Apple’s New MacBook Pro ad Blows Up A Lot Of Light Bulbs

Apple’s new ad for the MacBook Pro uses a lot of light bulbs and blows them up. The ad shows several inventions and discoveries like gravity and fire.

The video titled ‘Bulbs’, released on Thursday, quickly runs through humanity’s greatest hits; the discovery of fire, discovery of gravity, the invention of toilet paper, a space shuttle launch, and other important achievements and inventions.

Meanwhile, a line of light bulbs, symbolizing ideas, explode over a cityscape while the William Tell Overture plays.

The final shot of the ad is the new MacBook Pro complete with Apple’s newest interface, the Touch Bar, a touchscreen strip that’s integrated into the laptop’s keyboard, controlling the line of exploding lightbulbs.

The spot raises the question: What would have Issac Newton discovered if he had a MacBook Pro?

Watch for yourself:

Samsung Buys Harman to dethrone Apple & Google

Samsung’s $8 billion buy now makes it a market leader in mobile devices, home automation, and connected cars. Should Apple and Google start worrying?

Samsung Electronics recently bought Harman Industries for about $8 billion to expand its presence in connected and automotive electronics. Harman, a market leader in connected car solutions, supplies over 30 million vehicles with infotainment, telematics, safety, and security solutions.

About 65% of Harman’s $7 billion in revenues last year came from the automotive market, and its backlog orders hit $24 billion at the end of June. Samsung CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon claimed that the acquisition “perfectly complements Samsung in terms of technologies, products and solutions, and joining forces is a natural extension of the automotive strategy we have been pursuing for some time.”

Merging Harman’s automotive businesses with Samsung’s mobile and smart appliances businesses would make the tech giant a force to be reckoned with in the Internet of Things (IoT) market — and that could spell trouble for companies like Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Google.

Why Samsung needed Harman

Samsung is the world’s biggest manufacturer of smartphones and consumer electronics. The company’s biggest weakness is its dependence on mobile devices, which accounted for 46% of its top line last quarter. That business has been shrinking due to commoditization and its costly Note 7 blunder.

To diversify away from that market, Samsung launched new wearable devices and smart appliances to expand its software ecosystem, and acquired smart home company SmartThings two years ago. To reduce its dependence on Google Android, Samsung launched its own OS, Tizen, for wearables and select smartphones.

With those products in place, Samsung carved out a decent moat against rival ecosystems like Apple’s HomeKit and Google’s Home/Nest. But one area where it lagged behind was the auto market. Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto took over dashboards with their mirroring features, but Samsung users were stuck with MirrorLink, a clumsier protocol which is also used by Sony and HTC devices.

But by acquiring Harman, Samsung instantly becomes a Tier 1 auto supplier, and it will generate cost-cutting synergies by vertically integrating its processor and display businesses. Furthermore, Harman’s future products will be built with Samsung’s ecosystem integration in mind — which should work more smoothly than products that are merely “compatible” with Apple and Google’s mobile and IoT devices.

How Samsung counters Apple and Google

Simply put, a person who owns a Samsung phone, Samsung/SmartThings smart appliances, and a Harman-equipped car could easily have their personal data synchronized across all three “hubs.” This is the kind of “ubiquitous computing” Google has talked about for years, and the kind of game-changing expansion Apple needs to diversify away from its core hardware devices.

Neither Google nor Apple can compete against Samsung’s dominant position in first-party consumer electronics like smart TVs, refrigerators, and washing machines. Both companies need third-party appliance makers to make their devices compatible with Home or HomeKit for them to sync to their mobile apps. That strategy is a fairly safe one, since Google and Apple merely leverage their leading positions in mobile devices to expand their IoT ecosystems without shouldering the costs of manufacturing new hardware.

However, that strategy also relies on those partners making reliable appliances which work correctly with their smart home ecosystems. The same issues could affect cars which don’t sync correctly with iOS and Android devices.

