Accessory

Although US$1099.99 for an unlocked 256 GB Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ cannot be considered affordable, US customers can take advantage of the free Galaxy Buds and Galaxy Fit that come with the flagship. Samsung is also offering a free 6-month Spotify Premium trial and 4 months of YouTube Premium access.

Soundcore has unveiled its new Liberty 2 Pro truly wireless earbuds. The company claims that they have been designed in a way that produces true "sonic alignment", thus delivering a more accurate soundstage, clear bass and distinct treble. They will be available in October 2019 for about US$150.

The PRO TREK Smart WSD-F21HR is a new Casio watch with a heart-rate monitor, as well as a range of other sensors for outdoor functions and general location management. It has a 1.32-inch dual display to save battery, a microphone and Wear OS.

The Manifest has conducted a study to find out which name was most familiar in the wearables sphere. 77% of those polled were able to name Fitbit in this context, compared to 73% for the next most recognized name ("Apple Watch"). Ironically, the latter sold a million more units in the second quarter of 2019 (2Q2019) than the former.

Amazon has introduced a new Echo Studio speaker and Echo Buds in-ear wireless headphones. Both feature the latest sound technologies including support for Dobly Atmos in the former and Bose active noise-cancelling circuitry in the latter.

Xiaomi normally releases fitness bands or watches that run proprietary apps rather than a dedicated, familiar OS. A tech blog may have found evidence that this may change soon. It claims to have detected code in the Wear OS phone app that points to upcoming compatible products from this OEM.

Canon has released a new mirrorless camera that can record 4K vertical videos and then share them directly to social media. The EOS M200 has a 24.1MP APS-C sensor and CMOS auto-focus. It can also record in 60fps FHD and has a lightweight, convenient build.

Xiaomi has followed up on the success of last year's Mi AirDots Pro with a suitably named successor, the Mi AirDots Pro 2. The headphones will be available in China from September 27 for CNY 399 (~US$55) and look uncannily like the AirPods, which Apple currently sells for between US$159 and US$199.

Microsoft is expected to unveil at least the Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Pro 7 at its hardware event on October 2. A recent FCC filing suggests that the company may also have a new Surface Pen in the works, though. The certified accessory has an interesting detail that existing Surface Pens lack too.

LG Electronic's solar energy solutions are in show at the 2019 Solar Power International expo. They include the new NeON R ACe Solar Panel, which comes with its own AC micro-inverter so as to be compatible with conventional power circuits. It will be available in markets such as the US soon.

Set your watches to 06:00 PDT (UTC -7) on October 1, for that is when GoPro will be hosting its next annual hardware refresh. The company is expected to unveil the GoPro Hero 8 and GoPro Max, which will succeed the GoPro Hero 7 and GoPro Fusion 360 respectively, with many high-resolution marketing pictures of both having already appeared online.

The Japanese lens-maker Tamron already makes 17-28mm and 8-75mm f/2.8 products for Sony full-frame cameras. Now, it has released a video teaser hinting at 4 more of the same to be launched soon. Their specs are left to the imagination, but a photography blog claims to have worked them out.

Pete Lau, OnePlus' CEO, teased a new feature of the upcoming 7T series in a new interview. It will be called Warp Charge 30T, as opposed to the Warp Charge 30 found in the existing 7 Pro device. Lau claimed that the new standard will power a compatible phone 23% faster compared to its predecessor.

Puro Sound Labs describes itself as "the world's leading manufacturer of premium, safe-listening headphones". It has developed the PuroGamer, a "studio-grade" headset with 50-millimeter (mm) graphene drivers for better audio at lower volumes. This product also has a noise-canceling, detachable boom mic.

Smart materials may prove to be the basis of the electronic components of the future. Their market's value was estimated at US$36 billion in 2017. That figure is now thought to grow until it hits $127 billion in 7 years from now.

The Huawei Watch GT 2 is this OEM's latest smartwatch. It has a 1.39-inch HD OLED display encased in "3D Glass". It comes in 42 and 46 millimeter (mm) variants, and is rated for 2 weeks of battery life.

Huawei released its new Mate 30-line flagships at a Munich event today (September 19, 2019). A new special edition of the same developed in collaboration with Porsche was also introduced. It was unveiled on stage by the OEM's Richard Yu and Jan Becker from the car-maker's design team.

