Accessory

We can now more easily compare the actuation forces, actuation points, and travel distances for each of the four types of mechanical switches designed by Razer. Gaming keyboards with Razer mechanical switches include the Huntsman and BlackWidow series.

The NVIDIA SHIELD TV box may be among the best-known of all Android TV boxes. Now, there is evidence that it is finally seeing a refresh. However, it seems that the only difference between it and the existing model is a slightly updated SoC and the ability to run Android 9.0 out of the box.

Brydge is a company that makes premium external keyboards for tablets from OEMs such as Microsoft and Apple. Most recently, it has released the 'Pro', a Bluetooth accessory for the 2018 iPad of the same name. It is made of aluminium and has variants for the 11- and 12.9-inch SKUs of its corresponding device.

Samsung has allegedly secured a trademark for a new product called the "Portable SSD T7 Plus". Should this leak prove true, it appears that a successor for the T5 is on its way. This putative product may at least maintain a trend towards max speeds of 540 MB/s, 256-bit AES encryption and a USB 3.1 Gen2 interface in a form weighing just 0.11 pounds.

Semiconductors are commonly used in energy transfer for electronics and other related fields. The current state of the art are applications of gallium nitride or silicon carbide rather than conventional markets. The potential improvements and advancements to be gained from this transition could drive their market's worth to as much as US$3 billion by 2025.

Xiaomi has issued a recall of its Mi Electric Scooter (or M365) product. This request to return items does not apply to all units of the personal transport accessory, however, but to a subset of the same sold in certain countries. These devices have a hardware fault that could affect their function and the safety of their users.

The Strawberry4Pi 2 is an IoT HAT designed for the Raspberry Pi with a difference. The HAT costs just US$29 but comes pre-installed with its own OS and a mobile app that can control your internet connected devices. No coding required. The Strawberry4Pi 2 is available to order on Kickstarter and will ship in August.

Huntkey is known as a maker of power bricks and other similar accessories. However, it also makes other devices, monitors included. Its latest model is the X2471C, which is a 1080p, 144-hertz (Hz) 23.6-inch 1800R-curved panel. This model has a white housing, 2 HDMI ports and 1 Display Port.

A micro-display is a panel that may be made of conventional materials such as OLED or LCD, yet are 2 inches at most on the diagonal. They are incorporated into everyday devices such as digital cameras, and in emerging categories such as heads-up or head-mounted displays. The latest research suggests that their market will be worth US$3.42 billion in the next 6 years.

The connectivity-equipment maker Cable Matters has released a new docking station that can expand a MacBook Pro's output by up to 2x 4K at 60Hz via HDMI. This Dual-Input USB-C accessory can also support 80W Power Delivery (PD) charging and read microSD/UHS-II SD cards. It is available at US$189.99 per docking station.

Advertised as "the most advanced 12h playtime Bluetooth 5.0 earphone" created by UMIDIGI so far, the Qualcomm QCC3003-powered Ubeats provides up to 12 hours of autonomy on a single charge and will go on sale via AliExpress next Monday at just US$19.99. Ten lucky people can get the UMIDIGI Ubeats for free as part of a giveaway that will end in 18 days.

After some tests and number-crunching, Intel has concluded that the theoretical bandwidth for PCIe 3.0 x16 (126.4 Gbps) and even PCIe 3.0 x8 (63.2 Gbps) will be more than sufficient for 4K UHD HDR gaming at 144 FPS.

The external monitor will have 1080p touchscreen and 4K UHD options with USB Type-C charging and an internal battery as standard. Hopefully, its specifications and performance will match the sleek narrow bezel chassis.

Xiaomi has released the Mi Band 4 and it seems likely that the device will not disappoint. The Chinese company has created three variants of the fitness tracker, which is brimming with features that appear to contradict its considerably low price. Xiaomi has the basic model of the Mi Band 4 retailing for just 169 yuan, which is about US$24.

SolidRun has announced the i.MX 8M, a new mini System on Module (SOM) board based on NXP ARM Cortex-A53 CPUs and the Gyrfalcon Lightspeeur 2803S AI accelerator for developing Edge AI applications. The Lightspeeur 2803S is a highly power-efficient AI processing unit that offers up to 16.8 TOPS of peak performance at 300 MHz. SolidRun is also offering the i.MX 8M in a HummingBoard Pulse SBC that offers Raspberry Pi-like enhanced connectivity.

