Technology - Google News

Apple's WWDC 2018: Forget the gadgets, it's all about services and software
Teens dump Facebook for YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat
H1Z1 Battle Royale Is Too Bland to End Fortnite's Console Dominance

Apple's WWDC 2018: Forget the gadgets, it's all about services and software

Posted: 01 Jun 2018 05:00 AM PDT

Apple will hold the keynote presentation for its annual developer conference at 10 a.m. PT on Monday in San Jose, California.

James Martin/CNET

Apple's next pitch is to get you to put your iPhone down.

Wait, what?

The effort, a response to experts' and investors' growing fears over smartphone addiction, is likely to be one of the key themes at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 4. Aside from that, hardware has never been front and center at WWDC, so don't hold your breath for big Mac and iPad changes. And you can forget about a new iPhone.

But just because Apple wants you to use your phone less doesn't mean it wants you to leave its universe. The company will use its keynote presentation at 10 a.m. PT on Monday to show off its latest software and services, an area that's becoming increasingly important as iPhone sales growth slows. And Apple will need to figure out how to make Siri, well, useful, if it wants its HomePod smart speaker to stand a chance against the Amazon Echo or Google Home.

Now Playing: Watch this: iOS 12 preview and what we expect at WWDC 2018

5:15

And of course, we'll see a new version of iOS (likely called iOS 12, unless Apple really decides to go crazy), as well as new software for Macs, Apple TV and Apple Watch. The company likely will show off ways its different operating systems work better together.

"The buzz is much less this year than in previous years," Technalysis analyst Bob O'Donnell said. "Now it's about refinements."

News of Apple's push to combat device addiction comes from a Bloomberg report, which said the move is part of Apple's "Digital Health" platform.

Apple has to maintain a delicate balance. It's in the company's best interest for us to use its devices, apps and services as much as possible, and Apple wants to create software and services that keep us hooked on its devices. But it's also faced fire over the addictive nature of that technology. And while the company generates about two-thirds of its revenue from its iPhones, services are becoming the fastest growing part of its operations.

Bloomberg also reported that Apple won't make huge changes to its iOS and Mac operating systems this year, deciding instead to focus on making its software more responsive and less buggy.

Apple declined to comment ahead of WWDC.

Soaring services: Apple Music, Apple Pay, the App Store

The iPhone has long been Apple's chief moneymaker, but smartphone demand isn't what it used to be. People are holding onto their devices longer than before, and it's becoming harder for phone makers to differentiate their products from rival offerings. Apple's iPhone sales have been holding up, but it's the company's services business that's viewed as its next big growth area.

Apple's services business has been "growing dramatically," as CEO Tim Cook said during the company's earnings conference call last month. Revenue from things like the App Store, Apple Music and Apple Pay topped $9 billion for the first time, up more than $2 billion from the previous year. The total, $9.2 billion, also was double the services revenue Apple generated just four years ago.

Paid subscriptions topped 270 million in Apple's March quarter, up more than 100 million from the same period a year ago and up 30 million from the end of December.

"Services is fast becoming Apple's primary growth driver," Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty said, adding that she believes "that the App Store, and services more broadly, holds the key to Apple's future."

WWDC will be an important place for Apple to talk up what it's doing in services.

Software, software and even more software

Yeah, we know. It's hard to get excited about APIs and developer tools. But what Apple shows off Monday will give hints about the iPhones coming later this year, as well as what we'll see in the company's other devices.

One of the biggest areas that could use improvement is Siri, Apple's digital assistant found on its mobile devices and its HomePod smart speaker. Though Apple introduced Siri before Amazon's Alexa and Google's Assistant, it's often found to be less capable than its smart assistant competitors.

"Apple must change the perception that it is lagging behind Amazon and Google on voice-based assistants and on conversational interfaces," Forrester analyst Thomas Husson said. "While still overhyped, there is no doubt that voice as an interface powered by artificial intelligence is a disruptive force Apple must embrace faster."

Apple likely also will introduce new augmented reality features, building on last year's introduction of ARKit. Cook has said AR, which overlays digital images on the real world, is a technology that's potentially as important as the iPhone. This year, Apple could introduce the ability to play multiplayer games in AR, among other improvements.

