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Mobile Syrup

Snap to lay off more than a thousand employees

Snap will lay off a fifth of its workforce starting today, according to The Verge. 

The publication states the company has been planning the layoffs for weeks.

Sources familiar with the matter state some departments will be impacted greater than others. This includes the team responsible for the social mapping app Zenly, as well as their hardware division, responsible for the Pixy camera drone. The product, which was revealed in April, has been cancelled.  

The Verge says the layoffs shouldn’t be a surprise, as the company’s stock prices have sunk 80 percent since the year began. The company hired aggressively during the pandemic, growing its workforce to over 6,400 employees.

Snap isn’t the only tech company to recently let go of employees or slow its hiring. Shopify and Tesla, to name a few, have also gone this route.

Image credit: Shutterstock

Source: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

Snapchat introduces new Dual Camera feature

In yet another update, Snapchat has introduced a new feature, Dual Camera.

And yes, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Users can now film multiple things simultaneously, capturing more than one perspective.

For example, imagine you’re at a concert you’ve been waiting for all summer. With Dual Camera, you can have the front camera face yourself, and the back camera face the performers, capturing video from two different perspectives.

Here’s how to access it:

  • make sure the app is updated
  • open Snapchat and select the Dual Camera icon, located in the toolbar in the upper right-hand corner
  • pick your layout: vertical, horizontal, picture-in-picture, or cutout

Dual Camera is available to all iOS users worldwide. Snapchat says the feature will be coming to Android in the following months. Unlike other recent features the company has introduced, users don’t have to be part of Snapchat’s subscription service to access the tool.

Image credit: Snapchat

Source: Snapchat

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Mobile Syrup

Snap gives up on Pixy drone four months after releasing it

After revealing its Pixy pocket-sized photo and video shooting drone in April, Snap already seems to be giving up on the device.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal, Snap chief executive Evan Spiegel recently told company staff about the decision to halt further development of the project amid a broader reprioritization of company resources.

Released roughly four months ago, the drone costs $230 USD (roughly $294 CAD), and features several different flight paths, including ‘Hover,’ ‘Orbit,’ ‘Reveal,’ ‘Favourite,’ and ‘Follow.’ The drone can also be set to only shoot videos or photos, which are then sent directly back to the Snapchat app on your smartphone, where they can be edited and shared. “Pixy is ready to fly at a moment’s notice. There are no controllers. There’s no complex setup. Simply set a flight path and let Pixy take it from there,” said Spiegel back in April.

The drone is still listed on the Pixy website, but appears to be out of stock at the moment.

Snap, among countless other tech companies, has been feeling the brunt of unfavourable economic conditions and posted its worst quarterly sales growth to date. As of the time of writing, Snap’s share is more than 80 percent down from its all-time high in September 2021.

Canadian tech companies aren’t faring well, either. WealthSimple and Shopify laid off 13 percent and 10 percent of their employees, respectively. Similarly, Toronto-based e-commerce investing platform Clearco cut its workforce by 25 percent in July, while Vancouver-based software company Unbounce laid off 20 percent of its staff earlier this week.

In other Snapchat-related news, the company rolled out its Snapchat+ subscription service in Canada in June that gives subscribers access to exclusive, experimental, and pre-released features before they are released.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

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Mobile Syrup

Snapchat+ users now have access to four new features, subscriber base passes 1 million

Snapchat is giving Snapchat+ subscribers more ways to customize their experience with four new features.

The first, Priority Story Replies, allows subscribers to have their replies more visible when responding to a Community Story.

Post View Emoji allows users to add an emoji others can see after they open a snap. Snapchat describes it as a “signature way to sign-off your Snaps.”

The company also introduced new Bitmoji backgrounds and app icons for subscribers to choose from.

With these additions, Snapchat+ users have access to 11 exclusive features, including Snapchat for Web. 

Launched in June, Snapchat says the company has more than 1 million paying subscribers. The service is available in Canada and costs $4.99 a month.