Microsoft has launched its all-new Xbox Elite gaming controller at E3. The new Series 2 model offers 30 new features and improvements including introducing adjustable thumbstick tensioning for precision movement and control.

Dr. Guy Leschziner, a prominent neurologist and consultant in London's sleep-medicine arena, has recently indicated his belief that sleep-tracking apps and similar technology may backfire on the user. This is apparently due to a 'one-size-fits-all' approach to sleep metrics employed by these apps.

A popular blog has analyzed the new Google app beta. It has found that this potential update could turn a phone's lockscreen into something more like Pixel Stand mode with auto-generated suggestions from the user's Assistant. Besides this, the beta can add a Google One status symbol to a profile picture.

Reolink, a company already known for well-spec'd wireless security cameras, now launches the E1 Pro. This new option offers a wide range of coverage for an affordable price. It will also gain Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility in the near future.

To celebrate an event in which more information on its first cloud gaming platform was released, Google has prepared a "Stadia Founder's Edition". It consists of a Stadia Controller in an exclusive Night Blue colorway and a Chromecast Ultra. It may help play the range of Stadia titles that were confirmed today.

Speakers with built-in Bluetooth have become better and better at bringing your music places where traditional wired devices can't go. The market built up around these products is now estimated to grow to the tune of US$2.64 billion in 6 years. This may be driven by increased uptake in emerging economies like India.

Noctua, often a go-to brand for PC fans, is at Computex to highlight its new and updated products. They include the NF-A12x25, which gained the European Hardware Association's best case-fan of 2019 award. The company has also made new ultra-thin fans, improved CPU coolers and fanless coolers.

Aukey is already a familiar name in the affordable personal audio game. Now, it has released a new line of earphones called the Key Series with a higher-end appeal. It comprises the EP-T10 true wireless earbuds and EP-B80 wireless earphones, as well as the more sporty wireless EP-B60 set and the EP-B33 neckbuds.

The 8110 (4G) is a reprise of a classic Nokia phone of the same name, released at MWC last year. However, its KaiOS meant that it had reduced functionality compared to the average Android or iOS device. With the roll-out of a compatible WhatsApp version, this has been remedied slightly.

Actual real-life pictures of Xiaomi’s Mi Band 4 fitness wearable have been leaked. The images show that the display part of the Mi Band 4 is very similar to the renders that were leaked last month. The Mi Band 4 gets a considerable upgrade over its predecessor by sporting a color display instead of a monochrome OLED.

Panasonic introduces a new LUMIX S-series camera, which, as it claims, "combines the video quality of a professional camera and the high mobility of a mirrorless camera". This is because it is capable of recording 6K video at up to 24fps, which still maintaining a full-frame unit's form factor. It will be released some time after summer in 2019.

The a9 is Sony's flagship mirrorless camera. It is a 24.2MP full-frame unit with an Exmor RS sensor and a silent shutter. Normally, this extensive piece of kit retails for US$4,498. However, the new "Step up to Sony" offers interested prosumers the chance to pick it up for 22$ off this price.

Finally, we will no longer need separate RGB customization software for our Lian Li PC case, MSI keyboard, ASRock motherboard, AMD CPU fan, or Zotac graphics card. Razer Chroma will support all these manufacturers and more.

Viveport Infinity is a service that pulls together VR experiences from numerous different publishers for a single monthly fee. To this end, "Beyond the Wall", an HBO/Game of Thrones product, launches on this platform tomorrow (May 31, 2019). It may offer customers the opportunity to explore Westerosi vistas in a virtual manner.

LG's XBOOM series is often worth a look, as they can be high-powered speakers in relatively compact or portable form-factors. Its 2019 iterations are not exceptions to this rule. They range from entire sound-systems to smart speakers with inbuilt screens.

Bose has launched an all-new range of premium noise cancelling headphones. The first to hit the market is the new Headphones 700 that packs in 11 levels of noise cancellation.

