Accessory

If the latest rumors turn into reality, Android Wear will change its name around 4 years after its release. In addition to the new name, Google's upcoming Wear OS should also feature a new, colorful logo similar to the one currently used by Google Assistant. However, this change was spotted in the latest 12.5 beta for Play Services, so nothing is official yet, but we will probably see it happening in May at Google I/O.

RMIT researchers claim that the proton batteries could be mass produced by 2023. This new breed of batteries is carbon-based, but the energy storing process is totally eco-friendly and also has reduced production costs. The Australian researchers are currently trying to increase the overall efficiency above what Lithium-ion batteries can offer.

Bose has launched a new type of AR technology that it is calling Audio AR. The prototype sunglasses on show at SXSW use an audio layer to supplement a user's interaction with their surrounds to provide more information and context.

Motorola looks set to release a new VR-based headset as a MotoMod for its Z series smartphones. The new headset also looks like it might have the backing of Oculus, if its headstrap is any indication.

Estimated to begin reaching its first owners in about a month, the US$749.99 Garmin tactix Charlie is a premium GPS watch that features a 1.2-inch sunlight-readable display with domed sapphire lens, GPS with GLONASS support, as well a rugged design. Its battery can provide up to 12 days of autonomy in smartwatch mode, 20 hours in GPS mode, and 35 hours in UltraTrac battery saving mode.

Apparently, some Alexa-enabled devices have started laughing in a disturbing manner at their owners. There have been reports made of unrequested creepy chortles issuing from smart speakers and Amazon devices by a number of users, who cannot understand why their personal assistant has suddenly become so sinister. Amazon is currently working on a fix for this disquieting issue.

The Light Phone 2 has just been announced on crowdfunding website Indiegogo. This is the second-generation “anti-smartphone” device created by the developer Light. The 4G LTE phone uses a black & white matte E-ink display and is aimed at being a basic alternative to a high-end smartphone. Unlike the first-generation Light Phone, the Light Phone 2 will offer support for text messaging.

Fitbit has announced a special Adidas Edition of its recently released Ionic smartwatch. This is the first result of a collaboration between both companies. The Ionic Adidas Edition features a watch face designed by Adidas, a unique band, and a built-in Adidas Train application.

A recently published Apple patent describes a "Dual display equipment with enhanced visibility and suppressed reflections" and the device pictured in it looks like a MacBook with an OLED touchscreen area that replaces the traditional keyboard and trackpad combination. Lenovo tried this with the Yoga Book and it apparently failed, so it remains to see if an Apple MacBook with a touchscreen keyboard hits the market or not.

The i5 and Xeon Cintiq Pro Engine upgrade modules come with additional processing power that practically transform the graphics tablets into standalone PCs. Users can choose between Intel i5 HQ or Xeon CPUs, 16 GB or 32 GB of RAM and 256 GB or 512 GB NVMe SSDs. Both modules integrate the same NVIDIA Quadro P3200 GPU with 6 GB GDDR5.

According to Reuters, Amazon has acquired the smart video doorbell maker Ring for more than US$ 1 billion. The current Ring doorbells can integrate with Amazon Alexa and it's likely that the company wants to expand in the home security market. This would be Amazon's second acquisition of smart doorbell companies after purchasing Blink last year.

Sony has used MWC to introduce a new "dual listening" experience headset it calls the Xperia Ear Duo. The headphones allow users to interact with music, or notifications, at the same time as being able to hear their immediate environment.

Motorola has presented two Moto Mods at the MWC for its smartphones. The Health Mod can measure vital signs such as blood pressure, temperature, and oxygen saturation. A Moto Mod with a full-sized QWERTY keyboard was also shown.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ have been the victim of many leaks over the past few weeks, and this latest leak reveals a launch video for the much-anticipated smartphones. The video confirms previous rumors and shows off the device itself, and it also presents an Enterprise Edition aimed at business users.

Archos has presented Archos Hello, the company's first smart home device. Hello is a smart display with a built-in battery for optional portable use. The device runs on Android Oreo with Google Assistant and will come in two different sizes.

The AirPower wireless charging mat was originally announced in September, 2017 at an Apple media event. According to reports, this handy device could be shipped by the American tech giants in March. The mat uses the Qi standard for wireless power transfer and should have multi-device charging capability. There has been no official confirmation from Apple yet.

French electronics company Archos has unveiled plans to release a hardware wallet that will provide cryptocurrency owners with a physical layer of security for their virtual currency transactions. The Archos Safe-T mini hardware device can be connected to a computer or smartphone via microUSB cable. The wallet will be released in June, 2018 and will cost €49.99 (~US$61).

The CAT S61 will be introduced at MWC 2018 as the direct successor of the CAT S60, which featured a VGA resolution FLIR camera with a -4 to 248 Fahrenheit range. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 630-powered CAT S61 brings this camera's top recorded temperature to 752 Fahrenheit degrees while pushing its resolution to HD as well. This phone also packs a laser-assisted distance measurement tool.

A report from Bloomberg has stated that Apple is working on some upgrades for its popular AirPods product. The original wireless Bluetooth earbuds were released in 2016 and have contributed significantly to Apple’s successful “Others” division (which includes the Apple Watch). It is rumored an upgrade of the AirPods with a new custom-designed chip will be released later this year, with a water-resistant upgrade being developed for next year.

