Gadget

The Lumos Ultra smart helmet has been in the news thanks to its highly successful Kickstarter project, which still has a week left to run on it. The smart bike helmet has attracted over US$2.2 million from backers. The Lumos Ultra has integrated LEDs for turn signaling and can be operated via an Apple Watch or the included wireless handlebar remote.

Leica has posted a new YouTube link to go live later in July 2020. It will broadcast the launch of the next addition to the M10 series of cameras. According to recent leaks, it will be called the M10-R, and will be capable of ~40MP stills. It is also touted to come in black or silver colorways and have a 3-inch TFT rear screen.

GoPro has addressed an increasingly prevalent issue for many users who have shifted their work, learning or hobbies online in a new update under development at this action-cam OEM. It confers a new function on its HERO8 Black model that allows owners who also use Macs to use the device as an FHD, wide-angle upgrade on their default webcams.

A new Samsung fitness tracker has been certified by the FCC. Possibly a replacement to the discontinued Galaxy Fit, the budget device may launch at Samsung's next Galaxy Unpacked event on August 5.

Renders and specs of the Huawei MatePad T10 and Huawei MatePad T10s have been leaked. The two new tablets from the Chinese OEM feature the 14nm Kirin 710A chipset and from 2 GB to 3 GB RAM depending on the model. No prices have been leaked, but the specs suggest the MatePad T10 and T10s will be budget tablets.

The design of Samsung's next Galaxy Buds has leaked again, this time courtesy of Evan Blass. The FCC has also certified the earbuds, which are rumoured to be called the Galaxy Buds Live or Galaxy Buds X. The earbuds, which are associated with the model number SM-R180, may well launch on August 5 at Samsung's next Galaxy Unpacked event.

Xiaomi has been celebrating again, this time in regard to its wearables division. The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 4 (Mi Band 4) has been crowned the best-selling wearable band in the world. The Mi Band 5 has been selling out constantly as well, although stories of success for the Mi Band range are nothing new.

Canon has finally unveiled the long-awaited 2020 EOS R series of mirrorless cameras. The OEM has confirmed the former has a 45MP sensor, whereas the latter is 20MP. They also have DIGIC X image processor and 5-Axis image stabilization. 4 new RF lenses have also been launched alongside the new units.

Pictures of Google's upcoming Nest Smart speaker have surfaced online. Published by a Japanese regulatory body, the speaker has an ungainly-looking design that is considerably larger than the Google Home.

Fancy making use of a Raspberry Pi as a smart speaker? Well, two projects have demonstrated the steps for getting the popular single-board computer working with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. The realised projects support wake words and may be a cheaper option than purchasing an Echo Dot or a Nest Home Mini if you have a Raspberry Pi lying about.

Creative Technology has announced its latest headset, the Creative SXFI Gamer. Featuring replaceable ear cups, RGB lighting and USB Type-C connectivity, the SXFI Gamer retails for US$129.99 and £114.99 in the UK. The headset also includes the company's new CommanderMic and is compatible with Gen2 of its Super X-Fi technology.

Xiaomi has confirmed that the Mi Smart Band 5 and Mi TV Stick will both retail for €39.99 (~US$45). The company has also teased that the two devices will be launched on July 15. Xiaomi has enabled Camera Shutter Control for the Mi Smart Band 5 too.

Intel has announced the Thunderbolt 4 protocol and new Thunderbolt 4 controllers, which build on the capabilities of Thunderbolt 3 and also form the basis for the USB4 spec. Thunderbolt 4 offers the same throughput as Thunderbolt 3 along with additional platform and security features while also expanding the Thunderbolt dock ecosystem. Thunderbolt 4 will be compatible all existing USB Type-C and Thunderbolt 3 standards and will be first seen in Tiger Lake-powered laptops later this year.

Akasa has released the Gem Pro, having announced the case in May. Available for £24.75 or US$30.95, the Gem Pro features apertures for the GPIO and microSD card slot of the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, along with full access to its other ports.

A couple of leaked images of the upcoming Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5 global activity tracker have offered up some clues of what a Pro model of the wearable could deliver. According to the poster of the images, the global Mi Smart Band 5 does not feature NFC functionality, Alexa assistant, or the SpO2 pulse oximeter sensor for blood oxygen monitoring.

The FCC has confirmed that the Mi TV Stick is on its way to the US. The device will be available in the EU too and will support a host of current connectivity standards. Xiaomi is expected to release the Mi TV Stick in two editions and to include a multi-function remote in the box.

