canukstorm

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canukstorm
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  • Apple isn't behind on AI, it's looking ahead to the future of smartphones

    avon b7 said:
    I think it's fair to say that Apple is behind in this area. 

    Objectively, this year has been about ChatGPT style usage and Apple hasn't brought anything to market while others have. 

    It is also recruiting for specific roles in AI. So far, most of the talk has been only that, talk. 

    Talking about ML as they made a point of doing, is stating the obvious here. Who isn't using ML? 

    In this case of LLMs on resource strapped devices, again, some manufacturers are already using them. 

    A Pangu LLM underpins Huawei's Celia voice assistant on its latest phones. 

    I believe Xiaomi is also using LLMs on some of its phones too (although I don't know in which areas). 

    The notion of trying to do more with less is an industry constant. Research never stops in that area and in particular routers have been a persistent research target, being ridiculously low on spare memory and CPU power. I remember, many years ago, doing some external work for the Early Bird project and the entire goal was how to do efficient, real time detection of worm signatures on data streams without impacting the performance of the router. 

    Now, AI is key to real-time detection of threats in network traffic and storage (ransomware in the case of storage, which is another resource strapped area). 

    LLMs have to be run according to needs. In some cases there will be zero issues with carrying out tasks in the Cloud or at the Edge. In other cases/scenarios you might want them running more locally. Maybe even in your Earbuds (for voice recognition or Bone Voice ID purposes etc). 

    Or in your TV or even better across multiple devices at the same time. Resource pooling. 

    "Objectively, this year has been about ChatGPT style usage and Apple hasn't brought anything to market while others have. "

    This does not prove that Apple is behind.  Was Apple behind when it introduced the iPod years after other digital music players? or the iPhone? or the iPad? or the Apple Watch.  All this proves is that Apple is not first but being behind implies that other players are better than them in this technology which hasn't been proven yet since we're still in the early stages with respect to AI / ML.
    williamlondondanoxwatto_cobraroundaboutnowForumPostStrangeDaysjony0
  • Apple executive behind Touch ID, display multitouch is retiring

    red oak said:
    Make him an Apple Fellow.  I’m sure they will 
    Great idea.
    chasm
  • What's Apple's Vision Pro killer app?

    Marvin said:
    People are already familiar with the headset experience. It isn’t new. Better hardware and nicer software doesn’t alter the basic experience. It’s still a windowed phenomena, just closer to your eyes,

    But we are talking killer apps. Does the Vision Pro have one? No. It doesn’t. That’s not a cynical view. It’s fact. 

    It’s a nicer headset. Ok. That’s fine. That’s good even. But it’s not the next iPod, iPhone, etc. it’s a better spec’d headset with nicer looking software. 

    The Vision Pro may be the best at what it does. But what it does isn’t anything crazy. 
    People are familiar with VR but not so much with AR/MR. Only the Meta Quest Pro 3, which just launched in October offers a suitably immersive AR/MR experience that people would use it and the visuals are still low quality like watching a TV. Reviewers said that the view with/without the AVP headset looks the same, no distortion/warping/pixels. That gives an immediate familiarity when the headset is put on that you just see the same environment and dial in the digital content.

    It's underselling it to say it's just nicer software. VR headsets have a terrible user experience with pointing at things using a controller with a line coming out of it compared to eye tracking with hand gestures. It's like comparing Minority Report with a powerpoint clicker or Wiimote.





    Being able to dial in a virtual environment that is completely stable is going to feel like being in the Matrix or the Holodeck and it won't be like in VR:



    Mixed reality means the environment can adapt to your space.

    The most popular use cases for the product will evolve. When the iPhone launched its strength was usable mobile internet, maps/GPS, proper messaging, it didn't have many games. Over time, gaming and social media became the most popular use cases.

    When Apple Vision Pro launches, its strength will be what's available like existing apps and the movie library.

    The more accessible that 3D scanning gets with the newer iPhones, the more immersive content can be produced. OnlyFans has around 200 million users. Creators can make 3D avatars of themselves that can exist in your house, they can control it live or they can have it controlled by AI. The following video is rendered:



    This is in VR so the background is blacked out. Apple Vision Pro has accurate enough tracking that a butterfly can land on your hand. Digital humans will be able to sit on the sofa beside you. You can have an AI version of Einstein and talk with an AI that mimics his voice and words.

    I think these are killer features for the device: personal cinema, digital humans, minority report controls for all apps with an infinite display canvas. These features aren't as universally appealing as mobile devices because most people can live without them but they are compelling enough features for people to use the product.
    "I think these are killer features for the device: personal cinema, digital humans, minority report controls for all apps with an infinite display canvas. These features aren't as universally appealing as mobile devices because most people can live without them but they are compelling enough features for people to use the product."

    Sounds boring to me.
    9secondkox2
  • What's Apple's Vision Pro killer app?

    mattinoz said:
    mattinoz said:
    It isn't hard to distil the Vision Pro offer down to two words. 
    "Experience Timeshifted"*

    “The killer apps will be…”capturing experience in a way that "digital window computing" hasn't been able to date, or at least hasn't been well serviced by similar offers. 

