IOL Tech: July Issue

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TECHNOLOGY SA’S FREE MONTHLY TECH AND INNOVATIONS MAG

THE smartphone ISSUE

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CONTENTS EDITOR’S NOTE Doomscrolling What it is and how to stop

Evolution of the smartphone camera

How to set up a VPN to secure your technology

Vivo blasts onto South African market

The future is flexible and foldable

How to make your battery life last longer How much smarter can our phones become?

How smartphones and apps changed the way we communicate

Viva new brand that’s made it into the top 10 already

Boost your WIFI connectivity

Is the future wearable?

Apps and smartphones can help the Covid-19 fight

Simple ways to save data on your smartphone Marketing in the age of assistance

IN THE past five months, the world has catapulted into a new future.

Ideas that were once frowned upon, like working from home, have now become everyday life for a lot of people. Thanks to technological advances in the past five years, this has never been easier. I, like many other techies, am constantly looking to make things simpler, better and faster and during this uncertain period I have found a new comfort, not in the devices on my desk, but the one that fits in my pocket.

The Mobile Revolution It would seem that every other week we see the launch of a new smartphone, always being dubbed the latest and greatest in technological innovation. In the recent past, we have seen major strides in the world of smartphone photography, wearable devices and even the Frankenstein-like invention known as Neuralink, which aims to connect the human brain to computers which will allow us to talk telepathically.

That is why this month’s magazine is dedicated to mobile technology. As we stand on the precipice of an industry that is changing overnight, we take stock of where we have come from and try to predict what the future holds.

We hope you enjoy this month’s edition as much as we enjoyed creating it.

TECH Editor

Faheem Khota faheem.khota@inl.co.za

TECH Designer Dominique Owen

M O O D ING L L O R SC

WOW! It’s picture PERFECT

HOW TO RECOGNISE IT AND REGAIN CONTROL YASMINE JACOBS

WE ALL know how it goes: we scroll mindlessly through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Swiping, scrolling and doubletapping on your friend’s engagement post and memes.

But those well acquainted with social media know that it’s not all good news as reports emerge of rising death tolls and suffering.

But we are unable to stop scrolling.

The phenomenon of seeking out and reading bad news has been dubbed “doomscrolling”.

Psychologists say the need to collect information during a crisis is hard-wired into human biology.

Although not a new phenomenon, there has been such a reported spike in doomscrolling during the Covid-19

pandemic that the word has been added to the dictionary.

Despite sleep issues or mental health problems and anxiety due to uncertainty, many of us have become addicted to scrolling through our phones.

When we get caught in the doomscrolling web, we tend to disconnect from our reality and loved ones.

Before you know it, it becomes a bad habit –

one you will have a hard time stopping and with terrible consequences.

Many people are feeling trapped during lockdown. Add this to a sense of helplessness due to facts and figures of doom.

Lockdown has given people too much free time, often spent on doomscrolling.

To put an end to it and find peace of mind, implement boundaries over personal use of

the internet and social media.

Using apps or a stopwatch, limit the times you are connected.

Alternatively, set times in the day to check the internet or social media.

Close the tabs.

Turn off notifications on your phone so you won’t feel compelled to look through updates.

Pick up good habits – exercise, cook, write in a journal and check in on loved ones. | IOL TECH

Smartphone cameras have revolutionised photography FLOYD MATLALA

IT’S been just over two decades since digital cameras were introduced on mobile phones. from the inception of the VGA camera which was perceived to be amazing decades ago, to a high megapixel smartphone camera that com petes with DSLR cameras and produces high resolution images, the innovation has stood the test of time and proved to be the focal point of every smartphone on the market.

Let’s take a trip down the memory lane Remember the world where pictures were not instant and a time when people could not even imagine carrying a powerful camera around that fits in their pockets?

Today, smartphones are constantly introducing new features.

It would be wrong to talk about the evolution of a smartphone camera and not talk about the picture quality that keeps on surprising consumers every time there’s a new phone on the market.

We take a look at four smartphones that portray a perfect picture of how far we’ve come.

Vivo Y30

The Y30 offers a quad camera experience. The rear primary camera is 13-megapixels with an f/2.2 aperture; there’s a second 8-megapixel camera with an f/2.2 aperture; a third 2-megapixel camera with an f/2.4 aperture and a fourth 2-megapixel camera with an f/2.4 aperture. It

comes with digital zoom, auto flash, face detection and touch to focus. The front camera sports an 8-megapixel camera for the ultimate selfie experience.

