What is augmented reality?
And how is it different from Virtual Reality?
Is TikTok still “a big thing”?
What is next with AI?
The digital world is full of questions. And it’s full of news. We bring you the 5 most important.
Apple’s Vision Pro has arrived, BeReal is making a possible comeback in marketing discussions – and then of course there is news about the constantly developing artificial intelligence.
Put on your reading glasses and make yourself comfortable – it’s time for the second Xtracts of the year, your digital news overview. Enjoy.
1. Welcome to Apple Vision Pro
We could have chosen to wait to write about this until the next issue of Xtracts. But by then, there’s probably twice as many things to say about Apple’s new tech, so let’s just talk about it now.
At the beginning of the month, after waiting patiently, we were able to say hi to the Apple Vision Pro: an Augmented Reality headset that fuses a digital overlay with the real world. If you remember Google Glass, the concept is not completely foreign. The pair of goggles gives you a digital overlay over what you can normally see with your own eyes, which you can control with your hands, eyes and voice. Apple calls it their first “Spatial Operating System”.
With Apple Vision Pro, you will be able to watch movies, listen to music, browse the Internet, check messages and much more – all presented as a digital world around you. Without you having to take your eyes off the real thing.
We could write endlessly about the headset. About how it has a function that makes your eyes visible to others when you talk to them, or how the battery only lasts 2 hours per charge. But we’ll wait just a little longer.
Source: Apple
2. The marketing potential on BeReal may be real
Long time no see. About 1.5 years ago, BeReal was the main topic of conversation: what it was, what it could do – and what it meant for digital marketing. The answer to the latter question quickly turned out to be “hard to say”, so the discussion about the new SoMe platform died just as quietly. Now we bring it back to life.
BeReal recently announced the addition of two new feeds: RealPeople, where you can follow famous people and see their daily BeReal posts; and RealBrands, which allows brands to promote themselves directly on the app. It is the latter that we are most interested in. The platform, which previously had an exclusive focus on people and authentic snapshots, now opens the door to companies – and it could turn out to be exciting for you.
What BeReal marketing could specifically look like, we will have to wait a bit to see. But if you want to be one step ahead and are ready to experiment, then you can benefit from keeping an eye out already now.
Source: Marketing Dive
3. 30-minute videos on TikTok?
First it was 15 seconds. Then 60. Suddenly, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and finally 10-minute videos became a part of the platform which is otherwise know to be home to short-format content. And soon you will be able to enjoy content with the same lenght as a shortfilm – or your favorite episode of Friends.
TikTok is currently testing the option of uploading videos of up to 30 minutes. And it can easily become relevant to you because of the supposed-to-soon-be-added possibility of advertising in the videos themselves. It’s already an option on the Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin, where 30-minute videos have been an option for a while. Therefore, there is good reason to expect that the same will apply to the rest of the world.
For TikTok, it is, among other things, about transforming the platform into more than just a supplement to e.g. YouTube’s longer videos. Time will tell how TikTok’s users will adapt to the significantly increased video length.
Source: Social Media Today
4. Google Chrome ready with AI tools
At one point last year, Bing rose significantly in popularity due to the new AI tools – while Chrome users had to look on enviously. But in 2024 it is finally Google’s turn to tap in.
In Chrome’s latest version, M121, Google has experimented with AI features to personalize and streamline the browsing experience. Among these functions you will find the Smart Tab Management; a tool that sorts tabs into logically divided groups – and gives the groups appropriate names for easy navigation. The update also includes the ability for AI-generated themes based on user input.
At the moment you can only get the update in the US (not exactly a surprise). But don’t worry – it usually doesn’t take long for Google to roll out their latest features to the rest of the world.
Source: Search Engine Journal
5. OpenAI in collaboration to increase safety for young people
Artificial intelligence’s triumphant march through the present is starting discussions. Often, it is two specific discussions that are particularly prominent: the possibilities of AI – and the security of AI. As the former develops, one can easily become more and more uncertain about the latter. OpenAI is (again) working to accomodate those uncertainties.
In collaboration with Common Sense Media, OpenAI will develop AI guidelines and educational material about AI for parents, educators and young people. In addition, they will also work on family-friendly versions of ChatGPT, based on Common Sense Media’s guidelines and rating parameters. All in all, it will all contribute to young users and their families being able to utilize AI in a safe and sustainable way.
Since September, Common Sense has been working on a framework to examine and support the safe, transparent and ethical use of artificial intelligence. With some of the biggest AI programs in the toolbox, it’s a big and important step for both today’s and future use of AI.
Source: TechCrunch