Apple should embrace the Apple Watch as a notifications hub: allow third-party developers to use custom sounds alerts and/or haptic feedback patterns with notifications.

TechCrunch:

MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab has figured out a way of measuring walking speed to within 95 and 99 percent accuracy — all without requiring a wearable or other on-body measurement device. The tech uses wireless signals, dubbed “WiGait” by the research team, sent out by router-like devices within the home to track walking speed and stride length over time.

Based on my theory that Apple will use its iBeacons and Indoor Mapping to supplement Augmented Reality in the real world, I could see Apple acquiring this tech.

Kyle Russell of TechCrunch theorizes that Workflow, an app for iOS power users that was recently acquired by Apple, is a hint at the future of Apple Watch apps:

Instead of providing an interface with options to pick from a menu or icons representing actions, Workflow on the Apple Watch has been stripped down to verbs. I want an Uber home, or to the next meeting in my calendar. I’m walking home and want to send an ETA to my roommates. Maybe I’m on BART and it’s just too tightly packed to read on my phone — no worries, I can pick a Pocket article to be read over the headphones plugged into the iPhone in my back pocket.

There are no gestures to remember or content to download to fill a feed. It’s the perfect application for the WatchKit app paradigm, with a single tap executing multiple instructions on the phone. And if, say, a destination or article needs to be picked, the pre-made workflows in the app’s gallery will serve up a few options that users are likely to choose.

Over the coming months, most developers will figure out that the best question to ask themselves when designing smart watch apps is, “What can I help users do with a single tap?” With cameras, LTE, GPS, screen size, and battery life keeping the smartphone relevant for the foreseeable future, developers should assume that users will always have a phone on them for any action that takes longer than raising your wrist, swiping once or twice, and tapping a button or two.

Another supporting argument for Apple breaking down traditional apps into its smallest, simplest actions to make more things possible on the wrist and with your voice.

Benedict Evans brings up a some insightful questions for electric and autonomous vehicles becoming mainstream:

If autonomy ends accidents, removes parking and transforms what congestion looks like, then we should try to imagine changes to cities on the same scale as those that came with cars themselves. How do cities change if some or all of their parking space is now available for new needs, or dumped on the market, or moved to completely different places? Where are you willing to live if 'access to public transport' is 'anywhere' and there are no traffic jams on your commute? How willing are people to go from their home in a suburb to dinner or a bar in a city centre on a dark cold wet night if they don't have to park and an on-demand ride is the cost of a coffee? And how does law enforcement change when every passing car is watching everything?

I recently got back from a mini-vacation in San Francisco and Houston for business and a wedding. In preparation for my first trip to Hawaii and my bucket list solo adventure to Japan, I've been looking for ways to capture video while still being able to live in the moment. Thankfully, a friend of mine was able to loan me his GoPro Hero 5 Black.

With five-day long weekend under my belt with a GoPro, here are my quick thoughts:

• it's kind of awkward to use a GoPro around friends when we're not doing anything particularly adventurous or exciting.
• in an effort to record quick video while still living in the moment, the seemingly 4-5 second boot time to start up and record was a big disappointment for me.
• when the GoPro was actually recording, it felt great because I didn't have to put any effort into framing the shot; the wide angle is a game-changer for capturing moments.
• The short battery life was a big disappointment for me. I just hated how conscious and conservative I had to be of the battery when i was out for a whole day.

Overall, unless I was repeatedly doing adventurous activities or doing solo trips, my lifestyle probably won't justify the $299 price tag.

(hashtag: apple-2017-predictions)

If the 5.8" iPhone Pro rumors are to be true, I can see Apple embracing multi-tasking in the form of dockable widgets. Not to be confused with Android's split-screen apps that are literally apps chopped in half, but the ability to dock widget-versions of apps.

In theory, iOS 10's iMessage Stickers should be as popular as Line/WeChat stickers in Asia. In practice, iOS 10's sticker interface is too clunky. I expect a "Favorite Stickers" section and other improvements to encourage better engagement among iMessage users.

I see Apple's new Clips app as a hint for native third-party camera filters for iOS. It will allow third-party developers to create Snapchat-like filters that can be seamlessly added to — and removed from — photos/video directly from the Camera Roll.

Building on my Dockable Widgets prediction that assumes a 5.8" iPhone Pro, I think Apple will finally include picture-in-picture video support for iPhone.