According to new research conducted by the UCL School of Management and the University of Toronto at Scarborough, it may not be beneficial for app developers to try to join larger platforms like Apple’s iOS App Store. The study revealed that the most popular and dominant app platforms are often overcrowded and oversaturated, pushing new games and apps to the backburner with little to no attention.

The study notes that while the iOS App Store raked in $519bn in commerce in 2019, the platform is extremely guilty of favoring older and more-well known games, making it almost impossible for new apps to survive in the space. In additional to Apple, researchers revealed other platforms including Steam and Kickstarter also make it harder for new apps and developers to stand out. To conclude the study, researchers advise app developers to seek out newer and lesser known platforms to work with.

“We discovered that as platform companies become increasingly dominant, their governance strategies shift from being largely supportive of the wider complement (app) population to becoming more selective and geared toward consumers,” said Joost Rietveld, Assistant Professor of Strategy & Entrepreneurship.

Rietveld continued: “Sufficient levels of participation by both consumers and app developers can set in motion a virtuous cycle that cements a platform’s dominant position of power. But not all developers benefit equally; its likely a small group of developers will generate most of the value. Essentially, there is a large split between the winners and losers and, importantly, this split becomes bigger as the platform cements its dominant position in the market.”

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Ikea and its external research and design lab, SPACE10, have collaborated to release 18 digital innovation experiments as a part of a new web-based platform, Everyday Experiments. The experiments will all implement some aspect of augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, machine learning and spatial intelligence to assist users in redesigning their apartments, houses or offices.

“For us, it’s important to keep a close eye on these developments and investigate how they can redefine the way we live at home,” said BasVan De Poel, Creative Director, SPACE10 to Wired Magazine.

While Ikea has already used AR and VR to let customers virtually place furniture in their rooms before they buy, these experiments are not focused on buyable Ikea furniture. Instead, the Everyday Experiments are meant to get consumers thinking about the possibilities of redesign and use of space in their homes. One of the first experiments is called Point and Repair, which lets the user point their camera at an old, worn down piece of furniture and explore restoration options.

Another prototype experiment is Extreme Measures, which lets users literally measure the empty space in their room using virtual expandable elephants. The point is to help consumers realize just how much space they are wasting, which could otherwise be decorated. The Techno Carpenter experiment lets users design their own unique chair using both augmented and virtual reality. 

“IKEA is very much interested in the potential of AR. And I guess its also no secret that Apple is gearing up for a future where augmented reality glasses are ubiquitous,” continued Van De Poel. “We could definitely see some or more than one experiments live on these AR glasses at some point when they are readily available and working.

“It might turn out that some of these will become more concrete and will be adapted into the larger IKEA ecosystem,” said Van De Poel, “But first and foremost, its really about inspiring people, designers and technologists.”

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Massage Envy and Chemistry, a full-service agency, have collaborated to launch a new Massage Envy app and website that focuses more closely on customer service and health following the Covid-19 outbreak. Massage Envy’s new website includes a backend CMS and more efficient ways of keeping up with each customer’s profile and self-wellness journey.

To aid the website, the new and improved ME app allows customers to create new appointments, book at multiple locations, search by provider, compare locations and services, and track their own wellness plans. ME hopes to turn single-service customers into multi-service customers and expand its reach to new clients.

While the spread of Covid-19 is still a prominent issue for businesses that offer spa-services, the new ME digital products will also utilize Tags to point out which locations are still closed due to the pandemic. The app plans to update as more locations either close for safety concerns, or open back up due to decreased Covid-19 cases.

“The new ME digital experience takes advantage of modern programming techniques to combine the appointment tool for web and the native apps into a single set of code,” said Dan Dehner, Chief Interactive Officer, Chemistry. “For ME it produced a solution that reduced cost of investment and increased the ability to produce quicker to market updates. For the end user it created a seamless end to end experience whether you’re booking on your laptop, mobile, or through the native app. The interactions, design, and process is a one to one conversion across all devices and platforms that improves user adoption, reduces user frustration, and eliminates learning fatigue.”

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Today, Samsung has announced the upcoming launch of the Samsung Pay Card, a digital wallet solution created by Samsung Pay, mobile banking platform Curve, and Mastercard. The digital payment solution will allow Samsung owners to sync multiple debit, credit and loyalty cards onto their Samsung device.

The digital wallet solution will be released in the UK later this year and is similar to the existing Apple Pay and Google Pay systems. This is also the first time mobile banking platform Curve has collaborated with Samsung Pay.

