Monthly Archives: October 2020

News: iPhones won’t come with headphones or power adapters in the box from now on

• October 13, 2020
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That drawer full of bad headphones and extra power adapters for your phone won’t get any more cluttered if you decide to pick up a new iPhone 12. Apple will no longer include those items in the box, part of a redoubled effort to reduce its environmental footprint. In a segment of its iPhone-centric event

That drawer full of bad headphones and extra power adapters for your phone won’t get any more cluttered if you decide to pick up a new iPhone 12. Apple will no longer include those items in the box, part of a redoubled effort to reduce its environmental footprint.

In a segment of its iPhone-centric event today, Apple’s Lisa Jackson explained that the company is hoping to have “net zero climate impact” globally by 2030, meaning everything from manufacturing and assembly to packaging and device recycling will be carbon neutral. Achieving that means relying more on solar power and efficient operations, of course, but also reducing waste.

To that end the company will no longer include the familiar white headphones that have come in the box since the early days of the iPhone, nor the standard outlet adapter for the power cable.

“Customers already have over 700 million Lightning headphones, and many customers have moved to a wireless experience,” said Jackson. “There are also over 2 billion Apple power adapter out in the world, and that’s not counting the billions of third party adapters.”

Thankfully there will be a power cable in the box: a standard USB-C to Lightning cable that you can plug into your old wall adapter or a laptop.

The result is not just fewer things in the box, but a smaller actual box, letting the company fit more of them into a pallet. That may sound like a bit of a stretch for effect — “really, you’re saving the world by making the box smaller?” — but at the scales Apple operates at, fitting half again as many devices into a shipment means saving thousands of trips. It’s the equivalent, Apple notes, of taking some 450,000 cars off the road per year.

Apple didn’t mention its part in creating an endless yearly cycle of questionably necessary replacements of perfectly good devices, or in making millions of accessories obsolete with choices like removing the headphone jack, but that’s to be expected. They may be part of the problem there, but so is every other major consumer electronics manufacturer, and at least Apple is trying to balance things out a bit.

News: Beats announces $50 Bluetooth earbuds

• October 13, 2020
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Apple clearly has plenty to announce during today’s big iPhone event. That means, as usual, its Beats line didn’t really get any love. The company is much more content to focus on its own audio offerings, instead. But the Apple-owned brand had some news to share today, as well. In contrast to Apple’s offerings, the

Apple clearly has plenty to announce during today’s big iPhone event. That means, as usual, its Beats line didn’t really get any love. The company is much more content to focus on its own audio offerings, instead. But the Apple-owned brand had some news to share today, as well.

In contrast to Apple’s offerings, the new Beats are pretty firmly focused on price. At $50, the Beats Flex are about a third the launch price of their predecessors, the similarly named BeatsX. It makes sense, certainly; as pricing has come down pretty significantly on wireless earbuds in the last few years, Beats is trying to carve out space well below $100.

The headphones feature a similar yoke form factor, dangling around the wearer’s neck when not in use. A magnetic mechanism pauses the music when the buds snap together — a different approach than the ambient sensors more expensive models use to pause playback when the wearer removes a bud from their ear.

Audio has been improved courtesy of a new acoustic driver and a microphone that’s been improved from the BeatsX. The battery, too, gets a major upgrade. It’s now rated at a healthy 12 hours — meaning you’ll get through a day without needing a charging case. Good news, since there’s no charging case here, to speak of. There’s quick charging, as well, courtesy of the USB-C port. You should get about an hour and a half of playback with 10 minutes of charging.

The headphones are up for pre-order today and come in four colors.

News: Should you replace your developer portal with a hybrid integration platform?

• October 13, 2020
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The growing use of hybrid integration systems is drastically reducing adoption complications, improving user experiences and minimizing technical complexity — while increasing security.

The concept of a developer portal is to provide the necessary technical information to configure and manage the communication between an API and both internal and external systems. Originally, it was not thought of as a business-generating tool for companies that adopt them. Rather, it was an interface between APIs, SDKs and other digital tools and their administrators.

However, over time, many developer portal elements have caused friction for partners and resulted in higher costs for the company providing the data through APIs.

An alternative option to replace a developer portal is a Hybrid Integration Platform (HIP), a simple system connection solution that has the potential to generate more business through pairing ecosystems directly, efficiently and at a lower cost.

Fixing potential developer portal problems

The leading cause of friction within a developer portal is the amount of time it takes to create and support it. Quite often, an integration is delayed because the company providing the API is stuck waiting for support from the people they are working with.

To fulfill the demand for consumers in different stages of maturity, companies providing APIs later realized they needed to provide more data, new business cases and different mappings and transformations.

