Assignment 1: 300 Words

In a post tell us what you think Apple is [probably, plausibly or possibly] doing and how the media industry can use that outcome to report the news, give people information they need or message around brands or ideas. Lastly, write how you would treat this information: is this something you would advise your team to vigilantly watch, use it to inform your short-term strategy or act upon now. These are all concepts from Webb’s book.

 

Amy Webb showed us how she analyzed acquisitions by Google to give us a sense of where that tech giant is ultimately going. Now it is your turn. What are the patterns and signals of some of Apple’s moves [8 of which are listed below] telling you about where that company is headed in the long run? Apple may have many plays but what is one (or two) that you see coming? Are you making a probable, plausible, or possible prediction (choose one based on  Webb’s definition of these terms)? How will what you are predicting impact journalism and communication? What might our industry be able to do with these signals to get ahead of the curve and prepare for what’s coming?

 

 

Here are 8 interesting acquisitions by Apple, a fraction of the companies and technology the company buys yearly (Links to an external site.), and a few announcements that came out of the June 2020 developer conference:

1. In 2010, Apple acquired the company and team that built a voice assistance technology that became Siri.
2. Later that year, Apple bought a company that created HDR photography that became the bases for the iPhone’s camera capabilities.
3. In January, Apple sucked up Xnor.ai, a company whose platform allows companies to run complex deep learning algorithms, formerly restricted to the cloud, locally on a range of devices including mobile phones, drones, and wearables.
4. That same month, Apple purchased IKinema which “dramatically improves the quality of animation and reduces the cost of producing animation” meaning  “resulting animations are more realistic and cheaper to produce and maintain.”
5. Also in January, Apple acquired Tueo Health, a company that provides  “accurate, objective indicators of asthma control.”
6. In April 2020, Apple bought a company called Dark Sky which perfected up-to-the-minute hyperlocal weather forecasts.
7. In May 2020, Apple acquired a company that has figured out “deep-domain, brand-specific intelligent voice systems that can provide users with rich, natural language interactions” according to SiliconRepublic
8. In May it acquired Drive.ai, a company that uses deep machine learning to improve autonomous vehicles.
9. At its developer conference in June 2020, the company unveiled the iPhone 12 will have 3D depth cameras and improved night mode. There are rumors of coming infrared signals to help the camera better map its environment by calculating depth from the camera to a subject. That allows for improved object scanning, indoor navigation, and gesture recognition. All needed for improved augmented reality experiences.
10. At the June 2020 dev conference, Apple announced cycling maps, digital keys, and a new translate app.