rewrite this title in spanish X Launches Standalone Chat App on Desktop
rewrite X is working on another step in enacting Elon Musk’s “everything app” vision, this time via a separate messaging app, which would enable you to engage via X DMs in isolation from the main X platform. As you can see in this example, posted by app researcher Nima Owji, you can now access a desktop version of X’s new chat interface, enabling you to manage your X DMs outside of the app itself. X is also reportedly developing a separate X Chat mobile app as well, which would put X into direct competition with WhatsApp and Messenger as a standalone messaging platform. That aligns with Elon’s broader vision for the project, with Musk repeatedly referring to China’s WeChat as an example of the “everything app” approach he intends to take, in order to make X a more ubiquitous, essential connection tool.
WeChat plays a major role in linking Chinese people to their digital identity, with users able to conduct all sorts of transactions, in addition to messaging, within the app. It’s become so ubiquitous, in fact, that it’s considered an essential for the billion-plus users in the nation. That’s excited many Western social media executives over the years, with Meta, TikTok, and others all trying their hand at making their platforms more universal tools for discovery, shopping and more, in order to cement themselves as key connective tools.
Yet, for some reason, Western users haven’t warmed to the “super app” approach in the same way. While Chinese users seem much more excited about combining functionality into a single platform, for practicality and functional purpose, Western users have preferred to keep their behaviors separate, shopping in apps like Amazon, while using Facebook to connect with friends, and TikTok to watch video clips. There are various reasons for this. The Chinese government exerts more control over local platforms, and that could add a level of assurance to such processes that Western users don’t have in corporate-owned social media and messaging entities. It might also be just a habitual difference, or maybe the popularity of WeChat is part of a broader push by the CCP to maximize monitoring over digital identities. Whatever is at play, no platform has been able to convert the WeChat approach to Western audiences in any significant way as yet. Elon believes that X can cross the threshold here, and provide a similar transactional layer to our interactive process. And a big part of that, of course, is payments, with X moving to implement in-stream transfers, with a view to eventually enabling all kinds of financial activity within the app.
DMs, then, play a key role, as the added protection of encrypted connection will imbue a higher level of trust, while also providing more functional connective options. Which is why a separate X Chat app is important, extending on X’s recent work to rebuild its messaging back-end, and add in its own form of encryption.
The next step, then, will be to facilitate payments, which X is still working to get licensing for, before moving into to driving more transactional behavior in X DMs.
So, will that work? No, it won’t, and I don’t see any way that Elon Musk, who’s public trust has declined significantly since he took over at X, will be the one to bring WeChat-like functionality to Western audiences. Even if X can reassure users that its encryption is safe (many experts have questioned X’s encryption process), and even if X can get secure money transmitter approval in the U.S. (X’s application has been held up due to concerns over Saudi investment in the platform), there’s nothing to suggest that X users will actually want to use this type of functionality, and definitely not at the scale that would be required to make it a ubiquitous super app. X hasn’t even been able to get full approval for money transfers within the U.S., and there’s no way that the EU, for example, which Musk has made repeated public criticisms of, will approve the same in its region. Maybe, after years of working to appease the various global regulatory groups, Musk might gain permission to implement some level of monetary transactions in the app. But then, again, who’s going to use them? What percentage of the general public would trust Elon Musk’s X with financial transactions?
Maybe something changes, but I don’t see it, and as such, I don’t see why X really needs a separate messaging app. I just don’t imagine that it’s ever going to be the financial hub that Musk envisions, and if that’s not on the cards, then X is little more than a feeder platform for xAI, and a potentially viable ad platform at some stage. in spanish
rewrite this title in spanish Meta Launches Ray Ban AI Glasses in More Regions
rewrite Meta’s Ray Ban AI glasses are now available to a lot more users, with Meta launching the device in Mexico, the UAE and India, in its biggest hardware expansion yet.
Consumers in each region will now be able to get their hands on a pair of Meta’s increasingly popular connected wearables, which have taken off since Meta added live AI capabilities in December last year. Meta’s Ray Bans will be equipped with AI in all of these new markets.
As reported by Upload VR: “The expansion of Meta and EssilorLuxottica’s smart glasses business into India, Mexico, and the UAE almost triples the market reach, mainly given the enormous population of India.” Though, as Upload VR also notes, India’s digital connectivity and accessibility options are not as developed as other markets, which could impede take-up. But even so, bringing its popular AR glasses to more users will help to expand its audience reach, which will also help to establish Meta as a leader in digital wearables, and build its foundation on such ahead of its coming AR push. Which is where the competition is set to really heat up.
Apple has already launched its first-gen AR headset, and it’s planning a more slimmed-down, day-to-day wearable device, while Snapchat’s also still developing its own AR glasses.
Snap could have some advantages in this respect, due to the cool factor of the app, which was reflected in the initial popularity of its camera-equipped Spectacles when they were launched back in 2016. Though Snap’s AR glasses, at this stage at least, also look to have lesser technical specs than others, which could see it lose out in the AR race.
Google also previewed its own AR glasses at its I/O conference this week. And while the actual glasses displayed were a prototype version, Google’s working with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker, to create more stylish wearables, as it looks to stake its own claim in the emerging AI-powered smart glasses market.
So Meta’s definitely going to have a lot of competition, which is why expanding to more markets now, and getting first-mover advantage, could help Meta build a more functional, valuable distribution network ahead of the next push. And Meta’s Ray Ban glasses are cool, they’re good-looking, and amid the broader AI rush, you can see why they’re gaining traction. On that front, it’s also notable that Meta’s also now referring to them as “AI glasses,” not “smart glasses,” in its official listings. The broader expansion in availability is a significant step, and it’ll be interesting to see whether it has a significant impact on Meta’s Reality Labs sales figures for the rest of the year. in spanish