Once the portal and APIs adapt to the system, three key factors are necessary to provide a good user experience in the developer portal:

1. Complete and easy-to-use documentation.
2. Actionable and effective solution options.
3. Quick response time.

Frequently, isolated and disconnected business challenges complicate developer portal implementations. To avoid such challenges, you should address these questions before the implementation process takes place:

1. How can you ensure the business will benefit from the connection with partners, suppliers and customers?
2. Is it possible to become more efficient, have lower integration costs and improve implementation and adoption times for technological solutions?
3. How is innovation unlocked when previously unavailable data and services are made internally available?

When approaching a systems integration, it’s essential to develop a solution that considers business results first, before simplifying or removing any technical issues. Fixing predicted issues before they become problems only wastes time and takes the focus off the goal of making your business more efficient and profitable. Yet, many times we see the opposite happen — businesses tend to spend too much time fixing problems before they even occur.

News: Apple launches new ecosystem of accessories and wireless chargers with MagSafe

• October 13, 2020
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Apple just announced the iPhone 12, and it features some new capabilities hidden in the rear of the phone. Thanks to alignment magnets, you can snap accessories to the back of your phone. And the company is releasing new accessories that work with this magnetic back, including new cases, a wireless charger and a card

Apple just announced the iPhone 12, and it features some new capabilities hidden in the rear of the phone. Thanks to alignment magnets, you can snap accessories to the back of your phone. And the company is releasing new accessories that work with this magnetic back, including new cases, a wireless charger and a card holder.

There are many layers tucked in the back of the device, such as a magnetometer, a copper-graphite shield, two shields, multiple layers of magnets, an NFC antenna and more.

But the company isn’t just adding magnets for the sake of adding magnets. It opens up a whole new ecosystem of accessories, including Apple-branded accessories.

Apple is introducing two wireless chargers. This is the second time the company is announcing a wireless charger. But Apple had some production issues with its previous attempt, the AirPower charger.

The new MagSafe charger is a simple wireless charger that magnetically attaches to your phone. The MagSafe dual charger supports both your iPhone and Apple Watch at the same time. It folds up when you travel.

Image Credits: Apple

The new iPhone 12 cases will snap on the back of your device. Apple will release silicone, clear and leather cases using MagSafe. They don’t need to wrap around the screen as they’re magnetically attached.

You can add a case and use wireless charging or any other MagSafe accessory, such as the Apple-branded cardholder that lets you put cards on the back of your device without buying a separate case.

Third-party accessory manufacturers are already working on MagSafe accessories. Belkin will releaase a car mount and a multi-charger dock soon.

Image Credits: Apple

News: Apple’s new ‘Intercom’ feature will let you shout across your Apple devices

• October 13, 2020
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Apple today introduced a new feature designed for use with its HomePod speakers, including its just-introduced HomePod Mini: Intercom. Similar to Alexa’s “announce” feature, Intercom will allow HomePod owners to leverage their smart speakers — and other Apple devices — to communicate with all family members at once. The feature will make the most sense

Apple today introduced a new feature designed for use with its HomePod speakers, including its just-introduced HomePod Mini: Intercom. Similar to Alexa’s “announce” feature, Intercom will allow HomePod owners to leverage their smart speakers — and other Apple devices — to communicate with all family members at once.

The feature will make the most sense for households that have already bought into the Apple ecosystem, as you’ll be able to use Intercom across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac and even AirPods and CarPlay.

For example, as Apple demoed today, a parent could announce that it was time to go via an Apple device downstairs, and reach family throughout the home, who could then respond using the Apple device nearest them.

To use Intercom, users would say “Hey Siri, tell everyone…” followed by the message they want to send. Message receivers could then answer by saying “Hey Siri, reply…” with their response.

Technically speaking, you aren’t “shouting” across all your devices. Apple says Intercom messages will play on HomePod speakers in the home and on users’ AirPods, while notifications will appear on personal devices instead.

Apple’s ability to leverage its entire ecosystem to make a feature like Intercom more useful could prove to be a competitive advantage in the smart speaker space versus market leaders Amazon and Google — rivals that already offer Intercom-like features on their smart speakers and displays.

The $99 price point for the new HomePod Mini will make it more accessible to a wider audience. Consumers may also be swayed to buy from Apple because of its support for privacy when it comes to how it handles voice recordings.

News: Apple’s iPhone 12 starts at $799, sporting 5G and a magnetic adapter

• October 13, 2020
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It took a bit longer than usual (thank COVID-19 for some insurmountable manufacturing delays), but the iPhone 12 is here. And as expected, it comes bearing 5G. The latest version of Apple’s smartphone also arrives in a variety of different sizes, as the company continues to adjust to changing consumer purchasing patterns around mobile devices.

It took a bit longer than usual (thank COVID-19 for some insurmountable manufacturing delays), but the iPhone 12 is here. And as expected, it comes bearing 5G. The latest version of Apple’s smartphone also arrives in a variety of different sizes, as the company continues to adjust to changing consumer purchasing patterns around mobile devices.