Huawei P40 Pro

With 50MP on the main camera, 12MP telephoto, 40MP ultra-wide and 32MP on the front camera, The P40 Pro has to be the best camera phone around.

The main camera’s lens is a pretty standard f/1.9 aperture on paper, but with a huge sensor size (for a smartphone) and OIS, combined with Huawei’s mighty electronic image stabilisation, it’s still a low light star. This phone can pretty much see in the dark, even in automatic mode – something that no other non-Huawei phones can do.

iPhone 11 Pro

The primary camera features a 26mm focal length, perfect for grabbing everyday snaps. The ultra-wide camera takes a step back so you don’t hav e to, getting more in the frame with its 13mm focal length. As for the telephoto camera, it zooms into your subject with a 52mm focal length which is perfect for portraits.

Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra

It starts with a 108MP primary camera sensor, and more than 200 mega pixels across the front and rear cameras, then there are those smart new shooting modes to talk about, a 12MP ultra-wide camera and finally there’s that huge zoom – 100x Space Zoom.

The device has changed our lives

SMARTPHONE This is how we communicate now MASABATA MKWANANZI

WHAT were once large and bulky luxury items have become small, compact devices that we cannot live without. Smartphones have taken a 180º turn in how we communicate.

Cellphones have come a long way since their inception. At first, the only function was to provide people with the means to make calls without being connected to any line. It eventually evolved and before we knew it, we had smartphones.

With smartphones, life got easier to a point where you could

WHATSAPP: It has replaced the SMS bundles that we used to buy back in the day; used as an instant messaging app, people no longer feel the need to call, they can simply text.

do everything on your device, apps got bigger and communication got easier, as people get a chance to FaceTime, Snapchat and like or comment on Facebook posts.

Remember when Apple first introduced Siri? Everyone was blown away.

You could ask Siri to update your status on Facebook, launch an app on your phone, and to call mom without having to touch the dial pad.

Let’s check out some of the apps that changed how we communicate with our smartphones.

FACEBOOK: Created in 2004, it created a place where people share their thoughts, songs, checked in places they visited and communicated with a larger community.

SKYPE FOR MOBILE: With smartphones being upgraded almost every day, the idea of a video call came into play. All these apps have replaced paid-for phone calls and have changed our lives for the better. And that’s thanks to how smartphones have evolved over the years.

Is the FUTURE wearable?

FAHEEM KHOTA

WEARABLE technology has become part of our everyday lives. We see many people wearing smartwatches and wireless earphones.

Some joggers use trackers in their shoes to track their speed and distance.

Is the future of mobile going to become even more mobile?

Ramon Llamas, the research director for The International Data Corporation’s Wearables team, says: “The shifting and slowly growing appetite for different wearables will grow the installed base in the years to come.

“In the beginning, wristbands drove the market forward,

and then it was smartwatches, and now it is ear wear. At the same time, the use cases and user experiences have evolved from the first-generation devices, effectively adding more devices to the installed base. This sets up the market for continued growth, both with new users and current users looking for replacement devices.”

However, we are seeing something interesting happening with mobile corporations such as Huawei, Apple, Microsoft are also dipping their toes into the world of eyewear.

While they are not ready to reveal their cards yet, many smaller start-ups have started

releasing smart eyewear.

Smart eyewear is not as simple as creating other wearable devices which have screens or just a Bluetooth connection transferring data from your phone.

They require more research and specific materials, which will make them more expensive to produce and own.

With Apple glasses reported to be released this year, the wearable device industry is heating up. Most big companies are investing a lot into smartwatches, earphones and eyewear.

Does this mean we are going to have to download ad blockers for our eyes? Only time will tell.

VIVA Phone makes TOP 10 vivo

Put your VPN on your COMPUTER

Now a household name and available in 100 countries

YASMINE JACOBS

GONE are the days when virtual private networks (VPNs) were used only by the suspicious members of society.

VPNs are the simplest (and best) ways to protect your privacy online.

Why do I need to use a VPN? Whenever you connect to the internet, your internet service provider (ISP) has access to everything you send and has been given the green light to sell your information to advertisers. Advertisers can track your movements between websites and identify your location by peeking at your IP address.

What does a VPN do?

When you switch on a VPN, your traffic is routed through an encrypted tunnel to a server operated by the VPN company.

That means your ISP and anything connected to your router won’t be able to see your web traffic.