Health and fitness is another big opportunity for Apple, particularly when it comes to the Apple Watch. The company could introduce new features or let developers tap into different sensors on the watch to make better apps.

"I'm expecting for sure a continued focus around health on the watch," said Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi.

Tune back to CNET for full coverage of WWDC.

Tech Enabled: CNET chronicles tech's role in providing new kinds of accessibility.

Blockchain Decoded: CNET looks at the tech powering bitcoin -- and soon, too, a myriad of services that will change your life.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

Teens dump Facebook for YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat

Posted: 31 May 2018 02:00 PM PDT

A Pew survey of teens and the ways they use technology finds that kids have largely ditched Facebook for the visually stimulating alternatives of Snapchat, YouTube and Instagram. Nearly half said they’re online “almost constantly,” which will probably be used as a source of FUD, but really is just fine. Even teens, bless their honest little hearts, have doubts about whether social media is good or evil.

The survey is the first by Pew since 2015, and plenty has changed. The one that has driven the most change seems to be the ubiquity and power of smartphones, which 95 percent of respondents said they had access to. Fewer, especially among lower income families, had laptops and desktops.

This mobile-native cohort has opted for mobile-native content and apps, which means highly visual and easily browsable. That’s much more the style on the top three apps: YouTube takes first place with 85 percent reporting they use it, then Instagram at 72 percent, and Snapchat at 69.

Facebook, at 51 percent, is a far cry from the 71 percent who used it back in 2015, when it was top of the heap by far. Interestingly, the 51 percent average is not representative of any of the income groups polled; 36 percent of higher income households used it, while 70 percent of teens from lower income households did.

What could account for this divergence? The latest and greatest hardware isn’t required to run the top three apps, nor (necessarily) an expensive data plan. With no data to go on from the surveys and no teens nearby to ask, I’ll leave this to the professionals to look into. No doubt Facebook will be interested to learn this — though who am I kidding, it probably knows already. (There’s even a teen tutorial.)

Twice as many teens reported being “online constantly,” but really, it’s hard to say when any of us is truly “offline.” Teens aren’t literally looking at their phones all day, much as that may seem to be the case, but they — and the rest of us — are rarely more than a second or two away from checking messages, looking something up and so on. I’m surprised the “constantly” number isn’t higher, honestly.

Gaming is still dominated by males, almost all of whom play in some fashion, but 83 percent of teen girls also said they gamed, so the gap is closing.

When asked whether social media had a positive or negative effect, teens were split. They valued it for connecting with friends and family, finding news and information and meeting new people. But they decried its use in bullying and spreading rumors, its complicated effect on in-person relationships and how it distracts from and distorts real life.

Here are some quotes from real teens demonstrating real insight.

Those who feel it has an overall positive effect:

“I feel that social media can make people my age feel less lonely or alone. It creates a space where you can interact with people.”
“My mom had to get a ride to the library to get what I have in my hand all the time. She reminds me of that a lot.”
“We can connect easier with people from different places and we are more likely to ask for help through social media which can save people.”
“It has given many kids my age an outlet to express their opinions and emotions, and connect with people who feel the same way.”

And those who feel it’s negative:

“People can say whatever they want with anonymity and I think that has a negative impact.”
“Gives people a bigger audience to speak and teach hate and belittle each other.”
“It makes it harder for people to socialize in real life, because they become accustomed to not interacting with people in person.”
“Because teens are killing people all because of the things they see on social media or because of the things that happened on social media.”

That last one is scary.

You can read the rest of the report and scrutinize Pew’s methodology here.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

H1Z1 Battle Royale Is Too Bland to End Fortnite's Console Dominance

Posted: 01 Jun 2018 07:23 AM PDT

The war for Battle Royale supremacy is far from over. With its astronomical download figures, it’s fair to say that Fortnite is comfortably the leader in the genre, but there’s still plenty of games that are offering some competition. Of course, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is still going strong on PC and Xbox One, and Call of Duty has a Battle Royale mode to come later in the year, but H1Z1’s mode has finally launched in open beta on PlayStation 4 and it’s proving very popular. Popularity doesn’t mean quality, however. And while it functions better than other games that have launched in open beta, it offers very little to make you choose it over the competition.

The free game has already been downloaded more than 4.5 million times, but that is probably down to the name recognition H1Z1 has, and many players’ desire to try anything that has Battle Royale in the name – the latter of which likely being why the King of the Hill name wasn’t carried over from PC.