    Apple use the word Experience 31 times on the page describing the product. It is both a highly emotive and productive word it is bound to be in the tagline somehow. 
    The killer app “WILL BE?” 

    Seriously. That’s a guess. Conjecture. You have no idea. Hopes and dreams don’t magically coalesce into a killer app “hopefully, at some point in the future.” 

    If a killer app isn’t identifiable now, it doesn’t and won’t exist. And again, “oh, everything is the killer app!” “It’s the experience as a whole” doesn’t cut it. It doesn’t work that way.

    People are already familiar with the headset experience. It isn’t new. Better hardware and nicer software doesn’t alter the basic experience. It’s still a windowed phenomena, just closer to your eyes,

    But we are talking killer apps. Does the Vision Pro have one? No. It doesn’t. That’s not a cynical view. It’s fact. 

    “But, but someday over the rainbow there going to be…” 

    look, we all WANT the VP to be the next big thing. We WANT Apple to be the one that does it. But it’s just not. They simply haven’t. At this stage, Apple has done most everything there is to do. They revolutionized computing. They revolutionized music. They revolutionized communications. They revolutionized the watch of all things, The revolutionized the processor industry. Apple kicks butt and takes names. They’re awesome and will continue to be so and will continue to change the game far from now. They have a solid, hungry, yet stable core of progressive success. 

    But the VP just isn’t in that category. It’s a nicer headset. Ok. That’s fine. That’s good even. But it’s not the next iPod, iPhone, etc. it’s a better spec’d headset with nicer looking software. 

    That should be enough to allow it to be the leader in a somewhat niche market. And that should be enough to be a success. 

    Trying to pretend that it’s more than that is just wishful thinking plus hopes and dreams. 

    Let’s face reality (no pun intended - apple, feel free to use that line). The Vision Pro may be the best at what it does. But what it does isn’t anything crazy. 

    When Apple is able to get this tech distilled into a pair of sunglasses ( or a contact lens, powered by your body eye electricity or from the blinking of an eyelid (you want full immersion, just close your eyes - ok, ok, maybe a little too far out there for now, so let’s stick with shades) then it will be something that fits with your natural way of life and gets out of the way while being readily available right when needed. At that point, it can actually begin replacing quite a few things. 

    But for now, it’s a thing that you must encumber yourself with just to get iMax right next to your eye. Cool, but not necessary and not the next big thing. 

    A lot of the positive spin on the VP right now relates to the idea of home theater (as I said, IMAX right next to your eye). But when you think about it, the VP costs more than a gigantic TV, and is an experience that can’t be shared with friends and family. If you have a family of four, you’re spending $14,000 to share the experience together (assuming you can synchronize viewing, ala watch party). What a downer. The ROI just isn’t there. If crazy money is being spent, I’d rather buy a ginormous LED wall from planar, Samsung, or lg. 

    in the end, the Vision Pro is a really cool, neat headset that offers up a more crisp vr/ar experience than the competition thus far. Is that the next big thing? No. Does it have a killer app that sets it apart? No. But it’s higher quality and will be really nice to have. Would likely be THE Christmas gift of 2024 as well. Will it still be such in 2026? We will see. It doesn’t have to be the next big thing in order to have a place in the world. it just needs to be the best in its category. And in many ways, it looks to be just that. No need to throw our brains out the window and pretend it’s more than it is. What it is is enough. 


    "look, we all WANT the VP to be the next big thing. We WANT Apple to be the one that does it. But it’s just not. They simply haven’t. At this stage, Apple has done most everything there is to do. They revolutionized computing. They revolutionized music. They revolutionized communications. They revolutionized the watch of all things, The revolutionized the processor industry. Apple kicks butt and takes names. They’re awesome and will continue to be so and will continue to change the game far from now. They have a solid, hungry, yet stable core of progressive success. "

    There's a lot to revolutionize in health (which is one of the major focus areas for Apple Watch), home automation and transportation.  With respect to the latter, I would rather see Apple focus on making their own car / car service as opposed to a headset.
    9secondkox2
  • What's Apple's Vision Pro killer app?

    Unfortunately, this article is an example of the VP problem. 

    If you need miles and miles of text to evangelize the product and “explain” why all the stuff thrown at the wall is somehow collected into a killer app, then none exists. “Oh, the killer app is everything all together!” Nope. Sorry. Doesn’t work like that. 

    This has been the problem even in internal testing. Apple’s own staff had concerns. Now, outside of fanboys or developer evangelists,  it’s a big question mark and rightly so. 

    Downplaying customer price concerns over a non essential product is also troublesome - especially during inflation. 

    The VP HAS POTENTIAL and can become something great - if Apple can figure out why they made it to begin with. 

    So far, they’ve simply just built a better headset. Will it be enough to actually become a viable “platform?” We will know in two years, after the initial early adopter phase is over. 
    Exactly.  this is a great clip by Tony Fadell regarding the creation of the iPhone.

    https://x.com/StartupArchive_/status/1724436089790661041?s=20
    9secondkox2williamlondon