From the VPN server, your traffic exits onto the public internet.

Unless you’re headed to a site that uses HTTPS, your traffic is no longer encrypted. Because your traffic appears to come from the VPN’s server,

your actual IP address is effectively hidden.

That’s the important bit as IP addresses are distributed geographically and can be used to find your rough location.

If someone checks your IP address, they’ll see the IP address of the VPN server.

However, a VPN won’t completely anonymise your traffic.

Remember, websites can track your movements through cookies, browser fingerprinting and online trackers.

Safety first: Some VPN services claim they can block malware but make use of a standalone antivirus software for your computer, to be on the safe side. | IOL TECH

HOW TO SET IT UP DOWNLOAD the company’s app on as many of your devices as you can.

Once installed, you will be asked to enter your login information.

In most cases, this is the username and password you created when you signed up for the service.

Be sure to read the instructions carefully Once logged in, your VPN app usually connects to the VPN server closest to your current location, to provide better speeds.

Configure your device’s network settings to connect directly to the VPN service.

It is important to check whether your VPN service allows BitTorrent traffic on any server or just

specific ones. ProtonVPN marks the servers cleared for torrenting. TorGuard is all about torrenting and allows for use on all the company’s servers.

Many VPN companies include an interactive map in their app. TunnelBear and NordVPN let you click on countries to connect to servers there. To bypass censorship, choose a server in a country different from your own.

NordVPN, Surfshark VPN, and ProtonVPN have enhanced security options, such as access to Tor or multi-hop VPNs. OpenVPN is open-source and has been checked by many for potential vulnerabilities. IKEv2 is also a good, secure option.

FOUNDED in 2009 in Dongguan, China, Vivo has quickly become a household name, having been ranked among the top 10 smartphone makers in the world in 2015 and has expanded to over 100 countries around the world.

Vivo is a leading global technology

company committed to creating trendsetting smart mobile products and services. The company is devoted to forming a vibrant mobile internet ecosystem, and currently owns and operates an extensive network of research operations, with R&D centres in

San Diego, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Beijing, Hangzhou, and Taipei.

These centres focus on the development of cutting-edge consumer technologies including 5G, AI, mobile photography, and nextgeneration smartphone design.

Vivo has over 300 million users enjoying its mobile products and services around the world. Vivo is present in 40 markets globally and features offline retail stores in over 1 000 cities worldwide.Throughout the years Vivo has made a name for itself as it secured a sponsorship deal with Fifa to be the official smartphone brand for the year 2018 and 2022 in the Fifa World Cup games.

With a global footprint and a concept inspired by “powered by youth” Vivo allows consumers the choice to own premium phone technology at an accessible price point. The Y series is consistently evolving to channel the needs of today and tomorrow’s consumers in atechnologically efficient device.“Vivo plans to provide South African consumers with a user experience beyond expectations through technology and innovative, trendsetting products, within three years, the company plans to sit in the top tier segment of cell phone brands in SA.” Said Jeff Cao, CEO of Vivo SA.

Vivo blasts in to SA with YOUTH-POWERED phones

Style, hi-tech cameras, memory, gaming friendly features, and the prices, give these devices the Y-factor THE Vivo Y12 and Y30 are here.

Both evolutions in the Y-series have been released in South Africa, ahead of 5G and the hotly anticipated X-series.

These affordable phones offer high technical specs, making Vivo a top contender in the mid-range smartphone category.

Both devices have superlative camera features. The Y12’s AI Super-Wide-Angle Camera expands views to 120°, allowing exceptional landscape, friends, and memory capture. The 8-megapixel front camera means that delicate facial details are captured, and the AI Face Beauty option offers tailor-made facial enhancement for beautiful selfies.

The Y30 offers a quad camera experience. The rear camera is a 13-megapixel camera with an f/2.2 aperture; there’s a second 8-megapixel camera with an f/2.2 aperture; a third 2-megapixel camera with an f/2.4 aperture and a fourth 2-megapixel camera with an f/2.4 aperture. It also comes with digital zoom, auto flash, face detection and touch to focus. The 8-megapixel front camera ensures the ultimate selfie experience.

In the Y12, intelligent powersaving technologies extend battery life to comfortably get you through the day. The octa-core processor with a 12nm design and clock speeds of up to 2.0GHz means you can install all the apps you need and choose between two variants to ensure they run smoothly: 3GB + 64GB. This also supports the Y12 Ultra Game Mode. Considering a mobile gaming YouTube channel? The Y30 has 4GB of RAM and an octa-core MediaTek Helio P35 (MT6765)

processor allows for excellent storage and a device that will run smoothly – it runs Funtouch OS based on Android 10 and packs 128GB of inbuilt storage.

