el producto #328 🚀
el producto #328 🚀
Apple's mixed-reality headset, Google's foldable smartphone, AI-powered wearables, Creating a Product vision, How to build a PRD helper with GPT, How Zillow grows, & more
Hey team,
Welcome to a new edition of el producto!
🎰 The week in figures
$3B: After learning it could potentially lose a $3B/year contract as Samsung's device-default search engine to Bing, Google assigned 160+ employees to "Magi," a new AI-powered search engine project
$500M: Digital ticketing platform SeatGeek has confidentially filed for an IPO and expects ~$500M in revenue this year; the company previously planned to go public via SPAC, but the deal was canceled due to macro factors
$193M: Miovision has raised a $193M funding round to help cities reduce traffic congestion through computer vision software solutions; the company has provided its software to over 2,000 customers in 63 countries
$100M: Soundhound AI has raised a $100M debt funding round to provide customer service AI chatbots for businesses; the company works with Mercedes Benz, Kia, Snap, LG, etc
34%: over one-third of gig workers (34%) have turned to an online or digital bank for their primary banking services
20% of Americans now use buy-now-pay-later loans just to buy their groceries
-30%: Lyft plans to cut more than 30% of its staff (1200+ employees), aiming to cut costs by 50%, days after new CEO CEO, David Risher took over
💸 Q1 results
Netflix: revenue: ~$8.2B (+3.7% y/y), net income: $1.3B, total global paid subs: 232.5M (+4.9% y/y), global paid net new subs: 1.75M (missed estimates of 2.06M); shares were down ~3% on the news
📰 What’s going on
Apple may allow the sideloading of apps on iPhones with the debut of iOS 17 later this year,; the change would allow iPhone users to download apps outside of Apple's official App Store
Apple is furthering its efforts in the digital mental health space with the upcoming launch of an iPhone journaling app,; the app, codenamed “Jurassic,” will let users log their thoughts and activities over the day; it would track and analyze their behaviors and use that data to suggest topics for them to write about; Apple is expected to announce the app as early as June and launch it to the public with iOS 17 in September
Google plans to introduce its first foldable smartphone during its annual I/O developer conference on May 10; the Pixel Fold is expected to cost around $1,700
Google's Bard can now generate, debug, and explain code in 20 programming languages, including C++, Java, and Python
Google combined both of its AI research teams, Brain and Deepmind, into one unit called Google DeepMind; DeepMind CEO and Co-Founder Demis Hassabis will lead the group
Stability AI launched a series of generative AI models to compete with GPT-4; StableLM can be found on GitHub and Hugging Face and is currently in alpha
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy published a shareholder letter on Thursday; he emphasized Amazon's advertising business and compared it to Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Netflix said it plans to begin restricting password sharing in the U.S. by the end of June; the company is rolling out a paid-sharing plan that allows the primary account holder to pay an extra fee to add up to two other users outside of their household
Humane, a startup founded by ex-Apple employees, has demoed its AI-powered wearable device that acts as a personal assistant and could replace smartphones; the standalone device is smaller than a smartphone and is activated by voice and gesture commands; it uses cameras and sensors to project information and visual interfaces onto nearby objects and surfaces
Snapchat is rolling out its customizable “My AI” chatbot – powered by ChatGPT – to all users
Twitter officially started removing blue verified checkmarks from legacy accounts that do not subscribe to Twitter Blue
Reddit plans to charge companies for commercial access to its API if its data is used to train AI models; the API will remain open to devs and researchers using it for non-commercial purposes
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong mentioned the possibility of relocating the company outside of the US if the regulatory environment did not become more transparent
📚 Good reads
Creating a Product vision. Ami Vora (Ex WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Microsoft) lays out a 6-step process she’s found helpful in developing a vision that people buy into
From assumption to next steps. Teams struggle to put assumption mapping into practice despite understanding the theory. John Cutler suggests how product leaders can use precise word choice to convey confidence and intent when discussing assumptions
How Zillow grows: building the ‘housing super app’ - What operators can learn about owning demand, supply-side strategy, the power of free tools, multiple network effects, and the essential evolution of a marketplace from aggregator to integrator, by Jaryd Hermann
How I built a tool to help me improve product documents with GPT. And inspiring front-end-only project built over a weekend by Guodong (Troy) Zhao
🔮 Emerging trends
Apple’s mixed-reality headset
Apple's upcoming mixed reality headset is expected to run "millions" of third-party apps through its 3D interface. The AR/VR headset may cost around $3,000 and get its first reveal at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June. It would go on sale in the latter part of the year.
The headset would also run Apple's core apps for services like mail, maps, messaging, and music, along with “optimized” versions of apps such as Safari
Users are expected to be able to use FaceTime and Apple TV through the headset, with features that are similar to the iPad versions
Apple could offer a version of the Freeform productivity app for mixed-reality collaboration
Apple Fitness+ workouts are also expected to be available in VR
Prior reports say the device should be able to switch between fully immersive virtual reality and augmented reality, which combines the real outside environment with digital elements
Users could control the headset and navigate menus using their eye gaze and hand gestures such as finger pinches
That’s all for today! Let me know what you think by replying back to this email or commenting on Substack
Angel
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