“We are delighted to announce this new partnership with Curve, coming together to provide a new payment solution for Samsung customers which will be available via Samsung Pay later this year,” said Conor Pierce, Corporate Vice-President of Samsung UK & Ireland.

“At Samsung, our customers are at the heart of everything we do, which is why we strive to create the best technology, services and solutions. The Samsung Pay Card powered by Curve will allow us to expand our Samsung Pay offering, giving our loyal customers even greater benefits and rewards than ever before.”

“Both Samsung and Curve are doing remarkable things in their industries, this new partnership sees two of the most innovative companies in the world collaborate on an exciting product that undoubtedly will raise the bar for Fintech globally,” said Shachar Bialick, Founder and CEO of Curve. “We are delighted to be able to offer Curve’s unique benefits to customers of one of the world’s biggest brands and enable customers to access a significantly greater range of banking services leading to a healthier financial life with Samsung Pay.”

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Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference 2020 kicked off today in California, where Apple leadership announced an array of new products and software updates, including iOS 14, the software system used on iPhones. Apple gave the audience a sneak peak of iOS 14, which will be released later this year, which will now include resizable widgets for easier user accessibility. These new widgets will be displayed on the iPhones home screen and can be organized through the Widget Gallery.

Another much-anticipated announcement at WWDC 2020 was the Apple CarKey, which can be used in iOS 13 and iOS 14, but is only compatible with the BMW 5-series as of now. Drivers will be able to remotely lock and unlock their cars and start the engine when their iPhone is on a designated pad inside the vehicle. Apple also announced the App Library feature, which will automatically organize all your apps depending on category, and App Clips, which will let users preview an app’s features without fully downloading or purchasing it.

Apple has added picture-in-picture to iPhones and Apple TV, so users can keep watching a video while using their devices for something else. Apple’s software for the Apple Watches, watchOS 7, will now be able to track additional exercises under the activity app such as dancing, and monitor the user’s sleep patterns with the new Sleep app. Lastly, watchOS 7 will be able to detect when a user is washing their hands, and will automatically display a countdown to thoroughly finish washing. 

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According to the BBC, the UK will be switching from its current Covid-19 contact-tracing app to a model more closely related to the technology used by Apple and Google. One key difference between the two models is that the Google-Apple model is more focused on user privacy, which could end up making data more inaccessible to doctors and researchers.

Head of the Test and Trace Programme Baroness Dido Harding said the use of the Google-Apple may not be needed at all, and at earliest wouldn’t even be launched until this Fall. If and when the model does launch, there may alternatively be no contact tracing feature included, due to unreliable distance calculations on the Google-Apple model.

The BBC states that the NHS has been comparing the current Covid-19 tracing app and the Google-Apple model for the past few months, but both models show inconsistencies that could lead to their uselessness. The centralized app, which is the current model, was better at measuring distance between two users, but struggled with recognizing iPhones. The Google-Apple model was able to track 99 per cent of all Android and Apple phones, but had problems accurately measuring distance between users.

“Apple software prevents iPhones being used effectively for contact tracing unless youre using Apples own technology,” said Matt Hancock, UK Health Secretary, in regard to Apples restrictions on data sharing. “Our app wont work because Apple wont change that system… and their app cant measure distance well enough to a standard that we are satisfied with. What matters is what works. Because what works will save lives.”

“What weve done in really rigorously testing both our own Covid-19 app and the Google-Apple version is demonstrate that none of them are working sufficiently well enough to be actually reliable to determine whether any of us should self-isolate for two weeks [and] thats true across the world,” said Baroness Harding.

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This week, MIT, King’s College, ViralGains, Mavrck, and Science Bounty launched a joint campaign to help raise awareness of a little known Covid-19 symptom: loss of smell. The CancelCovid campaign comes in two key parts: a social media challenge called #CancelCovidSmellChallenge, backed by influencer marketing agency Mavrck, and a survey conducted by ViralGains, which will gather Covid-19 data for health professionals.

“CancelCovid was formed by scientists, entrepreneurs and artists to amplify the work of doctors in stopping the spread of Covid-19,” said Tod Loofbourrow, Chairman and CEO, ViralGains. “By teaming up with individuals at MIT for our scientific survey we quickly learned that 55 per cent of Americans are unaware that sudden loss of smell is a Covid-19 symptom that they should be monitoring. One major European study called it a better predictor of Covid-19 infection than fever. This means there are ‘silent spreaders’ out there advancing the infection. We’re determined to change that.