Image source: Snapchat 

Source: Snapchat

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Mobile Syrup

Snapchat first AR game is a horror mystery called Ghost Phone

Snapchat is now moving into augmented reality (AR) gaming, and its first in-app title is called Ghost Phone.

The theme of the game revolves around you finding a lost phone, and trying to figure out what happened to its original owner. What starts off as a regular adventure soon turns spooky.

The game tasks you to use your phone’s camera (not the phone you found, but your actual phone) to scan for AR ghosts in your surrounding. As you find more ghosts, and capture them, you’ll unlock secrets that help you uncover the plot, including text messages, apps and more.

To access the game, head to the lens section on the Snapchat app and scroll up to explore all lenses. Search for “Ghost Phone,” and the first lens with a ‘question mark on a phone’ logo should be it.

The new augmented reality game comes soon after the Santa Monica, California-based company announced that it is adding a feature that will let users turn their NFTs into filters.

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Mobile Syrup

Canadian Snapchat+ subscribers can now access Snapchat on the web

Calling all Snapchat aficionados, your favourite app is now available on the web.

The web version allows users to access their favourite features, including messaging, Chat Reactions, and Chat Reply. Users can also keep their Snapstreak going by sending Snaps right from the web.

Snapchatters can log in with their username and password on web.snapchat.com to keep the conversation going through messaging or video calls. Users transferring calls from mobile to web (or vice-versa) won’t face any disruptions. All they have to do is log in, and the call will follow them.

They’ll be greeted with a home screen mimicking the app’s mobile version. To the left is a menu, or communications feed, that allows users to chat with their friends and make video calls.

Snapchat’s messaging function on the web. Image credit: Snapchat

A Snapchat spokesperson told MobileSyrup that the platform is a way for friends to connect in all cases, and in the world of video calling, that includes multitasking. For example, users could be doing their homework while having friends connected on a video call through the web. It’s not about the video call having their full attention, like in business meetings, but it’s a way for Snapchatters to be digitally present with each other.

The web version also features a privacy screen that hides conversations from people walking by. Users also won’t be able to screenshot conversations on Snapchat’s web version; attempts to do so will lead to a pop-up notification reminder.

Snapchat+ subscribers in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom can now access the feature. Snapchatters without a subscription in Australia and New Zealand can also log in on the web.

The company says it will soon make the feature available to Snapchat+ subscribers in France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, before making the feature available for everyone worldwide.

Image credit: Snapchat

Source: Snapchat

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Mobile Syrup

Snapchat+ is now available in Canada for $3.99/month

Snapchat has launched its subscription service in Canada for $3.99 a month.

Snapchat+ includes a collection of exclusive, experimental, and pre-released features that subscribers will have access to first. They’ll also be given “prioritized support,” according to a company blog post.

Interested users can tap on ‘Snapchat+’ on their profile to get access.

The subscription is also available in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Snapchat says it will expand the service to other countries down the road.

Image credit: Snapchat 

Source: Snapchat

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Mobile Syrup

Snap may not have made enough Pixy drones to keep up with demand

Snap began selling its new automated hovering Pixy drone made for taking selfies. The drone is available in the U.S. and France currently. Even with a limited market, the demand appears to be outweighing Snap’s supply.

Reports are coming in that Snap is extending the estimate for Pixy drone shipments. Previously, customers of the $230 USD (roughly $294) Pixy drone were told that wait times were upwards of three months. Now, Snap’s website claims shipping times can be up to four months.

Additionally, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel told The Verge’s Alex Heath that “in hindsight, we probably should have made more.”

It’s still difficult to say whether Snap’s Pixy drone is flying off virtual shelves or if they are merely hovering. There does seem to be demand for the product. Though, just how much demand remains to be unclear as Snap is not disclosing how many were manufactured in the first place.

The demand for the Pixy does seem warranted. It appears to be a pretty neat piece of tech. The hovering Pixy drone features a number of flight patterns including ‘Hover,’ ‘Orbit,’ ‘Reveal,’ ‘Favourite,’ and ‘Follow.’