Business Insider has published a new report that claims to offer an insight into the development of Google-brand smartwatches. It also outlines the nature of the "secret" technology purchased by this company from Fossil, which allegedly results in hybrid devices that are removed from the pure Wear OS device that may be expected of a first-gen Pixel Watch.

The Live Free truly wireless earbuds are the latest products from the company JAM Audio. It is claimed that they are smaller and more comfortable than their predecessors. They also come in a handy case that is rated for a battery life of 54 hours or more.

The PRT-B50 is a new PRO TREK model that can connect to a smartphone app via Bluetooth. Unlike some other Casio watches with this ability, however, this new product has a non-digital watchface. Its physical hands can be used to do things such as point to a saved location.

Nikon has introduced the Nikon Z 6 Essential Film Kit, its first mirrorless camera bundle that the company has designed for video professionals and filmmakers. The kit offers a quick introduction to the production of high-quality films and videos. The Essential Film Kit costs £2,639 (~US$3,291).

The OEM OnePlus has made its anticipated 7T series of phones official, and has also announced dates for its launch around the world. The first of these will be in India on September 26, 2019. The 7Ts will then get a 2nd event in London on October 10. There will also be a third, virtual event for the North American market.

Huawei has more up its sleeve for its next launch event than just the Mate 30 series. In anticipation of this Thursday's event in Munich, the Chinese company has teased the successor to the Watch GT, aptly named the Watch GT 2. Read on to see what the video reveals and what we know so far about Huawei's next smartwatch.

Huawei unveiled a new line of smart glasses along with the P30 smartphone series. However, nothing has been heard of them since. Now, however, they have reportedly been released to the Chinese market in several different styles and opacities.

The Google Camera app v7 has leaked out and has been torn down. This has resulted in references to a slew of new abilities that may debut in the Pixel 4 and 4XL. They include the Mountain View's versions of Samsung's Motion Blur and Audio Zoom. They may also extend to real-time HDR edits, phone astrophotography and a new form of depth-perception.

Leviton's new duplex wall socket also has in-built USB outputs. These welcome and increasingly welcome upgrades to electrical fittings are type-C ports with the Power Delivery (USB-PD) standard. This means they are rated to charge compatible devices at up to 30 watts.

Our 'Weekend Discussion' series asks questions and "what if" scenarios to our readers about how they use their smartphones, laptops, or other portable devices with the intention of encouraging insightful discussions. For this week, we want to know how you would feel about potentially losing the 3.5 mm audio jack on your next Ultrabook purchase.

Razer has patented the perfect Nintendo Switch, or is it a Razer Phone accessory? What about a resurrected Wii U GamePad or a Razer Edge Pro? Your guess is as good as ours.

Two new GoPro action cameras on the horizon, with the company announcing the successors to the GoPro Hero 7 and GoPro Fusion 360 this month. High-resolution marketing images of the GoPro Hero 8 Black and GoPro Max have appeared online, complete with modular accessories.

Among a host of other revelations at the recent Apple Special Event, the Cupertino company also officially announced the Apple Watch Series 5. The latest iteration of the highly successful smartwatch features an Always-On Retina display and comes in a huge range of customizable options. Prices start from US$399 for the basic 40 mm space-gray aluminum case with sport band GPS-only model (requires iPhone connection).

The Apple U1 chip is new hardware that controls ultrawide band (UWB) energy transfers between devices. This enables compatible products to locate each other and exchange data in a way non-U1-enabled counterparts cannot. These new features are exclusive to the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max.

Think you know the names of all the buttons on a PlayStation controller? Think again, according to Sony. Are you an X or Cross person?

A couple of images of a Leica full-frame mirrorless camera have been posted on a Japanese website, which claims the subject of the photos is the Leica SL2. The German manufacturer released the SL (Typ 601) in October 2015, which was generally well-received but noted for its high price tag and its cumbersome build.

Xiaomi has launched its fastest wireless charging standard yet: Mi Charge Turbo, which powers a compatible device at 30 watts (W). The OEM claims that it needs only 25 minutes to charge an empty 4000mAh battery to 50%. Furthermore, the company also stated that it is working on a 40W upgrade for this new standard already.

