouTube TV launches an app for smart TVs and set-top boxes; currently rolling out to Android TV; in the coming weeks, it will roll out to Xbox One, Apple TV, and Roku, and to TVs from Samsung, Sony, and LG; features tabs for Library (saved shows and channels), Home (a personalized feed), and Live (all active channels).
Google launches Hangouts Meet: a $2k video conferencing hardware kit that includes a touchscreen controller, a speaker/mic unit, a 4K sensor camera, and an ASUS Chromebox; features G Suite integrations, such as the ability to record meetings to Drive (Enterprise customers only); supports meetings with up to 50 participants.
Google launches Fast Pair, a simplified Bluetooth pairing; fetches the device’s name, product image, and any companion app; supports devices running Android 6.0 Marshmallow and above; currently works with select headsets including Google Pixel Buds and Libratone’s Q Adapt On-Ear.
Android 8.1 is set to add the ability to send and receive text messages via a Chromebook; known as SMS Connect, the feature is included in the developer preview but is not yet active
A security vulnerability in Google’s internal bug reporting system enabled a researcher to access information about un-patched critical security issues in multiple Google products; Alex Birsan spoofed a Google corporate email address to access the Issue Tracker; he had the ability to read bug reports and to sign up for issue update notifications.
Facebook Q3 beats: $10.3B revenue, up 47 % YoY ($9.8B expected); 2.07B monthly active users, up from 2.01 YoY; the company says investments in security will impact future profitability. Facebook says approximately 10% of its 2.07B accounts are duplicates; the firm also estimates 2-3% of all accounts are fake, equal to as many as 60M users.
Amazon updates its main app with AR features, enabling customers to visualize products in their homes before purchase; AR view supports thousands of products, including furniture, stereo speakers, and kitchen items; users can rotate models and move them around.
Amazon launches Retro Zone, a portal for throwback consoles, gaming apps, toys, apparel, books about vintage video games, etc.
Amazon reduces seller fees for non-perishable grocery items from 15% to 8%; Amazon emailed third-party sellers, telling them the lower rate would be in place until Oct 14 2018.
The basic model of the e-reader Kindle will soon support Audible audiobooks; users will need Bluetooth-enabled speakers or headphones to use the feature.
Audiobook app Audible launches feature to jump to “the good part”. The app let now users jump through plot parts outlined by editors.
Saudi Arabia becomes the first country in the world to grant citizenship to a robot; the robot, Sophia, addressed the Future Investment Initiative, telling journalists of its intention to help humans live better lives using AI.
Square announces Register: a $1k point-of-sale device manufactured by Square; does not require an iPad, like the Square Stand does; features two displays: one for the merchant, one for the customer; supports tap-to-pay; Square takes 2.5 percent and $0.10 from each transaction.
Online Christmas sales to surpass $100B for the first time this year; more than half of retail site visits will come from mobile devices; 32% of shoppers will install a new retail app for holiday shopping; 64% already have at least one retail app installed.
Bitcoin reaches a record valuation of more than $7.1k; the cryptocurrency is up about 600% from the beginning of 2017.
India-based ride-hailing firm Ola adds free Wi-Fi to its fleet of 120k auto-rickshaws; the company launched the program as a pilot test two weeks ago, but now plans to roll the service out to all of its rickshaws.
Elon Musk posts an image of The Boring Company’s first underground tunnel in Los Angeles; Musk says the test tunnel is currently 500 feet, but will eventually reach two miles.
đź“š Good reads
The science behind viral Apps and how to build one. Extensive article exploring the virality and habit formation concepts presented on books like Hooked and The Power of Habit. Great intro on the topic if you haven’t read the books. Great refresher otherwise.
How Radical Honesty helped shaping Netflix culture. 70% of employees in a wide range of sectors “admit to remaining silent about issues that might compromise performance.” Check why that’s not an issue at Netflix.
The one week Product Management Challenge. John Cutler proposes a series of weekly actions for PMs to be on top of their game. Would you have time to do them all?
Pitching a product idea. Facebook’s Product Design VP Julie Zhuo, argues we should focus on the “Why” and make it “Ours” rather than “yours”.
🚀 Resources
First users. Find out how successful startups got their 1st users. Including: Spotify, Instagram, Airbnb, Uber, Medium, Paypal, CodeAcademy, Tinder and many more.
MyFonts. Pretty much a Shazam for fonts. Powered by deep learning, this App lets you scan and identify fonts.
Tetra (iOS) lets users automatically take notes while on a call; users tap to tag important moments, which are then noted using speech recognition; includes the ability to search and share highlights.
🎯Quote of the week
“Many innovations fail because consumers irrationally overvalue the old while companies irrationally overvalue the new.” ― Nir Eyal, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products
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elproducto is a curated selection of Tech&Product happenings within the last few days from a curious and frequently skeptical Product Manager’s perspective.
