Another year, another April Fools’ Day. The internet has provided jokesters with more ways to prank people on the first day of April, and now even the biggest tech companies in the world take part in this tradition.
Google has made use of its widely popular services to prank users into thinking things are going wrong, or suddenly changing or adding features that are designed to be funny or confusing. Other web giants and tech leaders have done similar things over the years.
2017 was no different, and some companies raised the bar, creating gimmick products and services to commemorate the holiday. Check out the best of them in the list below.
Amazon’s Alexa knows what your pet wants
Amazon engineers are amazing. They created an AI assistant based on Alexa that can understand and receive orders from animals. Its name is Petlexa.
It powers the Amazon Echo and Amazon Echo Dot much like Alexa does, except it is catered to the needs of your dogs, cats, and hamsters. Now even your pets can order their favorite food or request connected devices to do things for them.
Google Wind gives Holland a Sunny April 1st
“Sun in Holland, starting April 1st,” reads the end of the video posted by Google Nederland, the official YouTube channel by the Dutch branch of the company.
With a little help from world-famous DJ Armin Van Buuren, engineers explain how they harnessed the power of machine learning and the Google Cloud Platform to make the country’s windmills clear the skies and stop the rain. They claim they can also make it rain at will by redirecting the clouds.
Google Gnome is an outdoor AI that likes metal!
If you ever wanted a connected home assistant outside your home, Google has you covered once again. Google Gnome is the smart hub for your yard, shaped like a gnome and with all the AI functions of the traditional Google Home.
Gnome can predict the weather, play music, turn on your hose, and even answer your gardening questions. Whether you are inside or outside your house, Google has your back.
T-Mobile ONEsie is the first full-moby wearable
If there is something we would all like to have is good coverage, all the time. Luckily, T-Mobile has developed a solution just for this issue: a wearable expansion of its T-Mobile ONE plan called the T-Mobile ONEsie.
Essentially, it is a onesie woven with smart fibers that grant users with 24/7 4G LTE connectivity, serving as a hotspot to others as well. It also includes cool features like an all-body alarm clock, a fitness tracker, a calorie counter, and more.
Snapchat jokes about Instagram’s copycatting
Snap is taking a swing back at Facebook, who has introduced blatant copies of Snapchat’s iconic feature across all its platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
For April Fools’ this year, the social media giant went ahead and did the same thing. If you slide to the final section of the filters on the app, you will find a new Insta filter that puts your snap on Instagram’s interface.