Like all things Vivo, style is key and the Y12 and Y30 certainly get people talking the moment they come out of your pocket. The fast OS and attention to detail when it comes to internals on each of the devices certainly does not go unnoticed. It really is a breath of fresh air to see a mobile company a quality all-rounder budget smartphone. Surely, if this is the entry point for Vivo, we are very excited to see what the future holds.

“Vivo plans to provide South African consumers with a user experience beyond expectations through technology and innovative, trendsetting products,” says Jeff Cao, Vivo SA chief executive.

“Within three years, the company plans to sit in the top tier segment of cell phone brands in SA.”

Can contact tracing deliver on its promise in coronavirus battle?

Covid-19 TRACING APPS

UMBERTO BACCHI

THE race is on to develop smartphone apps to help contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Scientists say contact tracing is key to preventing a resurgence of the virus, by tracking down infected people and finding everyone who has been near them, so they can get tested or quarantine.

Contact tracing has been used for decades to control the spread of infectious diseases and is normally carried out by public health investigators who interview patients to find out who they have met and where they have been in the previous days.

But with almost half of novel coronavirus transmissions occurring before symptoms appear, traditional methods are too slow to keep up, researchers say.

Here is where health experts say apps can help: Smartphones keep track of their location via celltower signals, wi-fi signals and the satellite-based global positioning system, known as GPS. Through Bluetooth technology, which allows devices to connect to others nearby, phones can log other phones that have come within a few metres of them.

Using that data, contact tracing apps can instantly inform users if they have come into contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19, and advise them to call a doctor, get tested or selfisolate.

DIGITAL HANDSHAKES The prospect of widespread data collection worries some citizens and civil rights groups like European Digital Rights.

The use of GPS and other geo-location data could provide authorities with a detailed map of a user’s every movement, leaving the door open to abuse, said Diego Naranjo, head of policy at the digital civil rights group.

Contact tracing apps are not foolproof, tech and biology experts have warned.GPS or cell tower location data can wrongly

record everyone on a busy city block as contacts.

Similarly, Bluetooth can log phones that are near each other but separated by walls, although developers have been working on ways to better define “contacts” based on the length and strength of the handshakes between devices.

Apps also do not take into account whether users who have been in contact with others were wearing protective equipment at the time, according to researchers from the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank. | Thomson Reuters Foundation

MASABATA MKWANANZI

s ’ e r u t u f The FLEXIBLE K O s ’ t i d n a to FOLD

THE idea of having a flexible, foldable smartphone seemed like a scene out of a Tom Cruise movie – until recently.

Foldable smartphones have given designers and engineers a chance to show off, be adventurous and to think outside the box.

Over the years we witnessed prototypes. Some of these foldable smartphones had their own glitches, like the Motorola Razr 2019 and the Samsung Galaxy Fold whose screens fell apart. Here what’s new:

Motorola Razr 2019 It boasts a Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 chip along with 68GB of memory and 128GB of storage and when folded, you can still use a square 6.8cm display on the outside to check notifications, control media, and more.

LG DualScreen The LG G8X ThinQ goes beyond foldable phones. The dual screen lets you instantly double your screen so you can do it all at once, no more toggling between apps. Open it like a laptop, use it in stand or tent mode, or do a full 360° flip for a versatile viewing experience.

Huawei Mate XS This foldable device allows side-by-side multitasking when using the 20cm display, allowing owners to use half the screen for one app and the other half for another. When you unfold the Mate Xs, there is no noticeable crease. It sports 8GB of memory and 512GB of internal storage and is powered by Huawei’s Kirin 990 5G chipset.

Xiaomi Mi Mix Flex The main feature is its flexible body, hidden piezoelectric and ultrasonic proximity sensor. The dual-SIM sports 15.7cm HD primary display and 7.6cm secondary display.

The phone is powered by a 64-bit Octa-Core processor on Snapdragon 855 SOC, coupled with 6/8GB of memory.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip The folding technology allows for handsfree video chats and previously unreachable selfies. Fold it, flip it, stand it – however you set it up, it reinvents the way you take photos on your phone. Its Infinity Flex Display is an immersive Dynamic AMOLED screen delivering incredible colour quality and reduced blue light.

