Facebook racks up more users, nearly triples profits
While Twitter is trying to rebuild itself, Facebook recorded yet another blockbuster quarter. Over the past three months, the social network had $7.01 billion in revenue and $2.38 billion in profits, which is an astounding 166 percent increase over this time last year. You read that right; Facebook’s profits this quarter has nearly tripled year-over-year.
A big part of that growth lies in mobile advertising. 84 percent of its ad revenue comes from mobile, and the number of mobile monthly active users has risen to 1.66 billion, an increase of 20 percent year-over-year. In fact, a whopping 1.055 billion of its users are mobile-only. An average of 1.09 billion people use Facebook via mobile on a daily basis. Its total monthly active users has grown too, to about 1.79 billion people. That’s a 16 percent growth from this time last year.
In the earnings call, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that going forward, the company is putting video first. “We’re prioritizing to put video first across our family of apps,” he said. “We think the camera will be the main way people share.”
He called out the rise of Facebook Live, which he said has grown four times since May. People from all over the world are broadcasting live from Facebook, he said. Instagram Stories, which incorporates both photos and videos that disappear in 24 hours, has also gained more users. It now has more than 100 million daily active users, as does Instagram Explore. Look forward to more visual messaging tools over the next few months, he said.
Zuckerberg mentioned a three phase approach in how he hopes to grow Facebook’s apps over the next few years. The first phase would be to deliver a great consumer experience, the second would be so users could interact organically with businesses and the third is to give businesses more ways to reach people. He said that Instagram is now in the third phase, with over 500 million monthly active users and 300 million users who use it daily. Messenger is in the second phase, and he said that the messaging platform now has around 33,000 bots from a variety of businesses. WhatsApp will be starting on the second phase next.
A big contributing factor to Facebook’s growth is also its efforts with Internet.org, which is its initiative to spread internet in developing countries. He said that Internet.org has already connected more than 40 million people.
Next, Zuckerberg talked about how the company is investing in tech like Artificial Intelligence (AI). He said that Facebook is already seeing impact in how AI can have an impact in enhancing people’s experiences on Facebook, like filtering out clickbait stories and finding terrorist propaganda. It’s still early days, he said, but he hopes AI can be used to improve the quality of News Feed in general.
As for VR, he reiterated the news announced at Oculus Connect, which is that Touch controllers are arriving in early December and the next phase in VR would be focusing mostly on great software experiences. Indeed, he said the company is going to be investing over $250 million on developing more VR concepts.
“Everything we do is about opening the world to everyone and helping more people to connect and share,” said Zuckerberg.
Source: Facebook
Dell hints at its take on a Surface Studio-like creative PC
Microsoft and HP haven’t completely cornered the market on creativity-minded desktops, apparently — Surface Pro Artist noticed that Dell teased its own all-in-one creative PC as part of the AdobeMAX opening keynote. The short clip (below) avoids offering any explicit details, but it’s clear that this isn’t a direct parallel to the Surface Studio. You’re not drawing directly on the computer, to begin with. Instead, Dell will have a Cintiq-style tablet display (it’s not certain if this is standard or optional) where you’ll create your masterpieces. The prominent chin on the Dell rig is also a sharp contrast to Microsoft’s minimalist design. Are those speakers?
Not that there aren’t any parallels to Microsoft’s system. Dell will have its own Surface Dial-like accessory that can pop up brushes and other creative tools wherever you place it on the tablet display.
In keeping with Dell’s time-honored tradition of not saying anything about products during teasers, the teaser doesn’t discuss features, performance, price or ship dates. The company only mentions that you can expect a formal announcement soon. From a cursory glance, though, it’s reasonable to presume that the dual display configuration you see in the video won’t be cheap.
Via: The Verge
Source: Surface Pro Artist (Twitter)
‘Pokémon Go’ will keep users hooked with daily bonuses
Now that Halloween is over, the folks at Niantic Labs have cooked up a new bonus scheme to keep players coming back for more. The next update to Pokémon Go will make it easier to rack up more XP, items and Stardust if you catch a Pokémon or visit a PokéStop every day.
For starters, your first Pokémon catch of the day will kick in 500 XP and 600 Stardust, but if you go on a seven-day catching streak, you’ll be rewarded with a quadruple bonus of 2,000 XP and 2,400 Stardust. Likewise, if you’ve got a favorite PokéStop that you visit on a daily basis, that’ll start to pay off a little bit more. Trainers will get 500 XP and bonus items on their first PokéStop visit and seven straight days of check-ins will bless your character with 2,000 XP and even more item pickups.