Home security camera systems can be expensive. But where there is a Raspberry Pi, there is a way. All you need is a Raspberry Pi Zero W, a Raspberry Pi camera module, some free software and an enclosure that you can buy for as little as €5 (~US$5.57).

Some of the most recently-released LG ThinQ TVs have been advertized as Amazon Alexa-capable. However, customers in the US may have noticed that this apparent functionality was missing - until now. The OEM has announced that the smart assistant app on these devices should become active over the next few weeks.

Qualcomm is at the Augmented World Expo (AWE) to launch its new Snapdragon Smart Viewer Reference Design. It is a reference VR headset based on the XR1 Platform. This device has a DJI display, up-to-date controllers, interfaces and a Standalone Mode.

Asus is ready to ship laptops with liquid metal thermal paste and the initial results have us excited. The cooler temperatures will lead directly to quieter, lighter, or thinner laptop designs from future ROG laptops.

DJI has announced the Manifold 2, a line of tiny supercomputers that can be installed on certain drones from this manufacturer. These devices can upgrade the devices in quesiton into autonomic flying machines, or those that can be trained to recognize certain objects or use an AI.

Coral is a platform developed by Google to support and facilitate on-device AI. Asus has announced that it will use its system-on-module (SOM) on its new AI development kit and single-board computer (SBC). They will be called Tinker Edge T and the CR1S-CM-A respectively.

Asus has revealed its new ROG Strix XG17 portable monitor that has been specifically designed for gaming on the go. The 17.3-inch display offers a maximum refresh rate of 240 Hz and can be powered either through AC power in the wall or via its two USB Type-C ports. The XG17 is less than half-an-inch thick.

Much like Nvidia and its G-Sync technology, Intel will integrate its own adaptive sync technology to its upcoming Ice Lake Iris SKUs. The chipmaker says we can expect Ice Lake laptops with adaptive sync displays to be available within the next year. Such models would not require an Nvidia GPU.

The ZenScreen is a product that allows the user to take a monitor anywhere they might need to. This year, Asus has updated it with touch capability. This model is also just 9 millimeters deep, has micro-HDMI and Hybrid-Signal USB type C ports.

Asus has revealed a new motherboard as part of its celebrations of enjoying 30 years in business. The Prime X299 Edition 30 supports the LGA 2066 socket that is compatible with Skylake-X, Kaby Lake-X, and Skylake-W processors from Intel. This means the special edition motherboard from Asus can operate with up to 18-core CPUs.

The Sprint TREBL with Magic Box is a small cell solution that also integrates Amazon Alexa voice-assistance and Harman Kardon sound quality. This combination makes it unique in its product category. Perhaps this is how it has won the Small Cell Forum's Judges' Choice Award for this year.

GoPro has a history of allowing its customers to trade their existing cameras in for something off the cost of a new model of this brand. However, this offer has never been available in the European Union's (EU) member-states before. This has now changed: customers in these 28 countries can now "trade-up" their cameras for €100 (about US$112) off a Fusion or Hero7 Black's price.

The laptop webcam has become a critic's punchbag as of late, as its relationship with these devices' screens is changing, diminishing or in some cases disappearing altogether. This may put some OEMs off the development of thinner bezels in their entry-level machines. However, the new OV0VA10 SoC may help them in this regard.

The Chatterbox is a DIY smart speaker that even children can build. The device has a chipboard case and is built around a Raspberry Pi 3B. The speaker can be taught new commands using the Chatterbox app too. The Chatterbox is currently available for US$119 on Kickstarter and ships worldwide in December.

Scuf has launched its new Xbox One and PC Prestige game pad designed to take on Microsoft’s own customizable Elite controller. Not only can the buttons be remapped, the device also includes mappable paddles and other customizable options to give players a distinct edge over the competition.

ASUS is currently holding a "30 Years Together" event to celebrate 3 decades as a hardware and peripherals OEM. It involves competitions in which contestants can enter a PC-centric quiz or tell their own ASUS/ROG ownership story to gain points. The prizes to be won include laptops, cutting-edge graphics cards and accessories.

Casio has released the WSD-F30RG, its newest smartwatch from the PRO TREK line. It has an OLED display, but also has individual monochrome and color overlays. The OEM also asserts that it has an improved resolution for detailed legibility on its screen.