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Always use the correct charger: Cheap chargers may lack important safety mechanisms that protect your phone against fluctuation, overcharging and may not be equipped to provide your phone with the correct voltage.

Stop overcharging / charging when battery life is already at 100% The main problem is overheating.

During charging, there is a transfer of heat energy from the charger to the phone which causes your phone to feel warm to the touch. To avoid overheating that results in wear and tear on your battery, remove your phone case while charging overnight or avoid doing so altogether.

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Know what causes batteries to naturally degrade: Every time you fully charge your phone, the battery degrades slightly and this process of charging is called a charge cycle. According to the website Medium, “Battery manufacturers say that after about 400 cycles a phone battery’s capacity will degrade by 20%. It will only be able to store 80% of the energy it did originally and will continue to degrade with additional charge cycles.”

Therefore, by slowing down the number of charge cycles you can prolong the battery lifespan. Screen brightness, preventing apps from running in the background and turning on wi-fi and Blueto oth only when necessary will result in your phone needing less or shorter charges daily, extending your battery’s ability to store energy.

Keep away from heat: Your phone was probably designed to work in a broad range of temperatures.

However, extreme cold or heat can be damaging for your phone’s internal components, impact battery life and charge time.

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Extend your BATTERY life Tips to prolong the lifespan of your cellphone, preventing wear and tear SACHA VAN NIEKERK

Over time, your cellphone’s battery gradually deteriorates.

This will result in your phone dying far more quickly than when it was brand new.

Battery replacements are costly and risky when not done by a professional.So treat your battery right in the first place.

There are things you can do to help extend the life of your battery. Here we list tips to help you save your battery:

Leave it half charged when storing Many websites and phone companies, including Apple, advise their phone users to store their phones with a 50% charge.

On Apple’s website they state: “Do not fully charge or fully discharge your device’s battery – charge it to around 50%. If you store a device when its battery is fully discharged, the battery could fall into a deep discharge state, which renders it incapable of holding a charge.”

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Stop using your phone while charging: Once again, this circles back to the issue of overheating.

Using your smartphone while charging increases the heat generated by your phone which is amplified by your phone case and hands which insulate the heat, trapping it around your phone. Excessive heat causes batteries to swell in some cases. | IOL TECH

FLOYD MATLALA

BOOST YOUR WI-FI

CONNECTIVITY

IN THE world where the digital trends have taken the front row seat, internet connectivity has become an essential as most facets of the digital space requires the internet to run to the best ability.

In recent years, the invention of wi-fi routers has enhanced the space while playing a vital role.

However, like many tech devices, wi-fi routers can also have glitches.

Here are some tips on how you can boost your wi-fi connectivity should you encounter any tech glitches.

Place your router in an open space Where you place the router can affect your wireless coverage.

It may seem logical to have the router inside a cabinet and out of the way or even by the window where the cable comes in. But that’s not always the case. The router should be in the centre of your house so its signal can reach as far as possible.

Add external antennas to boost your signal If your router uses an internal antenna, adding an external one would be a good idea. The latter tends to send a stronger signal.

Your router may have come with antennas you can add on yourself, but if not, many router manufacturers sell antennas separately.

Set Up a Wireless Range Extender Distance is one of the more obvious problems… there is a certain optimal range that the wireless signal can travel.

If the network has to cover an area larger than the router is capable of transmitting to, or if there are lots of corners to go around and walls to penetrate, performance will take a hit.

Configure it for most favourable performance Take a look at your network’s administrator interface, and make sure you have it configured for optimum performance.

If you have a dual-band router, you’ll likely get better throughput by switching to the 5GHz band instead of using the more common 2.4GHz band.

How to cut down on DATA USAGE

Use data compression in Chrome: Google Chrome is one of the most popular Android browsers. What you might or might not know is that it has an inbuilt feature that can Set data significantly reduce data consumption alerts to check on Android. When data compression on cellular usage: is turned on, all of your traffic is passed Your phone and cellular through a proxy run by Google. Your service can provide you with data is compressed and optimised before updates on your data usage. being sent to your phone. This results Set up these alerts and when in lower data consumption and also you do, don’t ignore them for During this speeds up the loading ‘“just one more video”. These coronavirus of pages without any alerts will inform you when significant change in web you have used too much period we spend content. data and need to start more time on our conserving.

