Accessory

Oppo has released an animated trailer for a Wear OS device that will reportedly launch worldwide on July 31, 2020. It is most likely for its first-gen smartwatch, which has been released in China but runs a variant of ColorOS in that region. This device is Apple-esque in its design and has a Qualcomm processor for wearables.

Razer has refreshed its Cynosa series RGB gaming keyboard. Built for those on a budget, the Cynosa V2 has individually backlit keys, supports macros and has media controls.

The Huawei TalkBand B6 wearable fitness tracker and Bluetooth headset combination has leaked in some live images and short video clips. The dual-function accessory looks to be a step up from the previous generation, with the TalkBand B6 bearing a larger display and utilizing a Kirin A1 processor.

The launch of the new OnePlus Buds means Xiaomi has to up its game in the TWS segment and it's done so spectacularly with the Haylou T16 TWS earbuds that offer active noise cancellation, 6 hours of playback, and wireless charging just for US$40.

Asus has announced the much awaited ROG Phone 3 flagship gaming smartphone that comes with a host of new features targeted at serious mobile gamers. The ROG Phone 3 sports a 144 Hz AMOLED HDR10 display with a 25 ms latency, a Snapdragon 865+ SoC, and comes with up to 16 GB RAM and 256 GB storage. Asus is also offering a bevy of accessories and also a three-month trial of Google Stadia Pro in applicable countries.

The sequel to the Oculus Quest has leaked on Twitter. The revised VR headset looks to have addressed some of the ergonomic issues of the first gen model based on its appearance, but we can only speculate on which Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset powers it.

Xiaomi has slashed the price of its Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 in India to counter the upcoming threat from the recently launched OnePlus Buds. The Xiaomi earphones are now priced at ₹3,999 (US$53), which should help the Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 take on the OnePlus Buds that have an advertised price of ₹4,990 (US$67).

Well-known for the Retro Classic Line of stylish mechanical keyboards, AZIO is back with a new antimicrobial and waterproof line of products to help mitigate the COVID-19-related health concerns. These new accessories are rated IP66 for protection from liquids and use an antimicrobial agent that keeps away bacteria, molds, and so on.

(Update: A replacement unit works as intended with no further issues.) Our sleek and ultralight external drive is marred by random disconnects and general unreliability. We can only hope that our experience was an isolated incident and not representative of Lexar's brand new SL200 series.

The Xbox Series X will come with 1 TB of SSD storage as standard, and will be compatible with an Expansion Module designed by Seagate. The latter has now been unveiled and will run on two lanes of PCIe 4.0.

The latest figures on the Indian hearables (or personal audio accessories with smart features) market show that Realme has rocketed into its top 5 brands. This success is particularly impressive as it only started selling products in this category in December 2019. Nevertheless, it now has more of a share than Sony or Xiaomi in that market.

The Surface Headphones 2 offers more features than its predecessor at a lower price. Since Microsoft's latest over-ear headphones support high-resolution Bluetooth connectivity, we decided to purchase a pair to see how they fare.

The Zephyr Gaming Mouse is a wired gaming mouse with a difference. While it features Pixart PMW3389 optical sensor, RGB lighting and OMRON switches, it also features a fan to minimise sweat when gaming. The Zephyr Gaming Mouse is available to order from today on Kickstarter for US$79.00. Zephyr Gaming is selling the mouse in three colours and expects to ship to backers in October 2020.

First unveiled at CES earlier this year, LG has finally released its new 27-inch UltraGear 4K gaming monitor. The new monitor features a fast 1ms response rate which LG claims is a world-first for a 4K monitor.

Xiaomi has revealed that the giant 98-inch Redmi Smart TV Max is now in a pre-sale phase again as clearly stocks had dwindled after the amazing sales successes the Chinese OEM had with the huge device. The Redmi Max 98 is currently priced at 19,999 yuan (US$2,855), which is very reasonable for a 98-inch 4K smart TV with MEMC technology.

The front of what may well be the GoPro Hero 9 has leaked, and it could point towards the company's first action camera with a built-in secondary display. The next GoPro will likely launch in early Q4 2020 at between US$399.99 and US$499.99.

The Xiaomi Mi Band 4C has been spotted appearing on Amazon Spain, where the budget fitness tracker can be bought for a very reasonable €19.99 (US$23/£18). While the Chinese OEM is busy releasing wearables in Europe, it looks like Xiaomi might be also planning on adding some new Mi TVs to its range in India.

