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.
Samsung’s TV and watch OS is reportedly full of security holes – The Verge (Apr 4, 2017)
We’re talking here about Tizen, Samsung’s alternative operating system which it uses for smartwatches, TVs, and to a lesser extent phones, and some security researchers are claiming there are widespread security vulnerabilities in that software. Some of the characterizations in this article seem like a bit of a stretch – it would be very odd indeed if Samsung had done as little to provide security in Tizen as the researcher quoted suggests. But these allegations are becoming part of a pattern recently in relation to Samsung, between the Wikileaks smart TV story, the more recent (and more serious) story on smart TV hacking through broadcast signals, and now this. It’s particularly problematic for Samsung because it has worked so hard over the last few years to develop Knox, its enterprise security solution, which is best in class in the Android world. It simply can’t afford to get a reputation for poor security when it’s trying to become the de facto standard for Android devices in the enterprise, and needs to address these vulnerabilities – and the broader claims – quickly and definitively.
via The Verge
Microsoft launches Sprinkles, a silly camera app powered by machine learning – TechCrunch (Apr 4, 2017)
As I mentioned recently in the context of Microsoft’s Indian AI chatbot, the company appears to be in an experimental mood as regards AI, trying lots of things in lots of separate spaces, without pushing all that hard in any particular direction. There’s nothing wrong with experimentation, but there is a worry that Microsoft both spreads itself a little thin and risks diluting its brand, which has become more focused of late around productivity. There’s an argument to be made that this Sprinkles app fits its other, newer focus on creativity, but it’s probably a bit of a stretch given the minimal ties into any of its other offerings. On the consumer side, Microsoft’s biggest challenge continues to be not just producing compelling offerings but finding ways to monetize them.
via TechCrunch
Intel Security finally spins out as independent McAfee – VentureBeat (Apr 4, 2017)
This makes tons of sense – there’s never been any meaningful synergy between the core Intel chips business and the McAfee business, and separating it off frees Intel up to focus entirely on its core, where it has plenty of work to do already given the maturity of the PC industry, its struggles to break into mobile and other newer areas, and the new threats in its data center business.
via VentureBeat
Troubled Chinese Giant LeEco Said to Delay Paying U.S. Employees – Bloomberg (Apr 4, 2017)
This is yet another sign that LeEco may be struggling financially because of an overly aggressive expansion into the US and into new product categories over the past year. It’s apparently struggling to meet payroll on time, and has also been struggling to close its acquisition of Vizio. It’s still somewhat baffling to me that LeEco pursued such an aggressive strategy in the US, because it’s meant not only stretching its tight finances even tighter, but also launching with quite a different set of assets from those that made it successful in China.
via Bloomberg
Spotify Premium users will get some albums two weeks before free users – The Verge (Apr 4, 2017)
This statement from Spotify and one of the big three music labels confirms a report from a few weeks back, which itself made perfect sense. It’s paid streaming that’s been driving a revival in the music industry, not ad-based streaming, and as such the labels want to do what they can to foster that model. Since Spotify is simultaneously the provider with the largest paid streaming base and also offers a big ad-based service, it’s natural that the labels would want to use what leverage they have to push Spotify to differentiate its paid offering more. Spotify, in turn, needs both to sign long-term deals with the labels and reduce its royalty rates so that it can gain investor confidence ahead of an IPO. So this is a win-win, though it forces CEO Daniel Ek to compromise on a key principle he’s held to previously, which was not preferring the paid service in terms of the music library it offers. Still, we’ll likely see similar deals with the other labels, which may finally pave the way for that IPO, which is increasingly urgent for Spotify.
via The Verge
Apple Plans New iMacs for Pros Later in 2017, New Mac Pros in 2018 (Apr 4, 2017)
A few years back, Tim Cook said Apple was doubling down on secrecy, and he’s largely kept to that promise since then, being as secretive as ever about Apple’s future product plans. However, that all changed this week with the announcement of future plans for Apple’s Mac line, an attempt to address vocal dissatisfaction and worry among a small but important community of Mac users. There are several key points here. First, Apple reinforces a point I made a while back, which is that true “pro” users are a small minority of Apple’s Mac base, and those who require Mac Pros are an even smaller minority. These pros are no longer the core constituency of the Mac, which instead is mainstream users. However, they are vocal, and they’re important because they’re disproportionately influential as a result, and Apple has underserved the upper echelon of these pro users, those for whom a maxed-out iMac or aging Mac Pro isn’t enough. This is an unusual concession from Apple that its Mac Pro strategy has been on the wrong track and that it’s boxed itself into a corner (something I’ve suspected for a while), and that it is belatedly trying to get back on the right track, which will take time. On the other hand, those maxed out iMacs and even MacBook Pros are actually enough for many pros – I have several family members who do video editing for a living and they all use iMacs rather than Mac Pros, and I found the MacBook from late last year perfectly adequate for using professional video editing software. But Apple’s statement this week is a sign that it doesn’t want the worrying and griping to go on, and that it needs to both make a more specific commitment to the future of the pro Mac line and to those high-end professional users. That’s a good thing, because it’s a concession that it has made mistakes and will now look to rectify them. This has been one of very few areas where there have been legitimate worries about Apple and its strategy, and fixing this should help to neutralize somewhat the Apple is Doomed narrative.