Samsung’s game plan sounds ambitious, but it could be bogged down by technical issues. Samsung’s SmartThings platform was plagued with glitches earlier this year, and researchers claimed that the platform was poorly protected from malicious hacks. The recent Mirai botnet attack, which used hijacked IoT devices like routers and IP cameras to knock major websites offline, could also discourage consumers to connect everything to the internet.

Samsung’s previous attempts to carve out its own non-Google ecosystem — like Tizen, S Health, Milk Music, and the Galaxy Apps Store — also haven’t been very effective. Instead, each attempt merely revealed that the majority of Samsung owners preferred using Google’s services.

Samsung might now have the leverage in mobile hardware, consumer electronics, and connected cars to start building a cohesive IoT ecosystem, but Google and Apple’s clout in mobile operating systems will likely counter that push by simply convincing hardware makers to tether their products to their Android and iOS-based apps. Therefore, Samsung’s purchase of Harman was a smart move which will give it a growing automotive parts business, but it probably won’t enable it to topple Google, Apple, and others in the growing smart home/car market just yet.

Apple to Integrate AR in iPhone’s Camera

Apple plans to integrate Augmented Reality into the iPhone’s camera app, reports Business Insider. People from several augmented reality companies that Apple acquired, have been reportedly working on this.

Known sources cite that Apple wants consumers to be able to recognise a real world object by pointing their phones at it. Using machine learning techniques, Apple has already started working on similar technology and has built basic object recognition capabilities into the Photos app.

Object recognition could be used for spacial recognition and mapping, among other things.  This feature in the camera app would allow real-time recognition of objects. But it is more complex than what is available in the Photos app as it involved 3D objects.

Facial recognition and manipulation may also be a goal, perhaps allowing the camera app to be used to apply Snapchat-style augmented reality filters to people. Apple is said to be planning to release an augmented reality SDK for developers following the debut of the rumored camera feature, which would allow third-party apps access the AR camera technology too.

Recent rumors have suggested Apple’s ultimate augmented reality ambition may be a set of smart glasses which would connect wirelessly to the iPhone and display “images and other information” to the wearer.

Apple’s work on smart glasses is reportedly in the early stages and should the project continue, no products are expected to debut before 2018. There are no clear reports on when will Apple introduce AR functionality in the camera app.

Suzuki Introduces its Compact Crossover offering Ignis

The Ignis marked Suzuki’s foray into the compact crossover segment that’s pretty much in vogue currently. Given the rising popularity of compact crossovers in Indian and other emerging markets, it isn’t surprising the Japanese carmaker is eyeing a share of the pie. Based on the iM-4 concept (that was previewed in Geneva earlier this year), the Ignis broke cover at the Tokyo Motor Show in October 2015. With a length of just 3679mm, the Ignis is well under the four-metre mark meaning it will enjoy excise cuts if Suzuki launches it in India in future. If launched here, the Ignis could challenge compact crossovers like the Ford EcoSport, though Mahindra’s upcoming S101 will be a closer competitor given its dimensions.

The design of the Suzuki Ignis is in keeping with current market trends as far as compact SUVs go, with a boxy shape, flared wheel arches, chrome accents and large wheels and it is being classified as a micro-SUV. Interiors on the Ignis are expected to be in sync with modern-day compact cars with a tablet-like touchscreen infotainment system and a two-tone finish as well.

Suzuki has not revealed much about the Ignis though we know it will be powered by a 1.2-litre DualJet petrol engine that will also feature the SHVS (Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki) tech, or mild hybrid technology seen on the Ciaz sedan recently. It could get the option of a CVT as well and will use a front wheel drive layout. It could also get the new 1.0-litre turbocharged Boosterjet petrol engine that the Baleno will get internationally.