Xiaomi has announced the new Mijia Projector 2 Pro device, which is priced at 4,599 yuan (US$658). The projector is able to cast a screen of up to a maximum of 200 inches, and it features a brightness level of up to 1,300 ANSI Lumens. HDR10+ support is onboard and the Xiaomi Mijia Projector 2 Pro also implements ToF technology.

Samsung Health is an app perhaps mostly associated with this OEM's phones and wearables, but in fact also works across more of its hardware ecosystem. Some of its users have seen a notification that its latest update will remove its Food (or Calorie), Weight and Caffeine Tracking sections. Therefore, their widgets will stop functioning after this OTA is implemented.

Xiaomi has announced the new Redmi AirDots 2 earphones, which will be officially launched on July 22. The TWS earphones are currently priced at 79 yuan (US$11) during the crowdfunding stage. The budget earphones offer Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, virtual assistant functionality, and they weigh in at just 4.1 g per earbud.

Chinese security researchers discovered that the firmware of fast chargers can be corrupted to deliver higher charging parameters, thus damaging the devices connected to them. A charger affected by a BadPower attack can melt or even set on fire the handset/external battery it is supposed to charge.

A new patent filed by Apple details a stylus, likely an Apple Pencil, that contains an embedded color sensor. Located in either the back end or tip of the Pencil, the color sensor would be able to scan and copy the color from real-world objects. While the patent looks interesting, it is not yet known whether or not Apple will actually use it in future products.

Google is currently believed to have a new generation of its Nest-branded smart home speakers in the works. A device that looks like the same from a prior leak has been certified by the Taiwanese electronics regulator NCC. It may confirm the new device's model number, as well as its dual-band Wi-Fi.

The new Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5 fitness tracker is now available on Amazon US and at a reasonable price, too. US shoppers can pick up the Mi Smart Band 5 from US$49.98, which is similar to the price of the wearable in Europe. However, buyers should be aware that this is the non-NFC variant of the smart band.

The PS5 hype train has shown no signs of slowing down as the console and its accessories have taken up seven spots out of the top 15 for the Amazon Most Wished For chart (UK site). Incredibly for Sony, four more places are occupied by PS4 games. PlayStation 5 price predictions appear to be settling at US$499/£449/€499 for the Blu-ray edition.

OnePlus is currently busily hyping its upcoming take on the mid-range 5G phone, the Nord. Its latest teaser indicates that it comes with certain communication-related Google apps out of the box. This, apparently, is done to keep its software experience the "smoothest" it can be.

Multi-functional USB hubs have become a solid trend on crowdfunding websites, particularly those that bake additional functions into these ultrabook accessories. The Fophie is one such hub that adds wireless charging and phone-holding options to its ingredients list. It has now attracted just over 2000% of its original Kickstarter goal.

The URSA Mini Pro packs what is often regarded as best-in-class digital film recording into a body measuring just 9.2 inches across. Its OEM, Blackmagic Design, claims to have stuffed its latest generation with all-new internals that allows it to output in up to 12K natively. It also has new accessories that allow it to work with a Thunderbolt 3-enabled PC.

A PlayStation executive has explicitly stated that “we’ll let you know” in regard to PS5 pre-order information. The recent DualSense hands-on video has led to speculation that an optional back buttons adapter will appear down the line. A new fan-made PlayStation 5 UI concept offers AI suggestions and a dark mode theme.

Acer has announced some new affordable curved gaming monitors to its lineup in the form of the Nitro XZ2 Series models. Gamers can choose from three different panel sizes and enjoy FreeSync technology, quick response times, decent refresh rates, and best of all, price tags that won’t break the bank.

Mobvoi is a wearables brand that is teasing its next upcoming products, the Earbuds Gesture, via Indiegogo. They can be controlled through either head movements (in line with their name) or touch-sensitive panels. The OEM also claims they have a whopping 50 hours of battery life.

Samsung promoted the Galaxy Watch Active 2 as a health-focused wearable that would rival the Apple Watch series thanks to its in-built medical-grade electrocardiography (ECG). However, the function was disabled at its launch. This is not the case anymore; however, German and Austrian users are reportedly still waiting for their access to this feature.

