Category: Smart Living

Amazon Great Indian Festival 2022: Prices of Alexa, Fire TV and Kindle revealed

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Amazon Great Indian Sale 2022 is set to go live on September 23, ending the wait for all shopping enthusiasts. Amazon is offering steep discounts of up to 55 percent on Smart Home devices like Alexa Echo, Firestick and Amazon Kindle. Here’s a look at the top offers to grab on Smart Home Devices and Amazon Kindle during the Amazon Great Indian Festival 2022.

Amazon Echo Offers

Echo Dot (4th Gen): The device will be available at a price of Rs 2,449 instead of its usual price of Rs 3,999.

Echo Dot (3rd Gen): The device will be available at a price of Rs 1,749 instead of its usual price of Rs 3,499.

Echo Show 8: The device will be available at a price of Rs 7,499 instead of its usual price of Rs 9,999.

Also Read | Amazon India to waive 50% fee for new sellers in festival season

Echo Dot (4^th Gen) with clock: The device will be available at a price of Rs 3,149 instead of its usual price of Rs 4,999.

Amazon Echo Buds: The all-new Eco buds will be available at a price of Rs 5,499 instead of its usual price of Rs 7,999.

Fire Stick Offers

FireTV Stick Lite: The device will be available at a price of Rs 1,699 instead of its usual price of Rs 2,999.

FireTV Stick 4K: The device will be available at a price of Rs 2,999 instead of its usual price of Rs 4,499.

Also Read | Older iPhones get massive cuts on Amazon and Flipkart: Check revised prices

FireTV Stick 4K Max: The device will be available at a price of Rs 3,699 instead of its usual price of Rs 6,499.

Fire TV cube: The device will be available at a price of Rs 6, 999 instead of its usual price of Rs 12,999.

Amazon Kindle Offers

Kindle (10th Gen): The device will be available at a price of Rs 6,499 instead of its usual price of Rs 7,999.

Kindle Paperwhite: The device will be available at a price of Rs 11,099 instead of its usual price of Rs 13,999.

Kindle Oasis: The device will be available at a price of Rs 17,999 instead of its usual price of Rs 21,999.

Combo Offers

Echo dot+ smart plug: The device combo will be available at a price of Rs 2,248 instead of its usual price of Rs 4,298.

Echo dot + Wipro 16A smart plug: The device combo will be available at a price of Rs 2,948.

Also Read | Amazon Great Indian Festival 2022 — what we know so far

Echo Dot with Clock+ 12W smart bulb: The device combo will be available at a price of Rs 3,249.

Echo Show 8 + smart bulb: The device combo will be available at a price of Rs 7,549.

Echo Dot + 12Wsmart bulb: The device combo will be available at a price of Rs 2,549.

Echo Show 5+smart camera: The device combo will be available at a price of Rs 5,898.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Smart Home Expo 2022 starts tomorrow; all you need to know

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India’s only comprehensive smart trade show, exhibition and conference, the Smart Home Expo 2022, is set to bring 150+ Indian and international brands under one roof. The exhibition will feature the latest smart home technologies at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai. Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray will be the chief guest at the two-day event, starting April 20.

We are honoured to welcome Shri Aaditya Thackeray, Minister for Tourism, Environment & Protocol, Maharashtra Government, as the Chief Guest for the Smart Home Expo 2022

Plan your visit today by going to https://t.co/0IHAH5w8dn and filling out the registration form. pic.twitter.com/m5hWUrOVRZ

— Smart Home Expo™ (@expo_smart) April 18, 2022

Participents and themes

The key participants include Panasonic, FoxDomotics, Asus, Crabtree by Havells, LG Electronics, Schneider Electric, GM, Benq, IoTfy, Cedia, Yale, Tata Power EZ Home, Fibaro, Amina Sound, Tru Audio, Polycab, Casambi, Gallo Acoustics, Loewe, Ajax Systems, Dormakaba and many more.