via Daring Fireball
Twitter targets tie-ups with pay-TV broadcasters in live video push – Telegraph (Apr 3, 2017)
This is an interesting next potential step in Twitter’s push into live video. So far it’s focused on licensing video to show to all visitors (or at least all visitors in a particular country), with one of the big selling points being that users don’t have to hunt through a channel guide, authenticate themselves through a pay TV service, or jump through other hoops. What Twitter is betting on now is that users might be willing to authenticate themselves through a pay TV provider in return for the smaller benefit of watching video and related tweets in a single window, something I’m not sure users will go for. Twitter has, at least, made that tweet curation experience better in recent months, which may increase the attractiveness somewhat, but I suspect a big attraction for the other live video Twitter has shown was that it was free and painless. As anyone who’s used other TVE solutions knows, those words generally don’t apply.
via Telegraph
Veteran Apple Designer Leaving — The Information (Apr 3, 2017)
Christopher Stringer was that rare thing at Apple: someone working in design not named Jony Ive that people had actually heard of and seen speak on Apple’s behalf, mostly because he was a witness in the long-running Samsung-Apple court case. But he was also a veteran at Apple, there for 21 years, and part of the small Industrial Design team which has been a cohesive unit for a long time. Twenty-one years is a long time to be with any company, and in the absence of any evidence to the contrary I’m inclined to ascribe this to someone who’s spent half his career in one place wanting a change of scenery. But of course he’s one of a number of senior Apple people who have left recently, and so it’s easy for a narrative to form here. So far, I’m unconvinced that the recent departures represent anything more than normal turnover among very talented teams in a fairly flat organizational structure, but it’s worth continuing to watch this trend for signs that there’s something more going on.
via The Information
Google Launches Android Patent Licensing Alliance PAX with LG, Samsung, Others (Apr 3, 2017)
Google has today announced a patent licensing alliance which is intended to provide cover to member companies using each other’s patents. The idea is that any member can use any other member’s patents without fear of being sued, something that’s actually been quite common between members of the broader ecosystem over the last few years. The alliance has only nine members to start with, about half of which are smaller smartphone brands, but the members do include Samsung, LG, and of course Google itself, as well as Foxconn. Those members alone apparently have 230,000 patents between them which will now be freely available to other members within the context of Android devices. This is a fascinating move, and it’s impressive that Google was able to get Samsung and LG in particular on board without also having some of the other big Android vendors. Of course, none of this will stop these companies from suing those outside the Android ecosystem (or this alliance), but it might help temper some of the animosity that has sometimes characterized competition between Android OEMs.
via Google
Facebook Shows Users More Content Which Doesn’t Come From Your Friends – TechCrunch (Apr 3, 2017)
Almost exactly two months ago, I wrote in my Techpinions column that Facebook’s next big opportunity was finally stepping beyond the idea of showing users only content shared by their friends, and using AI and machine learning to show them other content like content they’d previously engaged with. Doing this, I said, would dramatically expand the amount of interesting content that could be shown to users, thereby keeping them on the service for longer, and giving Facebook more time and places to show ads. And as I wrote almost exactly a year ago, this is just another consequence of Facebook becoming less of a social network and more of a content hub. Today, we’re seeing Facebook not only roll out a video tab (and a video app for TVs) with suggested videos, but also now testing a dedicated tab for recommended content of all kinds in its apps. This is yet another extension of Facebook’s increasing absorption of activity from across users’ lives into its various apps in an attempt to capture more of users’ time and advertisers’ dollars, and I suspect it’ll work pretty well if it’s managed right. Of course, it’s demonstrated several times lately that it’s somewhat lost its touch in that department, so it will need to proceed carefully in pushing forward in this area to avoid alienating users.
