March 2023 Summaries

The blog post discusses how enabling multimodal forms of communication across different devices can help drive the adoption of spatially oriented virtual spaces. It highlights the advantages of supporting both native and web applications, as well as the importance of considering user experience on different devices. The post also explores real-time engagement solutions, such as 3D spatial audio and AI Noise Suppression, which can instill a sense of presence for any user, on any device. Furthermore, it emphasizes the need for asymmetrical user experiences that enable interactions appropriate to each type of device, including AR/VR headsets, desktop devices, and mobile devices. The post concludes by recommending Agora's platform-agnostic solutions as an essential infrastructure for building virtual communication and collaboration platforms across various devices.

Remix is a full-stack web framework based on React that uses distributed systems for deployment. It differs from client-only frameworks like React in how it loads data from the server and pre-renders web pages. This tutorial guides developers through setting up a Remix project with Agora Web UIKit, an open-source video calling library. The setup includes creating a new Remix project, installing the necessary libraries, and configuring Agora credentials. The main focus is on creating a dynamic route for video calls using nested routes in Remix. This tutorial also provides information about joining the Agora Developer Slack community for support and contributing to the project on GitHub.

The Agora SDK has introduced a virtual background extension that allows users to apply colors, images, or blur effects to their video call backgrounds. This blog post demonstrates how to use this extension with the Agora Web UIKit. To get started, developers need an Agora developer account and Node.js LTS installed on their systems. They should also have a basic understanding of React. The tutorial provides code snippets for using the extension without the UIKit as well. The virtual background feature is made performant by using a WebAssembly module that needs to be hosted separately or bundled with the website.

In 2023, eCommerce businesses are focusing on increasing revenue by adapting to changing consumer trends and demands. With Gen Z and millennials valuing convenience, personalization, and social conscience in their shopping experience, live shopping has emerged as a potential game-changer for online retailers. By incorporating real-time video, chat, and bi-directional interaction into the online shopping process, eCommerce businesses can enhance customer engagement, create a sense of urgency, cross-sell and upsell products, build trust and community, and gain valuable data insights. The success of live shopping in China has led to significant growth in related eCommerce sales, and social media platforms are attempting to capitalize on this trend with varying degrees of success. By adding social features to their own apps and sites, eCommerce brands can create a seamless user journey that caters to the preferences of younger generations and drives incremental sales. Agora's Real-Time Engagement Platform offers solutions for building branded live shopping experiences that can help businesses unlock new revenue streams and grow their customer base.

In this multi-part blog series, Agora has been comparing its video SDK with Zoom's offering in various scenarios. In Part 3, the focus is on Multi-Party Mobile Video Calls with up to 32 participants under varying network conditions. The tests were conducted using a Galaxy S10+ receiving video from a 32-video conference meeting. Results showed that Agora outperformed Zoom in terms of frame rate and overall performance, especially during significant packet loss or jitter. Agora's SDK leverages its SD-RTN™ network as an overlay to the public internet, implementing technologies that optimize performance over last-mile connections and device optimizations. This enables it to combat possible consumer churn due to network disruptions. In conclusion, Agora's video SDKs consistently outperformed Zoom's in all tests conducted so far.