Besides networking events, there will be tech conferences, and the Smart Space Awards show, among other highlights.

Also read: All you need to know about Matter, the smart home connectivity standard 

The Smart Home Expo will cover themes such as smart home products, connectivity, future of internet of things (IoT) and AI, advancements in lighting controls and smart lighting, next-generation homes & buildings with smart technology, innovations in the home entertainment and home automation segments, and smart home security solutions.

This year, the expo is expected to attract over 10,000 visitors from India and neighbouring countries. Conference attendees must register on the website of the event and pay to attend the technical sessions.

What’s a smart home?

A smart home is referred to a residence or house that uses internet-connected devices to enable the remote monitoring and management of household appliances and systems, such as lighting, climate control, heating, and security.

Smart home technology is often referred to as home automation or domotics (Latin domus, meaning home). It provides homeowners security, comfort, convenience, and energy efficiency by allowing them to control smart devices, often by a smart home app on their smartphone or other networked devices.

Also read: Smart Homes: Cost, infrastructure, culture gap pose challenges in India 

Smart home systems are part of the internet of things, and the devices often operate together, sharing consumer usage data among themselves and automating actions based on the homeowners’ preferences.

Indians making smart choices?

In India, the sector is witnessing huge growth due to the entry of the tech-savvy homebuyers in urban markets. With home automation provided at affordable prices, the technology is expected to penetrate beyond the luxury market. As per a Statista report, the number of users of smart households is expected to reach 54 million by 2026 and market penetration is expected to hit 15.4 percent by 2026.

Also read: View: Why smart, connected devices will become the norm in an age of Intelligent Connectivity

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Bridging the chasm: How technology promises to shape the future

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The year was 1962, and television audiences had a glimpse into an aspirational look into the future. The American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) aired a show about a family that lives in a futuristic megacity, with flying cars, smart homes, an automated workforce, virtual reality, and a wide range of intelligent living solutions. Fast forward 60 years, the life of The Jetsons seems fairly normal. Technology has not only proliferated our daily lives but has become an inherent part of every decision that is being made. And here’s how.

The age of The Jetsons is here

Technology is not just constructing the future from a blueprint; it is orchestrating it. In 2019, nearly 57 percent of homes in Britain and 69 percent of US households contained at least one smart home device. The consumer-centric adoption of technology is scaling rampantly, with predictions estimating that there will be nearly 478.2 million smart homes in the world by 2025.

Also Read | Explained: How TikTok algorithm is designed to get young users addicted

Imagine a scenario where a person has had a fall. Their smartwatch notifies the nearest ambulance of the mishap. As the patient is being wheeled into the ambulance, medical teams are alerted within a nearby health system and are able to prepare standby teams to begin care delivery. The ambulance is able to communicate with the city grid, instantly providing them green light clearance across all traffic systems. As the patient is being wheeled into the hospital, NFC or RFID is able to help the hospital retrieve all patient data across their EHR systems and obtain necessary payer authorisations. The patient needs immediate surgery; however, a standby surgeon is unavailable. Remote tools allow a surgeon from another hospital or city to perform the precision surgery. While the patient regains mobility, he is still able to remotely go to work and attend all meetings, providing a semblance of normalcy with minimal disruption to his lifestyle.

We are not far from this reality. In fact, we are much closer to this possibility than we were 36 months ago. With the integration of smart technology in our homes, workplaces, infrastructure, healthcare, and other industries, there is a great likelihood that an average person could interact with a smart device every 10 seconds.

Also Read | Dangerous liaisons? How dating apps use/misuse your data

It is what the new world looks like. But many ask, what is the new world?

Navigating the “NEW” world

Our future is a combination of three worlds. The new normal, where COVID and other factors have forced people to circumnavigate the conventions of how everyday engagements take place. New physical worlds are gaining mass interest with the predominance of SPACE X, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic that promise setting up life in outer space or Mars. Or new virtual worlds, such as Facebook’s Metaverse and NVIDIA’s Omniverse, are challenging the boundaries of physical interaction, providing virtual spaces for engagement and collaboration.