OnePlus has been celebrating incredible sales for its recently launched smart TV series. According to the Chinese OEM, all of its new units were sold as part of a flash sale in just one minute. The recently launched OnePlus TV Series starts from ₹12,999 (US$174) for the slimline 32-inch device.

Sony asserts it has broken new ground with its latest FE G Master lens. Its zoom does indeed go down to 12 millimeters (mm) while maintaining a 2.8 aperture. This means it can summon an impressive field of view while retaining its level of brightness at all times. The OEM claims it can thus outdo the human eye in wide-angle perception.

Sega has unveiled another retro console. Called the Astro City Mini, the mini arcade machine comes with 36 games pre-installed, including Altered Beast and Virtua Fighter among others.

Vizio has announced new additions to its collection of soundbars, which are available either now or later in 2020. They are headlined by the Elevate 5.1.4, which stood out in its category at CES 2020 due to its Adaptive Height Speakers. These rotating parts activate to deploy content with the high-end audio tech it supports.

A promo video for the Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 has been leaked at the same time as some live images of the upcoming smartwatch were revealed via NCC certification. The video clip for the Galaxy Watch 3 focuses more on the software functions of the wearable rather than its overall physical appearance.

The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 4C has been launched in Malaysia. The global version of the budget activity tracker has gone on sale there for 99 MYR (US$23). The Mi Smart Band 4C is basically a rebranded Redmi Band and offers users a heart-rate monitor, 5 ATM water resistance, and a 1.08-inch touchscreen.

Honor has launched a new set of earbuds, the Honor Choice True Wireless Earbuds. Priced at just US$34.99, the Honor Choice supports Bluetooth 5.0, up to 24 hours of battery life and USB Type-C charging. Touch controls are supported too and the earbuds are IP54 certified.

Placeholder images for what could end up being the Huawei Band 5 activity tracker and the Huawei Mate Watch have been shared on the Chinese social site Weibo. No specifications have been revealed, but the supposed codenames for the upcoming Huawei smartband and smartwatch along with some potential design details are displayed.

The smart-glasses company Vuzix has announced that it has 3C certification for its M400 model. Therefore, it may now target the market in question with this IP67-rated, drop-resistant smart viewer. As with many other products in this category, it is directed at professional and industrial applications.

It has been rumored that Huawei will be releasing its own Display ranges of monitors set at three different price points, and a 32-inch model is expected to be part of the lineup. It’s likely Huawei Display monitors will target the space that will be occupied by Redmi Display and Xiaomi Mi Display external monitors.

A new phone design patent attributed to the OEM Huawei shows that it has one truly massive lens in an even larger rectangular housing on its back panel. However, there may be a good reason for this: its schematics show that it may also be capable of DSLR-like zoom. Therefore, this IP may one day represent the company's next image-sensor breakthrough.

The Xiaomi Mi TV Stick appears to be getting closer to an official launch, as details about the gadget have been appearing via Geekbench, Google Play Console, and on official Google certification. It is the 1080p (FHD) Mi TV Stick model that has been spotted recently, although there is evidence of a 4K (UHD) device too.

The hopeful PlayStation 4 homebrew scene has waited a long while for a new kernel exploit, after the release of the firmware 5.05 jailbreak back in 2018. That wait is unlikely to end anytime soon, in light of recent developments.

A project has transformed the Raspberry Pi, some LEGO, an Arduino and a few other components into a working microscope. Presented by IBM Research, the project can deliver results that are accurate enough for reports, papers and presentations.

Polar has announced its latest smartwatch and fitness tracker, the Unite. Compatible with the company's Polar Flow service, the Unite features a colour touchscreen display, up to 4 days battery life and a heart rate tracker. The Polar Unite is waterproof and supports Connected GPS.

A project has transformed the Raspberry Pi into a portable synthesizer. Called the nanoPi, the project utilizes a Raspberry Pi Zero W, a KORG nanoKEY and FluidSynth.

The Lynwo BT01 is a cheap smartwatch that still packs plenty of features. The device, which retails for under US$20, is IP68 certified and supports GPS route tracking. There is even a heart rate monitor to complement the smartwatch's 1.3-inch IPS touchscreen display.

Xiaomi has officially launched its first OLED TV in the form of the 65-inch Mi TV Master Series set, which will be sold at a price of 12,999 yuan (US$1,840) in the company’s domestic market. The smart TV is bursting with gaming-friendly features and offers a 120 Hz panel with a 1 ms response time. MIUI for TV and a MediaTek processor are also onboard.

