Important Note
Tech Narratives was a subscription website, which offered expert commentary on the day's top tech news from Jan Dawson, along with various other features, for $10/month. As of Monday October 16, 2017, it will no longer be updated. An archive of past content will remain available for the time being. I've written more about this change in the post immediately below, and also here.
LG at CES 2017: Here’s everything you need to know – CNET (Jan 4, 2017)
LG’s press conference at CES was the usual mishmash of many different things, but if there were two themes, they were robots and voice, with Alexa providing the guts of the voice capability. It also talked up its emergent AI capabilities, highlighting the fact that OEMs are making their own investments here rather than relying on AI from their platform vendors. Lots of this stuff feels more concept than mainstream at this point, but it’s further validation for what’s rapidly becoming the dominance of voice platforms by Amazon’s Alexa.
via LG at CES 2017: Here’s everything you need to know
Vivint Smart Home Delivers on the Promise of Artificial Intelligence for the Home – Press Release (Jan 4, 2017)
Vivint is one of the companies that’s closest to my vision for what needs to happen in the smart home, a space that’s currently characterized by lots of disconnected islands and a retail DIY model that’s fine for early adopters but lousy for mainstream users. I wrote about Vivint’s vision a few months back after I was briefed on it, and they’ve now announced the actual product off the back of it. This, and not Amazon’s Echo/Alexa, is what a truly smart home assistant looks like.
via Vivint Smart Home Delivers on the Promise of Artificial Intelligence for the Home – Press Release
BMW Group, Intel and Mobileye Will Have Autonomous Test Vehicles on the Roads by the Second Half of 2017 | Intel Newsroom (Jan 4, 2017)
This is a big deal for Intel, which has seemed to be behind some of its big chip competitors in the autonomous driving space, and the fact that real cars will be on real roads later this year means this is delivering actual results today, and not just a loose partnership. This will be a big year for autonomous driving in general, likely the year almost all big automakers run some of their first trials on real roads, and Intel needs to be in the mix like this. I’ll be talking to BMW next week at the Detroit auto show about all this too.
Fulfillment by Amazon Delivered More than 2 Billion Items for Sellers Worldwide in 2016 – Amazon (Jan 4, 2017)
This is one of those Amazon press releases with very few real numbers and lots of relative ones, but those numbers are still impressive. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is about half of third party seller units on Amazon, which in turn are about half of total unit shipments, so Amazon likely sold around 8 billion total units in 2016. Growth rates for FBA and seller units are higher than overall growth rates, because both are growing as a percentage of total sales, but this still suggests very high growth for Amazon overall in Q4. We’ll know more in a few weeks, of course, when Amazon reports earnings.
via Amazon – Press Room – Press Release
Chinese smartphones soar to 51% of India market – Tech in Asia (Jan 4, 2017)
The Indian smartphone market has been characterized by unusually high loyalty to local brands, but that seems to be changing now as Chinese companies start to overcome the resistance to foreign vendors. For now, most of the action is still in the mid tier and below, but this helps erode the idea that one of the reasons Apple hasn’t done well in India is resistance to non-Indian suppliers. Chinese vendors, of course, have already done very well in other emerging markets, but it appears we can now add India to that list too.
via Chinese smartphones soar to 51% of India market – Tech in Asia
Android Wear watches ready for prime time? ZTE thinks so – CNET (Jan 4, 2017)
The prevailing narrative around Android Wear – and it’s an accurate one – is that it’s flailing, and OEMs are largely backing away from it. ZTE offers a counterpoint here – it’s planning to launch a watch later in the year – but it’s the exception that proves the rule, as Roger’s piece here points out. I still think the best hope for Android Wear is really compelling first party hardware from Google, though that may also kill off what few OEM offerings remain.
via Android Wear watches ready for prime time? ZTE thinks so – CNET
Want a Peek at the Future of Laptops? Check Out Samsung’s New Chromebooks | WIRED (Jan 4, 2017)
There’s a little too much hype in the headline here – this isn’t the future of laptops as much as the present, but as Chromebooks rather than Windows machines. The sort of convertible model Samsung is using here has been growing among Windows PCs for years now. In some ways the more interesting difference is that these laptops are being priced more like mid-range Windows PCs rather than cheap alternatives, as Chromebooks have been in the past. OEMs seem to be banking on Android integration to sell these machines now that price isn’t really a factor anymore.