The intersection of these new worlds is ushering in megatrends that will reshape the course of how technology and society will engage with each other. If you look at them broadly, the megatrends can be categorised into three categories, the fabric of which will impact every aspect of our daily touchpoints:

Human lives: Across education, healthcare, lifestyle, or wellbeing, intelligent devices are collecting a vast amount of information to play a pivotal role in preventive safety and the wellbeing of human lives. Today, a simple search on YouTube will deliver hundreds of videos that showcase how Tesla has pioneered their crash prevention technology. Similarly, at a more personal level, Apple’s in-built ECG and fall detection are already demonstrating examples of proactive intervention and saving people’s lives. Improving human lives will also transcend into their everyday work by finding the balance between virtual and physical work. Earlier this year, Nvidia launched Clara™ Holoscan, an AI computing platform for medical devices that enables medical device developers to create and take to market the next generation of AI-enabled medical devices. Facebook and Microsoft glasses like Oculus and HoloLens are already being used in key medical technology applications, from the design of medical tools to surgical procedures. Well-being digital twin (WDT) is now a partial reality and will become an essential tool for personnel health very soon once we have enough and more data from wearables and health records.

Human work: The way we work will change. Whether it is the humanoid robots by Boston Dynamics, Amazon’s freight robots, or the delivery drones by Dominos, the need for humans to engage in physical labour will soon be mitigated, allowing us to focus on outcomes that truly matter. At the software end of the spectrum, RPA and AI are evolving in order to not just perform rule-based workflows but also take prescriptive actions that deliver favourable outcomes. Organisations like NXP Semiconductors and their OPTIMUM project have made huge strides in smart manufacturing with intelligent material handling and context awareness to optimise manufacturing processes and increase their efficiency. A month ago, Nvidia revealed its plan to build Earth 2, a supercomputer tasked with creating a global 3D metaverse simulation of the Earth to see our future.

Human transportation: Sustainability will be key in the future of movement. Electric cars gaining market dominance is a matter of the past. Sustainability will soon transcend in aquatics and aerospace as well. Driverless vehicles will form a mesh, communicating with each other, traffic signals, and centralised control systems, resulting in the overall management of traffic and decongestion. Physical Travel will become faster and efficient. However, virtual transportation will start gaining importance as a proactive means of reducing carbon footprint and saving time. Double Robotics provides the ability to be on the floors of factories or manufacturing units and yet move around using mobile telepresence, minimizing the need for physical transport. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and Autonomous Aerial Vehicles (AAV) have steadily gathered predominance in the market but are expected to play a much larger role in the near future. The metaverse, the digital world’s next big evolution, could be the virtual world where animated avatars of our physical selves will be able to virtually do all sorts of interactivities with no travel at all — someday, that is not very far. Facebook renamed itself Meta earlier this year to focus on innovations around its metaverse. Similarly, Microsoft won a contract that is estimated to be above $21 billion to build HoloLens augmented reality headsets. These headsets may help defense personnel to reach places virtually through its robotic avatars or drones.

Orchestrating the future, a symphony of technology

When you go back to think about The Jetsons, it wasn’t one gadget or device that piqued the interest of the audience. The city (or megacity) was connected, and every element within it was able to communicate with each other. The underlying technologies are the building blocks that are shaping this future. Data Modernisation and Analytics are opening huge opportunities that pave the way for intelligent solutions. EDGE and Fog computing is pushing the threshold of innovation that AI delivers to create a truly intelligent ecosystem. The triage of MEMS and sensors, along with modern network connectivity such as 5G, LTE, and the underlying layer of software, firmware, or middleware as the fabric, is what puts intelligent technology at the forefront of building smart cities.