There has been another reference to a Xiaomi Mi Band 5 Pro activity tracker discovered recently. A Pro variant of the wearable was already rumored due to it being mentioned in app code, and now it has been spotted again as “Kongming Pro” in a settings screenshot. The Mi Band 5 was released in June.

The NanoPi NEO3 is another small single-board computer (SBC) produced by FriendlyELEC. The NEO3 includes a quad-core ARM processor, up to 2 GB of RAM, Gigabit Ethernet and a microSD card reader.

Vizio has unveiled its 2021 TV Collection that includes two OLED 4K TVs that should appeal to future owners of next-gen consoles. The 55-inch and 65-inch Vizio OLED 4K TVs feature the company’s ProGaming Engine and HDMI 2.1 support, which is ideal for the PS5 and Xbox Series X. The pricing should help Vizio stay competitive in the crowded marketplace.

Xiaomi has released a new XiaoAI Portable Speaker via Youpin that can also be ordered from Banggood for international customers. The mini Bluetooth speaker has a power rating of 2 W and is being offered to domestic shoppers for 49 yuan (US$7). The Xiaomi XiaoAI Portable Speaker with virtual assistant is priced at US$19.99 at Banggood.

Google has put a new event in its calendar. Called the Works With "Hey Google" Smart Home Summit, the event will commence on July 8. The company is expected to announce hardware at the summit, with its rumoured Android TV "Sabrina" streaming stick and Nest-branded "Prince" speaker seemingly likely candidates.

Philips has brought two new Ambiglow monitors to market. Called the Momentum 278M1R and Momentum 556M1RY, Philips claims that the two monitors can "take console gaming to the next level". Both support low input lag, while the 556M1RY can operate at up to 120 Hz and 4K.

The Xiaomi TV Master Series has only just been announced, with a 65-inch 120 Hz OLED making up the range so far. Now some specs for the upcoming smart TV have been leaked by a Xiaomi manager on Weibo. The Xiaomi TV Master will apparently offer users HDMI 2.1, MEMC image-smoothing technology, variable refresh rate (VRR), and much more.

New leaked Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 images show the upcoming wearable in both black titanium and what has been classified as bronze, although it certainly looks more like rose gold. It appears Samsung has opted to go for an elegant design for its Galaxy Watch 3, although that does not mean style has been entirely chosen over substance.

Xiaomi is now selling a flashy go-kart in the form of the Ninebot Number 9 Gokart Pro. The vehicle can reach speeds of up to 23 mph (37 km/h) and features 4x 8 W speakers and dynamic-cornering capability. The designer of the 8,998-yuan (US$1,270) Gokart Pro, Ninebot, is a Xiaomi-backed firm that owns Segway Inc.

Xiaomi's recent 98-inch Redmi Smart TV Max seems to have been a commercial success, and the company is set to follow it up with yet another TV. This TV, branded as the "Xiaomi TV Master Series" will sit at the very top of Xiaomi's TV hierarchy, and will take on the rest of the world with a 65-inch OLED 120 Hz display.

The a7S II is a member of Sony's Alpha series of full-frame cameras lauded for its low-light and 4K video performance, even though it has been several years since its release. Now, an executive from this OEM has confirmed that a successor for the unit is on the way. According to this source, every aspect of the 7S has been completely re-designed.

Samsung has announced the launch of the QT67 QLED TV series, with six models making up the new lineup. Along with the incredible high-definition pictures, the new QT67 QLED televisions from the South Korean manufacturer have been rated with first-class energy efficiency. The cheapest model is the 43-inch set, which costs KRW 990,000 (US$824).

The Nintendo Switch may be the console for the Covid-19 era; however, a start-up has decided that it also needs the edge conferred by the nostalgia for retro arcade gaming. To this end, it has created the Switch Fighter, a dock-like device that turns the tablet into a portable version of the same when slotted into it.

North, the Canadian smart eyewear manufacturer, is reportedly in the final stages of acquisition by Alphabet (Google’s parent company). North is best known for its 'Focals' smart glasses, which are designed to look like regular glasses.

OnePlus has been teasing the prices in India for three models of its upcoming affordable smart TV series. The Chinese OEM has published three figures but has omitted a single crucial digit, leaving fans to guess at the prices. The 32-inch OnePlus TV could cost ₹19,999 (US$264) or even ₹14,999 (US$198) to challenge the popular Xiaomi Mi TV lineup.

The alleged price for the Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5 in Europe has allegedly leaked, and it is set at the competitive price of €39.99 (US$45). However, it appears that fans of the Xiaomi activity tracker in Europe will have to make do without NFC. The popular wearable is known as the Mi Band 5 in China and costs from 189 yuan (US$27) there.