via CES 2017: First-Look at Samsung’s Chromebook Plus and Chromebook Pro | WIRED
Amazon plans to sell its own line of workout clothes – Recode (Jan 4, 2017)
Taken together with the news that Amazon is one of the potential bidders for American Apparel, this is yet more evidence that it’s very serious about the clothing space. Activewear is one of those categories where some people definitely care about brands and are willing to pay for them, but others just want functional clothing at a decent price, and Amazon could do very well among the latter segment. The rise of activewear at stores like Gap and sister company Old Navy over the last several years is a great illustration of this opportunity, and Amazon is smart to try to tap into it.
via Amazon plans to sell its own line of workout clothes – Recode
BlackBerry QNX Launches its Most Advanced and Secure Embedded Software Platform for Autonomous Drive and Connected Cars – BlackBerry (Jan 4, 2017)
BlackBerry’s QNX is one of the leading in-car operating systems, acquired by BlackBerry from Harman some years ago. In the context of the demise of BlackBerry’s hardware business, this is one of several software businesses that forms the core of what the company will be going forward. It seems to be moving fast in providing support for some of the new things carmakers are doing, including autonomous driving, and QNX is definitely one of several big tech names to watch in the car tech space.
Google Assistant is coming to Android TV – The Verge (Jan 4, 2017)
One of the weirdest things about the Google Assistant from the day it launched was that it wasn’t immediately part of Android, but was exclusive to Pixel and Home for at least some period of time (how long exactly has been something of a mystery). We are, now, starting to see signs of the Assistant making its way to some third party devices, notably those cited in this article, but still “in the coming months”. Meanwhile, Alexa is in almost every new voice device announced at CES, highlighting the folly of Google’s strategy to prefer its own devices rather than going straight to an open platform.
via Google Assistant is coming to Android TV – The Verge
Flipkart salaries: Documents reveal high pay of employees at bleeding Indian startup — Quartz (Jan 4, 2017)
In case you’re not familiar with it, Flipkart is the big homegrown competitor to Amazon in India, where the two companies are going head to head in an aggressive fashion, paying (according to this article) high salaries, but more broadly losing lots of money in the process. Amazon, of course, has deep pockets filled by its businesses elsewhere and more recently by AWS, whereas the Indian business makes up most of Flipkart, so if this becomes a game of chicken, Amazon may well come out on top.
via Flipkart salaries: Documents reveal high pay of employees at bleeding Indian startup — Quartz
Tesla fails to come through on its promise to deliver 80,000 to 90,000 cars in 2016 – Recode (Jan 3, 2017)
The shortfall mentioned here was modest, and was entirely due to delivery rather than production issues. The bigger issue is that, even if it had hit 80 or 90k deliveries in 2016, its targets for 2017 and especially 2018 are higher still, with 2018 apparently ramping to 400,000. That’s still an incredibly steep hill to climb, and I’m doubtful Tesla can up production that quickly. There may be a lot of disappointed Tesla 3 reservers come 2018…
via Tesla fails to come through on its promise to deliver 80,000 to 90,000 cars in 2016 – Recode
Faraday Future Faces Crucial Test With New Electric Car – WSJ (Jan 3, 2017)
Well, Faraday Future does actually seem to have a car, which seems to be able to drive fairly quickly in a straight line, and is sometimes able to park itself automatically. That much is clear after its press event tonight at CES. But its financial situation, the eventual price and exact launch date of the car, and much else besides remain unclear. The event seems to have gone fairly well, which was in doubt after some recent stories, but it’s still far from certain that we’ll actually see a production vehicle from FF next year.
