Accessory

Apple's market share in China has reportedly fallen by 26.6% in 2018. Unsurprisingly, the culprits are more 'local' OEMs such as Huawei and Xiaomi, who offer more innovative features in premium handsets that go for less than those from the Cupertino company.

Tencent, which publishes games such as PUBG, has set up a collaboration with Razer in order to improve said apps' function on the gaming hardware giant's Android phones. This involves optimizing Tencent titles for the Razer Phones, as well as for the mobile-gaming peripherals Razer sells.

Beats by Dr. Dre has been an Apple subsidiary for some time now. The brand's next product may be a pair of truly-wireless earbuds. According to a CNET report, they may run on the new Apple H1 chip, which is also found in the newly-released AirPods 2.

Huntkey, a company based in Shenzhen, has announced that it is currently producing a 90-watt wall-wart intended for mobile devices. This next-gen power-brick also has a USB type-C output, rather than type-A as normal. It supports various fast-charging profiles, in addition to USB Power Delivery and Qualcomm QuickCharge3.0+.

DigiTimes has cited sources at a components supplier in a new report that alleges the AirPower accessory is finally going to be released soon. This article also asserts that the long-awaited wireless charging pad will work with at least one generation of the Apple Watch.

The next Huawei flagships are due to launch on March 26, 2019. However, a leaker claims to have gotten hold of genuine promotional images for the two phones ahead of this event. These posters are for the French market, and show what could be special launch-day offers for that region.

Apple's latest press release has unveiled the AirPods 2. These new earbuds integrate handsfree Siri activation, faster switching between different devices and wireless charging. However, their design is largely unchanged compared to their preceding generation.

In a world where everyone seems to be a streamer or caster or some kind, a USB microphone may be a viable purchase. They combine the possible advantage of improved audio with a power source that is already built into your machine. A recent "data-driven" review puts the Blue Yeti at the top of a new list of the best of these devices.

LumiCharge made a good impression among tech correspondents with its first-gen desk lamp. This product had an LED clock, not to mention ways to charge iOS and Android smartphones with built-in wired connections. Now, the company is back on Indiegogo with the LumiCharge II, which adds wireless charging to this set-up.

Xiaomi only released its first set of completely wireless headphones a few months ago, but it has now followed them up with the even more affordable Redmi AirDots. The headphones will be available in China from April 9 for CNY 99 (~ US$14.75) and look remarkably like the AirDots Youth Edition, which Xiaomi currently sells for CNY 199 (~ US$29.65).

Qualcomm has revealed the new QCS400 series SoCs dedicated for smart audio applications in smart speakers, soundbars, home theatre systems, AV receivers, and IoT hardware. The QCS400 series comes in four SKUs and offers a tri-radio coexistence, AI enhancements, up to 32-channels of Dolby Atmos and DTS:X decoding, low-latency streaming, and next generation voice capabilities. The higher-end SKUs also come with an Adreno 306 GPU for visual output. The QCS400 series aims to be more power-efficient and can be tailored by developers to offer specific experiences to the user.

Nvidia has launched the Jetson Nano, a small computer that offers machine-learning capabilities at an entry-level price. The developer kit costs US$99 while a production-ready module will cost US$129. The Jetson Nano module offers 472 GFLOPS of computing performance in a 69.6 mm x 45 mm package. Worldwide distribution for the module version will begin in June; the developer kit is available now.

If smartwatches have one problem, it is their restricted battery capacities. The company Togvu has announced its "battery case" that may solve this problem for Apple Watch users. It is a strap for these devices that integrates wireless charging and a 600mAh battery.

Due to new customer complaints, HP is expanding its battery recall program with a 78,500 battery batch, and the affected models now include 2018 models such as ProBook 400 G4 and Pavilion x360 (11-inch), ZBook Studio G4, ProBook 430/440/450/455/470 G5, Envy 15 and Mobile Thin Client mt21/22/31.

Dell has revealed the Alienware S5000 gaming chair on its website. The racing-style chair is currently available for pre-order and has a listed price of US$399.99. The S5000 is brimming with adjustable parts that should help make any hardcore gamer’s life more comfortable. Dell has also announced that the Area-51m RTX 2080 BIOS update is now ready to download.

The Oculus Rift virtual reality headset has been surveyed as the most popular VR hardware utilized by Steam users. The rival headset from HTC, the Vive, also has a commanding share of users, but it has seen the gap between itself and the Oculus Rift widen over the last month. Also getting a worthy mention is Windows Mixed Reality, which can be utilized by owners of Microsoft HoloLens smartglasses.

