Welcome to AdFeeder’s web Wednesdays, your weekly dose of the latest news and stories that have caught our eye. From technology news to the latest vehicle releases and everything in between, we aim to bring you a quick run down of what you need to know each week.
After a busy weekend of eating copious amounts of chocolate eggs, we’re back for our first look at April’s Web Wednesdays!
TikTok Remains the Most Downloaded App in Q1 2021
Despite multiple attempts to slow its growth, including the threat of being banned from America entirely, TikTok continues its reign at the top of the most downloaded chart.
Data obtained by App Annie shows that the video sharing platform beat Facebook and Instagram to the top spot – despite having lower active monthly users. This is likely due to how established Facebook and Instagram are within the market compared to TikTok. Despite feeling it has been around for ages, the app was launched back in 2016, with its surge in popularity only ramping up over the last two to three years. Interestingly, App Annie also reports on consumer spend on iOS and Google Play, which shows that the amount of money spent (in America) on apps has surpassed $31bn in Q1 of 2021 alone!
TikTok was number two in this list, just behind YouTube. Making TikTok a very popular and also profitable platform for both users, influencers and brands alike. Q1 of 2020 was the first period of global lockdowns, meaning that stay at home orders forced consumers to seek out indoor stimulation. This was largely found through smartphones in the form of games and other highly engaging apps, such as video streaming and social sharing platforms.
As a result, the market grew at unprecedented speed. Smartphone users spent around $9 billion more on apps and games in Q1 2021 than they did in Q1 2020.
The Genesis X concept might be the best looking modern coupe ever
Despite this being a car that is very unlikely to be released here in the U.K, we just couldn’t ignore its looks and story. This is the Genesis X, a fully electric two-door coupé that oozes style and innovation.
From a design perspective, whilst utterly divine to look at, it doesn’t actually look like anything else on the road. According to a reporter at the US motoring blog RoadShow who actually spent some time looking at the car, its design is a massive nod back to coupes of the early 90s. Think old Mercedes CL or Bentley Continental. In other words, cars that Genesis want their ‘X’ to appeal to, offering opulence and style both inside and out. Speaking of the inside, despite being only renders, Genesis teased a heavily driver-focussed interior, with clusters tilted towards the driver for maximum engagement. This is no tightly packaged two-plus-two either, claiming to comfortably fit four adults in the leather-filled cabin.
The big question is, will Genesis produce such a car? It seems this concept isn’t exactly space-age, nor is it so far fetched it’ll arrive sometime in 2050 or beyond. With the shift well and truly on electric cars, it makes sense for brands such as Genesis to take this opportunity to experiment with new markets and designs. After-all, who wouldn’t want that parked on their driveway?!
Instagram officially launches Remix on Reels
Never one to be out-done, Instagram are set to release their version of TikTok’s extremely popular ‘Stitch’ functionality. It really is a stroke of genius from TikTok, where users were able to allow others to respond or recreate other versions of the content they posted, adding another element and sense of community to the platform. And also important – every video made with Stitch attributes the original creator in the new video’s caption. So it won’t enable people to blatantly rip-off your original content by stealing sections of your clips.
Naturally, Instagram wanted to create something along those lines too, hence the release of ‘Remix’. It’s likely to operate in very much the same way as its rival’s version, allowing users to collaborate and share clips from Reels. Here’s what Instagram are saying about their new function:
“Remix is enabled by default for all new reels you publish from a public account. To enable Remix on your older reels, tap the three-dot menu and hit “Enable Remixing”. To remix someone else’s reel, ask them to do the same. You can turn off Remix at any time via Settings, for all reels, or the three dot menu for the individual reel.”
Toyota’s GT86 replacement is coming
There aren’t many cars in the last decade that have been specifically built for pure driving enjoyment. There are even fewer that are priced in the sub £35,000 category. Mazda’s MX-5, a MINI Cooper S or Focus ST might give you the enjoyment of a driver-focussed car, but may leave you feeling a little underwhelmed. Back in 2012, Toyota announced that they had a gift for car enthusiasts around the world: GT86. A rear wheel drive and lightweight coupe that celebrates ‘back to basics’. Not many car brands had the confidence to release such a car, and the GT86 became an instant hit with people around the world.
Then, it all came to a halt in late 2020, with Toyota confirming they were no longer producing the GT86 after a reported 7,500 examples were produced. “That was fun while it lasted”, many car enthusiasts thought, and expected Toyota to spend the miniscule profits of the GT86 on far less exciting models like the Prius or one of their many Crossover SUVs. This wasn’t the case though, and instead a wealth of sporty, driver focussed and attainable performance cars were launched through Toyota’s racing division, Gazoo. First the GR Supra, then the ridiculous GR Yaris, and now the GR86. They really are on a roll with these!
It’s likely to land in the U.K sometime in 2022, but the GR86 looks fantastic, and most importantly retains that low cost driving fun ethos, now with a bigger 2.4-litre naturally-aspirated flat-four ‘boxer’ engine rather than the old 2.0-litre unit. Power comes in at 232bhp (up from 197bhp in the old car) so good enough for a 0-62mph time of 6.3 seconds. That’s a whole 1.1secs quicker than its predecessor!
We fully applaud Toyota for committing to creating cars that really are for a niche market. Whilst millions of us use cars simply as a tool to travel from A to B, Toyota have used their knowledge and vast history in creating affordable and usable sports cars to create something that we believe will be truly special!
Elliot is our resident tech-lover and petrolhead, who is in charge of spreading AdFeeder to the masses! Having previously worked with brands such as Porsche and BMW, Elliot specialises in content creation and social media.