Disable smartphones background app refresh: YASMINE JACOBS You would be surprised at how many apps are running IN THE times of Covid-19 connected to the in the background even when and social distancing, our internet. you aren’t using them. This does smartphones are latched While some not only kill your battery but also to us at all times as we data plans are uses a lot of data. They perform Use wi-fi constantly spend time unlimited, many activities such as automatically when possible: It online. are restricted to a downloading updates and happens to the best If we aren’t watching certain amount so syncing information. of us. We go on an online hours worth of YouTube saving data definitely entertaining spree only videos (is that just me?) comes in handy. to find you are using then we are using as many Cutting down data on mobile data. To avoid using data applications as we can for popular apps like Instagram while out and about, take the entertainment purposes and Facebook will extend time to connect your phone and keeping in touch with your data plan, but there to the spots’ wi-fi. Next time loved ones. are additional tips you can you visit, your phone will From using apps to follow to significantly cut remember the network searching the web, we spend down data usage on your and automatically at least a few hours a day mobile device. | IOL TECH connect.

The next big LEAP

In the age of ASSISTANCE

FAHEEM KHOTA

I RECENTLY bought a flagship device from one of the top three smartphone manufacturers worldwide.

While setting up the device, my 4-year-old son said: “Dad, this is just like your old phone.” It got me thinking: is this a case of the emperor who had no clothes? Or are we actually upgrading?

According to Android Authority, there are two categories; the pre- and post-iPhone eras.

The pre being where we saw the greatest rate of change in smartphones, when every device was different in shape, size and system. The postiPhone era is when we saw phones with front and back cameras as well as the first phones with dedicated app stores. This brought about a world of change where video chat, smartphone photography and real-time multiplayer gaming came to the fore.

Those features which were once game-changers for smartphone owners are now considered “stock” on any phone.

Mobile technology is changing how we buy

For now we will have to settle for minor but key changes such as upping the photography game In the past two years there have been camera upgrades with artificial intelligence as well as technology to get quality shots. We are seeing a firstgeneration folding phone, with Xiaomi, Samsung and Huawei leading the charge.

We’re looking forward to wireless charging improving, 5G capabilities and wireless audio.

So the simple answer to

my question is no.

Although we are not getting the drastic changes we saw in the past, we are still seeing big leaps.

Like cars, for instance, the great leap was the jump from horse-drawn carriages. With small tweaks to cars, we’re eyeing self-driving cars. Similarly with smartphones, fundamental changes are taking place slowly but effectively.

We have seen manufacturers toying with the idea of glasses watches, and now folding phones. Maybe this is a time of trial and error leading to the next big leap.

For now, we will have to settle for minor yet important updates, even if just to up our photography game or open Instagram a split second faster.

IT’S HARD to overstate the first turned to their devices impact mobile marketing for information relevant to has had on consumers. that purchase.

Within seconds you To take advantage of can find out everything this, brands have to own you need to know about a the micro-moments that product, the business that define how customers makes it, compare prices make choices. at the retailers who sell it, There are three simple and ultimately make the things brands can do when purchase. it comes to marketing in The rise of the the age of assistance: smartphone has allowed BE SEEN, BE SMART, people to make smarter, AND BE SPEEDY. more meaningful decisions, and faster.

A customer might be browsing in a clothing BE SEEN store and see a pair Brands need to of jeans they like.

Once they’ve tried use data on who their them on, they can customers are, where look them up online they are, what they have and see if there are better deals or if done before, and, most they should get importantly, what they thaem there and then. They can also intend to do. see if there are other retailers in the vicinity and explore what deals they might have.

This blend of technology-enabled experiences and human input broadly defines BE SMART the By using responsive age of assistance we’re now in. ads and Smart Bidding, To understand brands can get more how big an impact it has had on clicks and move consumers and conversions with less the implications it human effort. has for brands, it’s worth delving into how South Africans use their smartphones when it comes to making purchasing decisions.

According to Google’s Connected Consumer Survey, about 25 million BE SPEEDY South Africans now A large part of have internet access through their own ensuring that customers private connections, don’t go elsewhere is most (69%) using making your online their mobile phones to get online. presence as This has had a mobile-friendly as dramatic effect on the way people shop. possible.

Even when a consumer buys something in a shop, chances are they

www.vivo.com

Series

Powered By Youth

Y12

AI Triple Camera 5000mAh Battery

Y30

Ultra O Screen 5000mAh Battery

Level Up Your Tech www.vivo.com

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