Latest / Connecting the Dots / Connecting the Dots - 5-21-2025

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Connecting the Dots - 5-21-2025 · Connecting the Dots

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  Today's tech news moves fast, but understanding
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  it shouldn't be hard. That's why Snarful Solutions
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  Group brings you Connecting the Dots, where we
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  break down what's happening in tech and why it
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  matters to you. Now, let's dive in with your
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  hosts. It's Wednesday, May 21st, 2025, and you're
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  listening to Connecting the Dots. I'm Alex, joining
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  you from Snarful Solutions Group here in Sacramento,
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  California. And I'm Morgan. Good to be here also
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  in Sacramento. Quite the sunny one today. Oh
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  yeah, definitely sunny. They're saying a high
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  of 92 degrees, so maybe a good day to be inside
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  talking tech. Absolutely. And before we get started,
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  just a quick check on the markets from yesterday's
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  close. The Dow Jones finished up at 423, 43 .42.
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  OK. And the S &P 500 closed at 5908 .34. Got
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  it. All right. Markets noted. Let's dive in.
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  So Google I .O. just wrapped up their big developer
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  conference, and wow, lots came out of it. Yeah,
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  a ton. We've been looking through it all, and
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  we've picked out three main stories we think
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  are really worth digging into, stuff that could
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  genuinely change things day to day. Exactly.
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  And what's kind of neat is all three are, well,
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  they're all Google -driven, spinning out of I
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  .O., smart glasses, AR, better video calls. It
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  all ties together. It really does. A big focus
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  across the board. So let's kick off with the
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  first one. Google is making a serious push into
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  smart glasses with something called Android XR.
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  Now XR is that umbrella term, you know, augmented
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  virtual reality. Right, extended reality. But
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  this announcement really leans into the glasses
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  side of things. And they're not doing it alone.
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  No, definitely not. They've confirmed partnerships
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  with some pretty major eyewear companies. This
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  is the interesting part. Yeah, this caught my
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  eye too. They specifically named Warby Parker
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  and Gentle Monster. Right. Instantly tells you
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  something, doesn't it? These aren't just tech
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  gadgets. They're thinking about style, like actual
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  fashion. Precisely. Warby Parker, you know, that
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  classic maybe slightly preppy look. And then
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  Gentle Monster, super bold, high fashion stuff.
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  It suggests they want these glasses to look good,
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  feel good, maybe offer different styles right
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  out of the gate. Which is smart. If you want
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  people wearing these things all day, they can't
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  look like some sci -fi prop, right? Exactly.
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  Aesthetics matter. And it's not just fashion
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  brands they're working with. No, good point.
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  Samsung is also on board. They'll be making Android
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  XR glasses too. Which makes sense given their
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  long history with Google on phones and watches.
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  And this is in addition to that headset we've
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  been hearing rumors about, Project Muham. Yeah,
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  the Muham headset expected later this year probably,
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  so Samsung's kind of hitting both angles, the
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  full immersion headset and these more everyday
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  glasses. Though details on the Samsung glasses
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  specifically are still, well, pretty limited
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  for now, but their involvement is significant.
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  Totally. And one more partner they mentioned,
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  someone who's been in this space for a bit, Xro.
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  Ah, yes. Formerly Unreal, they know AR glosses.
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  And Google specifically called out their upcoming
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  project, Project Aura, as running Android XR.
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  OK, so Project Aura. That sounds like one of
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  the first concrete products we might see using
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  this new platform. Seems likely XRL has the hardware
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  chops. So when do we actually get our hands on
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  any of these these AI powered glasses from Warby
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  Parker or XRL sounds like it's still early days
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  It is Google said they have prototypes out with
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  trusted testers right now. So real -world testing
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  is happening. Okay, that's progress. Yeah And
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  they mentioned more info on availability in the
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  coming months. Plus, you can sign up for an Android
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  XR newsletter if you're really keen. A newsletter,
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  huh? Yeah. The classic sign up for future product
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  news. OK, so let's connect the docs for you listening.
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  What does this actually mean? Stylish glasses,
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  AI built in. Well, think about the possibilities.
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  You're walking around maybe in a new city. Directions
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  could just appear subtly in your vision. Like
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  a little floating arrow. Exactly. Or point your
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  glasses at a menu in Spanish and it translates
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  instantly. Because Gemini, Google's AI, is meant
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  to be baked right in. So it's about blending
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  that digital information much more smoothly into
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  like your actual view of the world, not having
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  to plot your phone for everything. That's the
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  promise, making that interaction more seamless,
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  more natural. Okay, very cool potential there.
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  Let's stick with that thread and zoom in on our
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  second story, which is actually about that XR
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  device we just mentioned, Project Aura. Right,
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  because this one seems pretty far along, relatively
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  speaking. It's officially the second device slated
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  for Android XR after Samsung's Project Muhan
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  headset. Ah, okay. So, Muhan is first, but it's
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  a headset. Aura is second, but it's glasses.