You’ll likely know this already if you’ve played H1Z1 in any of its forms on PC, but the Battle Royale mode works essentially as the middle ground between the other two juggernauts of the genre. The premise is the same: you’re dropped onto the map (starting your descent by parachute – which controls terribly – at a seemingly random location) and you scramble to find gear to take out other players as the toxic gas closes in. It doesn’t have the bright colors or cartoon styling of Fortnite, but it’s a faster experience than PUBG, with combat being more about straightforward gunfights than tactical plays.

Visually, H1Z1 is more like PlayerUnknown’s game. It goes for a semi-realistic look, with open, grassy plains, and outpost-like locations making up most of the map. It feels disappointingly lifeless and void of the personality that makes Fortnite stand out, with there being little difference between many of the areas, and most buildings being similar in terms of design. Seeing enemies that are far away is often difficult due to the subpar visuals, and everything looks decidedly grey. Locations aren’t themed in any way that make them a vantage point or point of interest, with many of them suffering from a low level of detail. Of course, it’s still in open beta, but so is Fortnite, and almost every location on that game’s map is so memorable and unique that the community now refers to them by a few fun abbreviations.

Gunplay is H1Z1’s strongest aspect. It feels solid and accurate, no matter which gun you’re using, you feel in control of your character’s movements, and the action moves at a satisfying pace. Not only do characters move at a decent pace, but other parts of the game are clearly implemented with speed being considered. The toxic gas begins to move after just two minutes and 15 seconds, which gives you significantly less time to get acquainted with your location and geared up than PUBG does, where the circle moves after five minutes. In comparison, Fortnite’s storm takes three minutes and 20 seconds to join the action.

Thankfully, you’re not left unarmed for long. Loot of low quality is everywhere. Even after searching just one or two buildings, you can expect to have a basic weapon in each of your three slots, a helmet, some basic armor, and a decent supply of medkits or bandages. You won’t be the biggest threat around, but even the basics will be enough to give you a fighting chance of making it to the game’s latter stages. Air drops and crates become a source of more powerful weaponry towards the end of the match, making loot a more important factor in the battle between the final 10, and it’s always quite a streamlined experience. However, that can make the opening five to 10 minutes of each game dull. You’re searching similar locations, finding the same items over and over again, and if you aren’t good enough to survive until the last few minutes, that’s all you’re likely to experience.

There’s no mile-high staircases to build, no fiddling with wall placement, and no customizable weapons to add variety. Some weapons come with scopes and such attached, but for the most part, the gun you find will remain the way you found it. That could be good for people that are after a more simple experience, but it more often than not makes the game feel bland.

Of course, with H1Z1 Battle Royale being a free-to-play open beta experience on PlayStation 4, there’s plenty of customization and cosmetic items to sink your money into. You can purchase and open crates, allowing you to change the colors and style of everything your character wears. Shoes, shirts, jeans, backpacks, sunglasses, and more can be changed in and out from the main menu, and there’s a long list of emotes to select from, too. They are quite basic as well, though. There’s nothing there to make you stand out on the battlefield, which might help for camouflage reasons, but doesn’t counteract the blandness of other aspects of the game, which is disappointing. Much of Fortnite’s popularity comes from the personality in the customization options. Seeing a particular skin running across the map in front of you can change your perception of that player. As they have a rare skin, you become fearful that they’re an experienced player, and someone to avoid. Cosmetic items don’t have the same impact in H1Z1, nor do they add personality to the game.

The people who stick with H1Z1 Battle Royale, in the long run, are probably those who have never been fully invested in another game in the genre. If you’re someone who is interested in the pace of the gameplay in Fortnite and the realism of PUBG, H1Z1 will probably be right down your alley. It does benefit from the fact that it is currently the only Battle Royale game on PS4 that is in any way realistic, with the exclusivity deal involving Microsoft and PUBG, and that will certainly bring in a huge number of players. However, it doesn’t have the personality, variety, or unique sense of fun that Epic’s game does. It’s a serviceable shooter, with a large map, and a good amount of basic customization options, but it doesn’t feel good enough to be something that should be chosen above other, better, and more relevant experiences.

Let's block ads! (Why?)