Apple releases a new iPod Touch; Ikea continues to dabble with augmented reality, and Zuckerberg blows off Canada’s House of Commons.
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After a four-year hiatus, Apple is releasing a new iPod. Sporting the A10 Fusion processor, the new iPod touch boasts 32 GB of storage and costs $200 USD. 128 and 256 GB versions of the device have also been announced, and come with a price of $300 and $400, respectively. Many Twitter users were pleased to see the iPod touch make a return, indicating a preference for a phone-less Apple product that can run the majority of apps found on an iPhone. Others, however, indicated the $200 price differential between the 32GB and 256GB was a hard pill to swallow. The back of the device includes an 8-megapixel camera, while the front has a 1.2 megapixel FaceTime HD camera. The latest iPod touch represents the seventh generation of the iPod touch lineup, and is currently the cheapest iOS entry point.
Ever wanted to play around with Ikea furniture before purchasing it? Now you can, and LinkedIn is talking all about it. Ikea is launching a new AR app, allowing customers to visualize how their furniture will look in their homes before the purchase is made. Ikea actually launched an AR app in 2017 that let customers to see how more than 2,000 items would fit into their homes, but prevented them from actually buying those products. It’s no surprise Ikea is dabbling with AR – at least one study says more than 60 per cent of shoppers prefer to shop at stores that offer this type of capability.
And lastly, Trending on Linkedin – Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg will be a no-show this week at the House of Commons’s privacy and ethics committee meeting. In addition to Facebook, the committee had extended invitations to Twitter and Google. A few weeks ago, the committee voted to subpoena Zuckerberg and Sandberg to appear as witnesses. CBC says Kevin Chan, head of public policy for Facebook Canada, has confirmed that he and Neil Potts, director of public policy for Facebook, will be answering the committee’s questions instead. Finding someone guilty of contempt of Parliament doesn’t happen often in Canada, but that’s exactly the move the committee might make if Zuckerberg and Sandberg are indeed no-shows this week. NDP MP and committee vice-chair Charlie Angus had this to say:
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