Accessory

Smartphone camera accessory maker Moment has unveiled its first set of MagSafe-compatible accessories for the Apple iPhone 12. While they will be useful for regular photographers, most of the accessories have a distinctly vlogging-focused emphasis and will certainly appeal to that market.

Razer has already held its first virtual launch event in 2020. Now, it will hold a second to be livestreamed in November of the same year. It apparently consists of a series of "exclusive" product debuts, unboxings and giveaways via the OEM's official YouTube channel.

PlayStation executive Jim Ryan spoke to the Washington Post about PSVR ahead of the PlayStation 5 launch and had a fairly sobering take. Ryan implied that it's still not the right time for virtual reality, casting doubt on the future of PSVR.

Video doorbells enable the user to see who is at their door on their smart screens or mobile devices. A recent study indicates that 10% of US households with high-speed internet surveyed owned one of these devices in the second quarter of 2020, compared to 7% in 2017. This increased popularity has driven doorbell OEMs to improve innovation and integration with other smart things over the years.

Early official previews of the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller have been overwhelmingly positive, with the accessory being frequently described as a “game changer” and a truly next-generation piece of hardware. The only thing about the PS5 controller that has been criticized is the battery life.

The OEM Ulefone has launched its new Watch series, which support continuous heart-rate tracking, multiple sports modes and 5ATM water-resistance. There is also a blood-oxygen sensor in the Pro model, whereas the Watch GPS has additional activity-tracking features. They start at US$49.99, or even less with a limited-time introductory offer.

PlateStation 5 has had to change its name due to legal issues in regard to the upcoming PlayStation 5 next-gen console. The third-party accessory/customizing company had released a handful of renders featuring the PS5 with different color plates. The firm is now known as Customize My Plates.

The affordable 1066x cards will offer maximum read and write rates of 160 MB/s and 120 MB/s, respectively, compared to 270 MB/s on Lexar's more expensive 1800x lineup.

ROCCAT has announced new additions to its gaming peripheral line-up. The new Vulcan keyboard series consists of Pro, Pro TKL and vanilla TKL variants. They are equipped with this OEM's Titan switches and AIMO lighting system, as is the new Burst Pro mouse. Its properties include feet made of pure, heat-treated PTFE to enhance its speed and responsiveness.

The Arduino Oplà Kit is intended to offer an accessible introduction into the world of smart networking and IoT. The kit retails for US$114 and contains eight IoT projects to get you started.

The Eve V 2020 is an upcoming Intel Tiger Lake-powered convertible PC that, as its OEM likes to say, was co-designed with its fans. The latest stage in its ongoing production involves finalizing the design of its detachable keyboard. It now apparently combines aspects of a few previous concepts, the custom button functions of which Eve now invites feedback on.

Introduced as a new part of the SmartThings app, SmartThings Find is now available for all Samsung users worldwide. This is a new way to locate a range of select Galaxy smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, and earbuds at once thanks to the Bluetooth Low Energy and ultra-wideband technologies.

DJI is on the verge of releasing a new drone, an unboxing video has confirmed. Pictured being purchased from Best Buy, the Mavic Mini 2 looks practically the same as its predecessor, but it has a few new features up its sleeve.

Logitech has rolled out its latest trackball-based mouse. The ERGO M575 is designed for use in small spaces and also aims to reduce arm and hand fatigue with thumb-based scrolling greatly reducing overall movement and effort.

The Honor Band 6 and Huawei Band 5 have been tipped to launch soon, with a potential release occurring in the first week or so of November. While few details have been offered about the Honor Band 6 and Huawei Band 5, which may even end up being the same wearable, the Honor Band 6 will have at least one attractive unique selling point.
A launch date and teaser promo image for the Honor Band 6 have been revealed.

Noctua has announced new additions to its chromax.black line-up. For the uninitiated, they are versions of this Austrian OEM's PC coolers or fans in an all-matte black finish. These latest examples are new versions of the award-winning NH-D15 asymmetric cooler and the NH-U9S compact fan.