The inclusion of next-gen wireless is, of course, the flagship feature here. Apple is far from the first company to offer 5G on a handset, but given a bit of a bottleneck in adoption given the extremely odd year we’ve been experiencing. According to recent numbers from Canalys, only 13% of handsets shipping in the first half of the year were 5G capable. That means there’s a long way to go, and Apple finally adopting the tech will certainly move the needle.

CEO Tim Cook kicked off the announcement by inviting Verizon (TC’s parent co.) on stage to sell the carrier’s UWB take on the tech and announce that it’s gone “nationwide.” 5G will be available on all of the new models announced today. The specifics of the 5G will vary based on location — here in the States, for example, mmwave will also be available.

As expected, the line gets a full redesign, borrowing cues from the iPad Pro, including a flat edge more in line with older devices than the newer curved models. The device is also 11% thinner and lighter than its predecessor. The redesign also makes it possible for the company to pack more antennas into the edge of the device.

There’s a Corning glass display. Apple says it worked directly with with the Gorilla Glass maker to develop ceramic shield, which it states is around six-times more reliable in drop tests. The smartphone sports an OLED display (which appears to be consistent across the new devices, as well), with double the number of pixels as the iPhone 11.

The handset sports the already-announced A14 bionic chip. Apple’s silicon sports six-cores on its CPU and four on its GPU. The latter will go a ways toward extending its position in mobile gaming. The company used that opportunity to announce that it will be bringing Riot Games’ League of Legends: Wild Rift to the handset. As anticipated, the base model 12 sports a dual-camera rear — with 12-megapixel wide and ultra-wide lenses. Night Mode has been improved across the devices and added to the front camera.

News: Apple reveals the $99 HomePod Mini

• October 13, 2020
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Today, during its iPhone hardware event, Apple unveiled the $99 HomePod Mini. The HomePod Mini is clearly a reach for a broader swath of new users. The original HomePod managed to impress audiophiles but its high price served as a high barrier of entry to new users looking for a new smart speaker. Complicating that

Today, during its iPhone hardware event, Apple unveiled the $99 HomePod Mini.

The HomePod Mini is clearly a reach for a broader swath of new users. The original HomePod managed to impress audiophiles but its high price served as a high barrier of entry to new users looking for a new smart speaker. Complicating that “smart speaker” designation is the face that Siri was and is several years behind the intelligence of both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, leaving the speaker as a more compromised choice for users who might have been hoping to embrace the fully smart home ecosystem.

The new device starts shipping the week of November 16. The device comes in white and space grey colors.

The HomePod Mini ditches the trashcan Mac Pro design of its bigger relative and is much more spherical in shape, still covered in a mesh fabric. It boasts the same onboard screen that allows users to summon Siri and adjust volume, while giving the device a more interesting visual look than smart devices from other companies. Also differentiating the device is Apple’s S5 chip which the company says helps the HomePod Mini bring users its “computational audio.”

Like with the original HomePod, users can arrange a stereo pair of two of the HomePod Minis and will also be able to utilize multiple HomePod devices in a home to operate a new “Intercom” experience.

Image Credits: Apple

News: DroneDeploy teams with Boston Dynamics to deliver inside-outside view of job site

• October 13, 2020
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DroneDeploy, a cloud software company that uses drone footage to help industries like agriculture, oil and gas and construction get a birds-eye view of a site to build a 3D picture, announced a new initiative today that combines drone photos with cameras on the ground or even ground robots from a company like Boston Dynamics

DroneDeploy, a cloud software company that uses drone footage to help industries like agriculture, oil and gas and construction get a birds-eye view of a site to build a 3D picture, announced a new initiative today that combines drone photos with cameras on the ground or even ground robots from a company like Boston Dynamics for what it is calling a 360 Walkthrough.

Up until today’s announcement, DroneDeploy could use drone footage from any drone to get a picture of what a site looked like outside, uploading those photos and stitching them together into a 3D model that is accurate within an inch, according to DroneDeploy CEO Mike Winn.

Winn says that while there is great value in getting this type of view of the outside of a job site, customers were hungry for a total picture that included inside and out, and the platform which is simply processing photos transmitted from drones could be adapted fairly easily to accommodate photos coming from cameras on other devices.

“Our customers are also looking to get data from the interiors, and they’re looking for one digital twin, one digital reconstruction of their entire site to understand what’s going on to share across their company with the safety team and with executives that this is the status of the job site today,” Winn explained.

He adds that this is even more important during COVID when access to job sites has been limited, making it even more important to understand the state of the site on a regular basis.

“They want fewer people on those job sites, only the essential workers doing the work. So for anyone who needs information about the site, if they can get that information from a desktop or the 3D model or a kind of street view of the job site, it can really help in this COVID environment, but it also makes it much more efficient,” Winn said.

