Accessory

Augmented reality (AR) may emerge as a prominent medium for content and entertainment in the future. At least, Samsung appears to think so, as it has reportedly claimed a new form of the glasses that facilitate it at the South Korean intellectual property office. Should this be the case, the resulting product may look more like sports AR goggles than anything.

The prolific leaker Roland Quandt now claims to have laid hands on product images for Fitbit's next wave of smartwatches and fitness trackers. They include possible new generations of the familiar Versa and Inspire lines. However, there is also a completely new name that may encompass various recent health-wearable trends.

Razer is weighing in on the traditional Back to School sales period with offers on many of its Blade 15 Base Edition, 15 Advanced and Pro 17 notebooks. These PCs are available at US$200 off their normal prices during this event. There is also $10 off the OEM's Hammerhead TWS earbuds.

A noted tipster has reported that Huawei will be using the “floating screen technology” that is expected to feature with the upcoming Huawei MateBook X Pro 2020 laptop in a cutting-edge smart TV that will be unveiled by the end of 2020. The so-called floating full-screen design means to eliminate bezels and device frames as much as possible.

Lenovo has revealed a new pair of its Yoga ANC Headphones. The over-ear headphones come in what Lenovo calls Shadow Black and offer up to 14 hours of battery life. The Yoga ANC Headphones will retail for US$149.99, making them a much cheaper alternative to the likes of the Bose 700, Surface Headphones 2 and Sony WH-1000XM4.

Xiaomi has revealed that it managed to sell 1,660 units of the 98-inch Redmi Smart TV Max in a single day thanks to the attractive combination of decent specifications and reasonable price (19,999 yuan; about US$2,877). The giant 4K Redmi Max 98 seems to be completely unrivalled in the domestic market at the moment.

Chargeasap, the maker of the Indiegogo hit the Flash power bank, is back on crowdfunding with another potentially groundbreaking power accessory. This Omega wall-wart has 2 versions: one that rated to charge at up to 100 watts (W), and one at 200W. It had a goal of US$10,000 on Kickstarter, but left this threshold behind a long time ago.

The ability to complete point-of-sale transactions using wearables alone represented a market worth US$285.47 billion in 2019, according to new market research. However, this value is also now thought to grow until it reaches $1.37 trillion by 2027. This trend may be influenced by an increasing demand for novel ways to pay that are contactless as well as cashless.

Xiaomi has been celebrating its 10th anniversary in business this week and has decided to issue its own pure gold commemorative coins as an expensive keepsake for fans. The company can afford to dabble in gold when it can boast of selling 1,000 units of the 98-inch Redmi Smart TV Max in just one minute at 19,999 yuan (US$2,877) apiece.

LG USA has announced that every customer who buys an eligible OLED TV from its 2020 line-up will also get a pair of TONE Frees as a promotional gift. They are this OEM's latest TWS earbuds that are tuned by Meridian and are rated for up to 18 hours of battery life. This offer is valid until the end of August 2020.

The EOS R5 is a recently-released, near-US$4000 Canon full-frame mirrorless camera that can shoot 8K RAW - but for only about 20 minutes straight. This, according to the OEM, is due to the need to protect its processor from overheating. However, a teardown documented on Baidu has found that this same silicon may have been underserved in the way of thermal protection.

Several DualSense controllers seem to already be in circulation, as hands-on images of another example have been published online. The latest round of photos also show the battery capacity of the next-generation controller, and it is almost double the one in the original DualShock 4.

Today (August 13, 2020), Mobvoi launched its latest Earbud Gesture product on the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo. The OEM was able to score its goal twice over within the first hour of this project going live. The TWS devices in question are rated for up to 50 hours of battery life with their case.

Recently, a leaker claimed to have spoiled the line-up of Apple's upcoming launch event, to be held online this year. It was to have introduced various products, the new iPhones and Watch included, in a specific order. Now, another tipster asserts this is not the case at all and that some new devices will not get to debut on stage at all.

