News You might have missed: November, 17, 2017

Pixel Buds Reviews are in and They aren’t Very Kind

The Pixel Buds were announced together with the Pixel 2 in early October at an event in San Francisco.  The Pixel Buds are a wireless set of earbuds with a circular design and a cord to wear behind the neck for extra security when not using them. They feature gesture controls, for music, phone calls, or adjust volume and of course activate the built-in Google Assistant. All for $159.

Via tomsguide 

• I will let you read through the reviews to get the details, but there are two points that are shared in most of what I read: reviewers had higher expectations and at the current price there are better alternatives in the market.
• Of course, these two points are tightly linked!
• First, let me say, that I have only tested the Pixel Buds at the launch event, but I have not used them enough to share my review here. What I want to focus on are a couple of aspects that I believe Google needs to consider as it gets more into the hardware business.
• Expectations were high because reviewers want more from Google than a general device that has access to Google services can get. This is particularly true for Google Assistant, which is now made available in other headphones. Why choose Google if I don’t get a better experience or a better price?
• I also think that the outstanding Google Translation demo that was given at the event contributed to setting high expectations. The demo on stage was flawless. It delivered the promise of communicating with people speaking another language as if they were speaking ours. That promise, however, was offered as a reality. A reality that from my demo, a few moments after the on-stage demo, was yet to be delivered.
• There is nothing wrong in showing a promise of a technology or experience you are working on, but the lack of clarity on what it would feel like to use that technology today only set you up for failure, in my humble opinion.
• The capability of Google Translate is not at fault here. That part does work very well. I use it all the time with Google Home and I start to have some concerns about the fact that my mom and my husband will be able to actually understand each other when she comes to visit!
• What is missing with Pixel Buds is the magic that was delivered on stage. And people want that magic, especially from Google.
• Deciding what to keep to your own hardware and what to have run on others’ will also be a tricky balance and not just for Google. Amazon has to make similar decisions too when it comes to Alexa.
• Time to market also plays a role in setting expectations. With Pixel Buds hitting the market after Apple AirPods, Samsung’s Gear IconX, Jabra Elite Sport, and BeatsX there is a lot to compare out there both in price and capabilities.

Apple’s Diversity Chief leaves

Denise Young Smith, Apple’s diversity chief is leaving Apple after only six months in the current position. She will be replaced by Christie Smith who comes from serving as principal at Deloitte for 17 years where she focused on talent management, organizational design, inclusion, diversity and people solutions. At Apple, she’ll report to Apple VP for People Deidre O’Brien. Young Smith will assume a role as executive in residence at Cornell Tech starting in January 2018.

Via TechChrunch

• According to the timeline outlined in the TechCrunch article, Young Smith’s departure has nothing to do with the remarks she made in Colombia during a panel: “Diversity is the human experience. I get a little bit frustrated when diversity or the term diversity is tagged to the people of color, or the women or the LGBT….there can be 12 white, blue-eyed, blonde men in a room and they’re going to be diverse too because they’re going to bring a different life experience and life perspective to the conversation.”
• Comments that she apologized for a week after the event.
• Whether or not her departure was moved forward because of that statement is quite irrelevant. What I think matters is to understand that Young Smith might have been a successful head of worldwide human resources for the previous three years and a long time Apple employee. Yet, in order to be an advocate for diversity at a moment when the tech world is highly scrutinized requires different skills including the ability to effectively communicate the company’s mission in public.
• The first and last report under Young Smith as a diversity chief. As the report runs from July 2016 to July 2017, one might believe it would be unfair to think she could have had any influence on the numbers. Yet, would that not be her responsibility as head of human resources?
• The numbers in the report showed steady but moderate improvement: 68% of Apple remains male and 54% white (only two percentage points less than in 2016) 13% Hispanic (up one percentage point), 9% black (no change), 21% Asian (up two percentage points), 3% multiracial (up one percentage point) and 1% other (no change).
• While diversity was on the agenda when Young Smith was head of HR, the pressure of having these numbers rapidly change would have been much higher in her current position. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix for the diversity problem tech is facing and I am sure Young Smith was well aware of that. Of course I am entirely speculating here but I am struggling with making sense of why she would be entrusted with this role if she had shared with Apple her intention of moving on from the company this early into the assigment.

Motorola’s Insta-Share Printer Mod

This week, Motorola announced a new Mod in collaboration with Polaroid that basically doubles your Moto Z into a photo printer. The Mod uses Polaroid’s Zink inkless paper system and delivers 2×3-inch adhesive photos. You can take Polaroid pictures adding filters and borders and print them right sway or you can access your Facebook, Instagram and Google Photos to print those. The Insta-Share Printer Moto Mod is available at Verizon – exclusively at least for a limited time – and will set you back $200.

Via engadget

• I have to give it to Motorola for coming up with new Mods compared to LG who also tried to deliver a modular approach to its LG G5 not really pursuing the experiment much further than the initial removable battery.
• That said, Mods like the Insta-Share Printer will have a limited appeal given the price of the Mod itself and in this case, the $9 for 20 sheets of paper it will require.
• This year we have seen quite a bit of nostalgia in mobile from the Nokia 3310 to the Blackberry Keyone, and I could have certainly seen the Insta-Print Mod fit into this category had the price been $99
• The other possible target I see is Gen Z users but mostly if Moto decided to bundle Moto Z and the Insta-Share Printer for the holidays
• Longterm, Mods could be a decent additive revenue for Motorola, but more needs to be done to reinvigorate the overall portfolio.