iWorld
Zenith report says online video viewing to cross 1 hour a day
MUMBAI: Consumers across the globe are becoming increasingly engaged with online videos. Zenith’s Online Video Forecasts 2018 reveals global consumers will spend watching online videos more than one hour on average this year. From 2017’s 56 minutes, the average will go up to 67 minutes.
In addition to that, the report also predicts this time span will go up to 84 minutes in the next two years. Viewers from China, Russia and the UK are expected to watch the most online video at 105, 102 and 101 minutes per day respectively.
“It [online video] accounts for almost all the growth in total internet use, and is growing faster than media consumption overall, so it is taking consumption time from traditional media,” the report says.
Still now, ad spends for online video is very less compared to traditional media. The report predicts that by 2020, online video adspend will reach 23 per cent of the size of television adspend. In 2015, online video ad market was 10 per cent of the size of the TV ad market.
“The rapid rise in video viewing makes online video the world fastest-growing advertising format, creating new strategic and creative opportunities. Brands that do not currently have a strategy for online video need to think about getting one,” Zenith’s global intelligence director Jonathan Barnard said.
iWorld
X launches XChat messaging app on iOS with calls and encryption
Standalone app marks shift from “everything app” vision, adds E2E messaging.
MUMBAI: From one big app to many small chats, X seems to be splitting its ambitions. X has rolled out its standalone messaging app, XChat, to iOS users, opening up a new front in its evolving product strategy. The app allows users to connect with existing X contacts through private and group messages, file sharing, as well as audio and video calls. The launch follows a limited beta phase, where the platform tested the product with a smaller user base to refine the experience. Now available publicly, XChat marks a notable pivot from earlier ambitions championed by Elon Musk to turn X into a single “everything app” combining messaging, payments, commerce and more.
Instead, the company under xAI ownership and backed by SpaceX appears to be building a suite of standalone applications, each targeting specific use cases while expanding its broader ecosystem.
At launch, XChat includes end-to-end encrypted messaging, PIN-based access, disappearing messages, and features such as message editing, deletion for all participants, and screenshot blocking. The company has also said the app is free from advertisements and tracking mechanisms, positioning it as a privacy-first alternative in a crowded messaging space.
However, security claims around the platform are likely to face scrutiny. Earlier iterations of XChat drew criticism from experts who argued it fell short of established encrypted platforms like Signal. With the wider rollout, the app is expected to undergo fresh evaluation to assess whether those concerns have been addressed.
Beyond messaging, XChat will also house X’s Communities feature, which is being discontinued on the main platform due to low usage and spam concerns. Migrating these users could provide an early boost to adoption, effectively turning XChat into both a communication and community hub.
The move underscores a broader recalibration at X less about cramming everything into one app, and more about spreading bets across multiple touchpoints, one message at a time.
