Robots might actually create jobs not take them, Apple’s new luxury phone prices scaring away customers, and Shopify bring augmented reality to ecommerce.
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First up trending on LinkedIn: Fears robots stealing our jobs, may not be as real as we think. A new study has found that robots may actually create more jobs than they destroy. They could create twice as many, in fact. The study from the World Economic Forum says that machines and algorithms could actually create 133 million jobs around the world while only displacing 75 million. And it predicts that happening over the coming decade. Even with this message of hope the report warns of the urgent need to reskill at-risk workers. If you’re still worried that robots may take your job away check out the website willrobotstakemyjob.com which will give you the percentage of the likelihood that your job gets taken away by our overly intelligent friends. Apparently my jobs in the clear with only 11 per cent chance of robot takeover, whew.
Next up from Reddit: With the release of the new iPhones there has been discussion around how Apple’s increasing prices may lead to a loss in customers. With the new XS and XS Max priced between $999 and $1,449 U.S., a report from Business Insider argues that by offering phones at this price point, the tech giant is moving into luxury brand status and isolating many consumers. At the time of the new phone announcements Apple also discontinued its least expensive model the iPhone SE, making the iPhone 7 its least expensive phone at $450 U.S.. The report argues that while this increased price may lead to a short-term jump in revenue, in the long run Apple will lose out because customers will be less likely to upgrade and may even prefer to trade down for a lower priced model and consumers with limited means may not become Apple customers. Also to those of you with an iPhone, iOS 12 upgrade is available today so make sure to backup your phones so as not to lose anything before upgrading.
Finally from Google Trends: Speaking of the latest version of iOS, Shopify is taking advantage of the update already, offering a new augmented reality or AR feature to its commerce site. Merchants will be able to use AR to show off 3D models of their products thanks to Apple’s AR Quick Look which works through a browser without needing to download an app. One Shopify merchant, pure Cycle has already used the service to to offer 3D models of a bike. Shopify’s AR feature should be available as soon as this week.