Also Read | Smart future: These strips with sensors can revolutionise healthcare, and even car care

Finding the right technology mix is not a single-handed feat. It requires partnerships between governments, non-profits, and the people. Most importantly, it demands implementation partners who have a shared vision as well as the scale and ability to bring these projects to life. The market today has an abundance of other partners who are committed to delivering vertical-specific technology, such as smart manufacturing, smart healthcare, smart mobility or smart and connected lifestyles. Companies such as Cyient have focussed practices that are tailored to help bring mega innovations to life, and innovation frameworks like CyientfIQ enable faster go-to-market for such products.

Considering we all know where the future is headed, it begs the question: how quickly do we want to get there? Are we all in the same shared vision of designing tomorrow together?

(The author is Rajaneesh R Kini, SVP, and Chief Technology Officer, Cyient)

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Metaverse will take crypto mainstream … and lots else; here’s what the experts foretell

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Given the right platform, the metaverse will drive in huge opportunities for blockchain technology, a strategist at the Bank of America said, adding that it will take cryptocurrency mainstream and allow digital assets to be employed widely for financial transactions.

Haim Israel, Bank of America’s Managing Director of Research, and a global strategist, told Insider that the metaverse as a tool will drive the cryptocurrency industry towards mass adoption.

However, existing cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ether are too volatile to fit in this role, he said.

Also read: From SAND to MANA, here’s a look at top five metaverse coins currently

“I definitely believe this is a massive, massive opportunity… You need the right platforms … that is definitely going to be a big opportunity for this entire ecosystem,” Israel said.

Here’s a look at how the industry feels about the metaverse:

Morgan Stanley

Luxury brands and fashion will see a growth from current low levels to $50 billion by 2030, Morgan Stanley said in a report in November, adding that social gaming and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) would expand luxury brands’ total addressable market by more than 10 percent in the next eight years. “The Metaverse will likely take many years to develop; however, NFTs and social gaming (e.g. online games and concerts attended by people’s avatars) present two nearer-term opportunities for luxury brands,” it said.

Also read: What is Metaverse and what are the key projects you should look out for?

Grayscale

Crypto investment giant Grayscale said the metaverse represents a market opportunity of over $1 trillion annual revenue. The metaverse is in its early innings given the $10 billion that companies like Facebook plan to invest, Grayscale said. Grayscale is an arm of Digital Currency Group (DCG), which owns CoinDesk.

Tim Sweeney

In the coming decades, the metaverse will become a multitrillion-dollar part of the world economy, Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, said. “This metaverse is going to be far more pervasive and powerful than anything else. If one central company gains control of this, they will become more powerful than any government and be a god on Earth.”

Also read: Explained: How real estate is booming in metaverse

Tim Cook

Augmented reality will become mainstream and part of everyday life, Apple CEO Tim Cook said. Apple and Google have both developed platforms that make it easier for developers to create augmented reality apps. A significant population in developed countries will experience AR every day, like eating three meals a day, Cook said.

Simone Puorto

The metaverse will become key to not just digital experiences but also crucial for physical processes. In the hospitality industry, branded hotels are likely to be the early adopters of the technology. “In five years’ time, the Marriotts and Hiltons of the world will start building meta versions of their hotels into Horizon, allowing avatars/guests to meet with their friends in the lobby, or brainstorm on their virtual meeting rooms, of course for a fee,” said Simone Puorto, founder and CEO of Futurist, told hospitalitynet.

Tyler Ishida

The Deputy President for Consumer Business of Sony Electronics said with the help of technology, metaverse will appear as ‘real life’ for those participating in it. The consumer entertainment aspects of the metaverse will be the primary driver, Ishida said.

Hugo Swart

According to the Vice-President of Qualcomm, the metaverse is an ever-present spatial internet. Unlimited users and businesses in the metaverse will be allowed to explore, create, socialise, and participate in a wide variety of communities, daily experiences and economic activities, Swart said.

