Accessory

Launching tomorrow alongside the OnePlus 8 series, the limited edition cases have been created in collaboration with André Saraiva. Part of the OnePlus x Andre series, the cases will inevitably come in OnePlus and OnePlus 8 Pro versions.

Apple is now rumored to have had a second go at getting the AirPower product ready for launch, following an uncharacteristic failure to do so in 2019. A new leak asserts that this has been done by incorporating the iPhone X's SoC into the device. This apparently disproportional processing power may address what held the fabled power accessory back in the first place.

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.

A leaked poster hints at a brand-new member of Huawei's MatePad slate series. This one seems to have an about 10-inch screen with a 2K resolution. It is described as powered by the Kirin 810 processor, and may be intended to appeal to students.

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.

The earbuds promise 12 hours of music playback with a charge time of only 1.5 hours. Unlike most wireless earbuds, the H2 earbuds have a cable and are designed to stay in the ears whilst jogging or exercising.

If successful, we might be seeing laptops with RAM modules from BIWINTech in the future alongside the usual Corsair, SK Hynix, G.Skill, or Samsung.

Google's upcoming Pixel Buds 2 are billed for a spring release. The true wireless earbuds were put on pre-order at a third-party retail store a while ago, but it would appear that all orders have now been canceled, the implications of which are unknown.

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.

For years, some ThinkPad fans are hoping that Lenovo brings back the old IBM ThinkPad keyboard layout with seven rows. A dream which remains unfilled, except for the one-off Lenovo ThinkPad 25. At least, there is a new external keyboard with the classical layout, made by the Taiwanese startup TEX. The new TEX Shinobi keyboard has a ThinkPad TrackPoint as well.

Casio's upcoming addition to the G-SHOCK line has heart-rate tracking functions for the first time. The watch's new sensor is also joined by others to track fitness-related activities while in use. It is also a Bluetooth device, with its own app to display its measurements and manage notifications while training.

The simple project should take all over ten minutes to set-up and turns a Raspberry Pi into your very own ad blocker. There is more to it than just blocking ads though, as it also gives you an oversight of your whole network among other features.

The advent of USB type C-only ultrabooks have led to a slew of portable solutions that purport to offer all other I/O required, many of which debut via crowdfunding campaigns. The Signature Pro from Flujo Technologies is no different in this regard - except that it also incorporates a slot for an NVMe SSD.

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.

The Redmi Band is now available through an online retailer for the low price of US$19.99. The cheap fitness tracker comes in a choice of four colors and is even waterproof. Unearthed BIS and Bluetooth certifications for the new Redmi Band from Xiaomi have indicated that the wearable will soon be made available in India.

A new study of US households with high-speed internet has found that 44% of them reported having bought speakers, whereas 33% own earphones and 37% own headphones. However, these respondents also reported that smart speakers or smart displays. They are also likely to be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic quarantine conditions in the near future.

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.

A new project has turned the Raspberry Pi into a cheap electric lock. The project uses facial recognition to make it particularly easy to open the door and should also be comparatively easy for beginners to utilize. Also, relatively little material is required.

Air filters might not protect you from viruses, but they can certainly alleviate allergies and help make it easier to breathe. Now might be as good a time as any to invest in an air purifier if you're stuck at home working.

Live images of the upcoming Redmi Band from Xiaomi have made their way online, and the fitness tracker looks surprisingly good considering its ridiculously low price point. The Redmi Band features a 1.08-inch color LCD screen and will initially cost 95 yuan (US$13) before rising to 99 yuan (US$14) upon wider retail release.

The PICO-WHU4 is a compact single-board computer with a very powerful processor. Apart from its high performance, the model also includes ports for connecting external sensors and actuators.

A new project turns the Raspberry Pi into a completely portable PC with a display and a slide-out keyboard. Reminiscent of the HTC Dream, Sony VAIO UX or T-Mobile Sidekick, the MutantC_V2 also incorporates a built-in battery.

The 8 Pro is rumored to become OnePlus' first flagship phone with wireless charging. Now, a prominent leaker asserts that the OEM will sell a power accessory to support this feature. This brand is also now rumored to have Bullets Wireless Z earphones in the works.

Samsung is now rumored to have a completely new type of Galaxy Bud in the works. According to a new leak, they will have a much larger shape that looks somewhat like a pair of beans. Some renders generated based on this idea suggests that they may have an improved range of sensors compared to the Buds+.

