For last Friday’s update, I published an audio-only update mentioning that I have quite a bit of work travel coming up on the calendar and the introduction of the weekly rundown. So, for the time being, I’m going to use Friday’s as a way to share some of the best stuff I came across for the week. I’ll aggregate it all together onto these posts, so that’s easy for you to bounce around between links to the various content that interests you.
So, without further ado, here’s the weekly rundown for the week of 9/23:
Excited to finally announce this!!! Amazon today introduced a new feature called Show and Tell, which helps blind and low vision customers with an Echo Show smart display identify common pantry goods that can be difficult to distinguish. https://t.co/vQ3dYeqL4a
— KR Liu (@krliu_advocate) September 24, 2019
- Alexa Show & Tell –Echo Show camera can identify items thanks to Alexa’s Show and Tell.
Man goes biking, flips his bike, hits his head, gets knocked out and doesn’t regain consciousness until sometime during the ambulance ride.
Apple Watch detects the fall, autodials 911 with his location and EMS has him picked up and in the hospital in <30 minutes.
Incredible. pic.twitter.com/s2HzGHpjqn
— Yuri Sagalov (@yuris) September 21, 2019
- Apple Watches continue to be attributed to saving lives.
More than half of US smartphone users download 0 new apps per month, which means customer acquisition is tougher than ever. Here are 5 overlooked ways new companies—esp. fintech co’s—can acquire new users. (Hint: It’s not Google ads.): https://t.co/Yh0qebdVAg from @illscience
— a16z (@a16z) September 24, 2019
- 50% of Americans have entirely stopped downloading new apps.
- NPR: Untreated Hearing Loss Linked To Loneliness And Isolation For Seniors — “Now considered as hazardous as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, loneliness vastly raises the risks of depression, dementia and early death.”
Amazon Hardware Event News
Did you know you can tell your Alexa to do this? #AmazonEvent pic.twitter.com/Fi1WLTtDb8
— Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) September 25, 2019
Amazon’s Dave Limp spent first 5 minutes focused on privacy in product launch. New features are coming to offer more control. pic.twitter.com/Xh5E2ZzfIM
— Bret Kinsella (@bretkinsella) September 25, 2019
- The Verge: Privacy takes center stage – “The strongest new protection is a rolling deletion system in Amazon’s privacy hub, which will delete any and all voice recordings older than a certain cutoff — either three months or 18 months. The feature will not be activated automatically, and will still likely be subject to legal limitations. Nonetheless, it’s an important option for privacy conscious consumers, which had not been previously available.
“We’re investing in privacy across the board,” said Limp. “Privacy cannot be an afterthought when it comes to the devices and services we offer our customers. It has to be foundational and built in from the beginning for every piece of hardware, software, and service that we create.”
Amazon Echo Studio the new premium Amazon speaker. They made a HomePod. $199. Sounds very good. pic.twitter.com/wBkoAbhaNI
— Bret Kinsella (@bretkinsella) September 25, 2019
Definitely will challenge HomePod’s positioning. Will be interesting if Apple has a lower priced HomePod coming. If they are serious about home audio they kind of have to. https://t.co/Q8blLPavdr
— Ben Bajarin (@BenBajarin) September 25, 2019
- Engadget: Amazon launches HomePod competitor, Echo Studio, retailing for $100 less than Apple’s premium speaker. — One has to wonder – what exactly is Apple’s product-market fit right now with the HomePod. The two most common arguments in HomePods favor seem to be Apple’s brand of trust/privacy + Apple’s ecosystem.
The Eero acquisition + Alexa is starting to come into focus. This is an unmet need in the market – mesh WiFi controlled through voice is sweet! I want this! https://t.co/8kAIgXjqG1
— Dave Kemp (@Oaktree_Dave) September 25, 2019
- You can now link Alexa with your Eero mesh WiFi network (which was acquired by Amazon earlier this year) and control your wifi via your voice.
Ring doorbells will get Alexa built in to interact with visitors at the door on your behalf, when you’re not home … or, of course, when you’re hiding from the neighbors in the basement. pic.twitter.com/IniXA3vJBG
— GeekWire (@geekwire) September 25, 2019
- Speaking of acquisitions, Alexa is going to be making its way to Ring’s doorbells and security devices. For example, you’ll be able to speak to delivery drivers via Ring through Alexa devices. More evidence of how integral Alexa is to Amazon’s future plans.
- The Wrap: Amazon’s Alexa Will Teach You How to Cook as Part of New Food Network Streaming Service. — One of the most interesting announcements at the event. Will write a full update on this next week.
A takeaway from yesterday’s event: Amazon feels way ahead of Apple and Google in shipping AI hardware. Who knows what’ll stick, but it’s amazing how much progress Amazon has made in a few short years https://t.co/Lsjjt3CSWH
— Mike Murphy (@mcwm) September 26, 2019
- Quartz: Amazon is way ahead of Apple and Google in AI devices. — Good piece on Amazon’s three wearables announced at the event (glasses, ring, ear buds)
Today I wrote + casted about why I am so excited about #EchoBuds.
1. Alexa-on-the-go opens up a whole new world of #VoiceFirst +#hearables possibilities
2. Echo Buds = “straw that breaks Siri’s back?” – will this force Apple’s Siri hand?
3. Peace Dividends of the #VoiceFirst War https://t.co/QmaxdZHFWU— Dave Kemp (@Oaktree_Dave) September 26, 2019
- FuturEar: Three Reasons to be Excited about Amazon’s Echo Buds — my piece on the significance of Echo Buds.
- Voicebot: 16 New Products Amazon Introduced at Todays Launch Event – Earbuds, Glasses, a Ring, and More — great rundown here
That’s all for this week’s rundown. What did I miss? Share on twitter some of your favorite stories that surfaced this week!
-Thanks for Reading-
Dave