Lab Weekly — 07/12/2024

Open banking coming to the U.S.; Plus, the latest news from Samsung, new Gen Z social network, Apple vs. EU, and some cool stats

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Open Banking Is Coming to US

The financial landscape in the United States is on the brink of a major transformation with the impending arrival of open banking. This new model promises to revolutionize how consumers interact with financial services, spur more competitions, and facilitate more financial “super apps”. Here’s what open banking means for US consumers, and what it means for financial service brands.

In case you missed it…

Decoding the Ongoing “Vibecession” & Spreading Financial Anxiety

Despite job growth and rising wages, financial anxiety looms large for many U.S. consumers, negatively coloring an individual’s outlook on the economy and impacting consumer behavior. While conventional metrics for macroeconomic health are looking good, prevailing challenges in housing affordability and inflation’s lingering effects continue to stoke economic pessimism.

Outlook 2024: EMEA POV

Welcome to the EMEA Edition of the IPG Media Lab’s Outlook 2024 report. Led by Kate Walkom and Deb Cho, both from UM International, as well as Patriz Datlangin from UM MENA, with contributions from their brilliant teams, our EMEA team took a deep dive into the downstream effects of the social and technological disruptions over past few years, and laid out their impact on consumer behaviors and brand implications in the EMEA region.

Social Media At a Crossroads of Cultural Backlash & Generative AI

Social media has been in flux for a while, with major social platforms from Twitter to TikTok were confronting existential-level threats while bracing for the impact that generative AI promised to unleash. This year, however, social media companies have a new formidable challenge to overcome: convincing parents that they are not bad for kids. Could generative AI be the savior or its downfall? Let’s take a closer look at social media at a crossroads.

Samsung Folds AI Into New Galaxy Devices [The Verge]

On Wednesday, Samsung hosted its annual Galaxy Unpacked event to unveil a slew of AI-powered devices, including its latest models of foldable phones with built-in integration for the Google Gemini app, a new Galaxy Ring, and an upgraded line of Galaxy Watches.

Overall, I’m mostly intrigued by the sleek Galaxy Ring, which, like most currently available smart rings, is primarily designed to be an alternative, more discreet health tracker. What’s new here is that Samsung added new features powered by Galaxy AI: the Energy Score assesses how you feel based on sleep, activity, sleeping heart rate, and heart rate variability, and synthesizes all those metrics into a glanceable score, whereas Wellness Tips provide personalized health insights.

With Apple Intelligence around the corner, it makes sense that Samsung would want to keep up with the competition by introducing AI features into its product lineup. The debut of Galaxy Ring also signals the company’s desire to stay ahead in the competitive wearable tech market. It remains to be seen how much this AI-heavy push can move the needle on the mobile ecosystem duopoly, but the built-in integration with Gemini is worth keeping an eye out for.

Related: Oura Ring gets an ‘AI advisor’ right before Samsung Galaxy Ring launch [Mashable]; OpenAI and Arianna Huffington are working together on an ‘AI health coach’ [The Verge]

Gen Z Social Network “noplace” Hits №1 on the App Store [TechCrunch]

Another day, another cute alternative social network app targeting Gen Z. The latest one, noplace, combines elements of Twitter and Myspace, offering customizable profiles and features that encourage real-time interaction and shared interests. Unlike platforms like Instagram, noplace focuses on text-based updates and avoids algorithms that curate content. Perhaps Gen Z are finally sick of the algorithmic feeds.

Like other emerging social networks targeting Gen Z, noplace is utilizing retro design, hyper-personalization, and real-time engagement to differentiate itself from the legacy social networks. These platforms aim to create a more authentic social experience, fostering a sense of community and individuality. For brands aiming to connect with Gen Z, the rise of platforms like noplace signifies the need to adapt to these emerging preferences.

Related: Spotify is going to let you leave comments on podcast episodes [The Verge]; Threads is now letting users like and see replies that appear on other federated social media platforms [The Verge]

Apple Approves Epic Games Store for iPhone and iPad in EU [MacRumors]

Apple has approved the Epic Games Store in the European Union, following initial rejections due to concerns over similarities to Apple’s App Store elements. This move marks a significant shift towards a more open and competitive app marketplace environment in the EU, driven by regulatory frameworks like the DMA.

For developers, this could mean lower fees and more favorable terms offered by alternative marketplaces like Epic’s, potentially leading to higher revenue shares and more creative freedom. However, it could also lead to increased competitions, making it harder to stand out in a potentially more fragmented market.

Notably, this move was followed by Apple settling with EU lawmakers over Apple Pay by agreeing to open NFC access on iOS to third-party wallet developers for free for a decade. This means that 3rd-party wallet apps like Paypal or Cash app will now be able to provide tap-and-pay in the EU in the same way that Apple Pay supports today. Bit by bit, the EU is opening up Apple’s famously walled-garden ecosystem.

Related: Apple in breach of law on App Store, says EU [BBC]; Microsoft and Apple exit OpenAI board [Bloomberg]

Situational Awareness:

Paramount agrees to merge with Skydance, ending monthslong negotiations and Redstone era [CNBC]

Glad this merger saga has finally reached an expected finale. Kindly disregard all the new buyers’ hyperbolic talk about turning Paramount into “a media and tech company”. Paramount’s main problem was never the technology, which was fine. It was the scale of their content distribution, capped by the limited audience of Paramount+ and a dwindling number of linear TV audiences.

Meta plans to bring generative AI to metaverse games [TechCrunch]

Smart move by Meta to ensure that more creators are able to generate the long-tail end of the 3D games on Horizon Worlds.

Microsoft plans to launch its Xbox TV app on Amazon’s Fire TV Sticks in July in 25+ countries [The Verge]

Notably, this launch will also allow Game Pass Ultimate subscribers to access Xbox Cloud Gaming, further shifting the company’s go-to-market strategy for its gaming business.

Amazon announces revamped Echo Spot alarm clock with new display and speaker [CNBC]

It’s been a whole 7 years since Amazon first introduced this Echo model back in 2017, and frankly, I’ve forgotten it existed. Happy for those who love an alarm clock that talks back though.

• Less than half of users on TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram regularly visit these platforms for news content, according to Pew Research. Four in 10 TikTok users say they get their news from TikTok, followed by 37% for Facebook and 30% for Instagram, according to Pew, which surveyed around 10,000 US adults in March.
• Total SVOD subscriptions in the first quarter of 2024 increased 10.2% year over year, a considerable slowdown compared to 18.8% YoY growth reported in Q1 2023, according to Antenna’s latest State of Subscriptions:report.Overall, though, 38% of all SVOD subscriptions were ad-supported as of Q1, a perhaps welcome sign for marketers spending on streaming.
• Apple will sell under 500,000 Vision Pro units in 2024, and the headset’s international launch will offset a 75% quarter-over-quarter drop in US sales in Q3 2024, Bloomberg reports, citing IDC’s latest estimates. Although Apple will not cross 500K in units sold, it will grab 29% of the total AR/VR market value in 2024, IDC notes, a remarkable achievement considering its first year of sales with a product priced at $3,500.

If you find our insights valuable and would like to have a deeper conversation on technology and media innovations, or need to sound smarter in a client meeting or a pitch, please feel free to reach out to Chelsea Freitas, our VP of Strategy, at chelsea@ipglab.com.

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