To listen to the broadcast with your Alexa device, enable the skill here: https://www.amazon.com/Witlingo-Future-Ear-Radio/dp/B07PL9X5WK/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=future+ear+radio&qid=1552337687&s=digital-skills&sr=1-1-catcorr
and then say, “Alexa, launch Future Ear Radio.”
“We can all start to look up again.”
There has been some really great discussion on Twitter since the release of AirPods 2.0 on Wednesday, and I think this thread here by Brian Norgard probably sums up best what’s culminating on both the hearables and the voice technology front.
I’m going to go tweet by tweet here:
1. “We can all start to look up again.” This notion of looking up again is something that I’ve thought a lot about since starting FuturEar. I actually mentioned this exact concept on the This Week in Voice podcast episode I did with Bradley Metrock and Sarah Storm back in February of 2018 (around the 11:15 minute mark).
This is one of reasons why I’m so excited about moving toward a Voice UI. I don’t feel as if smartphones are anywhere near going away, nor do I want to get rid of my smartphone, but I would like to certainly use it less often. So much of what I use it for is for a task-specific “job.” Ordering an Uber, sending a Venmo payment, pulling up my boarding pass, booking a hotel room, and every other job that I rely on my smartphone for. Slowly moving those tasks to my smart assistants and away from my phone, equates to less time on my phone. It means more time with my head up in the air not staring a little block of glass.
2 & 3. This is really awesome to see how very respected tech journalists, like Ben Bajarin, are now thinking about voice as a UI and the comparisons he’s drawing to previous operating systems. In a hearables-laden and mic-filled world, we need a UI that is conducive to ear-worn computers and ambient computers, the same way we needed a UI that was conducive to pocket-sized computers (mobile) or desktop computers that could connect to the internet (HTML).
I love the fact that Brian Roemmele is continuing to be proven miles ahead of everyone with his thinking about the voice space. I mean, of course he is, the guy wrote a massive manifesto about the term he coined, Voice First, back in the 70’s. For those who have met Brian, seen him speak, or work in some capacity around the voice tech industry, we all already know Brian is at the forefront of where this technology is headed. It’s great to see Brian being recognized for his foresight, as it’s common knowledge for those who have been following him for a period of time.
4. While Apple is in a perfect position to play a very significant role in this new computing era, it still remains to be seen that they’re actually going to seize it. As I wrote about in Wednesday’s update, Apple has made a number of moves recently under John Giannandrea that seem to signal a new focus on Siri, but the jury is still out whether voice is a top priority under Tim Cook’s Apple (Tim Apple).
-Thanks for Reading-
Dave