LG has just introduced its revolutionary Wing smartphone to the Indian market. The display-swiveling device has been joined there by a 4G/LTE version of the Velvet. This variant swaps its normal Snapdragon 765G processor for an 845 SoC. The two phones will start to become available from October 30, 2020.

Recently, the tipster Max J. asserted that OnePlus would introduce its first-ever smartwatch in October 2020. Now, the same leaker claims that this launch has been postponed, possibly due to development issues with the new product. The OEM apparently does not have a new date for the event at this time.

Mophie has released its latest Qi-enabled wireless battery charger, but this one has a twist. The new Mophie Juice Pack Connect has a modular design that clips on the back of any Qi-enabled smartphone to give it a wireless battery top-up.

The Xiaomi Mi Watch Lite has appeared in an image on packaging that was featured as part of an FCC listing. Some key details about the upcoming smartwatch were also revealed, such as its 1.4-inch HD screen, 24-hour heart-rate monitor, and built-in GPS. It’s possible the Mi Watch Lite may be rebranded as the Redmi Watch in some markets.

A PS5 SSD price tag that purportedly comes from Walmart has appeared online, and if it is accurate then the practically must-have PlayStation 5 accessory seems like a steal. Little further information can be gleaned from the tag, although US$115 for a 500 GB SSD that operates at the PS5’s next-gen standards is a bargain.
Update: The drive has been revealed to be a simple Seagate Game Drive external SSD.

The OEM Huami has held its global launch for the second-gen Amazfit GTR and GTS wearables, although they will only be released in the US and UK markets to start off with. These smartwatches feature blood-oxygen, heart-rate, sleep and stress monitors, which are analyzed using their in-house PAI system. They will be available through channels such as Amazon on their release.

Razer's freshly-announced Hallowe'en 2020 sale is good news for those in need of an older mobile gaming controller from this brand. There is also up to 23% off Black Widow keyboards and Mamba mice. Certain Blade laptops are US$100 less their usual price-tags.

Creative Technology has launched a new pair of its Outlier Air earbuds, the V2. The new model builds on the Outlier Air and Outlier Gold by adding touch controls, while retaining the stellar battery life and sound quality of its predecessors. The Outlier Air V2 is available to order in the UK now and will launch in the US on November 5.

Mesh networking is based on a set of repeaters that can be placed strategically around a building (usually a home) to ensure a good Wi-Fi signal in every room. Qualcomm has just announced its latest series of chipsets for this use-case, which, as it claims, can greatly improve on speeds while reducing the size of each new mesh point based on it.

OnePlus' first-ever TWS earbuds were AirPod clones, but did come with a gray variant at least. They have been out of stock in many countries for some time, however. The OEM has now revealed that they are back in its store now, however, and that they are US$20 off their regular price right now.

The official unboxing embargo of the PlayStation 5 lifts today, but YouTuber Austin Evans got an early feel for the console's DualSense controller. While the actual PS5 demo is still some time away, Evans could pair the DualSense controller to a Surface Laptop Go and a Pixel 5. He could also game on the Pixel 5 using this controller via Microsoft xCloud. Teardown of the DualSense controller revealed a 1,560 mAh battery among other cool hardware.

LG now has a few generations of its TONE FREE AirPod-clones under its belt. Now, it has announced a new one. These buds look much like the old, except that they support active noise-cancelling (ANC) this time. Their series' UVnano self-disinfecting technology is also still here.

A new research report has concluded that 63% of households with residential security equipment in the US are now considering buying a smart home device in the next 12 months compared to 40% of broadband internet-using households. Therefore, it seems that the trend toward integration with assistants such as Amazon Alexa among home-grade security OEMs is paying off in that respect.

Xiaomi and Amazfit appear to be preparing an update for a number of their wearables that will allow the devices to take their user’s temperature. The fitness trackers that could end up receiving such a firmware update include the Mi Band 5 and other SKUs from the Mi Band line and the Amazfit Band 5, which comes with blood oxygen level measurement.