Rumour has it that Apple has a second-generation Magic Keyboard in development. The keyboard accessory will apparently be compatible with the iPad Pro and the rumoured fourth-generation iPad Air. The new keyboard is scheduled to arrive in March 2021, a year after Apple released the fourth generation of the iPad Pro.

The Cyberboard takes its inspiration from the Tesla Cybertruck and Cyberpunk. The mechanical keyboard features a striking design with configurable LEDs and has already raised over US$100,000 in crowdfunding. However, the Cyberboard costs an eye-watering US$410 and does not come with keycaps or switches.

After the release of the 65-inch Mi TV Master Series last month, Xiaomi is back with its second OLED TV yet. The new Mi TV Lux OLED Transparent Edition is, well, transparent, and probably does a great job of looking really cool. If you can afford the US$7,200 MSRP, that is.

The Mudra Band is not an ordinary third-party strap for the Apple Watch. Wearable Devices Ltd claims to have brought gesture controls to the popular smartwatch by way of interpreting nerve signals. The Mudra Band communicates via Bluetooth and is currently available to order for US$159. The project has raised over US$170,000 in crowdfunding so far, too.

The THX Spatial Audio app is software developed in conjunction with Razer that may improve the immersion offered by headsets of nearly any type. Its latest update is to add Spatial Audio Game Profiles, which may improve environmental awareness or realism while playing a compatible range of titles.

The PowerCore Play 6K is a power bank specifically designed with smartphone gaming in mind. Not only does it has a controller-grip-style shape, it also packs a fan for active cooling. It is compatible with Android and Apple mobile devices, and is available on Amazon from now.

The lens specialist Sigma has released the new f/1.4 DG DN Art attachment for Leica L-mount and Sony E-mount full-frame cameras. With its new arrangement of aspherical, high-refraction and special low dispersion (SLD) elements, it may be well-equipped indeed for portrait shooting. It also has a button that either allows or denies the option of audible clicking in the aperture ring.

GoPro is an OEM nearly synonymous with outdoor pursuits and occupations. Therefore, it may come as no surprise that it posted a net loss of nearly US$51 million for the second quarter of 2020 (2Q2020). However, it is not all bad news for the popular action-cam brand: for example, its online sales model seems to be taking off.

According to a Weibo tipster, Huawei is reportedly working on a bezel-less “floating display” laptop with a 3K panel, offering a “more immersive viewing experience.” Does this mean that Black Mirror-esque bezel-less laptops are here to stay?

According to a DigiTimes report, the chairman of Epistar, a manufacturer of microLEDs purportedly working closely with Apple, claimed that smartwatch vendors are “showing an interest” in microLED technology. However, volume adoption will take a couple more years at least.

Xiaomi recently announced its smart Door and Window Sensor 2 for the Chinese market. The US$7 smart sensor carries forward the tech giant’s kitchen sink approach to tech releases, from premium TV and midrange phones all the way down to single-function IoT devices.

An Xbox Series S controller has popped up for a second time, but this time it comes with its retail packaging. On it, is confirmation that Microsoft will be releasing a yet-to-be-seen second console dubbed the Xbox Series S that this new controller is compatible with. The pictures were posted to Twitter by @Zak_exe.

The Razer Kishi is a recently-launched smartphone accessory that snaps around a phone to give it physical in-game controls. Its controls include analog mechanical thumbsticks, which might be handy in the course, of, say, using Xbox Game Pass. Conveniently, the Kishi now works with this new cloud-gaming solution for Android.

Xiaomi released the 65-inch Mi TV Master Series last month and is set to follow it with yet another premium OLED TV. Not much has been revealed so far but word on the grapevine implies a much larger TV, with an accompanying premium in pricing.