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  Exactly. Aura is aiming for that everyday eyewear
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  form factor, but with AR smarts, more subtle
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  than a full headset. And who's building this?
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  It's not just XRL and Google, right? No, it's
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  a three -way collaboration. You've got Google
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  providing the Android XR platform and the Gemini
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  AI, XRL handling the actual glasses hardware,
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  drawing on their experience, and Qualcomm providing
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  the chip. likely one of their Snapdragon XR processors,
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  which are built specifically for this kind of
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  thing. Okay, so a tech powerhouse trio behind
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  it. What about the tech inside the glasses? They
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  mentioned optical see -through. What's that mean
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  practically? Optical see -through, or OST, is
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  key for AR glasses. It basically means the displays
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  are transparent, you see the real world through
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  the lenses, and the digital stuff gets overlaid
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  on top. Got it. So it's not like VR where your
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  whole view is blocked. Exactly. Now, XRL historically
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  has used micro OLED displays combined with something
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  called birdbath optics. Birdbath optics sounds
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  splashy. Huh. Yeah, it's a way of using curved
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  mirrors inside the glasses to bounce the image
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  into your eye. The upside is you can get pretty
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  bright images and a decent field of view, which
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  you need for AR. Okay, brighter, wider view.
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  What's the downside? Sometimes birdbath designs
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  can be a little bulkier than other methods, like
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  waveguides. Waveguides are these super thin transparent
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  pieces that guide light, aiming for that really
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  sleek look, but... They've sometimes struggled
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  with brightness or field of view. Ah, okay. So
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  it's a design trade -off. Be interesting to see
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  where Aura lands on that spectrum. And the Gemini
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  AI we talked about, that's definitely an Aura.
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  Oh, yeah. That's central to the whole Android
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  XR idea. So expect Aura to do things like real
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  -time translation, answering questions contextually
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  based on what you're seeing, maybe recognizing
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  objects, all powered by that onboard AI. That's
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  a lot for a pair of glasses. Now, they also said
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  Aura will be tethered. What does that mean? Do
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  I need like a... wire running down my back? Not
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  necessarily down your back. But yeah, tethered
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  means the glasses themselves don't do all the
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  heavy lifting, processing, battery, etc. They
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  need to be connected probably by a thin cable
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  to another device. Like my phone? Most likely
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  your smartphone, yeah. Or maybe a small dedicated
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  processing puck you keep in your pocket. Hmm,
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  okay. So the glasses can be lighter, maybe less
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  bulky on your head? Right, but you've got this
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  other thing to carry and keep charged. It's definitely
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  a trade -off. Yeah, convenience versus capability,
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  I guess. Yeah. When do we learn more specifics,
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  like battery life, exact features, what it tethers
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  to? Soon, hopefully. ExoRail said they'll be
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  revealing more details about Project Aura at
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  the Augmented World Expo AWE. That's happening
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  in Long Beach this June. OK, AWE in June. Mark
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  the calendar. So the big picture here is making
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  AR more accessible. Maybe. Using the Android
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  apps you already know, but through glasses. I
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  think that's part of it. Tethered glasses might
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  be a stepping stone for a lot of people compared
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  to, you know, a big standalone headset. Plus
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  the AI assistant right there in your vision.
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  That could be genuinely useful day to day. Fascinating
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  stuff. All right, let's shift gears for our third
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  and final story from I .O. This one's about communication,
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  but in a really different way. Google Beam. Ah,
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  yes, Google Beam. You might remember this as
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  Project Starline. They've been demoing it for
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  a while. Right, the crazy 3D video calling thing.
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  Looks like it's finally becoming more of a real
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  product. It seems so. They've officially rebranded
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  it as Google Beam and the goal is still the same.
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  Create these incredibly realistic, almost holographic
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  video calls where it feels like the other person
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  is right there with you. No glasses needed. OK,
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  no glasses. That's key. But who is this for?
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  Is this replacing Zoom for everyone? Not yet.
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  Definitely not. They're positioning Beam primarily
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  for enterprise customers, at least initially.
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  Business is looking for that next level of remote
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  interaction. Makes sense. The tech sounds intense.
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  How does it actually work? How do you get that
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  3D effect without goggles? It's pretty complex.
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  Each Beam unit has, get this, a six camera array
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  that captures you from multiple angles. Six cameras.
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  Wow. Yeah. And that data feeds into an AI model
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  that builds a real -time 3D model of you. Then
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  it uses a special kind of screen called a light
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  field display to project that 3D image to the
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  person on the other end. It tricks your eyes
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  into seeing depth. A light field display. Yeah.
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  Okay, so it really creates that illusion of presence.
