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It didn’t really occur to me until now, but Apple has been selling AirPods with the same design as the original launch, back in December 2016, continuously for the eight years since then.

When AirPods 2nd Gen came out, they upgraded the internals and sound, as well as added new features, but they kept essentially the same exact design for the buds and case.

Supremacy
Parmy Olson (Macmillan Business (UK); St Martin’s Press (US))

For most people, ChatGPT appeared to materalise out of thin air. Within weeks of OpenAI’s quiet launch of the AI chatbot, it had become the fastest-growing app of all time and, almost two years later, it is nearly as well known as Google or Facebook. In the meantime, companies worldwide have gone gaga for the technology, with little time to pause to consider the wider societal consequences. So how did we get here and who was responsible?…

In November 2022, Meta cut 11,000 jobs (about 13% of its staff) in the biggest tech layoff of 2022. It wasn’t just Meta, many other tech industry giants made cuts and “right-sized” amidst uncertain economic conditions.

This means that many skilled immigrants were forced to quickly find a new job or leave the countries they were employed in. Considering the emerging tech and start-up scene in Southeast Asia (SEA), the region might appeal to many of these young, innovative, and determined individuals.

Let’s not forget that for some, it could be the perfect reason to go “home” – wherever it may be. 

What does this mean for SEA? How might its tech industry develop and how could its societies change? What would it mean for (non-tech industry) brands?

Let’s explore some possibilities.

SEA is going through a period of digitalisation

We’ve seen various unicorns – Bukalapak (Indonesia), Grab (Malaysia), Lazada (Singapore), etc – emerge from the region in the past decade, and we don’t expect it to end there. In many ways, SEA is still “playing catch up” with the modern world.

There remain many challenges to be solved throughout the region – in healthcare, education, banking, entertainment, and so on – and solutions often bring about new challenges (or opportunities).

While tech skills are growing among locals, there’s arguably still a lack of practical experience. SEA companies will be on the lookout for skilled individuals who have experienced failure and success – to help them avoid missteps, mentor local talent, and inspire new ideas for the future.

To attract these individuals, certain SEA nations – Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia – have started offering “digital nomad visas” to attract skilled foreign talent and other high-net-worth individuals.

To clarify, SEA’s tech ecosystem was not immune to layoffs in 2022 and in the current economic environment, funding appears constricted. However, experts continue to project economic growth in the region, even if it seems a little slow right now.

One reason for this is that, in our ageing world, the World Economic Forum predicts that Gen Zs and Millennials will make up 75% of ASEAN consumers by 2030. This is a change-driving demographic so expect many to start their own tech- and purpose-led businesses. 

So beyond e-commerce, Fin-tech, Edu-tech, and digital entertainment, expect to also see investments in Agri-tech, Food-tech, Health-tech, Green-tech, SaaS (Software as a Service), EV, Automation, etc. 

Will SEA consumers welcome these tech-led changes?

Depending on one’s perspective, tech can be viewed as a force for good or one for evil. It’s been called the great isolator but also the great connector. It has “stolen” jobs but created new ones. It has given us the power of anonymity but also a path to fame.

It won’t just be technically skilled individuals (eg engineers, programmers, designers) in high demand, but those with keen human understanding as well.   

With many new tech innovations, adoption is part of the product itself. Social media platforms cannot exist without users, and solutions are meaningless without the need (eg e-grocery).

How well a company or start-up understands the market, the community, their potential audience, and its needs are key to its success or failure – along with an offering that is convenient, safe, and pleasing to use. This means there will be immense opportunities for collaboration (eg between local and foreign talent or companies), but also heightened user expectations to meet.

What will this mean for brands in SEA that do not operate in the tech space?

Even if a brand does not directly operate in tech, it’s undeniable that they have to understand how to operate in a digital world. Tech is not limited to software, platforms, data, or devices. Technology drives innovation at all levels and changes how consumers interact with the world.

Advancements in technology (eg cell-cultured protein) will change how consumers think about the sustainability of their food, will change the approach taken in the agriculture industry, will change the food industry, will change the healthcare industry, and so on and so forth.

