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Apple Pay coming to Starbucks, KFC and Chili's in the next year
In a sign that Apple Pay is gaining traction with even more retailers, VP of Apple Pay Jennifer Bailey has just announced on stage at Code/Mobile a plan to roll out Apple Pay in Starbucks, KFC and Chili's locations across the country. You can expect to see Apple Pay in a few pilot Starbucks outlets later this year, with a larger roll out in 2016. Apple Pay in KFC should start early next year, while Chili's is expected to implement a unique pay-at-the-table mobile payment solution.
BlackBerry could quit hardware as early as next year
At a panel interview at Code/Mobile, BlackBerry CEO John Chen has said that the company might quit the hardware business if it isn't profitable by next year. He said that he "never says never" to shutting down its device business and could perhaps focus entirely on providing security services to other platforms. Indeed, BlackBerry's Enterprise Servers are already compatible with both Android and iOS, so it wouldn't be a significant pivot. That said, Chen is bullish on trying to make the hardware business work. On stage, he showed off the new BlackBerry Priv, which isn't only the firm's first ever Android product, but also BlackBerry's first ever device that uses an operating system that isn't its own.
Android founder says next major wave of computing will be AI
In a talk at Code/Mobile, Android founder Andy Rubin said that he believes the next major wave of computing will be in the realm of artificial intelligence. Rubin, who left Google to start a hardware startup incubator called Playground Global, said that after spending some time in robotics at Google, he believes the next big frontier is in devices that don't have screens, like traffic lights or your dishwasher. "Robotics and automation are going to permeate our lives," he said, adding that intelligence from the cloud will be the new thing. Seeing as Playground has invested in companies like castAR, which makes projected augmented reality glasses, and Connected Yard, which provides detailed chemical analysis of swimming pools, he's already putting his money where his mouth is.
Twitter's goal for the next year is to be simpler and easier to use
With the introduction of curated Moments, it's clear that Twitter is trying very hard to not only keep its existing userbase, but also to make its product easier to use, especially for newcomers. At the Code/Mobile event in Half Moon Bay, Twitter's SVP of Product Kevin Weil confirmed that vision by saying that the next 12 months will be about making the product simpler for casual users. This, he says, won't be good for just new folks, but will also improve the utility and functionality of Twitter for everyone. One potential way for Twitter to do that would be to increase the 140 character limit in tweets, which was a rumor floating around last week. While Weil wouldn't comment on it, he did say "We're not shy about changing something that's at the core of Twitter."