For its latest keyboard, Razer has dispensed with 40% of the keys found in the regular Huntsman. In turn, the new Huntsman Mini is more compact and should give desks a cleaner look. The Huntsman Mini is available in two colours and two switch types.

A press release has revealed that Philips (TP Vision) and Bowers & Wilkins have decided to extend their partnership and continue to offer their respective expertise in future Philips OLED and LCD TVs. The duo previously collaborated on the well-received 65OLED+984 and OLED+934 models, and new televisions are expected to be released soon.

The Redmi X50 smart TV has finally gone on sale and has been priced at just 1,899 yuan (US$272). The TV, which is framed in metal and features a 4K display, offers users the chance to enjoy MEMC picture-smoothing technology on a device with a 97% screen-to-body ratio. The Redmi X50 is the smallest member of the new Redmi Smart TV X Series.
The Redmi X50 has been reduced to 1,799 yuan (US$257).

A recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval has confirmed that the upcoming Samsung SM-R220 is a wearable of the fitness-tracker variety. Now, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has set its wireless connectivity spec in stone. This new device may launch alongside the Galaxy Note 20 series on August 5, 2020.

Introduced today and already available to order from QNAP's partners worldwide, the QSW-1105-5T is the company's first 2.5 GbE network switch. Its highlights include five 2.5 GbE NBASE-T RJ45 ports, plug-and-play setup, auto-negotiation, as well as automatic loop detection and blocking.

An Amazfit Band 6 device has been spotted getting its FCC certification, which is something of a surprise considering the Amazfit Band 5 from Huami only recently went by the same agency too. It could be possible that "Amazfit Band 6" might be the US market name for the widely rumored Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 5 Pro wearable.

Some consumers might be forgiven for mistaking the TheoryBoard as a particularly extensive gaming keyboard. However, it has been designed by its OEM, the start-up Irijule, as a new technology that helps the user reproduce whatever tunes they imagine, and from scratch too if necessary. It is also a MIDI controller that works with both PC and mobile devices.

Xiaomi has unveiled its first TV dongle, the Mi TV Stick. The device retails for €39.99 and comes bundled with a smart remote. The Mi TV Stick is one of several devices that Xiaomi has launched today.

The Mi True Wireless Earphones 2 Basic is Xiaomi's latest pair of budget TWS earbuds. Featuring 14.2 mm drivers, Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity and up to 20 hours of battery life, the Earphones 2 Basic retails for €39.99 in the EU and £39.99 in the UK. The earbuds also include touch controls, dual microphones and IR sensors for in-ear detection.

Mobvoi has debuted the TicKasa headphones. Although this is only the first product in this category from the band, they have progressed directly to active noise cancelling (ANC) and wireless features. They are Bluetooth 5, have 40 millimeter drivers and have button controls.

Cooler Master has torn through the funding target of its new Raspberry Pi case, the Pi Case 40. Apparently offering better cooling performance than "any other passively cooled Pi case on the market", the Pi Case 40 retails for just €23 (~US$27).

A Chinese blog claims to have laid hands on a new kind of charging cable developed at Apple for its upcoming 2020 iPhones. It is an upgrade on the current standard accessory in that it is braided, which is often perceived as higher-end and more durable. In addition, its Lightning-end contacts are rumored to be upgraded with new materials.

Announced earlier today, the Audeze Penrose and Penrose X will start shipping in early September, but those interested can place their orders already. The introductory price is US$249 — US$50 less than the MSRP of this wireless planar magnetic headset for Xbox One, Xbox Series X (Penrose X), PlayStation 4/5 and Mac (Penrose), and PC (both).

Oppo has launched the world’s fastest smartphone wired and wireless charging systems. Its new wired technology will deliver a 125 W charge while its new wireless charging tech will deliver a 65 W charge. Joining the announcement are a pair of ultra-compact fast charging Super VOOC adapters.

Mobvoi may be best known as a wearables brand; however, it is also breaking into the market for smart-home gadgets. The latest of these is the LifeSmart outdoor camera. It supports footage at HD or FHD resolutions, has an IR night-vision mode and a 110-degree field of view.

Belkin has debuted BoostCharge wireless charging accessories that support the iPhone, Apple Watch or AirPods, or, in some cases, all three at once. One of these can also become a power bank at need. They start at US$49.95 on the OEM's website at present.