If you’re curious, the bonuses refresh every night at midnight in your local time. So, if you catch a Pokémon at 5 PM on a Tuesday, you’ll be eligible for the next daily bonus at 12 AM on Wednesday morning. This latest update, combined with a more balanced playing field should make it easier for casual Pokémon Go players to get a quick boost while also rewarding the hardcore fans still walking around with their phones out.
Source: Pokémon Go Live
Apple Releases Minor Update to First macOS Sierra 10.12.2 Beta
Apple today seeded a second version of the initial macOS Sierra 10.12.2 beta, which comes two days after the macOS Sierra 10.12.2 beta was originally seeded to developers.
The build number of today’s update is 16C32f, while the original 10.12.2 beta build number was 16C32e, indicating a small incremental update that does not count as a full second beta release.
Because the new beta is not showing up as an over-the-air download in the Mac App Store for developers who have already installed macOS Sierra 10.12.2, it likely only includes minor tweaks and will be provided only to developers who are downloading the beta for the first time.
macOS Sierra 10.12.2 includes the same new emoji and emoji updates that are present in the iOS 10.2 beta, introducing support for Unicode 9 emoji and new profession emoji. Some of the new emoji characters include selfie, face palm, crossed fingers, shark, owl, butterfly, bacon, avocado, and croissant.
Apple has also updated many existing emoji with new artwork, adding detail and making them look brighter and more realistic.
The 10.12.2 update also includes under-the-hood bug fixes and performance improvements to address issues discovered since the release of macOS Sierra 10.12.1.
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iOS Adoption Remains at Lowest Levels Since 2014 as Android Captures Record 87.5% Market Share
The latest data from market research firm Strategy Analytics claims Android captured a record 87.5% share of the worldwide smartphone market in the third quarter, reflecting the period between late June and late September.
Strategy Analytics director Woody Oh on Android’s continued dominance:
Android’s leadership of the global smartphone market looks unassailable at the moment. Its low-cost services and user-friendly software remain attractive to hardware makers, operators and consumers worldwide. However, several challenges remain for Google. The Android platform is getting overcrowded with hundreds of manufacturers, few Android device vendors make profits, and Google’s new Pixel range is attacking its own hardware partners that made Android popular in the first place.
While most of Android’s gains can be attributed to the continued demise of BlackBerry and Windows smartphones, which are now practically non-existent on the market, iOS adoption remains at its lowest levels since mid 2014.
iOS recorded 12.1% market share in the quarter, down slightly from 13.6% in the year-ago quarter, allegedly due to a lackluster performance in China and Africa. That nearly mirrors the platform’s 12.2% market share in Q3 2014.
iOS and Android together account for 99.6% market share in what has become a two-horse race over the past several years. Windows Phone is virtually dead, and BlackBerry recently said it is done designing its own smartphones.
Tags: Strategy Analytics, Android
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Elgato Announces ‘Eve Motion’ HomeKit-Enabled Wireless Motion Sensor
Elgato today announced the latest product in its line of HomeKit accessories, debuting the Eve Motion wireless motion sensor. The Eve Motion is a small square-shaped accessory that can be put anywhere in your house, indoors or outdoors.
It works in tandem with other HomeKit accessories, allowing you to create scenes that can be set off using automatic triggers. When placed in an entry way, for example, the Eve Motion can automatically turn on the lights and raise the thermostat when it detects that you’ve entered the house. It works with the Eve HomeKit app, Apple’s own Home app, and with other HomeKit apps that support third-party accessories.
“Motion sensors are an indispensable part of a home automation setup,” said Markus Fest, General Manager of Elgato. ” With no wires attached, Eve Motion is a versatile trigger for a host of unique and creative scenarios.”
Eve Motion connects to a HomeKit setup using Bluetooth and like the rest of Elgato’s products, it does not require a bridge. It runs off of two replaceable AA batteries, so it doesn’t need to be charged, and it has a 120 degree field of view and a range of nine meters with a response time of two seconds. An IPX3 water resistance means it’s resistant to small splashes of water and moisture, but it shouldn’t be outside in a torrential downpour.
Eve Motion joins Elgato’s other HomeKit-enabled products, including the Eve Energy smart outlet, the Eve Room indoor sensor, the Eve Weather outdoor sensor, the Eve Door & Window door sensor, and the Eve connected Light Switch.
The Eve Motion is available from the Elgato website or from Amazon.com for $49.95.
Tags: HomeKit, Elgato, Eve
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