We could see two more Apple mixed-reality headsets soon
Despite insistent rumours that the world will finally get to see Apple’s first mixed-reality headset sometime this year, further rumours have sprung up claiming that Apple is already working on two new headsets. That’s according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who says that Apple’s goal is to cover all bases with a premium and budget offering by 2025.
From where Apple’s standing, a cheaper headset makes a lot of sense. If the rumours are true, Apple’s first foray into virtual and augmented reality will be an expensive one. As in $3,000 (R55,000) sort of expensive. That’ll significantly limit Apple’s reach, meaning a cheaper model was always on the cards.
Not much else is known about the upcoming devices, other than the ‘budget’ option possibly eyeing a price point of around $1,500 – a price that’s more attainable. Whether the devices will release in 2025 remains to be seen. Apple is still dilly-dallying about the release of its first headset, with Kuo stating that the chance of a September release alongside the iPhone 15 “is rising.”
Source: MacRumors
YouTube Music Podcasts
Spotify may finally have some real competition in the form of YouTube Music, with the streamer announcing plans to bring podcasts to the platform “in the near future.” That’s according to YouTube’s head of podcasts, Kai Chuk, who told Ariel Shapiro the company’s plans at the Hot Pod Summit event last week.
“If someone wants to watch a podcast, we have a solution,” Chuk said. “If someone wants to listen to a podcast only, we should have a great experience for that as well.”
YouTube currently has no plans to start locking down exclusive podcast deals with creators they way Spotify does. Its focus is on creators first and on building better tools than the competition. “We’re just focused on the YouTube users and ecosystem and bringing podcasts into that fold.”
Don’t fret about background listening – YouTube Music will offer up free podcast listening to those that don’t have Premium – with the ability to lock your phone while a podcast is playing. With a couple of ads spread throughout, of course.
YouTube failed to mention when we could expect to see podcasts appearing on the platform, only stating that they’d be coming “in the near future.” We can only assume that YouTube will stick to that promise in a bid to catch up to Spotify’s 250 million users.
Source: The Verge
Nokia has a new logo, because reasons
Nokia wants to grow and grow big. And it can’t do that without first changing its brand identity (and logo) — the first time the company has done so in nearly 60 years. Forget the iconic blue you’ve become so accustomed to. We’re in 2023 now. Minimalism is in.
Nokia wants the world to stop thinking of it as only a smartphone company. “There was the association to smartphones and nowadays we are a business technology company,” said CEO Pekka Lundmark in an interview with Reuters.
The rebranding of the Nokia logo is the first phase in the CEO’s long-standing plan to get business up at the Finnish company. Step 1: Reset. Step 2: Accelerate. Step 3: Scale. And with the unveiling of a new logo, Nokia can finally enter phase two of its plan.
“We had very good 21% growth last year in enterprise, which is currently about 8% of our sales, (or) 2 billion euros ($2.11 billion) roughly,” Lundmark said. “We want to take that to double digits as quickly as possible.”
The company still has plans to continue its service provider business, though that’ll take a backseat to its new plan of selling gear to businesses. It’ll also begin focusing more on factory automation and data centres, a market that Microsoft and Amazon currently run in a duopoly.
“The signal is very clear. We only want to be in businesses where we can see global leadership,” Lundmark said.
Source: Reuters
Mortal Kombat 12 is announced (sorta)
The twelfth in the Mortal Kombat series is ‘officially’ on the way. We say ‘officially’ because technically… it isn’t. Warner Bros. Discovery has yet to actually announce the next title in the series. But it’s coming. We can promise you that much.
The story is an odd one. During a recent earnings call involving Warner Bros. Discovery, CEO David Zaslav mentioned that the “highly anticipated Mortal Kombat 12” is currently in the works with a 2023 release on the horizon. He went on to say that Warner Bros. Discovery has some “ambitious launch projections” for the game.
Obviously, Mortal Kombat 12 wasn’t highly anticipated before the earnings call took place. We are now, though. Perhaps that was Zaslav’s plan all along?
At the time of writing, there isn’t much news about the game since it doesn’t officially exist yet. We expect that to change soon, with the team behind the game probably planning a reveal as we speak. There are still tons of questions that need answering, such as the release date, roster and which consoles the game will be coming to once it does eventually release. If Warner Bros. Discovery likes money (and it does), it’s likely that a release on all current and last-gen consoles is on the way.
Source: Digital Trends