Gadget

The PowerVision Robot Corporation has launched a new drone. This one sets itself apart with what its maker describes as weatherproof attachments, one of which even allows the PowerEgg X to land on water. It is also rated for 4K/60 frames per second (fps) recording in flight.

Three supposed images of the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 wearable fitness tracker have been leaked. The images originate from a popular Chinese social networking site and feature the wearable in switched-on and turned-off states. There is a distinctly visible capacitive button taking up a good portion of the narrow-bezel display.
Noted Xiaomi tipster believes the images are fake.

A new alternative to the Raspberry Pi is now available. The Banana Pi BPI-F2P also allows the connection of external devices, but it has a different focus than the popular Raspberry Pi.

While Sony is putting the finishing touches to the WH-1000XM4, Microsoft has been spotted certifying new Surface Headphones. Possibly called the Surface Headphones 2, the noise-cancelling headphones will offer up to 20 hours of battery life, improved head tracking, Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity and aptX support. There will be no design changes for the new Surface Headphones, though.

The wait is over. Thanks to RetroPie, the latest Raspberry Pi can now be easily utilised as a retro console. The new version not only provides compatibility with the Raspberry Pi 4, but also offers numerous improvements for other models.

Based on the Sony IMX477, the Raspberry Pi High Quality Camera Module is a big upgrade over the existing Raspberry Pi Camera Module. Featuring interchangeable lenses, a back-focus adjustment ring and a tripod mount, the 12.3 MP camera retails for US$50.00.

Priced at US$112 and £89.99 in the UK, the Huawei FreeBuds 3i is the AirPods Pro on a budget. Featuring Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), three microphones and silicone ear tips, the FreeBuds 3i doesn't half look like original AirPods too.

Costing US$349.99 at launch, the WH-1000XM4 include several design changes from the WH-1000XM3, along with Bluetooth 5.0 and 40 mm drivers. Battery life should be improved too, but do not get your hopes up for aptX or aptX HD support.

JBL has introduced another set of TWS earbuds as it continues to assert itself in an already extremely competitive market. Promising excellent sound quality, long battery life and many exciting features, the JBL Live 300TWS miss out on one crucial function.

Combining a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ and off-the-shelf parts, the project requires no 3D printing or soldering. Suitable even for beginners, the resulting unit can deliver weather forecasts on its easy to read ePaper display.

Having received almost US$450,000 in crowdfunding, castAway has expanded from a case with a second screen to a platform of accessories. Featuring a gamepad, a wallet a wireless charger and more, the castAway accessories can give almost any smartphone an upgrade.

DJI has officially launched its eagerly anticipated Mavic Air 2 drone. The new device features a host of new and improved features and functionality while keeping the same user-friendly approach to shooting high-quality aerial footage and still photos.

The GreatScottLab has turned a single-board computer into a particularly affordable Windows 10 tablet. The portable device features a large touchscreen and should be well suited for enjoying retro video games.

Drone specialist DJI is on the verge of presenting version 2 of the Mavic Air. Ahead of its expected release, marketing renders and a complete specification sheet have leaked, leaving little to the imagination.

The alleged pre-sale price and post “early bird” deal price for the GPD Win Max handheld computer have been leaked ahead of its Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. The prices, which are for the Chinese market, are mentioned as 4,999 yuan (US$706) rising to 5,799 yuan (US$819) for those who don’t take advantage of snapping up the GPD Win Max early enough.

The Edge+ is Motorola's first flagship phone to have wireless charging. Now, a matching accessory from this brand is available on the US market. It can charge the Edge+ at 15 watts (W) and boasts the "thermal management" necessary to do so safely.

Hardkernel has introduced a new single-board computer and a compelling alternative to the Raspberry Pi. The ODROID-C4 should convince with its affordable price and high computing power.

Realme is said to have an X3 series of smartphones in the works. It is also rumored to have a "SuperZoom" variant. This heretofore-unexplained moniker has been confirmed through its official telecomms certifications, suggesting we will find out all about it soon.

