Accessory

Spotify, the popular music and podcast streaming service, is planning on releasing its own hardware. The Financial Times reports that the device will be an in-car music player and could cost US$100.

The latest software update for the Samsung Gear S3 smartwatch pushes the Tizen version up to 4.0.0.2, weighs around 300 MB, and comes with sleep stages info support for the Health widget, more indoor workouts and back-to-back workout for Samsung Health, improved Quick Panel UI, and more. Sadly, it is only available in the US for now.

A new report on the worldwide wearable device market by Allied Market Research indicates that its value could grow to US$31 billion in the next 6 years. This is likely to be driven by the increasing uptake of its products in the healthcare and educational sectors. Apple had the greatest share of the smartwatch-specific market in 2017

Drone maker DJI has discovered an internal racket that has defrauded the company of at least US$150 million. The theft is said to have involved multiple staff and led to their dismissal although the company is still investing the case, which it says is “extensive.”

What started one year ago as a (now canceled) slide-out keyboard mod for the Moto Z lineup turned into a smartphone with a QWERTY keyboard that is expected to hit the market in Q1 2019. The Android Pie-driven F(x) handset will come with curved sides and a 6-inch AMOLED display, but the other specs are not public yet.

The alpha A6400 is Sony's most recent mirrorless offering. This camera boasts a 24.2MP APS-C Exmor CMOS sensor, as well as "the world's fastest autofocus" of 0.02 seconds. The A6400 also features a state-of-the-art BIONZ X image processor. However, its most outstanding feature may be the LCD touchscreen, which is adjustable through 180 degrees.

The worldwide market for wireless charging products was worth just over US$2 billion in 2017. However, this figure is projected to grow by about $19 billion in the next 4 years. The market research group BIS Research concludes that this is due to the increased uptake of global standards (e.g. Qi) and the integration of wireless chargers into everyday objects such as cars.

Project Ara had once been hotly anticipated as the future of mobile devices with enhanced future-proofing and general upgradeability. The prototype produced through this Google initiative was a basic frame to which various interchangeable modules could be attached. The project's public profile had dwindled since; however, it seems its makers haven't forgotten about it yet.

Fossil Group has issued a press release to announce a US$40 million deal with Google. The search engine giant will be purchasing intellectual property (IP) from the well-known American designer label in regard to smartwatch technology. There has been speculation that Google is preparing to mount a challenge to Apple’s current dominance of the smartwatch market.

Apple has posted sales pages for new Smart Battery Cases. These products have been designed for the iPhone XS, XS Max or XR, and are available in white or black. Apple claims that they can deliver up to 9 hours of additional active screen use.

Apple has not refreshed or updated the iPod Touch since 2015. That year saw the 6th generation of the device, which was not heard of much since. However, that fact did not stop a Japanese outlet posting claims that a supplier had told it that this product would indeed make a come-back, one equipped with USB type C no less.

HyperX has announced its Cloud MIX headphones, a wired gaming headset that also doubles as a set of lightweight and portable Bluetooth headphones. The Cloud MIX has an understated design, 20 hours of battery life over Bluetooth and supports Hi-Res Audio.

Apple has been teasing the release of the AirPower since 2017. However, the company has let numerous subsequent relevant launches go by without mentioning it again. Nevertheless, a credible source now claims that a known supplier to the OEM has started to manufacture these products.

Google has officially confirmed the discontinuation of the Chromecast Audio device. A quick glance at Google’s online store lists the music-streaming gadget as out of stock, after recently receiving a heavy price cut from US$35 to just US$15. It may be possible to buy the device in some outlets while they still have stock remaining.

The Lexar Professional 633x SD card, announced at CES earlier today, is the largest capacity SD card available to date at a whopping 1 TB. Despite its large size, the card is somewhat disappointing in performance; the 633x is rated at 95 MB/s write and 70 MB/s read. It also supports VSC Class 30, which means it should hit at least 30 MB/s when recording video. This should be adequate for 4K footage, but higher bitrates and higher resolutions may suffer.

Seagate and LaCie have launched new drives that will appeal to both mobile and power users including gamers. The new drives will come in a range of capacities and sizes as well as a mix of spinning platter and SSDs.

The smart TV market was worth US$143 billion by the end of 2017. However, a new report has indicated that this value will grow by $110 billion in the next four years. This rate will be driven by a sustained downward trend in smart TV prices and the increased uptake of 4K, according to a new report.

Although the TicWatch E2 was unveiled a few months ago, it still has to reach the market. However, Mobvoi is showing it off at CES next to the TicWatch S2, and both should become available for purchase in the future. Sadly, there are no official launch dates or prices to talk about yet.