Concerns have been raised by a group of scientists about the possible carcinogenic effects of electromagnetic radiation emitted by modern devices. Of particular concern are wireless headphones like Apple’s popular AirPods as they sit in the ear canal exposing fragile tissue to potentially dangerous levels of radiation.

It has been predicted that the global wireless charging market could reach a value of US$30.164 billion by 2024, according to a press release from Research and Markets. In contrast, 2018’s value was estimated at US$7.897 billion, with adoption rates of wireless charging technology growing in markets such as the North American and European regions.

Some renders of a game controller based on a patent application made by Google have been met with considerable derision by the online community. Although the renders themselves have been expertly created, the majority of the negative comments have been aimed at Google’s actual design. The tiny analog sticks, the wide handles, and the ergonomics have all been singled out for criticism.

Leica has launched the Q2, the second generation of its high-end full-frame sensor module. It is capable of 4K/UHD recording, 47.3-megapixel image capture, and expanded crop functions. The new Leica Q2 also has some degree of water-ingress protection for all-weather use.

Wireless charging is becoming increasingly popular with mobile device designers, particularly at the higher end of the market. However, it is associated with a potentially significant problem: the inability to use a phone effectively while it has to be on its pad or station. The makers of a novel smartphone stand now available on Indiegogo claim they can help with that.

It has been reported that Corning is working on flexible glass that will be strong enough to use with foldable phones. Presently, foldable devices rely on plastic polymers because of their flexibility. However, Corning wants to eventually create a glass product that offers the useful properties of the plastic polymer screens but with the quality and hardness of glass.

A start-up called Energous has announced a collaboration with Vivo. This move could bring Energous' over-the-air charging technology, WattUp 2.0, to the smartphone OEM's devices. Vivo has said that this move could alleviate "battery anxiety" for its customers.

An Indian Twitter user has alleged that an Android TV to which he had access allowed him to see all the other accounts linked to the same via the Google Home app. The bug in question also could have let him put their Google Photos-stored images up on the screen. Google has responded by temporarily suspending the app options involved.

A new leak has claimed that Apple’s next generation of wireless earbuds will incorporate extremely fast charging technology. According to a post on Twitter made by XDA Portal writer Max Weinbach, the Apple AirPods 2 will be able to wirelessly charge from 0 to 100% in just 15 minutes, and that includes charging the case.

While the CFExpress 2.0 standard promises speeds reaching 4 GB/s, Sony's first cards will be on par with the average NVMe SSDs. The new CFExpress cards are still meant for professional DSLRs and video cams, however, since they support the new NVMe interface, they can also be used as external SSDs for compute clusters and enterprise servers.

The Google Home app can act as a one-stop shop for all your smart-home appliance control needs. Its latest update also adds the ability to tune the color of connected bulbs or lamps. This is opposed to the simple on-off switch found in previous versions.

The HERO7 Black is the top-spec'd SKU of its GoPro camera series. It is now available in a limited-edition alternative finish, Dusk White. This version will be released on March 3, 2019 on gopro.com and selected retailers worldwide.

RAVPower, the well-known accessory-maker, has a stand at MWC this year. It showcases a new PD charger, an ultra-thin (14mm) 'wall wart' based on gallium nitride (GaN) technology. RAVPower also has a new wireless charging stand that is also a power bank.

There is a new alternative to the foldable phone already. Nubia has unveiled the Alpha, a device with a screen that curves along a wide watch-like form factor. This display is 4 inches long, and operates using the Snapdragon 2100 wearables processor.

The USB Implementers Forum has announced that the next generation of USB will be called USB 3.2. The new standard is capable of transferring data at 20Gbps, which puts it on a similar level to Intel’s Thunderbolt 2 technology first introduced in 2014 – the key difference is that USB is a much more generic technology and is much cheaper as a result.

The Swiss watchmaker group Swatch has filed a complaint with US legal authorities to the effect that Samsung has impinged on its trademarks. This is connected to the design of some downloadable watchfaces for Gear-line smartwatches. The company will look for hundreds of millions of US dollars in compensation for this breach.

It seems Samsung is doing more in Barcelona than MWC. The OEM has opened a Bixby Studio in the city's Plaza de Catalunya. This installation gives visitors a sense of what life would be like with Bixby-powered applicances and devices in it.

Western Digital and Micron both announced 1 TB microSD cards earlier today. At 1 TB, these will be the largest microSD cards upon release later this year. Additionally, the SD Association announced SD Express, a new protocol that will be part of the upcoming SD 7.1 specification. SD Express promises to bring transfer rates of 985 MB/s to SD cards and microSD cards, although there is no word on when the standard will be released.