Based around a Raspberry Pi Zero W, a community project has transformed the popular single-board computer into a compact weather station. Comparatively easy and inexpensive to create, the system can be wall-mounted and features a 2.8-inch touchscreen display.

Huawei has ditched the design of the FreeBuds 3, according to leaked renders of new TWS earbuds published by WinFuture. Featuring a white design, silicone tips, ANC and a compact charging case, the FreeBuds 3i will likely be pitched as AirPods Pro competitors.

Said to be launching on May 6 in Germany, the Surface Earbuds are rather late the party. Announced last October for US$249, it seems that their delay has coincided with a price cut. The Surface Earbuds will not come cheap, though.

Mobvoi - the OEM behind the TicWatch line of wearables - has unveiled its latest product, the Cololight. It consists of hexagonal LED panels that can be connected and thus arranged into a variety of patterns at the user's discretion. Its starts at a pack of 3 lights and their necessary components for US$59.99.

From the MacBook Pro 14 to the iPhone 12 and everything in between, Apple is planning a bumper hardware refresh by the end of the year. Expect new iMacs, AirTags, Watch Series 6 and MacBook Pro 16 releases.

Magic Leap has announced that it is cutting staff and reorienting from a consumer focus to an enterprise focus. The company blames COVID-19 for at least some of its woes but the reality is that it never really gained traction as it has thus far overpromised and underdelivered.

A new project has transformed the Raspberry Pi into a thermal imaging camera. Using the housing of a discarded microwave detector, the Apollo Pi Thermal Camera is based around a Raspberry Pi Zero W, a 1.3-inch display and a Thermal Camera Breakout.

A Samsung executive has written a piece on where this OEM's image sensor technology is headed. It includes claims that it is working on new components with qualities that beat those of the human eye. This includes estimated resolutions of about 500MP, whereas the Korean giant is aiming for 600MP.

It seems likely that Xiaomi will release the very affordable Redmi Band onto the European market as the Mi Band 4C. The fitness tracker has been spotted in registration certificates as the Mi Smart Band 4C, but some detective work has unearthed the evidence that points to this wearable simply being a rebranded Redmi Band.

Based on the desk terminal from Fallout 4, the project features a 3.5-inch display and a 3D printed case. The result looks great, in our opinion.

Featuring a 23.8-inch IPS panel, the Mi Display 1A has three-micro-edge bezels and a viewing angle of up to 178°. Retailing for just CNY 699 (~US$99), the Mi Display 1A is likely to attract interest from those who are looking for a stylish and affordable external monitor.

The Turing Pi Cluster Board turns up to seven Raspberry Pi Compute Modules into a powerful cluster device. The board can not only be used for network storage, but also as a platform for video games.

With the Optix MAG301CR, MSI has created a 21:9 monitor that not only has a 30-inch curved VA panel, but also one that supports up to 200 Hz refresh rates and AMD FreeSync. The Optix MAG301CR operates natively at 2,560 x 1,080 and has 1 ms response times, too.

A supposed product roadmap revealing Xiaomi’s plans for the European market over the next few months has been leaked. The list contains already revealed items, such as the Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 and Mi AIoT Router, but there is also mention of the Mi TV Stick, Mi Smart Home Hub, and Mi Electric Scooter for fans in Europe to look forward to.

Qualcomm has launched the 212 modem, a new chipset for NB2 bands that needs as little as 2.2 volts (V) to function. This may be advantageous for internet-of-things devices that need to keep going on ultra-low power in the long term. It is also small enough to allow for connectivity modules measuring 100 square millimeters or less.

On the look out for a new GPU that fits your small form factor PC? Well, the RX 5500 XT from ASRock could be your best bet. Packing 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM running at 14 Gbps and a Navi 14 GPU that clocks up to 1,845 MHz, then RX 5500 XT Challenger ITX 8G should outperform those GDDR6 GTX 1650 refreshes.

A community project posted has turned a humble Raspberry Pi into a working Pipboy. Loosely based on the Pipboy 2000 MK VI, the project features a 3.5-inch display, a powerbank and a rotary encoder.

Huami has confirmed that the Xiaomi Mi Band 5 is still on course to launch later this year and that the working relationship between the two companies is as strong as ever. Recent rumors had suggested that Xiaomi was considering taking its considerable investment out of Huami, which could have scuppered plans for the Mi Band 5 wearable.

Posted to GitHub, the Mascobot utilises a Raspberry Pi as part of an open-source ventilator. The project uses an Arduino and off the shelf parts, too. Testing is already underway, with human trials planned for the beginning of May.

The BreadBee is a very compact single-board computer that runs Linux. Developed by Daniel Palmer, the BreadBee features 64 MB of RAM, an MStar MSC313E Cortex-A7 SoC, two multi-pin headers and an RJ45 Ethernet port.

Billed as an electric grinder, an adjustable ceramic coffee mill, a measuring cup and a travel mug, the Beanque has already raised over US$15,000 on Kickstarter. The 3-in-1 coffee maker is available from US$49 and will ship in July 2020.

Not only is Microsoft said to be releasing a Surface Book 3 and Surface Go 2 this Spring, but it also has new accessories planned. While likely backwards compatible, they point towards Microsoft embracing greater connectivity options. It would appear that the Surface Book 3 will offer considerably more performance than its predecessor, too.

Recently spotted Bluetooth certificates have indicated an upcoming announcement of two new products from the Xiaomi sub-brand Redmi: the Redmi AirDots 2 and the Redmi SonicBass Wireless Earphones. The first Redmi AirDots have been called a cheap AirPods killer and offered active noise cancellation and Bluetooth 5.0 support.

The Outlier Gold offers impeccable value for money. While many of their competitors stretch into hundreds of dollars, Creative has kept the Outlier Gold below US$100. The company has not compromised on audio quality though, as we shall discuss in our hands-on review.

Based on the NXP i.MX8M processor, the EMB-2237-AI features an Audio DSP, up to 4 GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 8 GB of storage, along with support for PoE or Google Coral M.2 AI modules. Slightly larger than a Raspberry Pi, the EMB-2237-AI should be well-suited for Edge AI applications.

We still have much to learn about Intel's Gen12 GPUs, but it turns out that Intel published information about the Xe-HP architecture in January. Spotted by @KOMACHI_ENSAKA in open-source documentation, the Xe-HP architecture will be the basis of workstation and high-end GPUs.

The 2020-editions of LG NanoCell TVs range from 49-inches to 86-inches and come in 4K or 8K flavours. With some editions available to purchase now, LG will start offering 8K models from next month. Varying between US$599 and US$4,999, all models support Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, AirPlay 2 and Apple HomeKit.

Teased earlier this week, Huawei has now unveiled the Vision X65. Featuring a 65-inch OLED panel, fourteen hidden speakers and gesture controls, the Vision X65 certainly looks futuristic.

Spotted running in a Lenovo device, the Core i5-L16G7 is one of Intel's upcoming Lakefield processors. Sporting five cores but no Hyper-Threading, some people believe that the Core i5-L16G7 is underpowered.

Sony unexpectedly announced the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller yesterday, but its design has had some unintended consequences. Not only did it cause its rival to trend on social media, but it has resulted in people making all kinds of unflattering comparisons.

Fancy a cheap pair of Apple AirPods rip-offs? Well, Xiaomi has you covered with the Mi Air 2S. The TWS earbuds offer up to 24 hours battery life, support for the LHDC codec and wireless charging. Likely sold as the Mi AirDots Pro 2s in other regions, the Mi Air 2S indistinguishable from the Mi AirDots Pro 2.

Details about Apple's first set of over-ear headphones have been released, along with information about the "AirPods Pro Lite". Apparently called the AirPods X, they are part of a wider plan to gradually wind up the Beats. 9to5Mac disagrees, though.