Omnicharge has managed to secure funding of over US$1 million on Indiegogo for its Omni Ultimate battery-charging solution. The device offers a colossal 40,300 mAh (145 Wh) battery capacity but is considerably more portable than some of its rivals. It comes with a plethora of features to help it stand out of the small crowd of mega-chargers, including the ability to replace depleted batteries on the go.

Lenovo has announced the transformable Yoga Mouse with laser presenter. This sleek-looking peripheral has the ability to turn from a V-shaped mouse into a flat laser presenter with just a simple twist of a hinge. Up to 1600 DPI tracking promises accurate mouse movement, and the four-button device weighs in at just 0.14 lbs (63 g).

Lenovo has unveiled the 2-in-1 Smart Tab P10 tablet and Smart Dock. The versatile P10 device offers typical usage scenarios in Tablet Mode, but when it is added to the Smart Dock it switches to Show Mode and incorporates Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant for hands-free interaction. It’s then simple enough to use the smart screen to watch videos or listen to music.

Lenovo has introduced a new device to its Smart Home family: The Lenovo Smart Clock. According to the Chinese manufacturer, the Smart Clock can learn the sleeping habits of users and comes with Google Assistant, so it should offer quite a lot more features than just telling the time and waking you up in the morning.

MediaTek has unveiled its new silicon for connectivity at CES 2019. This chipset is compatible with next-generation WiFi (Wi-Fi 6, or 802.11ax) and also delivers Bluetooth access points. It supports 2x2, 4x4 and multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO). It is also flexible enough to adapt to any changes in the new WiFi standard before it becomes official later this year.

Jabra is one of many prominent audio companies at CES this year. It has come to present its new 85h headphones, which, as Jabra claims, can allow playback with active noise-cancelling (ANC) for as long as 32 hours. These new audio devices are also AI-enhanced and support Amazon Alexa for hands-free virtual assistant interactions.

The Razer Raptor 27 is the gaming company's entry into the gaming laptop market. The 27-inch 1440p monitor boasts a quick 144 Hz refresh rate, response times as low as 1 ms, and a bright (420 nit) HDR400 certified IPS panel. The monitor will ship with flat acid green cables tailor-made for the display's cable management system.

At one point, Belkin was the go-to brand for third-party Apple accessories, not to mention USB power banks and cables. However, it had gone quiet for a good while following its amalgamation with Foxconn. This year, Belkin and its current international brands (Linksys, Wemo and Phyn) have made a comeback to CES this year to showcase their new products.

D-Link has announced a new product it is calling a 5G-NR broadband gateway (or the DWR-2010) at CES. It is intended to use 5G in order to set up home WiFi networks that, as D-Link claims, deliver download speeds that are over 40 times faster than that of the current average US fixed broadband solution. The 'gateway' is powered by the Qualcomm SDX55 and is sub-6GHz- or mmWave frequency-compatible.

Taiwanese manufacturer Asus has announced the Lyra Voice device, or 3-in-1 Smart Voice Router. The gadget combines an AC2200 tri-band mesh Wi-Fi router with two 8 W stereo speakers and includes Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant. The device even features network security provided by Trend Micro, and it has an MSRP of US$219.99.

The 0.48 percent stake acquisition comes less than a month after Xiaomi and the world's third-largest LCD TV manufacturer, TCL, entered a strategic partnership that involves joint efforts in many fields. The agreement focuses on the development of various hardware parts and the integration of TCL devices into Xiaomi's ecosystem of IoT and smart home devices.

All the negative feedback about the cameras on certain laptops has nudged Asus to simply throw in a USB camera in the box for its upcoming Zephyrus GX701 gaming laptop. Should the narrow bezel trend continue, we can see this becoming the norm in the short term.

In an interview with The Verge, Amazon’s SVP of devices and services, David Limp, has revealed how many devices have been sold that have Alexa built into them. Apparently, over 100 million speakers, smartphones, gadgets and other pieces of hardware have been sold around the world featuring Amazon’s virtual assistant.

Jenax spoke today at CES 2019 alongside medical companies Philips, Johnson & Johnson, and others, about how their J. Flex flexible battery allows designers to focus on the use-case and comfort of the device, rather than figuring out where to fit a bulky battery.

The instrument will allow us to see how fast the surface of a laptop will heat up over time when subjected to high processing loads with a precision of one-tenth of a degree Celsius. The data would supplement our existing temperature map readings from the FLIR One IR camera.

