Apple envisions AR, Niantic goes wizard wild and Uber taps NASA to take flight. It's the Daily Crunch for November 8, 2017. 1. Apple could launch AR glasses by 2020 Apple could be offering a new hardware product focused on augmented reality by 2020, according to a new report. The team behind it is aiming at having something ready for production by the end of 2019. It would be a standalone AR headset with its own screen and its own operating system and apps, according to this report. But it's still very much up in the air, given the state of AR glasses today and how far they have to go before Apple would consider selling one to the public. 2. Niantic is making a Harry Potter version of Pokémon Go Okay, so it'll probably be more nuanced than that, but the Pokémon Go creator is working on a Harry Potter AR mobile title with WB Games. Sounds like it's likely to resonate with another massive fanbase. 3. Voice assistant speakers could be in over half of US homes by 2022 I'm honestly assuming Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant et al. will be built into walls for new construction homes at this point. 4. Call of Duty: WWII looks real good The new Call of Duty: WWII game that launched alongside the Xbox One X is a real visual treat, I can attest. Jordan thinks it's a solid follow-up for the series, as a huge CoD fan. 5. Real estate startup raises $100 million at $1.8 billion valuation Real estate tech is hot, and Compass is benefiting with a huge raise on a large valuation. The online sales and rental listing co. will use the money to expand across the U.S. 6. VW and Google team on quantum computing for transportation Quantum computers could help us move around cities better, and VW and Google are teaming up to help make that happen. They're focusing on three main areas, including traffic modelling, battery science and AI improvements. 7. Uber wants to fly taxis in LA with NASA Uber has a lot of ambitious ambitions, but its flying taxi vision might be the most audacious. Now it's working with NASA to get demo flights working in LA by 2020, which is not that far way at all. |