via TechCrunch
Roku Offers Guarantees to TV Advertisers – Multichannel (Apr 3, 2017)
Roku is going to start selling the ability to target specific demographics with advertising, and therefore claims to be replicating the traditional TV ad buying model more closely than most other online platforms. Roku already sells some ads for certain channels on its devices, and this is part of an effort to beef up that part of its business. It appears that part of what will enable Roku to do this is a two-year-old partnership with Nielsen to measure demographics and match them with Nielsen’s own. A big barrier to content owners putting more content onto online platforms has been the inability to measure and monetize audiences, so if this new offering is successful, it should help alleviate those fears, on Roku devices at least. But of course this also raises issues around privacy and tracking, and it will be very interesting to see how Apple and Amazon play in this space, especially given that Apple is generally data- and tracking-averse when it comes to user behavior, especially at a granular level.
via Multichannel
Samsung Smart TV Hacked With Manipulated Broadcast Signal – Variety (Apr 3, 2017)
Whereas the CIA / Wikileaks stories about Samsung smart TVs being hacked were somewhat overblown (they largely affected older TVs and required physical access to sets), this hack is more worrying because it would affect newer TVs and could be delivered remotely. However, for any kind of widespread effect, it would require hacking into a broadcast or IPTV stream, which in itself would be no mean feat, and of course would only work on TVs that happened to be accessing that stream during the time when it was compromised. Still, the broader worry here is, once again, that any device connected to the internet is at least theoretically vulnerable to hacking, and devices such as TVs with less sophisticated security systems than computers and smartphones are often the most vulnerable and hardest to patch.
via Variety
Amazon launches Amazon Cash, a way to shop its site without a bank card – TechCrunch (Apr 3, 2017)
In some ways, it’s very easy to predict what Amazon will do next in its e-commerce business, by simply identifying the biggest barriers to its continued growth. Which categories is it under-represented in? Clothing and groceries, and so you get private label clothing lines and various takes on combining online and other technologies with brick and mortar pickup. In the case of this item, we’re answering the question: what are the biggest remaining barriers to people buying stuff from Amazon online, to which at least part of the answer is that lots of people (around 7% of households in 2015) don’t have bank accounts or credit cards. Several times that number also regularly use check cashing, payday loan, and other related services, which expands the addressable market for something like Amazon Cash, which is intended to allow people to put money into an Amazon account by paying cash at a retailer. This is a logical next step in enabling more people to buy things from Amazon.com, and I expect we’ll see more efforts at this kind of thing going forward.
via TechCrunch
Android overtakes Windows as the internet’s most used operating system – TechCrunch (Apr 3, 2017)
This is an interesting counterpart to last week’s item about revenue from Android apps surpassing revenue from iOS apps in 2017. That news had been a long time coming, because Android has long since been way out in front of iOS in terms of user numbers, but revenue for developers has lagged anyway. This week, the news from Statcounter, which measures online traffic, is that Android has surpassed Windows as the source of the greatest share of online traffic by operating system. That, too, is likely a lagging indicator for the number of people using Android versus the number of people using Windows, but for a different reason – much of online usage on mobile is in apps, whereas on a PC it’s almost all web-based, so PCs will always over-index on web usage relative to mobile devices. There’s a good chance that Android has hundreds of millions more users than Windows already.
via TechCrunch
Tesla is now worth more than Ford after delivering a record number of cars for the quarter – Recode (Apr 3, 2017)
There are two things here: firstly, Tesla’s Q1 delivery number, and secondly what’s happened to its share price since it was announced. Stock valuations are interesting, but far from definitive as indications of what companies are worth or who’s “winning” in any meaningful sense. Tesla’s stock price is all about trajectory, and an unusual (perhaps even unwarranted) amount of investor confidence and enthusiasm that the company which is currently very small and unprofitable compared to its legacy peers will quickly catch up on both fronts. That, in turn, requires believing in Tesla’s manufacturing projections, which require a massive increase in its growth rate, from 56% annual growth in the past year to something much faster to hit its 500k target for 2018, which would be a six-fold increase over its 2016 numbers. Long-term, it seems very likely Tesla will reach that kind of scale, but given its track record, there’s every reason to believe it will hit this and other related targets later than it has projected. On that basis, then, the valuation seems that much less justifiable on the basis of any near-to-medium-term results.
via Recode
Ford leads self-driving tech pack, outpacing Waymo, Tesla, Uber: study – USA Today (Apr 3, 2017)
This article is based on a study by a company called Navigant Research, and it seems to be an evaluating of companies’ strategic assets rather than any actual capabilities today, so it’s worth noting that context for their rankings of companies here. Notably, they rank traditional carmakers in the first six spots, with Waymo apparently the first non-traditional / tech company in the rankings. That’s notable, because all the numbers suggest Waymo is out in front in testing of autonomous driving technology in California by a long way, and although we don’t have equivalent data for Michigan, where Ford does much of its testing, I’d be surprised if it had done many more miles. So this is mostly an evaluation of the benefits the big automakers derive from their existing massive scale and capabilities in building vehicles and bringing them to market, something none of the pure tech companies has (Tesla, of course, has some small-scale manufacturing capability and is looking to ramp fast, but comes in 12th in the rankings nonetheless). This jives with my perception that, even as these tech companies do increasingly well in developing their own technology, they’re very unlikely in most cases to build the cars, and as such the traditional car companies are still in a position of strength and potential leadership when it comes to actually building and deploying the technology.