Sayon Deb

Sayon Deb, Manager of Market Research at Consumer Technology Association, believes the metaverse will be a self-contained economy where individuals and businesses will create, own or invest in a range of activities and experiences.

Also read: Metaverse to help fix issues faced by NFT creators? Here’s why Mark Zuckerberg feels so

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

The Office of the Future: The Operative word now is ‘Hybrid’

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The good news is that the workforce is finally trooping in back to the workplace. What began as a trickle is now a stream and hopefully, will soon be a flood. For enterprises, navigating the pandemic and staying afloat in its wake emerged as one of the biggest operational challenges of our times – something totally without precedent. For companies big and small, survival became the only mantra, as offices, factories, hotels, cinemas, malls and stores emptied out. Thankfully and hopefully, all of this is now in the past and even the worst affected economies are rapidly opening and embracing the new normal. Consequently, the return-to-work has emerged as a boardroom and C-suite issue – as business leaders personally monitor back-to-office plans.

The new normal has made professional communities break with deep-rooted conventions and embrace flexibility and resilience like never before. The change has been the realisation that the workforce can work remotely. And this is a big change for which one needs to take a quick detour into workplace history. The first offices came into being at the zenith of the British empire – the world’s first office was established in London in 1726. As industrialisation increased, a consequent increase in paperwork and focus on maximising workforce efficiency led to the development of open-plan offices, where workers sat in neat and endless rows under uniform lighting.

Also Read | Millennials and their crypto affinity

With time, office plans changed but the premise that offices were required for efficient workforce management remained fundamental. The pandemic ended this in a manner no one could have anticipated – communications technology ensured that even during the worst lockdowns, the workforce was engaged, productive and connected. Now that the pandemic is losing its grip, the workforce, realizing that the centrally located office headquarter is no longer sacrosanct, is demanding flexible workspace arrangements that allow them to be in better control of their time and space and thereby be closer to their families and loved ones and commute less. Realising this, what began as a pandemic-induced need, has now moved beyond the pandemic as corporates start laying out a hub-and-spoke model of workplaces allowing employees the option of flexible work.

Staging sustainability and sensitivity towards environment back in the centre

The conventional way of working which involves long commutes, crowded workspaces and working odd hours out of office headquarters make it difficult for companies to achieve their sustainability goals. Hybrid working not only advocates long term sustainability but also populates sensitivity towards the environment as it lets employees commute less by working from closer home, thereby helping enterprises and individuals reduce their carbon footprint.  According to IT giant, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the firm reduced its carbon footprint by 49 percent in 2020 by allowing its employees to work remotely. Amid the pandemic, the hybrid model is becoming an impetus in steering enterprises towards an environmentally conscious business model.

Also Read | Backstory: When the Amitabh Bachchan magic faded briefly

Making room for new business models & attracting better talent

Volatility in business and the environment it operates in does not shy away from setting precedents. Given the new normal, today more than ever businesses need to innovate and introduce multiple business models to secure their operational future. Flexible workspaces provide a wide berth to businesses to scale up and introduce new verticals by cutting costs, minimising risk, and facilitating the acquisition of high-quality talent. According to an EY report, more than half of the employees around the world surveyed would be willing to quit if not presented with flexible options to work. With the rise of the gig economy, employers need to take extra care and ensure the best utilisation of talent, skills and expertise. Flexible workspaces facilitate customisation of workspaces to individual needs, whether they are technology, creativity or administration driven. More agile businesses have better operational dynamics as they move in and out of markets with greater ease, thereby boosting investor and stakeholder confidence in their business strategy.

Prioritising employee wellness and health

With the pandemic, health and wellness have become uncompromisable factors for employees and enterprises. Conventional office structures have been largely choreographed to stack in more employees and cut down real estate costs. It is difficult for these offices to be operational even at half their capacity and follow social-distancing and hygiene guidelines, simultaneously.  Flexible workspace designs adhere to hygiene practices and focus on improving the working life of employees. Breaking the shackles of a cubicle, flexible workspaces are designed to be more ergonomic and dynamic with every foot. Something as extraneous as natural light and acoustics is managed properly to aid fluid working and collaboration of employees.

