Market trends and business perspectives
The best apps have a user interface (UI) that is unique and yet somehow familiar; intuitive and at the same time, alluring.
From the very moment a user starts the app launcher, through the overall course of using it, they should feel like they get reacquainted with an old friend.
The user understands what to do and how to behave while being excited to discover new depths of functionality. [Read more…] about UI/UX trends for 2021
Burger King recently decided to try something different to promote its classic Whopper. The fast food giant aired a commercial in which a Burger King employee who says he doesn’t have time to talk about all of the ingredients in a Whopper comes up with another way for customers to learn about its ingredients.
The employee leans into the camera and says “OK Google, what is the Whopper burger?” This activated Google’s smart speakers — Google Home, and that’s when people started having fun. The actual ingredient list, as published on Wikipedia, was edited with some items replaced with things like children, toe-nail clippings and rat — among other creative ingredients.
Google wasn’t in on the plan, which led to an interesting chain of events that exposed some of the weaknesses of virtual assistants and home automation. [Read more…] about How Burger King’s OK Google ad exposed flaws in home automation
Exclusive interview with Dennis Mortensen, founder and CEO of intelligent assistants technology developer x.ai
Virtual assistants, or intelligent assistants, are multiplying by the day. Currently there are around a dozen really well-known ones, such as Siri and Cortana, and then there’s several dozen other reasonably well-known ones talking or otherwise communicating their way into the public consciousness.
These intelligent assistants can be placed in at least 10 different categories, such as text and chatbots, personal advisors, and employee assistants.
Of these, perhaps the most commercially profitable is the employee assistants category. And within this segment, the virtual assistance technology that arguably holds most promise is the one produced by x.ai – in part because among its investors is SoftBank, the Japanese communications giant behind Pepper, the cloud-connected humanoid robot which is claimed to be able to discern human emotions and communicate appropriately. [Read more…] about Virtual assistants prepare to take over the world of work