via USA Today
Apple wants to sell HBO, Showtime and Starz in a single bundle – Recode (Apr 3, 2017)
Apple has been reported to be working on some kind of subscription TV service for years now, and yet nothing has ever come to fruition. Meanwhile, Amazon has gone ahead and quietly built a fairly interesting set of TV service components under the Amazon Channels banner. That set of components includes the big premium channels mentioned here (HBO, Showtime, and Starz, as well as Cinemax), but also lots of more niche channels including several targeting particular genres or international content. If Apple wanted to build a similar service, I’m sure the pay TV providers would be amenable, and the big sticking point would probably be pricing for such a bundle: Amazon charges the same rates for the three channels as Apple does on a standalone basis at the moment, with the exception of Showtime ($9/month vs. Apple’s $11/month), but Apple would want to provide some kind of bundle discount. To take a step back for a minute from this specific offer, it’s worth thinking about trends in online video at the moment. Whereas one of the big trends we’ve seen so far is one of disaggregation, with these premium channels and others offering standalone apps and services, people want aggregation, both for the price and convenience benefits of bundling, but also having a single user interface for consuming this TV content. With its new TV app, Apple has such a user interface, and I’d expect it to try to add more and more channels into that interface over time. Beyond Apple, I suspect this kind of aggregation will be a big theme this year across providers.
via Recode
Google says its YouTube ad problem is “very very very small” but it’s getting better at fixing it anyway – Recode (Apr 3, 2017)
There are one or two interesting data points in here, with the most interesting probably being that videos big advertisers “had flagged received less than 1/1000th of a percent of the advertisers’ total impressions” – in other words, the problematic videos were around one in 100,000 or less of the videos where ads appeared (it’s worth noting that this number only relates to the videos flagged by brands – there may have been quite a few more they didn’t find). The other interesting thing here is the suggestion Google exec Schindler makes several times that there’s some unnamed person behind the recent attention this issue is getting: there was a report recently that someone who developed detection technology for videos was pushing the story as a way to get attention for that technology, and I wonder if Schindler is hinting at that without being explicit and thereby drawing more attention to the issue. The last thing worth noting is that Google is now allowing outside firms like DoubleVerify and comScore to start auditing ad placement, which is something that third parties have been wanting. The issue is definitely fading from the headlines as the stream of advertisers announcing boycotts dries up, but it certainly hasn’t been dealt with definitively, and as I’ve argued, as an issue it goes well beyond just YouTube and affects programmatic buying more broadly as well.
via Recode
Apple GPU Supplier Imagination Tech Says Apple Plans to Build its Own GPU in 1-2 Years (Apr 3, 2017)
This already feels likely to be one of the biggest news items of the week (incidentally, you can now use the Like button below to vote for this post if you agree – the posts that get the most votes are more likely to be included in my News Roundup Podcast at the end of the week). There have been ongoing reports that Apple would like to build more of its own in-house technology, and GPUs have seemed at least a candidate given that Apple was said for a while to be mulling an acquisition of the company, and has been bringing Imagination Tech employees on board since the deal didn’t go ahead. The GPU obviously has a number of existing applications, but GPU technology has increasingly been used for AI and machine learning, so that’s an obvious future direction, along with Apple’s reported investment in AR. Apple’s ownership of its A-series chips (and increasingly other chips like its M and W series) is a key source of competitive advantage, and the deeper it gets into other chip categories, the more it’s likely to extend that advantage in these areas. This is, of course, also a unique example of Apple making a direct statement about a future strategy (albeit via a third party): as Apple is IMG’s largest customer, it had to disclose the guidance from Apple because it’s so material to its future prospects – the company’s share price has dropped 62% as of when I’m writing this.
How Donald Trump crippled U.S. technology and science policy – Recode (Apr 1, 2017)
This is a great summary of a critical element in the disconnect between the Trump administration and the tech industry. Through Trump has Peter Thiel in a liaison role and recently appointed Matt Lira to an advisory role around innovation, he has left largely unfilled the traditional home of science and technology policy-making within the White House, the Office of Science and Technology Policy. The article argues that this, in turn, has made it very difficult for the tech industry to make its voice heard inside the White House on issues such as the executive orders on immigration, which was the first major point of friction between the two. The contrast between the Obama and Trump administrations here couldn’t be more clear, and the big question is whether the current situation will change in time or whether this disconnect will continue.
via Recode