via Faraday Future Faces Crucial Test With New Electric Car – WSJ
Mattel Is Building An Alexa For Kids | Fast Company Design (Jan 3, 2017)
We’ve arrived remarkably quickly at the specialization phase of voice assistant technology – this usually only arrives once the generic version of a technology has gone mainstream. This device looks clever – though the article is frustratingly silent on when or where it might be available – but the broader point is that we’re going to see lots of companies playing in this space, leveraging Microsoft, Amazon and other platforms and technologies combined with their own expertise. Voice is hot, and that means a rapid entry into the market of dozens of new competitors, many of whom won’t survive there long.
via Mattel Is Building An Alexa For Kids | Co.Design | business + design
Mark Zuckerberg’s 2017 resolution: Meet more Americans – USA Today (Jan 3, 2017)
Although Zuckerberg sets himself a personal goal every year, this one feels like a more corporate one than those he’s set in the past, and it’s hard not to read it as an attempt to understand and assuage concerns about Facebook’s increasing power and its role in our lives. I’m curious to see how Zuck goes about connecting with ordinary people and what he hears from them (and who else will be present to hear that feedback). It’s hard to tell at the outset whether this will be more of a stunt or PR exercise or a true listening tour, but Facebook and Zuckerberg definitely need to do more of the latter.
via Mark Zuckerberg’s 2017 resolution: Meet more Americans
Qualcomm’s new chip may finally get you to try VR – CNET (Jan 3, 2017)
Qualcomm’s new high-end mobile chip moves its product forward across a number of different categories, but it seems to be emphasizing the AR and VR aspects at its CES presentation. I’m looking forward to getting some more detail on this chip in a briefing later this week, but it looks like extending Qualcomm’s lead in this space at the high end.
via Qualcomm’s new chip may finally get you to try VR – CNET
LeEco’s new Android-powered smart bikes are coming to the US – The Verge (Jan 3, 2017)
LeEco had a big launch in the US in October, which felt overwhelming but at the same time short on details – many of the products weren’t available yet, weren’t priced, or were described insufficiently to allow observers to evaluate them. In many ways, LeEco has felt like it’s mimicking other big successful ecosystems, but trying to get there very much more quickly, which has been at the root of its financial challenges. These bikes definitely set them apart from the competition, but can also be seen as yet another sign of a lack of focus and excess of ambition.
via LeEco’s new Android-powered smart bikes are coming to the US – The Verge
Amazon to Start Selling TVs With Integrated Fire TV OS This Year – Variety (Jan 3, 2017)
Amazon’s Fire TV devices have sold pretty well, but as with Alexa the company is clearly willing to license its technology to appear in third party devices too, in this case TVs sold under three brands owned by a single Chinese company, Tongfang. These aren’t the biggest brands in the market, but this is a starting point, and could lead to more meaningful partnerships in future. However, with Roku also doing well (and perhaps perceived as less of a threat for some of these companies), it’s a competitive space. Amazon, though, can also offer prime placement (no pun intended) on Amazon.com, something Roku can’t.
via Amazon to Start Selling TVs With Integrated Fire TV OS This Year | Variety
Roku: 13 Million Monthly Users, 13 Percent Smart TV Market Share – Variety (Jan 3, 2017)
Roku has done well with standalone players in the past, but is also doing increasingly well in the smart TV space as a platform vendor. It claims 13% share of smart TV platforms in the US, and its TCL partnership seems to be really paying off. With Amazon also entering the market, this is going to be an increasingly competitive space, but it seems more and more TV vendors (with the notable exception of Samsung) are willing to consider outsourcing rather than owning the platform and interface.
via Roku: 13 Million Monthly Users, 13 Percent Smart TV Market Share | Variety
Dish unveils a 4K Android TV streaming box with Netflix, Sling TV, and local channels – The Verge (Jan 3, 2017)
Though cord-cutting is often seen as “breaking the bundle”, in reality many cord cutters end up creating their own stitched-together bundles of multiple streaming services, and in many cases an antenna for over the air content is part of the mix too. DISH’s Sling recognizes that, and this box combines the Sling service, Netflix, YouTube, and OTA channels into a single box running Android TV. That makes it a fairly compelling box – arguably more so than most of the other Android TV boxes out there.
via Dish unveils a 4K Android TV streaming box with Netflix, Sling TV, and local channels – The Verge