Iterate Weekly - Issue 112
This week we're looking at Apple's VR headset, Google is making AI Music, GM won't give Americans tiny electric trucks, ChatGPT ads are coming to fortune cookies, and (a breath of fresh) Air!
Welcome to issue 112 of Iterate Weekly!
Hope you’re all doing well. This is just a friendly reminder that you can always reply directly to these messages or leave a comment on the Substack post. Feedback is highly encouraged and I’m happy to answer any and all questions that come up.
Let’s jump into this week’s stories.
🤖 Tech
Apple’s VR/AR headset is coming to life
I mentioned the coming Apple VR headset in a past issue when looking at the new HTC Vive. I think it’s fair to say that VR headsets have seen a dip in excitement in the months since. Facebook’s Meta Quest Pro has largely been considered a disappointment as prices have been slashed.
But now, some new info is coming out about Apple’s rumored headset that may get potential VR customers excited. It looks like the device will see it’s grand debut at this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June.
It’s rumored to be called the “Reality Pro” (not sure I love the name but it could grow on me) and could sell for $3,000. Like the Meta Quest Pro, it appears that Apple is going after a more professional audience with this headset. It should have a robust passthrough mode to offer augmented reality in addition to tradition VR.
I’m intrigued with its ability to connect to your Mac computer. I know there are already some VR apps that let you remotely connect to a desktop, but the process hasn’t been seamless. But if I could strap on a relatively thin headset to remotely connect to my Mac desktop, I’d be willing to use it as a daily productivity tool.
Throw in the ability for full face and body FaceTime video calls and this could very well be a game-changing device more along the lines of the original iPhone or iPad rather than just another Meta Quest clone. If anyone can figure out this market, it’s apple. The high price may make it unobtainable for some at first, but we said that about the iPhone too. We may not have the same ability to subsidize a VR headset through a phone carrier, but the prices will eventually come down.
I was genuinely considering purchasing a Meta Quest Pro at the new discounted price, but it seems wise for any VR fan to hold off until we see the full picture of what Apple has been working on here.
🎓 Education/Productivity/Work
Using AI to make music
Google has a fun new product coming to market for music fans. It’s called MusicLM and it will create music based on text prompts.
It seems like a natural progression for our AI bots to start making music right? They’ve gotten pretty great at generating artistic images, maybe artistic tunes could be next.
Of course, technology like this is poised to create all sorts of copyright issues. To get ahead of that, Google has claimed that their service will not allow any text prompts to create music that sounds like a certain artist.
So you can say things like: “soft, classical music for a dinner party” but you won’t be able to input “Mozart music for eating ice cream on the beach”.
I’m looking forward to playing around with MusicLM soon and may have a follow-up story. It seems like a great new tool for creators to find a quick tune without having to search through extensive data bases. Let’s face it, most of us are better at typing out the kind of vibe we’re looking for rather than articulating specific musical terms, etc.
♻️ Health & Environment
GM won’t bring its tiny pickup truck to the US
American consumers just can’t catch a break when it comes to small electric cars and trucks.
The BMW i3 was discontinued. Then Chevy announced they were no longer going to be selling the Bolt. Now, General Motors teases us with a tiny electric pickup truck that they have no plans on bringing to the United States.
I know all the stereotypes about Americans loving big things including cars and trucks, but this is getting ridiculous. This pickup truck is about the same size as the tiny Fiat 500. It’s called the Baojun Yep EV and it costs only about $14,000 USD. And alas, it will only be available in China.
I’m not really in the market for a pickup truck, electric or otherwise, but this seems extremely practical. A low price point, the ability to still haul a decent amount of stuff, a reasonable range of 188 miles to go along with a basically highway ready top speed of 62mph. There is a lot to like here.
No, it may not solve the needs for farmers or people doing serious hauling. But I’d venture to say that there are plenty of current pickup truck owners who could move over to this affordable electric version without skipping a beat. I’m all for American safety standards, but we need to figure out a way to easily important vehicles like this if they aren’t going to be sold in American showrooms.
If only we lived in a world where practical vehicles could be easily shared across country borders without all the red tape. Someday!
🛍 Grab Bag
ChatGPT fortune cookies
I remember getting so excited to eat fortune cookies as a kid. They were certainly the highlight of the Chinese food dinner. They just felt like a toy and a treat and there was a mystery inside, they really checked off all the boxes for a kid.
But as an adult, they’ve kinda lost their luster. They can be stale. The fortunes can be confusing. And things could be getting even worse if your fortune cookies are filled with ads.
Yep, a company called OpenFortune has been selling ad space in fortune cookies for the past few years. But to make things even more interesting, they are now using ChatGPT to write the fortunes.
Cross fortune cookie fortune writer off the list of possible jobs for my daughter. The robots have taken this job too. All jokes aside, I actually think this is a really smart place to market a product.
Plenty of people have learned to value the wisdom of the fortune cookie over the years. You may not have a more captive audience than the 30ish seconds someone takes to open the cookie and read a fortune. And according to OpenFortune, people are excited to post photos of their interesting fortunes on social media, giving the ads even further reach.
I’m a little nervous about brands subtly injecting ads into fortunes that seem like deep wisdom form ancient China. It’s a slippery slope, especially with the help of ChatGPT. Will we even be able to tell when our fortune cookie contains an ad?
💬 Quote of the Week
"Life is like riding a bicycle – in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving."
-Albert Einstein
🎥Content Recommendation
Air
This week I finally got around to watching a movie that I had been pretty excited about for quite some time.
I’m talking about Air. The story behind Michael Jordan signing with Nike.
I had read Head of Nike Phil Knight’s book “Shoe Dog” a few years ago so I was pretty familiar with the principle players involved in this film. As a kid who grew up idolizing Michael Jordan, this movie was really made for me.
Although, it is noteworthy that Michael Jordan isn’t really in this movie. Sure, there are some shots of an actor portraying him and you see some clips of him playing basketball, but it’s not a Jordan movie. Instead, it centers around Jordan’s mother and the underdog Nike employees who are trying to convince her son to sign with their brand.
Air has had plenty of praise recently, so I will add mine to the pile. I enjoyed the trip back to 1984 and was thoroughly entertained from start to finish.
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
Hey! Could you use some help establishing healthy habits? Do you have a big project or new business that you want to get off the ground but could use some advice? Maybe you could benefit from hiring me as your coach. If you’re interested, read more about my coaching services here, or go ahead and book some time on my calendar to discuss further.
Iterate is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you should let me know that this writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won't be charged unless I enable payments at some point in the future. Think of it like an IOU in a tip jar.
Loved Air. Might watch it again this weekend!