Animals appear in real life with new Google Lens feature in Safari: Try this right now! If you have a newer iPhone, open Safari, Google “horse” and click on “Meet a life-sized horse up close” then “AR.”
Read my full blog post about this technology and the implications for marketers here.
AirDrop Culture: Has anyone ever accidentally AirDropped you a meme? Maybe it wasn’t a mistake!
Using Apple’s AirDrop features, teens are finding ways to skirt the permanence of social media, plus troll adults.
Key quote from Taylor Lorenz’s piece in The Atlantic:
“Teens say that sending things out via AirDrop is superior to social media or text messaging because you don’t need to have a person’s username or phone number to share something. It’s far less time-consuming than sending a text or a DM, and you don’t need to create a giant group chat to send things out en masse. You can also stay anonymous. AirDrop is like a roving ephemeral, message board that anyone in the area can contribute to.”
Whatever happened to the hottest iPhone apps of 2009?
Ten years ago, we were obsessed with some pretty dumb apps.
For example: “The Virtual Zippo Lighter opens with a flick of your wrist and lights with a turn of your thumb. The windproof flame sways as you move your iPhone or iPod Touch and reacts when you try to blow it out.”
“Alexa, delete everything I said today.”
Starting this week, Amazon has a new update for its Echo devices that allow users to delete a day’s worth of commands without having to open the app or go to Amazon’s website.
This feature and the new Privacy Hub don’t directly alleviate the privacy concerns Amazon is facing, but it does make it easier for users to delete voice data.
Sign up for Minecraft Earth!
Minecraft Earth is an upcoming mobile game that will be available as a free-to-play game on Android and iOS smartphones. It allows you to build Minecraft creations in the real world – like Pokemon Go for Minecraft.
You can watch the demo here. And sign up for the beta going live this summer here.
Tweet of the week: Beep Boop. Tom Glitter. Sparky Buttons. Would you let an A.I.-powered neural network name your cat?
GREG SWAN 