ICYMI: Mobile & Beyond; 17:2024
I know it’s been a hot minute since posting one of these — and I’m publishing this issue later than expected. But you know how it goes, we’re all wrestling with competing priorities. In this issue, we finally get a date for the iPad event, some reviews on portable AI, plus other news around the mobile (and emerging tech) space. Let’s jump in!
Week 17 (04/21–04/27)
Apple… finally announced the nest Apple Event. May 7 at 9am CT is the date and time you should mark on your calendar. We should expect to hear about the next generation iPad models and, judging by the event logo, the Apple Pencil as well. Ready, set!
Rabbit R1… reviews started hitting the usual tech outlets. A portable AI-powered connected device, the Rabbit R1 is billed as a “pocket companion that moves AI from words to action.” I’ve linked to the Engadget review specifically because they included a comparison to the Human AI Pin (which reviews came out for the week before).
TikTok… ban was officially signed into law in the US. More accurately, the social media app could be banned if the parent company, ByteDance, does not sell it to a US-based company. The bigger picture is that the ban could prove disruptive to independents and SMBs that rely on the app for sales pipelines and revenue streams.
Vision Pro… shipments cut by nearly half in response to fallen demand. Price, headset comfort, and lack of key applications in an already niche market are likely to blame. Here’s the original report from renown Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo.
Threads… passed X (fka Twitter) in daily active users. That’s it. That’s the tweet.
I’ve kept this one short and sweet.
Events
- [May 7 @ 9am CT] Apple Event (Apple)
- [May 14] Google I/O 2024 (Google)
- [Jun 10–14] WWDC24 (Apple)