The popular case-maker Spigen is collaborating with Ossia, a true-wireless charging pioneer, to bring a phone case that integrates the necessary Cota technology to market. The two groups have brought renders of this product (which comprises a 'phone sleeve' and a transceiver) to this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC19).

HTC has taken the wraps off its 5G Hub. The Taiwanese company claims that this new device can deliver the speed and poiwer of the new radio bands to homes or businesses. It is powered by the Snapdragon 855, as well as Qualcomm's 60GHz 802.11ad Wi-Fi and 2x2 Wi-Fi 6-ready chipsets.

The TCL subsidiary Alcatel has launched its new 3T 10 tablet at MWC19. This device has a 10-inch screen and runs Android 9.0 (Pie) out of the box. It also comes with a Google Assisant pre-install. The Alcatel 3T 10 is compatible with an optional "Audio Station" stand which, as the OEM claims, adds 7 hours of battery life (for some tasks) and a dedicated 'docked' interface.

Microsoft took to stage at MWC 2019 in Barcelona to demo their new HoloLens 2 mixed reality headset. The HoloLens 2 offers 2x the field of view and 3x the comfort of the previous generation while bringing more interactivity and collaboration to holograms. Microsoft is opening up the platform to all developers and is making it easy for businesses to create and deploy MR apps. HoloLens 2 is still focused on the enterprise but the next generation could possibly have a more consumer-centric approach.

LG has unveiled the V50 ThinQ 5G flagship smartphone. The multimedia-devouring powerhouse is unsurprisingly 5G ready and houses a Snapdragon 855 behind its 6.4-inch QHD+ OLED display. For more enhanced content consumption, there is an optional Dual Screen for the V50 that will offer a greater viewing area for gamers or film fans to enjoy.

The first images of the upcoming Microsoft HoloLens 2 have leaked online just hours before launch. While not much information is known about the new device, we are getting to see that Microsoft has focused on the ergonomics and a possible new menu tapping gesture. The new HoloLens might also be made available for consumers at sub-US$1,000 price points.

The LG V series has a history of including secondary displays, which are often built into their large phablet-scale screens. If a new leak is to be believed, this feature has returned to the V50 ThinQ - sort of. It consists of images showing a case that gives the upcoming LG flagship an entire extra screen.

Lioncast is a comparatively new manufacturer, but that has not stopped it from expanding its range of mice. The company has now released the LM60, a wired mouse with RGB lighting and a high-resolution optical sensor. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lioncast has designed the LM60 with gamers in mind.

Samsung seems to have exited the 4K Blu-ray market in the US citing a niche market and current domination of Sony and Panasonic. Samsung became the second company after OPPO to stop making both 4K and FHD Blu-ray players coming in the wake of increased penetration of online streaming services and HDR format incompatibilities between the industry's Dolby Vision and Samsung's HDR10+.

Samsung has released three new types of wearable to go with the Galaxy S10 series in 2019. They are the Galaxy Buds, a possibly improved set of earbuds, the Galaxy Fit, a new activiy tracker, and the Galaxy Watch Active, a new sports-focused smartwatch. All three can charge wirelessly, including off S10 devices.

The Surface Headphones look good, but can they command their premium price tag, and how do they stack up against their wireless on-ear competitors? We put the US$349.99/£329.99 Surface Headphones to the test in this hands-on review.

Logitech announced today that it will reboot the classic Logitech G MX518 gaming mouse. Hailed in its day as one of the best gaming mice available, the MX518 is fondly remembered by many for its comfortable shape, fast reporting rates, and good button layout. The 2019 MX518 will use the same shell as its older brother, but Logitech will include a new 16,000 DPI sensor and a 32-bit ARM processor in the new mouse. Users will also be able to rebind all buttons on the mouse and save profiles to the mouse itself.

The S90 is Doogee's first rugged smartphone that comes with a selection of modules similar to Motorola's mods. These include a high quality night vision camera, a 5,000 mAh powerbank, a walkie-talkie and a game controller. Additionally, the casing of the S90 is made of military grade metal and polycarbonate, so it can withstand extreme conditions.

PlusUs has introduced its Xpad, a charging pad that measures only 2.2 millimeters in depth. This spec leads the start-up to assert that it is the thinnest product of its kind worldwide. It is available as a reward as part of an Indiegogo campaign, which aims to raise US$20,000.

A while ago, a series of Tweets from a smartphone case-maker presented the possibility that the Samsung Galaxy S10 and S10+'s fingerprint reader placement would make using screen protectors on these phones much more difficult than normal. Now, a 2nd accessory firm has released a video reiterating this line of speculation.