The plug-and-play enclosure will set you back just over $100, but it gets the job done with the promise of a two-year warranty and a solid high quality metal chassis. We test the claimed 1000 MB/s transfer rate to see just how close the enclosure can get to this maximum.

Redmi has launched its first wearable: a smart band quite like that of Realme's initial foray into this market. It will be only 99 yuan (~$US14) when it goes on sale in China - or even cheaper during a crowd-funding event to be held beforehand. By contrast, the Mi Band 4 is about $8 more in this country.

A community project has turned the Raspberry Pi into a surprisingly practical mini PC. Called the Piputer, the project integrates a battery, keyboard and display.

The Pimoroni PIM486 Enviro is an expansion board for the Raspberry Pi, which has numerous sensors and its own LCD monitor. The HAT ships worldwide.

The market for smartwatches is associated with an estimated 43.87 million unit shipments in 2018. However, this number is now thought to reach a possible total of 108.91 million by 2024. This growth may be driven by an increased demand for health- and fitness-management, as well as standalone connectivity, in these wearables.

Amazon has launched the Blink Mini, it’s latest home security camera. The diminutive device integrates seamlessly with Amazon’s other Blink products as well as its Alex line of voice-controlled devices.

The external drive is about two times faster than most SATA III SSDs by using the wider bandwidth available from USB Type-C ports.

The alternative WWDC should be where Apple showcases some new hardware delicacies, according to one very active leaker. Apart from new over-ear headphones, Apple is set to unveil the long-rumoured Bluetooth tracker "Air Tags" and a new MacBook Pro, likely the overdue 14-inch variant.

Fancy turning your Raspberry Pi into an air quality detector with a GUI? Well, now you can with a new project. Utilising an MQ-135 air quality sensor, the project promises to deliver accurate readings, which can be interpreted with an onscreen GUI.

Sony has unveiled the WH-CH710N completely wireless headphones. They are equipped with Automatic Artificial Intelligence Noise Canceling (AINC), which excludes ambient sounds in a way that adapts to the wearer's environment. They are also NFC-enabled for rapid pairing with a mobile device.

The Mi Bands 3 and 4 have a new firmware update that fixes several UI-related bugs. It also introduces a first-party notebook-unlocking facility to these fitness trackers. They also now support Apple ID logins for the first time.

The Raspberry Pi 4 is a powerful SBC, but now you can add an NVMe drive to the Pi Foundation's latest device. Using the Realtek RTL9210 controller, an M.2 NVMe drive can be connected to a Raspberry Pi 4 via one of its USB 3.1 Type-A ports. Better yet, it costs less than US$25 to do.

Asus announced the new ROG Keystone 2 today. The device, which is a proprietary NFC key, allows users to easily transfer system and game profiles between supported ROG machines. The Keystone 2 also includes a hidden encrypted storage drive, known as a Shadow Drive.

Sony has released the WF-XB700 earphones: TWS devices designed to incorporate this OEM's EXTRA BASS technology. They also have an IP4 rating against sweat and water-splashes and ergonomics that may help them stay in the user's ear. These new accessories will become available during April 2020.

Fitbit has unleashed its latest Charge 4 and 4 SE band-style wearables. These devices look much like their predecessors, but now pack advanced features such as on-board GPS. The OEM also claims that they are rated for up to 7 days' worth of battery life.

A new project transforms the Raspberry Pi a doorbell with video functionality. The doorbell can be used as an intercom too. You can then use your phone to communicate with whoever is at your door.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 is thought to gain a Lite version soon. This appears to have been confirmed by reports that this device had appeared on Amazon Germany ahead of its launch on this platform. This possibly accidental listing may have just been removed, although alleged records of it show its specs and price.

Samsung has launched the AKG N400, a new pair of true-wireless stereo (TWS) earbuds. These accessories, unlike the Galaxy Buds+, have active noise cancellation (ANC). They also hold an IP rating and different color options over the pre-existing earphones.

Jabra has announced new editions to its collaboration- and co-working-focused Evolve series of headsets. They are compatible with the Unified Communications (UC) platforms typically used in offices, and may block a greater degree of distractions with new Digital Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) features.

The Frame.IoT is an Arduino-based developer board that comes with numerous LEDs, 16 in total. The board should be comparatively easy to program thanks to its integrated Wi-Fi connectivity.

Sony has announced a plan to take its existing Electronics Products & Solutions (EP&S) divisions, which includes its Mobile Communications business, and combine them into 1 intermediate holding entity. This new corporation is intended to streamline and optimize these areas for the Japanese giant.