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iOS 12 wishlist imagines what top requested features might look like [Gallery]

by | Dec 4, 2017 |

While features that were announced for iOS 11 back at WWDC this past June are still rolling out to users, the latest iOS version has been out long enough for users, developers, and designers to put thought into what iOS 12 should bring to the table. Now, an iOS 12 wishlist based on highly requested features shows us what Apple could have in store for the next major iOS update.

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Smart Home Diary: Up-and-running again with an all-new smarthome [Video]

by | Dec 4, 2017 |

It’s hard to believe that I’ve had a comprehensive smart home for less than a year. My first HomeKit purchases were made in January, and the gaps filled in February. Yet the technology had become so much a part of home that it felt really odd (and not a little disconcerting) to be left without it for a couple of weeks.

You always feel a bit like you’re camping for a little while on moving into a new home, when you’re not yet fully unpacked and things aren’t all set up the way you want them. I was surprised just how much of that feeling I got from the lack of home automation.

So it was with some relief that I finally set about rectifying this. Since most of the kit in the old place was included in the sale, we were stating from scratch in our new place …

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Here’s how future iPhones could use camera depth data to create impressive Portrait Mode videos

by | Dec 4, 2017 |

One of the headline features of the dual camera system in recent iPhones is Portrait Mode, an effect that simulates a DSLR-style shallow depth of field by intelligently blurring the background of your photos. Apple took the feature a step further with the iPhone X, adding Portrait Mode selfies and introducing simulated Portrait Lighting.

While these features are currently limited to still photos, future iPhones could someday use the same technology to bring the depth effect to videos, a stunning look currently only possible with high-end video gear or a considerable amount of work in post-production. This feature could be a game changer for videographers, editors, and consumers alike, who have already embraced the iPhone as a serious filmmaking tool. With some effort, the effect is actually possible with today’s iPhones. Here’s how it can be done.

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5 VR Marketing Examples That You’ll Want to Steal for 2018

by | Dec 4, 2017 |

The holidays are coming, and I’m feeling cheerful.

So, I’ll do you a solid: I won’t lecture you on the importance of incorporating virtual reality into your 2018 marketing strategy.

But, in the spirit of giving, I will share the following fun facts:

  • By 2020, the economic impact of virtual and augmented reality is predicted to reach $29.5 billion.
  • By the end of 2017, the combined total of VR software and hardware from Sony, Oculus, HTC, and others is predicted to reach 5.1 million units. That’s over a 75% increase from 2016. 
  • By 2020, the number of VR headsets sold is predicted to reach 82 million — a 1507% increase from 2017 predicted totals.

In other words: Yeah, VR marketing is a thing you need to think about.

And if you’re seeking inspiration, look no further. Here are five of our favorite VR marketing campaigns. 

5 VR Marketing Examples to Inspire Your 2018 Strategy

  1. Key Technology: VERYX Food Sorting
  2. Defy Ventures and Within: Step To The Line
  3. Limbic Life: Project VITALICS
  4. Lowes: Holoroom How To
  5. Boursin: The Sensorium

1. Key Technology: VERYX Food Sorting

Key Technology, a manufacturer and designer of food processing systems, created a Virtual Reality demo that would allow attendees of the Pack Expo food packaging trade show to experience a detailed, hands-on look at how the company’s VERYX digital food sorting platform works. It was part of a comprehensive B2B campaign to grow brand awareness among a target audience of food manufacturers, and VR gave participants a highly unique look at what exactly the process looks like inside of the machine.

While this 360° video doesn’t completely replicate the experience, it does indicate the differentiating way brands within such B2B industries as manufacturing can leverage VR to immersively demonstrate their sophisticated technologies and capabilities.

2. Defy Ventures and Within: Step To The Line

When I attended Oculus Connect in October, the most memorable experience for me was, by far, the event’s VR For Good exhibit: a showcase of creative work that used Oculus and VR technology for social- and mission-focused ventures.

One such example of that work was Step To The Line: A short film (that was immersively viewed on a VR headset) documenting the lives of inmates at California maximum-security prisons. It was created by Within, a VR storytelling production company, in partnership with Defy Ventures, an entrepreneurship and development program for men, women, and youth who are currently or were formerly incarcerated.

With this unique watching experience, viewers were able to uniquely see what life is like within the walls of these correctional facilities, from the yard, to the cells, to the conversations that take place there.

3. Limbic Life: Project VITALICS

For far too many people, injuries, age, and disease can diminish mobility and equilibrium to the point where walking ranges from extremely painful to nearly impossible.

That’s why the folks at Limbic Life created the Limbic Chair, in partnership with the VITALICS research being conducted by RehaClinic. Pairing this special chair with a Gear VR headset allows users to more intuitively move their bodies (thanks to the chair’s combined neuroscience-based and ergonomic design) while virtually experiencing day-to-day experiences with a rehabilitative use of their hands and legs.

While the research is still underway and no definitive conclusions have been drawn, I had the opportunity to use the chair at the 2017 Samsung Developer Conference and speak with the chair’s creator, Dr. Patrik Künzler.

“Patients enjoy being in the chair and the freedom of movement it allows. They enjoy VR a lot, especially the flying games,” he told Samsung Business Insights. And not only can the VR technology help them physically heal, but it also contributes to emotional rehabilitation.

“When they get up from the chair,” Künzler said, “they’re in a good mood and feel happy.”

Learn more about the conceptualization behind the Limbic Chair from Künzler’s TEDxZurich talk below.

4. Lowes: Holoroom How To

Anyone who’s gone through the existential angst of being a first-time buyer knows the unfathomable power of paperwork and finances to undermine the fun of designing or decorating a new home.

That is, until you walk into one of 19 Lowes stores that features the Holoroom How To VR experience.

If you’re lucky enough to have any money leftover to pay a professional to renovate your home, well, good for you. But for the rest of us, the next stop is the world of do-it-yourself (DIY) home improvement, which comes with its own hefty dose of stress.

That’s why Lowes decided to step in and help out homeowners — or recreational DIY enthusiasts — with a virtual skills-training clinic that uses HTC Vive headsets that guides participants through a visual, educational experience on the how-to of home improvement.

5. Boursin: The Sensorium

I’ll be honest. I recently pledged to give up dairy — okay, 48 hours ago — and I already miss cheese, a lot. 

You can imagine my glee, then, when I discovered that cheese brand Boursin once created a VR experience to take users on a multi-sensory journey through a refrigerator to shed light on its products’ flavor profiles, food pairings, and recipe ideas.

The goal: to raise awareness among U.K. consumers of Boursin’s distinct taste and product selection.

While the VR installment was part of a live experiential marketing campaign, the rest of us can get a taste — pun intended — of the virtual experience via this YouTube video.

Dialog shares plunge as company warns Apple could build its own power-management chips

by | Dec 4, 2017 |

Chipmaker Dialog Semiconductor has seen its shares drop by as much as 19% after admitting that its contract to supply power management chips to Apple could be at risk. The company is believed to derive the majority of its income from Apple.

This is, of course, not the first time that a company’s shares have dived following fears over loss of Apple business …

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