Facebook F8 Conference 2016 Key Points

The 2016 Facebook F8 Conference took place this year on April 12th and 13th in San Francisco. 

Each year, Facebook holds their annual event to display and discuss past performance, current issues, new products, software, features, programs, and the future.

These meetings are always filled with exciting announcements and are sure to create a buzz.  If you were able to attend this years’ F8 Conference, you actually would have walked away with a complimentary Gear VR Oculus system and a Samsung phone*.

*Not really complimentary. Tickets cost $595.

Here are some of the key points that we took away from this year’s conference:

• Facebook’s Road Map:
  • Zuckerberg talked about Facebook’s 10-year-road-map, and summarized it with the phrase: “Give everyone the power to share everything with everyone.”
  • He spoke about how most of the world — 4 billion people — don’t use the internet. He stated that it’s important to Facebook to get more people online so that they can connect and learn.
• Introduction of New Tech:
  • The introduction of Messenger Platform. What this means is, essentially, developers can program their businesses into the Messenger App to communicate with their customers. Zuckerberg’s thoughts behind Messenger Platform revolve around the nuisance of the dreaded business phone call *shutters*. Customers will be able to message a business as they would with a friend and have their question or problem solved quickly without having to take all of their attention like a call would.
  • The introduction of LIVE. LIVE is going to be a prominent new segment of the Facebook app that allows exactly what the name suggests: It’s going to be Facebook’s own version of live-casting. Facebook clearly sees the benefits and bright future of apps like SnapChat and Periscope, and they wish to bring it into the Facebook realm of apps. We’re excited to see where this goes in the future!
  • The introduction of the Aquila Plane. Zuckerberg spoke about one of the projects Facebook has been involved in for a while now, and that is the Aquila Plane. This plane is designed to be incredibly light and powered by solar panels. It will stay 60,000 feet up in the air for months without having to come down, and while it is up in the air, it will provide areas of the world with free internet.
• Cheaper Data:
  • Facebook has built a ‘Lite’ framework for their apps, which essentially allows users to consume less data, and reduce data costs by a quarter.
• AI:
  • Facebook is no stranger to AI. They are in the process of creating an AI that can actually look at a picture, understand what is in that photo, and read it out loud to someone who is visually impaired.
  • Open source to Torch! Facebook AI modules, Torch, is going to be based on an open source system, so that if you use Torch for your AI, and Facebook updates Torch to become 10% more efficient, your AI becomes 10% better.
• Virtual and Augmented Reality:
  • The release of the Oculus Rift came about a month ago, and the reviews have so far been stellar.
  • Zuckerberg images that augmented reality will become a part of everyday life. Instead of showing a friend a small photo on a phone, you could send it to their augmented reality glasses and they could enlarge the image, all in real time.

These are only the beginning of what was spoken about at this year’s F8.

There are many more interesting topics, products, software, and services that are all on video. If you want to watch the videos from the conference, you can do so here.

If you have any questions about what was discussed at the 2016 Facebook F8 Conference, feel free to connect with us on Facebook or Twitter! These are definitely some interesting advancements, and we’re so excited to see where the future will take Facebook and the world of connectivity.