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  They were claiming things like near -perfect
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  head tracking too. They're definitely aiming
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  for a very natural feel, like you can actually
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  make eye contact, perceive subtle movements almost
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  like they're across the table. Big step up from
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  a flat webcam image. For sure. And is there anything
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  new besides just the rebranding to Beam? Yes,
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  actually a pretty significant new feature. AI
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  -powered real -time speech translation. Oh, okay.
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  Like live subtitles? More than that. It translates
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  the speech in real time, initially between English
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  and Spanish, but they plan more languages. And
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  here's the cool part. It tries to preserve the
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  speaker's original voice and tone in the translation.
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  Whoa. So it wouldn't sound like a robot translating.
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  It would still sound like, well, them. That's
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  the goal, to make cross -language conversations
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  feel much more natural. And they're bringing
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  this translation tech to regular Google Meet,
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  too, for some subscribers. That voice preservation
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  thing sounds amazing. potentially. So who's actually
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  making the hardware for this? Is Google building
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  these booths? No, they've partnered with HP to
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  manufacture the Google Beam hardware. HP is apparently
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  focused on making the design as sort of minimalist
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  and office -friendly as possible, given the tech
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  inside. Okay, HP is building them, and how are
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  they getting them out there? They're working
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  with distribution partners globally and making
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  sure it integrates smoothly with Google Meet
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  and also Zoom, so it fits into existing video
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  conferencing workflows. Smart. Makes adoption
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  easier for businesses our companies actually
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  biting any early users Yeah, they mentioned quite
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  a few big names already exploring it or planning
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  to use it Deloitte Salesforce NEC even Duolingo
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  and a major health system Seems there's real
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  interest in that high fidelity remote collaboration
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  given all that six cameras light field display
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  AI I'm guessing this isn't cheap. What's the
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  price tag look like? Yeah, nobody expects this
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  to be cheap Analysts are predicting a price point
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  likely in the tens of thousands of dollars per
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  unit. Oof. Okay. Definitely enterprise -level
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  pricing. For sure. It's high -end tech for businesses
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  where that level of remote presence offers significant
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  value. Not really a consumer product right now.
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  Right. But even if Bean itself is for big companies
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  now, what is this kind of tech signal for the
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  future? For, you know, the rest of us. Well,
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  that's the really interesting long -term question,
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  isn't it? While Beam is enterprise -focused today,
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  it's pushing the boundaries of what's possible
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  in remote communication. Like a proof of concept
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  for better virtual presence. Exactly. Imagine
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  years down the line, maybe this tech becomes
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  more affordable, more compact. Think about talking
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  to family overseas and feeling like they're actually
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  there. It could fundamentally change how we connect
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  when we can't be physically together. Reducing
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  that feeling of distance in a much more profound
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  way than just seeing a face on a screen. Precisely.
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  So even if Beam isn't for your living room yet,
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  the underlying innovations in 3D capture display
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  and that AI translation could eventually trickle
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  down to more mainstream tools. Very cool to think
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  about. OK, let's try and wrap this up and connect
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  all these dots from Google I .O. Sounds good.
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  So quick recap. First, Google's big push into
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  Android XR smart glasses, bringing in partners
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  like Warby Parker, Gentle Monster, Samsung and
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  XR with a heavy dose of AI. Then we dove into
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  X -Rail's Project Aura, specifically likely one
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  of the first Android XR glasses, using optical
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  see -through tech, tethered design, and again
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  that Gemini AI integration. More details coming
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  in June. And finally, Google Beam, the artist
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  formerly known as Project Starline. High -end,
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  glasses -free 3D video calling for enterprise,
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  now with that impressive real -time translation
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  feature that aims to keep the speaker's voice.
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  So looking at all three, what's the main thread
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  connecting them for you? What's the big takeaway?
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  For me, it really feels like Google is doubling
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  down on embedding AI more deeply into how we
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  see and hear the world, and how we interact remotely.
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  Whether it's AI enhancing our vision through
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  glasses, or making remote conversations feel
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  more real. Yeah, AI is definitely the engine
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  under the hood for all of this. It gives us a
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  lot to chew on. And maybe that leads to our final
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  thought for you, our listener. Go for it. As
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  this kind of tech -ting... The AR glasses, the
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  hyper real video calls as it gets more woven
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  into our lives. What do we need to consciously
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  think about? You know what aspects of just plain
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  old human connection might get lost or maybe
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  changed in ways We don't expect and what new
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  possibilities might open up That's a huge question
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  finding that balance between the technological
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  possibility and well genuine human interaction
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  something will all be navigating indeed Well
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  on that thoughtful note, thank you so much for
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  joining us for this deep dive into the latest
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  from Google IO Hope we gave you some things to
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  think about. Yeah. Thanks for tuning in to connecting
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  the dots. We'll catch you next time That's a
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  wrap on today's top stories. Remember, tech doesn't
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  have to be complicated, and we're here to help
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  connect the dots. If you've got questions or
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  want to learn more, visit us at snarful .com.
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  Thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next
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  time.