The Snapdragon Wear 3100 release event included announcements that Louis Vuitton would be one of the first OEMs to launch a smartwatch including this next-gen processor. It seems the fashion house has finally delivered with a new version of its Tambour Horizon device. This model may have improved battery life and ambient mode features.

Samsung has already announced the Galaxy Home smart speaker, and it appears the South Korean tech giant could already be working on another device in the new series. The Galaxy Home is expected to be a premium-level device, but in a market saturated with budget-accessible speakers, it seems Samsung has taken note and is preparing a “mini” version of its upcoming smart speaker.

Amazon has revealed in a press release that the company has had a record-breaking holiday season, with products such as the updated Echo Dot and the Fire TV Stick 4K helping drive sales. The press release also described how Alexa has been utilized hundreds of millions of times during the festive period. The major American tech giants have finally had a reprieve at the stock market, making gains as consumer spending turns positive.

The Zanco smart pen is a stylus with (nearly) all the features of a smartphone crammed into it. It has physical buttons, a click-pad, front and rear cameras and even a teeny tiny screen. It is intended as a smartphone replacement or companion (much like the Palm phone) and can also function as a Bluetooth remote for screens for purposes such as presentation. So far, it has raised just over US$50,000 on Kickstarter.

Microsoft is now rumored to be working on 4K webcams. These accessories, which are likely to go under the Surface brand, will be compatible with Windows 10-powered devices and the Xbox One. The new webcams, which may also support Windows Hello, may be available next year.

Although there is no official information about the upcoming Huawei P30 series, a few Olixar protective cases have been listed for pre-order by MobileFun already. These accessories reveal that the P30 Pro is a handset that sports a display with a waterdrop-style notch, as well as a quad main camera setup.

A new leak based on a purported internal Apple document reiterates the rumor that Smart Battery Cases are coming back. This one suggests that this product will be compatible with the iPhone XS and XS Max only. On the other hand, the slightly disputable evidence does not match the leaked watchOS icon on which the earlier leak is based.

Razer has released a teaser video to accompany the launch of the first wireless keyboard and mouse combo for Microsoft’s Xbox One console. The launch of the video has brought to light an accompanying image of the actual keyboard and mouse that Razer first revealed a couple of weeks ago, but which slipped under the radar.

Razer has unleashed a version of its Raiju controllers for smartphones. It is ostensibly designed to compete with similar products made by Xiaomi and Asus, although it may fit devices besides the company's own gaming-focused smartphones. The 'mobile' Raiju features the Mecha-Tactile action buttons found on the Ultimate variant of this controller.

In 2014, ZeniMax sued Oculus VR on allegations that CEO Palmer Lucky had stolen technology that made the Oculus Rift VR headset possible, and it became a 4 year long battle between ZeniMax and Facebook once the latter bought Oculus VR. Finally, the suit has been privately settled for some amount of cash.

New leaks suggest that Huawei is to release its own smart TV product, and that it may be here as early as the first half of 2019. This is based on claims that the company has filed a patent for a "Huawei AI Window". The rumor may make sense, as more and more traditional smartphone OEMs are moving into this new market.

Xiaomi has showcased the fact that 5G is for IoT devices too. This was done via a Tweet by a company spokesperson, containing a video showing how quickly the 5G-enabled variant of the Mi Mix 3 could relay commands to a connected lamp. Therefore, 5G may be an exciting prospect for smart-home fans too.

The Samsung Galaxy S10 is still probably months away from release. However, this has not stopped the case-maker Olixar from designing a whole range of cases for it already, or the e-tailer site MobileFun from posting a product page for them, prices and all. The Galaxy S10 in these images appears to mimic an earlier leak.

OnePlus unveiled its special McLaren edition of the 6T today in the UK. This version of the OEM's current flagship comes with 10GB of RAM and improved fast charging. The McLaren Edition will become available in two days and cost US$699.

Smart fabric is a form of textile containing nano-tech threads that can form circuits and battery connections when woven together. Google has been developing its own take on this new type of electronics, in the form of 'Project Jacquard'. Its first commercial application is a jacket designed in collaboration with Levi's, with touch-sensitive sleeves that interact with a phone as a Bluetooth device might.

The IP68-rated Mobvoi TicWatch C2 is now available for purchase in the US for US$199.99. Powered by Google's Wear OS and the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor, this smart wearable features NFC connectivity and has a built-in GPS, as well as heart rate monitoring capabilities.

Xiaomi is now said to be developing a new smart speaker soon. The main difference between this one and the OEM's existing line-up of such products is that this one will have both AI and a touchscreen. This rumor is derived from a new registration with Bluetooth SIG for a Xiaomi product with all the specifications necessary for the two attributes.