Facebook's upcoming smart speakers are expected to arrive in July, reveal insiders familiar with the matter. Sporting 15-inch touchscreen displays, they are also supposed to provide video chat and social features.

Samsung has prepared a new wireless charging pad for its upcoming flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+.

While the Redmi Note 5 is headed for India and expected to arrive on February 14, it looks like the Mi TV is going to be introduced locally on the same day.

Apple has teamed up with LG and Valve to invest in eMagin, a company that has developed industry-leading technology in OLED microdisplays for use in AR and VR headsets. The move is indicative that Apple could be on track to release a headset in the near future.

HP has announced a number of new EliteDisplay monitors with 4K IPS panels and support for USB-C. The displays will launch in sizes of 27, 32 and 43 inches.

In addition to the X900F series that Sony unveiled at CES 2018, this iconic Japanese brand also announced the X850F series. Both feature Google Assistant support and have been listed already on Amazon at prices that range between US$1,499 and US$3,999.

The industry's first 256 GB eUFS 2.1 solution for automotive applications that incorporates advanced features of the UFS 3.0 standard can handle a temperature range between -40° C and 105° C and provides a sequential read speed of up to 850 MB/s.

Google has announced that it is folding the Nest smart home products team into its rapidly expanding hardware division. The move will see the end of Nest-branded products in favor of Google's own "Made by Google" branding.

Roccat has announced the Khan AIMO RGB, their new gaming headset with large 50mm drivers, a built-in soundcard and support for the company's own AIMO RGB ecosystem.

The new Xeon D-2100 processor architecture allows for up to 18 "Skylake-server" generation cores and was designed to provide lower-power processing to multiple enterprise applications, focusing on the needs of data centers and network operators.

Thanks to the Battery Health settings that appeared in the latest beta, owners of iPhone 6 and iPhone 7 handsets will be able to disable performance throttling and to keep their devices running at full speed. However, iOS 11.3 has no launch date yet.

While disabling "OK, Google" detection on Android Wear devices was a workaround that severely limited their capabilities, a new software update finally takes care of the annoying lag issue that has been around for about a month.

The Amazfit Bip Android Wear smartwatch was launched in China last year, and now it can be pre-ordered in the US for less than US$100. This smart wearable with an impressive battery life is expected to start shipping in the US next month.

Akhan intends to implement the Miraj Diamond thin-film glass in high-end smartphones by 2019. The diamond-based protective glass stays considerably cooler and brings improved resistance to scratches.

Facebook-owned Oculus is getting closer to the launch of its new standalone Oculus Go headset as the leak of its devkit highlights. Also revealed is that the device will have a rich selection of over 1000 apps when it launches early this year.

In contrast to many other smart speakers, Apple's HomePod will not support streaming over regular Bluetooth. You'll need an iOS device to stream music as the speaker only supports Apple's proprietary AirPlay protocol.

Fujifilm will own a 50.1 stake in a joint venture that would combine Xerox and the existing Fuji Xerox, of which Fujifilm already controls 75 percent. The Connecticut-based Xerox will change its name to Fuji Xerox, and about 10,000 jobs will be cut by 2022.

Rumors are doing the rounds that Microsoft is looking at a possible acquisition of a large game publisher, such as Electronic Arts, Valve, PUBG Corp., or the likes. But there is also skepticism given Microsoft's not-so-successful track record of turning acquisitions into profits.

Due to the lack of workers, Samsung decided to shut down one of its two manufacturing plants they have in Slovakia. However, this is pretty good news, since earlier reports claimed that the company was considering the possibility to shut down both of them.

The new Skagen Falster smartwatch runs Android Wear and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 2100 chip. Depending on the strap/color combination, it can be purchased for US$275 or US$295.

The Google Clips smart camera has gone on sale in the U.S. However, the first batch has quickly sold out in less than a day and a waitlist created for those that want one.

The latest developers beta for Apple's WatchOS 4.3 brings back Apple Music integration, improved fitness information in the Siri watch face, and a new portrait charging mode. Apple's WatchOS holds a 57 percent share of the smartwatch market.

Austrian retailer, Gameware.at, is unhappy about Microsoft offering Xbox Game Pass subscribers access to the latest games on day 1 for a low monthly price. The retailer has decided to delist all Xbox consoles from their online store citing low profits.

Fitbit, which acquired the Pebble brand in 2016, has announced that they will support the Pebble smartwatch line until June 20th, 2018. In other words, support for Pebble services and devices will end on June 30th of this year, marking the end of an era.

Apple's wireless HomePod speaker is finally launching on February 9 for US$349 with pre-orders starting tomorrow in the US, UK, and Australia. The HomePod features an enhanced Siri experience, spatial awareness, and a wide soundstage.

A few days after images showing an updated smartwatch surfaced on Reddit, Google confirmed the release of Android Wear 2.8, highlighting the fact that this is an update for the smartphone app and not the same as the OTA for some wearables.

The first 512 GB microSD cards are slated to launch this February with reading speeds up to 90 MB/s and support for 1080p video recording.

Apple is well behind the smart speaker 8-ball when it comes to the launch of its Siri-powered HomePod. First unveiled in June, it has now received FCC certification suggesting its launch can't be too far away.