Samsung's latest smartwatch reportedly already has a firmware update. The new download confers blood-oxygen measurements as well as the ability to track maximal oxygen uptake (or VO2Max). Therefore, the wearable may be better equipped to help the user get an idea of important aspects of their health and fitness.

An apparent image of the upcoming Huami Amazfit Neo smartwatch has been leaked, revealing a design language that is not entirely dissimilar to that of the rugged Amazfit Ares smartwatch. No specifications for the Amazfit Neo have been unearthed yet, but it should appeal to those after a sportier-looking smart wearable.

Code relating to second-generation Amazfit smartwatches from Huami has been discovered along with a small detail about a potentially new product. Codenames for the devices were found in code for the Zepp 4.8.9 app and appear to relate to successors of the well-received Huami Amazfit GTS and Huami Amazfit GTR.

Samsung has reportedly applied for a European trademark for a "Book Flex" with an unusual new addition: 5G. Therefore, it may have a convertible PC with this connectivity in the works. This leak offers no hints as to the putative next-gen device's further specs, OS and chipset included, however.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2 was marketed as a device that would be capable of generating electrocardiograms (ECGs) for advanced health-tracking purposes. Now - almost exactly one year after its launch - the OEM has activated this function. However, it still only works for units sold in their own home market.

The Razer Arctech Pro is compatible with the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra. The company claims that the Arctech Pro not only protects the two new flagships against drops, but also that it offers enough passive cooling to improve performance.

The release of the WH-1000XM4 is almost upon us, at least according to the publication of more retailer listings and even a video review. Sony appears to have made some minor changes from the headphones that it released two years ago, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Call quality apparently remains unchanged, though.

Hands-on images of the PS5 DualSense controller have been published online, purportedly from the FCC. The images show the DualSense from all angles in its two-tone colour scheme and also offer a look at an unannounced black version. Sony has confirmed that the PS5 DualSense controllers will receive dedicated software updates too, a change from how the company currently delivers updates for the DualShock 4.

A large number of Canon domains were recently targeted by the Maze ransomware attack, resulting in the theft of over 10TB of sensitive user data. While Canon claims that photo images weren’t compromised, other sensitive user information is currently at risk.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch series officially has a new generation. This 2020 variant retains the moving bezel that was so popular the first time around. However, its build and footprint has been updated, as have its health-tracking features.

Samsung has long been rumored to launch its new generation of Galaxy Buds in a completely new form-factor. This has finally been proven true at the OEM's latest product launch. The Buds Live are indeed also the first of their line to feature active noise cancellation (ANC).

The Galaxy Note 20 and 20 Ultra 5G have been unveiled today (August 5, 2020) at the latest Galaxy Unpacked event. This series has turned out to conform to all its more recent leaks and rumors well. In fact, all Samsung really had to do was announce their pricing and availability.

Hands-on videos of all the forthcoming Samsung Galaxy devices for its latest Unpacked showcase have leaked ahead of the launch. TechTalkTV combined them into a single video that combines the leaked clips and shows the devices being put through their paces.

iQOO recently unveiled the next-gen 120 watt (W) version of its FlashCharge system for smartphones. Now, it has announced an August 2020 launch date for an entirely new line of mobile devices. One of these is likely to be the first to feature the ultra-fast new power tech.

Aipower's Wearbuds were unique on their launch in that they combine a fitness tracker and TWS earbuds in one product. Now, their second generation has finally come to the market via a crowdfunding platform. The OEM claims this new Pro variant improves on the original in terms of functions, battery life and finish.

The Sony WH-1000XM4 is thought to be arriving on August 6, following a protracted development cycle. The headphones will arrive almost two years on from the release of the WH-1000XM3, but early retail listings have confirmed that the WH-1000XM4 will use the same QN1 Noise Cancelling Processor as its predecessor.

It's not exactly cheap at $41.99 USD, but it gets the job done and it should hopefully last a little longer than most cheaper USB-C cables. We'll be using this cable for many of our reviews moving forward.