The iPhone 12 series comes with dedicated components to support the new MagSafe system, which consists of a range of magnetic accessories, a compact wireless charger included. Now, it has emerged that this product may permanently disfigure the leather cases the OEM has designed for the same mobile devices.

Eve Devices is adamant that it should not ship its upcoming Spectrum monitor "until it is ready". To this end, it has revealed that the shipping date for its QHD/240Hz and 4K/144Hz SKUs has been pushed back to February 2021. This, apparently, will give it time to iron issues with its production out.

A Sony executive's latest blog post has revealed that 6 different major content-streaming platforms will be compatible with the PlayStation 5 from day 1. They include Spotify, YouTube, Disney Plus and Netflix, which will get their own dedicated buttons on the console's also newly-announced Media Remote. Other apps may become available thereafter.

Apple is now slated to finally unleash its long-awaited AirTags in 2021. These new products are currently widely accepted to be this OEM's answer to products such as Tile anti-loss wireless accessories. However, according to leaks of new patents obtained by the Cupertino company, their applications may go far beyond that.

Gaming peripheral maker Genesis recently announced the Krypton 550 ultra-light gaming mouse. The Krypton 550 features RGB lighting, Huon switches, and an 8000 DPI sensor in a diminutive 70-gram package. The mouse is expected to hit the market by the end of October

After spending almost two decades on the market, the only portable media player sold by Apple that still carries the iPod name is the 7th generation Touch, which is much closer to an iPhone than to the original iPod. Once accounting for 40% of Apple's total revenue, the iPod is now only a shadow of its former self.

A new project has transformed a humble Arduino Pro Micro into a joystick with various knobs. The project is intended to be used in conjunction with a keyboard for making adjustments when gaming or creating music.

If you were hoping that Apple would release a successor to the AirPods Pro any time soon, then you are sorely mistaken. According to a new leak, the AirPods Pro 2 may not be arriving over a year. A rough price for the AirPods Pro 2 has been offered too, which is more encouraging.

The alleged international prices for the Huami Amazfit GTR 2 and Amazfit GTS 2 smartwatches have been leaked. Although both watches are packed with attractive features such as blood oxygen level measurement and heart-rate monitoring, the prices listed for the Amazfit GTR 2 and GTS 2 still seem quite steep.
Update: The smartwatches will launch in Europe on October 27.

The PNY XLR8 CS3040 NVMe SSDs are rated for speeds of up to 5.6 GB/s compared to the 5.5 GB/s SSD in the PS5. However, we doubt that the 100 MB/s difference will be enough of an overhead to make the PNY drives a good fit for the Sony console.

Huawei's freshly-launched Mate 40 series has, as predicted through leaks, an extra-premium Porsche Design variant. It is accompanied by a similarly customized new smartwatch. This titanium-cased version of the Watch GT 2 has a new "iconic" watch-face, as well as continuous blood-oxygen tracking.

Huawei's major product launch of today (October 22, 2020) served to announce the Mate 40 phablet series and also several "companion" devices for it. They include the rumored FreeBuds Studio, the first ANC headphones from this line of audio products. In addition, a more compact version of the Sound X speaker made its debut.

Huami has launched the Amazfit Pop smartwatch in China for a surprisingly low price: 349 yuan (US$52). The bright and breezy wearable features non-medical grade monitors for blood oxygen saturation, atrial fibrillation, sleep quality, and 24-hour heart-rate monitoring. The Amazfit Pop comes in a choice of three colors and is water resistant.

The all-in-one RGB-enabled docking station promises up to 3000 MB/s read and 2600 MB/s write rates all via Thunderbolt 3.

Today (October 21, 2020), Acer has unveiled its latest gaming monitors. The Predator X34 GS is the likely headline here, as it combines a 34-inch 1900R panel, a UWQHD resolution and a new stand type in one. Then again, the 24.5-inch XB253Q GW is the one with the highest (280Hz) refresh rate here. There is also a new Nitro XV272U KV which offers some attractive specs for a decent price.