Week 37

Apple Event. The annual September event, often referred to as the "iPhone Event," is tomorrow starting at 12pm CDT. We're expecting to hear announcements for the new iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods, to name a few. But I'm sure there will be more. And many of us who already own these devices will be asking the same question: Is it worth the upgrade?

Microsoft Event. On the heels of the Apple Event, Microsoft is holding an event on September 22nd. It is suspected that they will cover the new Surface as well as Windows 11. I missed the announcement for the Windows 11 event earlier this year and apparently I still missed this announcement by about a week. But they definitely have my attention with their efforts to be more mobile-focused.

Android 12. Google has released the final beta ahead of the anticipated public debut. When the official release finally hits — starting with Google Pixels — the most notable change will be the UI refresh via Material You. And as a Pixel owner myself (test device), I'm reminded that I could have downloaded the beta long ago and could be writing you today about my firsthand experience. Alas I have not, so I will be experiencing the public rollout with everyone else.

Material Redesigns. Along with several other apps getting a facelift a la Material You, the Google Phone app is getting its day in the sun. It's easy to neglect some of the more mundane system apps like Phone and Contacts, so it's nice to see them getting the attention they deserve. Be sure to check out the screenshots and additional links embedded in the article.

Social AR? Xsight, an augmented reality app that I stumbled across on Product Hunt, proposes the use of holographic overlays for people, places, and services. The places and services part I'm good with. The people part? Not so much. It's a little too Black Mirror for my taste. Their promotional video is fun to watch and I want to be excited about it, but I'm pretty sure a lot of the social features their suggesting run headlong into privacy concerns.

And there was this iPhone 14 leak because, of course there was.

From the desk of…

I'm foregoing this section this week in order to expedite things some. I'll get back to it in the next issue.

Articles

• Apple’s next event is September 14 via TechCrunch
• Microsoft announces Surface and Windows 11 event on September 22 via TNW
• The final Android 12 beta is here via Engadget
• Google's Phone app is next in line for a Material You redesign via Android Police
• Xsight via Product Hunt

Events

• [Sep 14 @ 12pm CDT] Apple Event via Apple
• [Sep 14–15] Works With Conference via Silicon Labs
• [Sep 15 @ 11am CDT] Connect the dots: Effective project kickoffs via InVision
• [Sep 15 @ 10am CDT] The Evolution of Story at Microsoft via Stanford
• [Sep 22 @ 10am CDT] Microsoft Event via Microsoft

Resources

• [Case Study] 4 Ways the Best Retailers Leverage Mobile to its Fullest via Apptentive
• [Report] App Shopper Index - Q2 2021 via Poq
• [Video] How to think about improving mobile site speed via Think with Google
• [Library] Searchable Mobile App Screenshots via Mobbin