He said that while companies could combine this capability with fixed cameras on the inside of a site, they don’t give the kind of coverage a ground robot could, and the Boston Dynamics robot is capable of moving around a rough job site with debris scattered around.

Image Credits: DroneDeploy

While Winn sees the use of the Boston Dynamics robot as more of an end goal, he says that more likely for the immediate future, you will have a human walking through the job site with a camera to capture the footage to complete the inside-outside picture for the DroneDeploy software.

“All customers already want to adopt robots to collect this data, and you can imagine a Boston Dynamics robot [doing this], but that’s the end state of course. Today we’re supporting the human walk-through as well, a person with a 360 camera walking through the job site, probably doing it once a week to documents the status of the job sites,” he said.

DroneDeploy launched in 2013 and has raised over $100 million, according to Winn. He reports his company has over 5000 customers with drone flight time increasing by 2.5x YoY this year as more companies adopt drones as a way to cope with COVID.

News: Spendesk raises another $18 million for its corporate card and expense service

• October 13, 2020
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French startup Spendesk has added $18 million to its Series B round. The company already raised $38.4 million as part of its Series B last year, which means that it raised $56.4 million as part of this round. Eight Roads Ventures is investing in today’s extension round. Spendesk, as the name suggests, focuses on all

French startup Spendesk has added $18 million to its Series B round. The company already raised $38.4 million as part of its Series B last year, which means that it raised $56.4 million as part of this round. Eight Roads Ventures is investing in today’s extension round.

Spendesk, as the name suggests, focuses on all things related to spend management. The company issues virtual and physical cards for employees, lets you set up an approval workflow and manages expense reimbursements. It can also centralize all your invoices and receipts on the platform.

By centralizing everything on the same platform, it lets you control your spending in real time and save time on accounting tasks. Reconciliation is easier if you combine transactions and receipts on Spendesk. Clients can also export data to Xero, Datev, Netsuite or Sage.

Image Credits: Spendesk

For big expenses, you can send a request to your manager. If they approve your request, you receive a single-use virtual card for that expense.

Similarly, if your company gives you a physical debit card, you get a pre-defined budget. Your manager can top up your card for big expenses, block ATM withdrawals, block weekend transactions and more. Employees can check their payments from the mobile app, see their card balance and add receipts.

Spendesk is a software-as-a-service product with a monthly subscription fee. While transactions have probably slowed down due to the economic crisis, the company says that its subscription revenue has doubled year-over-year. In just a year, the company grew from 100 to 200 people.

It remains focused on small and medium companies across Europe. There are 40,000 people using Spendesk through their companies. Clients include Algolia, Curve, Doctolib, Raisin and Wefox. The company has hired Joseph Smith as Chief Revenue Officer, pictured left above with the company’s CEO Rodolphe Ardant (pictured right).

Image Credits: Spendesk

News: Edge computing startup Edgify secures $6.5M Seed from Octopus, Mangrove and semiconductor

• October 13, 2020
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Edgify, which builds AI for edge computing, has secured a $6.5m seed funding round backed by Octopus Ventures, Mangrove Capital Partners and an unnamed semiconductor giant. The name was not released but TechCrunch understands it nay be Intel Corp. or Qualcomm Inc. Edgify’s technology allows ‘edge devices’ (devices at the edge of the internet) to interpret

Edgify, which builds AI for edge computing, has secured a $6.5m seed funding round backed by Octopus Ventures, Mangrove Capital Partners and an unnamed semiconductor giant. The name was not released but TechCrunch understands it nay be Intel Corp. or Qualcomm Inc.

Edgify’s technology allows ‘edge devices’ (devices at the edge of the internet) to interpret vast amounts of data, train an AI model locally, and then share that learning across its network of similar devices. This then trains all the other devices in anything from computer vision, NLP, voice recognition, or any other form of AI. 

The technology can be applied to anything from MRI machines, connected cars, checkout lanes, mobile devices and anything that has a CPU, GPU or NPU. Edgify’s technology is already being used in supermarkets, for instance.

Ofri Ben-Porat, CEO and co-founder of Edgify, commented in a statement: “Edgify allows companies, from any industry, to train complete deep learning and machine learning models, directly on their own edge devices. This mitigates the need for any data transfer to the Cloud and also grants them close to perfect accuracy every time, and without the need to retrain centrally.” 

Mangrove partner Hans-Jürgen Schmitz who will join Edgify’s Board comments: “We expect a surge in AI adoption across multiple industries with significant long-term potential for Edgify in medical and manufacturing, just to name a few.” 

Simon King, Partner and Deep Tech Investor at Octopus Ventures added: “As the interconnected world we live in produces more and more data, AI at the edge is becoming increasingly important to process large volumes of information.”

So-called ‘edge computing’ is seen as being one of the forefronts of deeptech right now.