Also Read | The Greater Fool Portfolio Theory – Ponzi Variant or Employment Guarantee Program?

Adding value to social responsibility

Businesses cannot last long by alienating themselves from the surroundings they operate within. Workspaces must interact socio-economically with their localities to create thriving communities and boost local business. High rise office spaces established in constricted business districts can only offer so much, socially. Flexible work establishments in smaller cities and suburban areas generate both primary and secondary employment. In addition to this, hybrid work foster investment opportunities for local real-estate and infrastructure players thereby contributing to thriving local communities.

The value proposition and offerings of a hybrid work model far exceeds that of working out of conventional, business district based non-flexible offices. This is enabling a very real and holistic transformation of the way we work, improving work-life balance, being more sustainable and most importantly, boosting employee productivity. Hybrid work is really, therefore, the only smart way to work.

(The author of this article is Harsh Lambah, Country Manager India, Vice President Sales – South Asia, IWG. The views expressed in this article are his own.)

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Mad About Markets: Spotlight on beauty and personal care; the rise and rise of Nykaa

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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This Diwali, it’s not just the lay consumer who is out shopping, online or offline. Investors too are on a shopping spree with multiple public offerings. The latest one on the block is Nykaa, and it has got the Street excited. Nykaa is the first of the profitable new-business companies to go public, it has created a new market in India and it is a woman-led enterprise — that’s three rare factors coming together.

The beauty and personal care market was worth around Rs 87,000 crore in 2016. It grew to a little over Rs 1.1 lakh crore in 2020. Redseer expects this to touch nearly Rs 2 lakh crore by 2025. Within that, the segment that’s seen serious traction is the online beauty and personal care segment, which has grown from Rs 1,400 crore in 2016 to Rs 9,100 crore in four years.

The online penetration has quadrupled in the same period from 2 to 8 percent but remains low compared to countries like the US and China, where it is 30-40 percent.

Platforms like Nykaa have played a huge role in the growth of the online beauty and personal care market in India. Nykaa is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘nayaka,’ meaning actress or one in the spotlight.

Nykaa is a one-stop online shop for thousands of genuine makeup, skincare, haircare brands. It started offline operations, with the first store launched in 2015, gradually expanding to its own brands, a fashion label and the fast-growing men’s grooming market.

Through the years, Nykaa has cultivated an ever-growing online community for beauty buffs.

The Mad about Markets team caught up with Falguni Nayar, Executive Chairperson, MD and CEO, FSN E-Commerce Ventures. CNBC-TV18 also spoke to Darpan Sanghvi, Founder and CEO, MyGlamm.

Talking about how she ventured into the beauty and personal care market, Nayar said, “To my mind, the problem was of a nascent industry trying to cater to a large and geographically diverse country with a very varied set of products on a physical basis. I had noticed Amazon doing well in the US, and I felt that e-commerce was a way to build this market.”

“We believed in the inventory-led model, because that brings authenticity and trust to this category. Within the inventory-led model, that serves almost 95 percent of PIN codes in the country, we grew very quickly… we did industry-defining stuff. Nykaa created the industry in many ways,” Nayar said.

“Another thing we observed was that beauty needs education. And so from day one, I focussed on content and education, using social media, blogs, YouTube; and every format that was available, including community platforms, to influence customers and answer their questions,” she said.

Physical stores also had a role to play, giving customers more confidence to consume the beauty products.

“We did a lot of education and all that has led to the creation of the market. This is being observed and endorsed by global brands who now want to come into the country with us,” said Nayar.

She said when she entered the scene, many foreign brands, like Lancome, were leaving the country. The fashion segment faced a similar situation, where the market was not good enough even for Louis Vuitton. All that changed when we started building the market, and today, the best global brands are coming into India.

