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The Weekly App Roundup Zoom ads, discounts galore, comic app surge, and more
By Andrey Demiyanov, Jordan News
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This week in the app world, we see Zoom testing out a new ad placement feature to bolster revenues, huge discounts on Microsoft’s 365, Audible’s subscription, Amazon’s deep dive into the comics world, and more. اضافة اعلان
For those joining the Weekly Roundup for the first time, Jordan News publishes a weekly roundup of all significant app developments around the world — check out our previous articles to stay connected!
With COVID-19 restrictions easing, Zoom forced to test ads
Let’s be frank here — no one enjoys ads.
However, with Freemium platforms and apps looking like they do now, the only sustainable way forward for companies appears to be for them to the practice of digital signage.
As the COVID-19 pandemic grew in scope in early 2019 and more countries went on total lockdown, Zoom’s explosive growth propelled them into the stratosphere. With a stock price of $70 near the start of 2020, Zoom’s price soared to an all-time high of $559 in October 2020 because corporations, educational facilities, and many other stakeholders in the video-conferencing sphere became entirely dependent on Zoom’s services.
Zoom has always had a premium feature; free users would have a limited time before the meeting auto-shutdown, whereas premium users could have indefinitely lasting meetings. Aside from meeting length, there were little to no incentives to purchase a premium membership or upgrade meetings to a premium tier.
With COVID-19 restrictions easing, and Zoom’s grasp on the market decreasing as things go back to the relative norm, the company has announced that it will commence testing of a new ‘ad’ feature that most users in the space believe was a long-time coming feature.
However, unlike many freemium applications on the market, Zoom has firmly stated that ads will never interfere with video conferencing itself. Therefore, you shouldn’t expect ads popping up in the middle of a very important presentation.
However, it remains unclear just how Zoom plans to implement these ads.
Speculative opinions on the internet predict that ads would most likely play as the app launched, as a meeting is being created, or as free users are joining the meeting, as this is possibly the least disruptive method of ad deployment possible, many are left hoping that Zoom will keep the ads to these brief intrusions.
Amazon’s dives into comics
With the Marvel Cinematic Universe and superhero movies on the rise, the comic industry has seen a significant resurgence, especially with younger adults and adults keen on discovering the vast lore behind their favorite characters.
Amazon has recognized this and has decided to look back at its roots and acquired Comixology, which is a relatively popular cloud-based distribution platform amongst the comic fan community that enabled users to purchase comics for cheaper than their paperback versions, all the while maintaining ownership of the comic on the platform indefinitely.
For those who are currently Comixology subscribers, all pre-paid subscriptions (and comics) will run as usual when the platform officially launches under the Amazon brand. Amazon’s finalization of the acquisition, as well as the launch, is anticipated for mid-2022.
However, keep in mind that Comixology currently acts as a comic book ‘Reader’ on iOS and does not allow users to purchase new comic books – a result of Apple fees eating into revenues to the point where it became unprofitable run sales through the platform.
Massive discounts on Microsoft 365 and Audible
While there are many discounts currently available for all types of services and products due to Black Friday sales running rampant throughout the internet, Microsoft 365 and Audible have beat out the market in term of hand-over-fist value for their users.
Microsoft has announced a 45 percent discount on the one-year subscription to their 365 Family subscription, which features all Office apps and 1TB of cloud storage per user, meaning that assuming you use all six slots of the ‘Family’ package, you gain 6TB of storage.
For those of you that prefer listening to their traditional media rather than reading it, Audible’s discounts are going to be right up your alley — a grand total of JD1.2 per month for a subscription for three entire months.
To gain access to the offer, make sure you select the UK version of the site before signing up and subscribing; if you encounter difficulties, a surefire way to secure a sub is by using a VPN to jump your IP over to England and sign up from there.
Spotify tests out video discovery
Spotify, the world’s largest and most popular audio-streaming service, has noted TikTok’s video success and realized that their potential doesn’t end with just the audiophile market segment.
Some users, selected at random, are beginning to experience similar video content that you would see on Instagram’s discover page or TikTok’s feed with the ability to flick vertically through videos. These are usually either official music videos or media that has music that Spotify deems to match your music taste.
Although Spotify has had its music recommendation feature for a while now, the discover option will now allow users to find more music that suits their tastes; paired with a video. While there aren’t any official announcements from Spotify regarding a set release schedule, if the feature is currently being tested out, we are likely to see it get released early in 2022.
Read more Technology
For those joining the Weekly Roundup for the first time, Jordan News publishes a weekly roundup of all significant app developments around the world — check out our previous articles to stay connected!
With COVID-19 restrictions easing, Zoom forced to test ads
Let’s be frank here — no one enjoys ads.
However, with Freemium platforms and apps looking like they do now, the only sustainable way forward for companies appears to be for them to the practice of digital signage.
As the COVID-19 pandemic grew in scope in early 2019 and more countries went on total lockdown, Zoom’s explosive growth propelled them into the stratosphere. With a stock price of $70 near the start of 2020, Zoom’s price soared to an all-time high of $559 in October 2020 because corporations, educational facilities, and many other stakeholders in the video-conferencing sphere became entirely dependent on Zoom’s services.
Zoom has always had a premium feature; free users would have a limited time before the meeting auto-shutdown, whereas premium users could have indefinitely lasting meetings. Aside from meeting length, there were little to no incentives to purchase a premium membership or upgrade meetings to a premium tier.
With COVID-19 restrictions easing, and Zoom’s grasp on the market decreasing as things go back to the relative norm, the company has announced that it will commence testing of a new ‘ad’ feature that most users in the space believe was a long-time coming feature.
However, unlike many freemium applications on the market, Zoom has firmly stated that ads will never interfere with video conferencing itself. Therefore, you shouldn’t expect ads popping up in the middle of a very important presentation.
However, it remains unclear just how Zoom plans to implement these ads.
Speculative opinions on the internet predict that ads would most likely play as the app launched, as a meeting is being created, or as free users are joining the meeting, as this is possibly the least disruptive method of ad deployment possible, many are left hoping that Zoom will keep the ads to these brief intrusions.
Amazon’s dives into comics
With the Marvel Cinematic Universe and superhero movies on the rise, the comic industry has seen a significant resurgence, especially with younger adults and adults keen on discovering the vast lore behind their favorite characters.
Amazon has recognized this and has decided to look back at its roots and acquired Comixology, which is a relatively popular cloud-based distribution platform amongst the comic fan community that enabled users to purchase comics for cheaper than their paperback versions, all the while maintaining ownership of the comic on the platform indefinitely.
For those who are currently Comixology subscribers, all pre-paid subscriptions (and comics) will run as usual when the platform officially launches under the Amazon brand. Amazon’s finalization of the acquisition, as well as the launch, is anticipated for mid-2022.
However, keep in mind that Comixology currently acts as a comic book ‘Reader’ on iOS and does not allow users to purchase new comic books – a result of Apple fees eating into revenues to the point where it became unprofitable run sales through the platform.
Massive discounts on Microsoft 365 and Audible
While there are many discounts currently available for all types of services and products due to Black Friday sales running rampant throughout the internet, Microsoft 365 and Audible have beat out the market in term of hand-over-fist value for their users.
Microsoft has announced a 45 percent discount on the one-year subscription to their 365 Family subscription, which features all Office apps and 1TB of cloud storage per user, meaning that assuming you use all six slots of the ‘Family’ package, you gain 6TB of storage.
For those of you that prefer listening to their traditional media rather than reading it, Audible’s discounts are going to be right up your alley — a grand total of JD1.2 per month for a subscription for three entire months.
To gain access to the offer, make sure you select the UK version of the site before signing up and subscribing; if you encounter difficulties, a surefire way to secure a sub is by using a VPN to jump your IP over to England and sign up from there.
Spotify tests out video discovery
Spotify, the world’s largest and most popular audio-streaming service, has noted TikTok’s video success and realized that their potential doesn’t end with just the audiophile market segment.
Some users, selected at random, are beginning to experience similar video content that you would see on Instagram’s discover page or TikTok’s feed with the ability to flick vertically through videos. These are usually either official music videos or media that has music that Spotify deems to match your music taste.
Although Spotify has had its music recommendation feature for a while now, the discover option will now allow users to find more music that suits their tastes; paired with a video. While there aren’t any official announcements from Spotify regarding a set release schedule, if the feature is currently being tested out, we are likely to see it get released early in 2022.
Read more Technology
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