The Ignis will boast ample ground clearance, a high seating position for the driver to offer a commanding view and capability to be driven on tough terrain like snow and off-road, which means it could very well sport an all-wheel drive system.  Maruti will launch a compact sub four metre SUV in India in the 2016 Auto Expo (codenamed the YBA), and it should be interesting to see where the Ignis get placed with regards to the YBA, that is sure to compete with Mahindra’s S101 compact crossover. However, if launched, expect the Ignis to cost 6-8 lakh rupees in India depending on equipment levels.

5 Gadgets To Make Your Home Smart

Any tech savvy individual knows the extent to which technology has altered the way we live. Tech innovations are now more focussed on improving the everyday products used by the masses. Most of these innovations are more or less related to the Internet of Things (IoT). Such devices along with being extremely helpful, are also pretty cool.

Given the coolness of these products, we decided to put together a list of devices that you just can’t miss.

1.CarIQ

This hardware startup from Pune has developed a plug and play device that can be used in any car and claims to collect data on a real time basis. This data is collected from various electronic systems inside a car and displayed to the end user through an app.

The device displays critical information about your vehicle ranging from the ‘headlight on’ warning, technical problems, service alerts to the fuel economy produced by your car. You can also download the entire driving data including location information, towing alerts, crash alerts, over-speeding alerts, battery health and more.

CarIQ has also embedded a social tangent to the device with an option of sharing statistics of your vehicle on social media platforms (Facebook and Twitter) and likewise allotting social badges for drivers and car condition.

It also monitors any sort of rash driving and gives you personalised tips for driving based on your driving pattern.

2. Inoho

This home control system lets you control most of the electronic connections in your house through an app on your smartphone. It works irrespective of your location and is done over the internet.

It comprises of 3 different components – a home controller which can control multiple switchboard modules, a switchboard module to convert conventional switchboard panel to a smart device panel and an Inoho app which allows users to control these devices through their smartphone or laptop. As it is completely wireless, Inoho requires no electrical rewiring or change in the interior décor whatsoever.

In simple words, you can operate lights, fan speed, lighting settings of your house, timer setting for any device through this system.

3. Sen.se Mother

Sen.se mother uses its own freewheel sensors called Cookies to collect the data pertaining to any activity that you assign them for. The device then displays the data to the end user through the corresponding app for which the sensor was used. These apps include – Walk, Sleep, Door, Teeth, Medication, Presence, Temperature, Check, Drink, Habits and Coffee.

‘Mother’ is a universal monitoring solution and can be used for a range of tasks around the house. Four cookies provided with each unit can be used for – monitoring the brushing habits of a child, keeping track of your walking regime, having a check on anyone entering the house or tracking your sleeping cycles and can be used to keep track of your medication or your water/coffee intake as well. How cool is that?

Once the sensor is no longer necessary for a particular task, it can be reprogrammed for another purpose and used yet again. At an additional cost, a ‘Credit Pack’ can be purchased for the device which will alert you with regular updates for any task through text messages.

4. Reos Lite

It is a bulb, and it is smart. How? Well, for starters, it can be controlled through your smartphone provided it has Bluetooth. It comes with a Reos Lite app which allows you to sync the bulb to any music that you play wherein the bulb will change its lighting as per the song’s rhythm.

The app has several pre-set modes to choose from, to set the lighting of the room as per your mood. A custom mode can be set using colour transitions from 16 million colour options.

The Lite app also allows the customization of the bulb to notify of any weather alerts while the Instant alert option in the app can be used to set alerts for calls, SMS and a number of social media platforms.

5. Fitbit Aria

This is a Wi-Fi smart scale that helps you track your weight, lean mass, body fat percentage and BMI. In case just looking at these numbers is not enough to give you serious fitness goals, Aria works over the Wi-Fi and is synced to your Fitbit dashboard, displaying charts and graphs of your progress. This gives a much more realistic picture of your fitness over a long period of time.

Aria can recognise up to eight different users and sends their stats straight to their private Fitbit accounts.

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