However, the last year was all about the pandemic, when digital purchases went on an overdrive. When asked if this pandemic-led push was sustainable in the long run, or if makeup is still a touch-and-feel sort of product, MyGlamm’s Sanghvi said he did not think that the pandemic changed consumer behaviour. “It certainly accelerated, but it did not create a fundamental shift in consumer behaviour when it came to purchasing beauty online,” he said.

Also Read: Nykaa IPO: Founder says industry growth, competition, customer opportunity key valuation drivers

If you look at India, it is the only country in the world where more women have the internet on their phone than they have beauty and personal care products. That’s incredible and shows the kind of growth in front of us, Sanghvi said.

The process of discovering beauty and personal care has shifted from your local neighbourhood store to your social media feed. If you combine these macros or indicators — more women are having internet on their phones, they are on social media, and that is becoming the primary place where they are discovering beauty and personal care — you started seeing women making purchases online. This started well before the pandemic, Sanghvi said.

Also Read: Nykaa IPO: First-mover advantage to help company grow 25% over next 5 years, says Elara Securities

Moreover, when buying online, availability became extremely easy — you could get any brand that’s available online in the smallest of cities. “So it was like I have internet. I’m on social media. I’m discovering beauty and personal care whether it’s through influencers or through content, and I have access to every product because I can order it and it will get delivered to my PIN code,” he said.

Also Read: The latest news and updates on MyGlamm

That has already set the ball rolling for the D2C (direct-to-consumer) sort of digital play and explosion for beauty and personal care. The pandemic definitely accelerated their adoption… but did not change behaviour, the behaviour changed much before that, Sanghvi asserted.

 For the full interesting conversation, watch the video

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Apple to host special fall event on October 18; here’s what to expect

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Cupertino-based tech giant Apple will host a special fall event on October 18, where it is likely to unveil its next-generation of MacBook Pros. The online event called “Unleashed” will be broadcast live from Apple Park at 10:30 pm IST on Apple’s website, its YouTube channel, Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV.

This is the second year that Apple is hosting an October event virtually since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Twitter announcement by senior vice-president Greg Joswiak comes within a month of the iPhone 13 series launch last month.

Also Read | Apple Macbook Pro 2021 May Arrive Later This Year: Features, Expected Price And Other Details 

What to expect

Apple is likely to launch a new MacBook Pro with an improved processor aimed at creative professionals, video editors, and musicians. The new MacBook models could be launched in two screen sizes — 14-inch and 16-inch. It is rumoured to have a mini-LED display similar to the one that powers the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. However, it will flaunt a flat-edged design resembling the iPad Pro.

Rumours have it that the tech giant may also unveil, or “unleash” an M1X processor, the silicon that powers the new Macs. Touted to be the fastest processor, the M1 chip could have eight-high performance cores and two high-efficiency cores, a Bloomberg report said. It could also support up to 64GB of RAM, which is substantially higher than the current 16GB.

Also Read |  Apple Iphone 13 Pro Review: The Ultimate Upgrade

The event may also unveil a redesigned Mac Mini and third-generation AirPods 3. Launched last year, the Mac mini comes with its M1 processor, which could be upgraded to a more powerful high-end Mac mini. These will likely replace the Intel models.

Apple’s AirPods wireless earbuds have been given a minor refresh since its launch in 2016. The AirPods 3 is likely to have spatial audio support, a shorter stem, interchangeable tips, and a smaller charging case. Apple could also launch the new AirPods 3 in a series of candy colours.

Also Read | Apple Airpods Max Are Luxury Items Pushing Technology, Not About Masses 

What not to expect

The event may not see a new MacBook Air, Apple’s VR/AR glasses or an upgraded Mac Pro. The MacBook Air that comes with the M1 processor is still very popular among consumers. It is likely to be launched at a later date with an updated processor.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow