Accessory

Amazfit is a popular wearables brand with its own e-store that serves several regions, the US included. It is currently running a promotion that offers a free second strap with every purchase of its latest GTS 2 and GTR 2 series of smartwatches. These bands normally cost about US$20, meaning this might be a good chance to get two in different colors for a limited time.

The accessories company Spigen has reportedly updated its OnePlus-compatible range with listings for the three devices thought to comprise an upcoming flagship series. According to this leak, they are the 9, 9 Pro - and 9E, despite recent tips that purport to change this name to 9R. However, it now seems this story has been subject to some changes.

The Mijia Mi Smart Projector 2 Pro is a relatively portable FHD projector launched by Xiaomi with the potential advantage of a time-of-flight (ToF) sensor for added focus capabilities in late 2020 in China. Now, it has a Global variant, which means it runs Android TV and is available on Banggood from now.

The Amazfit T-Rex Pro has featured in an unboxing video that shows off all of the features of the upcoming military-grade smartwatch. The T-Rex Pro utilizes software based on real-time operating system (RTOS) and features a BioTracker 2 PPG optical sensor and SpO2 blood-oxygen level measurement all for €169.90 (US$203).

Razer is known for gaming audio peripherals; however, its new Anzu product is something else altogether. They are of the smart-glass type that incorporate personal speakers for the wearer's audio, which, as the OEM claims, will reach the user's head with reduced latency and increased immersion. They are available in Razer's store from now for US$199.99.

The Apple Watch, Huawei Watch GT and Galaxy Watch lines helped their respective OEMs maintain their leading positions in the smartwatch space in 2020. This was a year in which the market showed relatively little growth, although its premium segment enjoyed a "significant" uptick.

Marshall has launched its first TWS earbuds joining a highly competitive field of listening options. The new Marshall Mode II true wireless earbuds of course carry the famous Marshall name to help them stand out from the crowd, but they also come with a very strong list of features.

Users in Germany can now use their Samsung Galaxy smartwatches to make purchases via Samsung Pay. A one-time setup is required via a linked Android smartphone. After that, one only requires to enter a PIN to authenticate every transaction. Only a handful of Galaxy Watch and Galaxy Watch models support it, for now.

Qualcomm offers a range of products that support or serve mobile wireless audio, ranging from its aptX technology to the entire 8-series of mobile SoCs. Now, it has announced that this panel of technology has a new, unified platform: Snapdragon Sound. It will also act as a badge to signal to the consumer that its specs are present in a given product.

Razer partnered with Conservation International for the Sneki Snek plushie, the sales of which go toward protecting forestry in various locations worldwide. The mascot has now achieved its initial goal of saving 100,000 trees in this manner, which means the OEM has new merch based on the character to launch at its upcoming RazerStore Live event.

The latest case by Sharkoon is the ELITE SHARK CA300H and comes with tempered glass side panels, a polished aluminum front panel, four preinstalled RGB LED fans, an addressable RGB controller, and plenty of space. The manufacturer's suggested price for this ATX case is 154.90 Euros (roughly US$187).

Xiaomi has launched a new Redmi monitor to join the already existing Redmi Display 1A. The latest addition has a larger screen size at 27 inches and offers a 1920x1080 resolution, fast gray-to gray response time, and up to a 75 Hz refresh rate. The 27-inch Redmi monitor has a pre-sale price of 899 yuan (US$139) in China.

Razer DevCon is a new event set to debut in 2021 via Twitch. It is slated to present discussions on the up-to-date innovation and technology that might most benefit the future of gaming across multiple platforms. Therefore, it might interest developers involved in mobile, console or PC ecosystems.

The new luxury foldable that carries the Vertu banner, namely the Ayxta Fold 5G, is actually a Royole FlexPai 2 with a back cover dressed in leather and with a few other minor visual touches. Hardware-wise, there is nothing mindblowing, but the price for China (via JD.com) exceeds the equivalent of US$7,000.

Laser TVs are devices much more like ultra-short-throw projectors than conventional big screens. Therefore, they can deliver larger display sizes with less harmful blue light, which is what customers want these days - according to Hisense, at least. This OEM claims that it sold over three times more laser TVs in 2020 internationally compared to 2019.

Images and specs for the Amazfit T-Rex Pro rugged smartwatch have been leaked, indicating that the new Amazfit wearable is likely to be launched soon. The Amazfit T-Rex Pro looks very similar to the non-Pro model but offers at least one new color choice, greater water resistance, and access to the BioTracker 2 PPG health utility.

Although only the front is no longer a secret, it is obvious that the Samsung Galaxy XCover 5 is not a huge step forward in terms of design when compared to its predecessor. One can easily notice the thick borders and bezels, a red button on the left side, as well as the power and volume buttons on the right.

Nothing is the name of Carl Pei's new tech start-up, his first since leaving OnePlus in 2020. It has been introduced as based in London; however, it also now has an Indian presence. It is to be led by Manu Sharma, formerly a Samsung executive. Pei projects that he will "play a pivotal role for our growth in India".

Huami is a wearables OEM that has built a market leadership worldwide, mainly through the popularity of its Amazfit devices. Now, the company has announced that it will be known as Zepp Health from now on. This wholesale re-brand is intended to consolidate its position across all its businesses going forward

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra is a super-flagship smartphone rumored to launch later in 2021. It is touted to improve on the existing Mi 11 in a number of ways, one of which is a step up to blazing fast 120W charging. A new leak suggests it might have a new, first-party gallium nitride (GaN) power brick with which to do so.

Xiaomi has recently launched the new Redmi AirDots 3 true wireless headset with Bluetooth 5.2 support. The third-generation Redmi earbuds utilize a Qualcomm QCC3040 chip solution to provide the best audio performance, with aptX audio technology being part of the package. The price in China for the Redmi AirDots 3 is 199 yuan (US$31).

Apple has re-worked the MagSafe brand as a new type of ultra-thin and (theoretically) extra-strong wireless charger that enables a user to hold up and use an iPhone 12 as normal while juicing it back up. Now, ESR has "re-imagined" this technology, mainly through the inclusion of a useful flip-out stand.

The RedMagic 6 series of Snapdragon 888-powered gaming devices is slated to launch on March 4, 2021. Now, its maker Nubia has strongly hinted at an upgrade to 165Hz displays for these phones. They are also now slated to get 400Hz touch-sampling rates, which adds up to a potentially severe headache for Asus' ROG Phone 5.

Carl Pei's new start-up, Nothing, has announced that it has a new founding partner: teenage engineering. This Stockholm-based group has been involved in "craftsmanship" and industrial design for 10 years now, and is possibly best-known for its OP-1 synthesizer. Pei claims that its involvement in Nothing has resulted in a "product roadmap" that is "true to the company's vision".

HP has just confirmed it has secured "a definitive agreement" to buy HyperX, heretofore best known as Kingston's gaming-accessories division. That company's co-founder and CEO, John Tu, calls the move "a brighter future for HyperX", while its new owner is "thrilled" to admit it to its "family".

More news about the Xiaomi Mi Band 6, which will likely be known as the Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 for the global market, has been discovered via the Mi Fit app. It seems the Mi Band 6, which is expected to come with a built-in GPS, will allow wearers to reply to SMS messages and may even offer increased functionality for popular messenger services.

The 98-inch Redmi Smart TV Max is soon going to be joined by another monster television set from Xiaomi. The Chinese company has been teasing the fact on Weibo and asking followers what size the new Redmi Max TV could be. While some have their fingers crossed for 120 inches, it seems a smaller 86-inch set is more likely.

The Asus eGPU uses a special proprietary connector with more bandwidth than even Thunderbolt 4, but it can only be used for one specific laptop model. Meanwhile, the Aorus eGPU uses a generic Thunderbolt connector with more limited bandwidth, but it is compatible with essentially any Thunderbolt laptop or mini PC as a result. Which is the better option?

The Alloy Origins is the company's first 60 percent keyboard and it's now shipping for $99 USD. Its launch comes a few months after the Ducky One 2 Mini mechanical keyboard which was made in collaboration with HyperX.

Recent leaks have supplied possible evidence of a successor to the popular, affordable Mi Band 5. Now, a new tip asserts that the wearable has been registered with Indonesian and Indian authorities, suggesting it may debut soon in those markets, at least. It also seems to spill the 6's model number, if no additional specs for the putative fitness tracker.

A Sony executive has just confirmed that the PlayStation 5 (PS5) is getting its own virtual reality (VR) system after all. It will consist of a next-gen headset and controller, which will apparently be informed by everything the OEM has learned since debuting this form of gaming on the PS4. Furthermore, the controller may also be DualSense in nature.

Black Shark is Xiaomi's line of high-end gaming phones that is thought to have vanilla and Pro variants coming in 2021. They have both been approved by the Chinese authority 3C, which reveals that both of them will have the OEM's top charging speed currently seen in the Mi 10 Ultra: 120 watts (W). Like this phone, the upcoming devices have been registered alongside a compatible power brick.

More evidence of Samsung's foray into the augmented reality (AR) market has emerged, in the form of a new video that might be marketing material for its first-gen Glasses. They are apparently pitched at use-cases such as gaming and content consumption as well as virtual conferencing and presentations. They may also work as sunglasses and have a virtual DeX modes.

Huawei has introduced its latest TWS earbuds alongside its new Mate X2 foldable. The accessories are definitely the more affordable of the two; nevertheless, they have high-end specs such as active noise cancellation (ANC), wearer detection and up to 10 hours of battery life. They have an AirPod-clone look, albeit with a new style of charging case and 3 color choices.

AMD's official Reddit account has posted requesting reports from users about an increasingly well-publicized issue in which USB devices installed in or attached to 500-series chipset motherboards disconnect randomly and without warning. It seems to be fairly constant across this range and across board manufacturers.

Rollme has just launched the Hero, its latest smartwatch with a completely bezel-free display. This is joined by a nano-SIM card slot for 4G/LTE connectivity in this wearable, not to mention up to 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. Not only that, but it boasts an unusually large 1,600mAh battery rated for up to 10 days on power-save mode.

Realme has announced that its second-gen Buds Air will launch in India on February 24, 2021. It has also confirmed multiple leaks about these TWS earbuds in teasing their specs prior to this event. They include the (expected) ANC, as well as the fact that they will have 10mm "Diamond class" drivers, improved battery life and a low-latency Gaming Mode.

iFixit has attributed DualSense drift to multiple hardware shortcomings with Sony's latest controller, ruling out software as a culprit. Apparently, little can be done to rectify the problem, short of Sony redesigning the DualSense.

Google made its acquisition of the health-tracking household name Fitbit official in January 2021. As if to provide more evidence of this, the Mountain View's online shop now lists products from this brand alongside those of Nest, which it has also absorbed. Therefore, consumers can now buy devices such as the Charge 4 through this Store.

Apple is thought to have a foldable iPhone in the works. However, according to a new report, the market analyst group Omdia claims that its launch has been pushed back to 2023. Then again, it might share the feature of Apple Pencil compatibility with many iPads by that time.

Realme is rumored to launch its second-gen Buds Air in India soon, in partnership with the Chainsmokers EDM group. These upcoming TWS earbuds have allegedly popped up on an OEM's app early, inadvertently revealing that they have active noise cancellation (ANC). They may also boast features such as Transparency and a Game Mode.

Razer's new ultralight mouse has an insanely high maximum sensitivity of 18000 DPI and PTFE feet for a smooth glide on most flat surfaces. Even if you're not an MMO player, the auxiliary buttons can be just as useful for office and editing workloads.