For the #CancelCovidSmellChallenge, Mavrck focused on using influencers on the short-form video platform, Tik Tok, where the influencer will record themselves smelling something, and challenges their followers to do the same and enter the results at CancelCovid.org. The point is to help those who suddently can’t smell anymore realize they may have been infected with Covid-19, and to self-isolate immediately.

“We’re seeing significant spikes in influencers’ social media post engagement right now, so we knew it was critical to activate those influencers to drive awareness of this message,” said Lyle Stevens, CEO, Mavrck. “Utilizing our extensive index of social media influencers, we’ve been able to garner over 5.5m views within just a few weeks of launching the campaign,” said Stevens. “This clearly demonstrates the potential effect this campaign can have on educating the public and reducing the spread of Covid-19.”

“Getting the sudden loss of sense of smell listed as an official symptom of Covid-19 by health authorities in the US and UK was just the initial step in combating this virus we’re all working hard to better understand and control,” said Claire Hopkins, President of the British Rhinological Society. “I’m excited that my work is being supported and accelerated by CancelCovid through their creative campaign to educate the public about this early symptom. This will be an asset in driving awareness of loss of smell as an early symptom of Covid-19 to help prevent wider infection and even potentially help save lives.”

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The Oxford Foundry, an entrepreneurship center, has pledged it will give £120,000 to startups whose mission is to help stimulate the UK’s economic recovery in the aftermath of Covid-19. A group of well-known investors and entrepreneurs have already chosen the four winning solutions to receive £10,000 through the Covid-19 Startup Grant Runway Fund.

The leading startups were additionally chosen for the OXFO Covid-19 Rapid Solutions Builder, a program created to help expedite the progress of technology that will boost the economy. These solutions include saliva Covid-19 test My110, location data sharing solution Oblivious AI, AI-powered parenting coaching app Devie, and crowd tracking app Crowdless. Other ventures in the Oxford Foundry’s portfolio are also eligible for a £5,000 grant upon application review.

“It’s entrepreneurs who are creating the next big innovations to address the challenges arising from Covid-19, and they’re creating new jobs in the process, boosting the post-pandemic economic recovery,” said Ana Bakshi, Director of the Oxford Foundry.

“Universities are home to incredible innovation and talent, and it’s critical that this is mobilised and leveraged. The Runway Fund provides crucial funding to ensure these startups can scale and have a greater positive impact on society. The ventures in our portfolio are already helping hospitals, care homes, parents, schools and many other sectors hit hard by coronavirus. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far,” finished Bakshi. 

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Digital communications agency JIN has raised £3m in a funding round which took place in March, amidst the Covid-19 crisis. The consultancy, which was founded in 2012, intends to use the funding to expand its physical offices in London and Berlin, purchase updated digital tools focusing on insight, invest in marketing within the UK, and launch a new legislative and political monitoring tool. Over the next three years, the agency also wishes to build a presence in countries including Spain, Italy and the Netherlands.

The group, which was founded by Edouard Fillias, Alexandre Villeneuve and Romain Boudre, received the funding from CITA Investment, and stated that the Covid-19 crisis had little negative effect on digital communications. JIN says receiving the investment during the crisis only emphasized the notion that digital marketing investors are still hopeful coming out of the economic lockdown.

“It is clear to us that a digital and integrated approach to communication is key, especially during and after the current crisis,” said Edouard Fillias, CEO & Co-Founder of JIN. “Our ambition at JIN is to help our clients build positive influence and to support a digital recovery, based on trust and transparency.” 

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Curve, an over-the-top banking platform, has launched the waitlist for its upcoming new digital product, Curve Credit. While Curve Credit is scheduled to be fully available by the end of 2020, Curve is allowing the first 200 applicants on the waitlist to get full use of Curve Credit before the official launch date.

Curve customers who have already consolidated their accounts and credit cards onto the Curve app will be able to use the new feature to pay off credit card debt and to split transactions into installments. Curve Credit uses Go Back In Time technology, more notably used by shopping apps like Klarna and Afterpay. The technology allows consumers to purchase with an initial small payment, and continue to pay with installments until the bill is paid off.

“Curve Credit will offer our customers a unique combination of capabilities that will generate a truly satisfying experience,” said Paul Harrald, Head of Curve Credit. “Were able to do this because we will be a genuine “fintech” lender, using the synergies, the economies of scope, that exist between payments, lending, and a beautiful UX design. Customers can shop with any merchant, using any underlying funding card they choose, and we will allow them either immediately or at their leisure to “go back in time” and split the purchase into instalments. So, were always available, any-merchant, any card, point-of-sale finance. And, you can change your mind later. This is a truly unique offering that will change the way people manage their cash flow.”

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