The proliferation of local start-ups will make collaboration between tech and non-tech brands easier. 

Hence, established brands should prepare themselves for the wave of anti-brand brands which promise – through technological innovation  – ways to improve the lives of consumers while saving them money. Similar to how start-ups like Airbnb, WhatsApp, and Groupon emerged in 2008 amidst the Great Recession of 2007-09.

These start-ups will be worthy, agile challengers that quickly respond to the latest technologies and changes in consumer behaviour.

Across all industries, brands will be the disruptor or be disrupted

But let’s bring it back to skilled individuals that may soon find themselves in SEA. Commanding relatively higher salaries, these consumers will likely have more disposable income than the majority of locals. Expect neighborhoods surrounding tech hubs to gentrify as they seek artisanal luxuries, spaces for leisure and community, and various other ways to improve their quality of life.

They will potentially bring about new opportunities for local and international brands, accelerate tech ecosystems, and hopefully benefit local communities.

Southeast Asia’s tech and start-up scene could dramatically change in the next five years, and influenced by their surroundings (ie changemakers and trendsetters), so could Southeast Asian consumers.  

The New York Times has introduced the next title coming to its Games catalog following Wordle’s continued success — and it’s all about math. Digits has players adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing numbers. You can play its beta for free online right now. 
In Digits, players are presented with a target number that they need to match. Players are given six numbers and have the ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide them to get as close to the target as they can. Not every number needs to be used, though, so this game should put your math skills to the test as you combine numbers and try to make the right equations to get as close to the target number as possible.

Players will get a five-star rating if they match the target number exactly, a three-star rating if they get within 10 of the target, and a one-star rating if they can get within 25 of the target number. Currently, players are also able to access five different puzzles with increasingly larger numbers as well.  I solved today’s puzzle and found it to be an enjoyable number-based game that should appeal to inquisitive minds that like puzzle games such as Threes or other The New York Times titles like Wordle and Spelling Bee.
In an article unveiling Digits and detailing The New York Time Games team’s process to game development, The Times says the team will use this free beta to fix bugs and assess if it’s worth moving into a more active development phase “where the game is coded and the designs are finalized.” So play Digits while you can, as The New York Times may move on from the project if it doesn’t get the response it is hoping for. 
Digits’ beta is available to play for free now on The New York Times Games’ website

Meta has been working on a VR headset for the better part of the year. The brand’s upcoming VR headset is expected to be called the Meta Quest 3S. The official name of the device was recently confirmed by an official store. Now, the price of the Meta Quest 3S has leaked ahead of the launch. The leaked pricing suggests that Meta’s next VR offering will be a highly affordable one.

The leaked price suggests that the Meta Quest 3S will be an affordable offering.

The price of the Meta Quest 3S VR headset has appeared in an Amazon advert on the streaming platform Peacock. One Reddit user of the OTT platform saw the advertisement and managed to record it. He then shared the ad clip carrying Meta Quest 3S’ price on Reddit. The Meta Quest 3S VR headset will cost just $299. It will be one of the most affordable VR headsets on offer. Notably, the rumor mill had also suggested a similar pricing earlier.

The $299 Quest 3S variant will have 128GB of storage

The advert on Peacock has leaked the pricing of the 128GB storage variant of the VR headset. This will put it at the same price as the 64GB Oculus Quest 2 from 2020. The company will likely offer other variants of the VR headset with varying storage as well. Notably, the advertisement corroborates recent images of the device that leaked online. It shows full-color passthrough tech at a lower resolution than the Quest 3.

Meta Quest 3S will offer the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 SoC, just like the Quest 3

A Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip will power the Meta Quest 3S.. The same chipset powers the Quest 3. The device will have the old Fresnel lenses from the Quest 2 to achieve the $299 affordable price tag. It could also have downwards-facing side cameras in the same positions as the Quest 3 model.

Furthermore, the reports indicate that the Meta Quest 3S will offer a slightly lower battery capacity than the Quest 3. It will also miss a headset jack. The brand is expected to unveil the new VR headset at its Connect event on September 25.