Trends with Benefits: Oculus Touch, self-lacing shoes, Google runs your life

By Greg Nibler October 6, 2016

Google wants to be your life assistant, the Oculus Touch offers a new way to play, virtual reality and social media are colliding, and Nike is fulfilling the wishes of Back to the Future fans everywhere with self-lacing shoes.

Our latest weekly episode of Trends with Benefits features Nick Mokey, Brendan Hesse, Matt Smith and Greg Nibler.

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Our topics this week:

Google wants to run your life
Google came out swinging on Tuesday, with Pixel phones to take on Apple and Samsung, Google Home to take on Alexa, and Daydream to shake up VR systems. Can Google swoop into these emerging markets and become your go-to service for … well life?
Oculus Touch
Oculus’ annual developers conference had some big announcements, but Oculus Touch took the cake, giving Rift players a long-awaited way to interact with the virtual worlds around them. But there’s a catch …
Social media goes VR
It was only a matter of time before Facebook began including VR options for interacting. In addition a company called VRChat just received funding for a cross-platform, avatar-based VR app. Is this the beginning of a newer, more immersive version of Second Life?
Nike brings us Back to the Future
Nike has announced that Marty McFly’s self-lacing sneakers from Back to the Future are finally real! You’ll need to win a raffle, but it’s worth the entry. What kind of movie tech would you like to see come to fruition?!

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