This Week: Tales From “Far Out” 2022 ????

News in apps delivered weekly on ?? Tuesdays.

???TLDR:

In this week’s What’s Appening, we cover Far Out, Apple’s showcase of its latest hardware, including the new range of iPhone 14s. Apple spared no expense in a slick – yet sometimes cringeworthy – presentation, but did it deliver? You can read our highlights below. Elsewhere, we bring you stories on Snapchat camera features and staff cuts, the end of Facebook Gaming, an AI-generated art prize winner, and more. Our Stat of the Week looks at the first-ever NFT No.1 album – but is all that it seems? And What’s dAppening reports on Ticketmaster’s partnership with Dapper Labs for NFT ticketing.

What's Appening is brought to you by 3Advance, the product development team that eats, sleeps and breathes apps. Forwarding to a friend? Please do???. They can?subscribe here?or y’all can watch our video episodes on?YouTube???.

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???? Apple Unveils Health & Safety Innovations and Some Top Notch UX

Apple’s “Far Out” Event, which showcases all the latest hardware from the company, just wrapped up. While it was mostly the same old tune – faster, better, more efficient – there were some potential game-changers (though notably no shocking reveal of AR/VR hardware). First the less exciting stuff: AirPods Pro got new touch controls and Apple made a big deal out of the enhanced Spatial Audio. With the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus, it was like revealing an iPhone 13, but with better cameras, battery – you know, the usual. Things did pick up with iPhone 14 Pro, which unveiled a potential game changer in terms of UX – the “Dynamic Island”. Along with “high contrast international orange”, the name suggested Apple’s marketers were as busy as their designers. So let’s take a look at the top highlights from #FarOutFromAppleLoop:

• Apple Watch Sensors → Wrist temperature measurements and tracking allow the new Watch Series 8 to automatically track menstrual cycles and alert wearers of expected ovulation times. All new crash detectors can also sense major car accidents and provide automatic emergency notifications in case of such catastrophes.
• Accidents and Emergencies → Like the watches, the latest Pro phones also include car crash detection, and emergency services notification. While on foot, getting lost in the wilderness now has got a little more difficult, thanks to the backtracking navigation feature on the Watch Ultra and Emergency SOS via Satellite on iPhone 14 Pro. Though, come on Apple, this potentially life-saving service is only “free for two years”. Will they just ignore the SOS after that?
• Camera Notch “Dynamic Island” → In what might be the most influential design change in years, Apple has turned a bug into a feature. The much-criticized front “notch” on your iPhone is now coming alive, and used as a fluid, animating more personal notification area. While the name is super cheesy, the “Dynamic Island” is perhaps the most creative and brave design decision Apple has made in a very long time. Is this the start of our computers becoming more organic and personable? We hope so.

??????The Best of the Rest - Other News

• Snapchat’s Keeping It “Real” with Dual Camera: Snapchat is releasing a new dual camera feature at the same time that BeReal is the hottest app on the market. Coincidence? You can get the details here.
• Facebook to Shut Down Gaming App: Facebook’s Gaming app never challenged Twitch and YouTube in the way that Mr Zuckerberg hoped. And now it’s shutting down in October. Read about it here.
• Snap to Cut 20% of Staff: More Snapchat news, but not of the good kind. The company announced massive layoffs, and perhaps a little shortsightedly, it’s also sunsetting its web3 plans. Read about the layoffs here.
• Twitter Edit Button Arrives: The fabled button that divides opinion is coming, but there’s a twist – only paid Twitter Blue subscribers will get access at first. Read all about it here.
• AI-Generated Art Prize Winner: A taste of the future? The winner of an art prize at the Colorado State used artificial intelligence to create the winning entry. Some cried foul play. See for yourself here.
• iPhone at 50% Market Share: More Americans now use Apple than Android devices, with iPhones edging above a 50% market share for the first time. Read about that one here.
• Slack Gets New Automation Features: Workplace communication tools operate in a hugely competitive market, so we are glad that one of our favs, Slack, keeps raising its game. Find out about its new automation features here.

?? Stat of the Week – #1

Highest Chart-Topping Position for an NFT Album

Hmmm. There was something of a milestone in the UK music charts this week. The rock band Muse became the first-ever act to hit number one in the charts with an NFT album. Or did they? While Muse did release “Will of the People” as an NFT, the NFT sales were restricted to 1,000 copies, which only represents a small fraction (1.96%) of the total sales. Still, technically, the band has made history. And the good news is that the album is pretty decent too. #SomethingToMuseOn Read more here.

??? What’s dAppening?

A dApp is a decentralized app. Here’s the latest in web3, NFTs and blockchain apps.

?????Ticketmaster – Flow Is the Chosen Blockchain for Minting Ticket NFTs

Let’s make something clear right out of the bat: We aren’t just there yet for NFTs as tickets. But the news that Ticketmaster is in a pilot program with blockchain Flow is perhaps a glimpse of the future. Right now, the program will issue ticketholders of select events with NFTs that act as digital collectibles, so it’s best to think of them as pieces of memorabilia or a “proof of attendance” record. Ticketmaster has been quietly working on its partnership with Dapper Labs (creators of the Flow blockchain) throughout 2022, issuing commemorative NFTs for events like this year’s Super Bowl. According to Dapper Labs, 5 million NFTs have already been minted in partnership with Ticketmaster. We are intrigued to see where this partnership goes next, with Ticketmaster uniquely placed to build use cases for NFTs that extend to ticketing and beyond. #NonFungibleTickets Read more here.

Meanwhile at 3Advance...

Yes, we’re a day late! Or are we too? Well, it’s Apple Event week and felt we couldn’t send y’all an email until we’d tuned in, laughed at how cringy and over-produced Apple Events have got, and yes, celebrated some of the very cool stuff too. We hope you enjoyed! Now speaking of events, next week, here in the Nation’s Capital, DC Startup Week is ‘appening! With a mixture of online and offline sessions, there’s truly something for every entrepreneur in your life! We’re not presenting this year, but we will be there. Look out for Paul, sporting his shiny new Adventure Fund swag. He’ll be following the Web3 track closely, but most of all looking forward to meeting with DC’s true game changers. Check out his schedule next week if you want to connect.

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