Users are able to guide the Snap Pixy drone to a spot in the air or follow the user. The drone can then take photos or videos and send them directly to the Snapchat app on iOS and Android. Users can edit these photos and videos with various filters and Snap effects like ‘Hyperspeed,’ ‘Bounce,’ ‘Orbit 3D’ and ‘Jump Cut.’ Once complete, the image or video can be shared.

In terms of specs, the Pixy offers a 12-megapixel camera, capturing 2.7k videos. The battery lasts roughly five to eight flights on a single charge.

While on the market, it’s not yet known when the Snap’s Pixy drone will be available in Canada. Though, given the shipment times for the U.S., we shouldn’t wait with bated breath.

Image credit: Snap

Source: The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

Snap reveals pocket-sized photo and video shooting drone called Pixy

Snap has revealed a tiny new drone called Pixy that follows users around and captures photos and videos.

The drone is on sale now in the U.S. and France for $230 USD (roughly $294 CAD). It’s unclear if Snap has plans to bring the drone to Canada. While the Snapchat maker’s Spectacles didn’t initially drop in Canada, they were released here several years later.

The seemingly simplistic drone is capable of following users with the press of a button, according to Snap. Pixy features several different flight paths, including ‘Hover,’ ‘Orbit,’ ‘Reveal,’ ‘Favourite,’ and likely the most useful, ‘Follow.’

With ‘Follow’, as you likely guessed, Pixy will follow as you move around and automatically snap photos and videos during its flight. Snap says that the drone can also be set to only shoot videos or photos.

Images are sent directly back to the Snapchat app on your smartphone where they can be edited with well-known Snap effects like ‘Hyperspeed,’ ‘Bounce,’ ‘Orbit 3D’ and ‘Jump Cut,’ and then shared.

“Pixy is ready to fly at a moment’s notice. There are no controllers. There’s no complex setup. Simply set a flight path and let Pixy take it from there,” said Snap CEO Evan Spiegel during the social media platform’s recent Partners Summit.

The Pixy captures 2.7k videos and features a 12-megapixel camera. The drone weighs 101g, offers a replaceable battery and can last roughly five to eight flights on one charge.

Though undeniably cool, one of Spectacles most significant limitations is the fact that they only worked well within the Snap app. Though it hasn’t been confirmed yet, it appears that Pixy will likely be locked-down in a very similar way.

Image credit: Snap 

Source: Snap 

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Mobile Syrup

Snap acquires Paris-based neuro-tech startup to further its AR/VR tech

Snapchat announced earlier today that it has acquired NextMind, a French neuro-tech startup that produces headbands to monitor neural activity. NextMind’s headbands allow the wearer to control aspects of a computer, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) wearables and headsets just by thinking about the action.

The deal, which is sure to help Snap further develop its AR/VR products and the company’s spectacles, was completed for an undisclosed sum of money. “NextMind has joined Snap to help drive long-term augmented reality research efforts within Snap Lab. The team will continue to operate out of Paris,” reads Snap’s blog post. 

Snap also clarified in its blog that NextMind’s tech is not invasive, as it does not read thoughts or send any signals towards the brain and instead allows the wearer to ‘push a virtual button’ by focusing on it. According to The Verge, NextMind’s $400 headband developer kit will now be discontinued, considering its Snap’s property now.

It seems like Snap is persistent about making AR/VR tech the next big thing. It acquired WaveOptics, an AR display-maker, in May last year, followed by the acquisition of Compound Photonics in January 2021. However, Snap isn’t the only company diving deep into neural and AR/VR tech. Apple has long been rumoured to release an AR/VR headset, whereas Meta acquired neural interface startup CTRL-Labs back in 2019.

Elon Musk’s Neuralink has been making solid progress and is moving towards human testing, while Valve is exploring brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) for gaming along with OpenBCI.

Learn more about the acquisition here, and dive deep into how NextMind’s technology works here.

Image credit: NextMind

Source: Snap Via: The Verge