A dedicated modder has managed to create a working portable game console by utilizing the motherboard from a slimline PlayStation 2 in conjunction with the capabilities of a Raspberry Pi 2 single-board computer. Although it has taken a long time to build the device, the end product has been shown offering impressive results in a video shared on YouTube.

Huawei has taken to IFA to unveil new wireless earbuds alongside the Kirin 990 SoC. They are the latest in the Freebuds line of wearables, and are thus AirPod clones (in their looks at least). These 3rd-gen products have a dedicated dual-Bluetooth chipset of their own, "intelligent" noise cancellation and a unique charging case.

A popular Sony digital camera news blog has published what it claims to be the first leaked image of the Japanese manufacturer’s A9II flagship camera. Sony released the full-frame mirrorless A9 camera in 2017 and there are many keenly awaiting its successor. The alleged A9II looks practically identical to its predecessor.

The JBL Pulse 4 is the latest in a series of portable Bluetooth speakers that also light up as they stream audio. This iteration also has an IPX7 rating and an estimated 12 hours of playback. Its LEDs are controlled by a proprietary app, which also allows it to sync with multiple compatible devices from the same brand.

The charging accessory brand Arun has a new travel product that can charge both mobile devices and full notebooks. This "power station" has variants with 22000mAh or 30000mAh capacities, both of which has a full AC outlet, as well as USB type A and C ports. The latter can charge a mobile device at up to 45 watts (W), whereas the former can deliver up to 100W.

The Video Electronics Standards Association (or VESA) is the body that can confer official certifications for state-of-the art quality standards such as DisplayHDR on new screens. Its latest update to the criteria by which they are granted is called version 1.1. It calls for ultra-modern specs such as active dimming, as well as tougher yardsticks for color gamut and luminance.

Acer's new series of XV3 gaming monitors offer modern refresh rates of up to 240Hz and response times of as low as 1 millisecond. They are also G-SYNC ready with the variable refresh rate (VRR) necessary to handle either the RTX or GTX 10-series of graphic cards. These new IPS panels come in either 24.5- or 27-inch variants, and will start at €249 (about US$275).

The USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) has finalized the specification for USB4. A few things are different this time around including the way the it named, as well as its support for another standard in the form of Thunderbolt 3.

As always, GoPro will be releasing a new generation of action cameras this month. This year the company will introduce an update to the GoPro Fusion 360 called the GoPro Max, along with the GoPro Hero 8. Photos of both devices have leaked online too having made their way through the FCC.

Motorola's MotoMods were the last reasonably successful attempt to make modular smartphones with hot-swappable features, and now it appears that Huawei plans to introduce something similar. However, while MotoMods communicate via pogo pin connectors, Huawei and Honor's accessories will use Bluetooth, as recent Bluetooth SIG certifications suggest.

The AirDots Pro are Xiaomi devices that conform to the "toothbrush" form factor of truly-wireless earbuds. Chinese social media users have spotted what looks like their packaging, but with a new product name, in a photograph. The box suggests that these wearables have, if anything, become more Apple-esque than their predecessors.

Fitbit has launched its second-generation Versa health and fitness smartwatch. The key upgrades include support for Amazon Alexa voice recognition and the addition of enhanced sleep tracking.

The EOS 90D is Canon's latest APS-C camera that can shoot at 32.5MP with a crop of up to 1.6x. It is powered by a DIGIC 8 image processor and can shoot at up to 11 frames per second continuously. This camera's core unit will go on sale in September 2019, and will cost US$1,199.

Garmin has refreshed its premium Fēnix smartwatch series, with the aptly named Fēnix 6. The series is available in three sizes and two material variants. There is a solar-powered version of the Fēnix 6X too.

The a6600 is the latest premium camera from Sony. It is an APS-C mirrorless unit with a 24.2MP Exmor sensor, Fast Hybrid autofocus (AF) and a 3-inch 180-degree touchscreen. The OEM has also unveiled an entry-level a6000-series camera and new lenses to boot.

LetsGoDigital has unearthed a patent filed by Google for a smartwatch with a twist. Filed over two years ago but dated August 27 2019, the design looks like a run-of-the-mill watch with its circular face, but at its centre is something that could disrupt the smartwatch market.