Welcome back. Social distancing and other steps to fight the coronavirus pose a big challenge for immersive experiential museums, but they are reopening in largely recognizable forms. The killer apps for 5G may be business uses. And symphony orchestras are emerging from lockdown, altered to perform in the pandemic.

Experiential museums had to scramble to update their exhibits for the era of social distancing, when high-touch, interactive exhibits don’t seem as attractive anymore. But operators say they have found ways to retain their identities to a perhaps surprising degree, Ann-Marie Alcántara reports.

The Museum of Ice Cream in New York no longer lets guests into its pool of biodegradable plastic sprinkles, but they can walk on top of it via stationary objects it calls “lily pads.” And a new “treasure map” that guests can follow offers three different routes to a prize, delineated by the amount of interaction with staff or other guests they require.

But the market for interactive venues already was getting saturated, said Brendan Gahan, chief social officer and partner at advertising agency Mekanism. And another key draw of these museums, fun backdrops and settings specifically designed to stand out on guests’ social media, could seem insensitive during difficult times, he suggested.

“It’s going to depend on how big of a priority you place on your social media and how much you’re worried about [Covid-19],” Mr. Gahan said.

Apple introduced four iPhone 12 models capable of connecting to a much faster 5G cellular network.

With questionable traction for 5G among consumers so far, CEO Tim Cook went out of his way to describe why it would improve their experience. He cited improved downloads and uploads, higher-quality video streaming, better gaming and less network congestion.

But the presentation also included demos of 5G iPhones helpfully downloading important medical images and remotely designing factory spaces, The Journal’s Tim Higgins points out—tacit acknowledgments that some of the most compelling applications of the tech might be in business contexts, not consumer entertainment.

When a “sold-out” audience of about 350 in the 2,900-seat auditorium applauded as the Houston Symphony Orchestra  filed onstage to perform this month, it almost felt like a pre-pandemic concert experience, Barbara Jepson reports for the Journal.

As American symphony orchestras emerge from lockdown, however, they are adopting a variety of approaches to live performance.

While orchestras in some states are letting limited audiences inside their auditoriums, most have opted to make music in their empty concert halls. Soccer stadiums, ballparks and streets have been pressed into service as safer outdoor venues for socially distanced audiences.

Players and conductors wear face masks, except for the woodwinds and brass.

And some events are filmed before broadcast; others are streamed live.

The next livestreamed concert on Houston’s YouTube Channel, accessible for 24 hours only, is on Saturday. Tickets are required.

The Wall Street Journal is planning a virtual Experience Management Forum on Nov. 9. Attendees will hear the latest thinking from leaders in the field, exchange ideas with peers and explore strategies to navigate a rapidly changing business environment. Sessions include:

• Experience Amid Disruption
• The Rush to Digitization
• Building Inclusive Experiences

Click here for more.

Facebook redesigned Messenger’s logo, working in the kind of gradient color seen in the Instagram logo. [XDA Developers] 

Advertising holding company Havas formed a new Havas CX network combining 1,200 people in fields like digital transformation, experience design and consumer engagement. [Campaign]

Google’s new security alert for potentially compromised accounts surrounds users’ avatars with pulsing red rings. [Fast Company] 

And Google’s AI-fueled chat agent Duplex is now calling hair salons on the phone to book appointments for users. [VentureBeat]

Twitter added friction to its UX to make it harder for posts to go viral ahead of the U.S. election, including by putting limits on how users can retweet. [WSJ]

Slack’s latest update will let users contact people at other companies if their employers are working together. [Fortune] 

DoorDash is pushing employers to make its services part of the remote employee experience. [TechCrunch]