Smart Home

Warner Music Group has signed Endel, the stress-reducing sound app, in what is the first algorithm to sign with a major label. Endel promises to release a total of 20 albums by the end of the year and has launched an Amazon Alexa skill that is the first to use predictive mechanics.

Transparency Market Research's latest report is based on the observation that the demand for a 'smart' or 'connected' living room is growing steadily these days. It may consist of entertainment or media hardware that works seamlessly together via wireless controls. Currently, the market that underpins this idea is worth about US$500 billion; however, this is estimated to nearly double over the next 5 years.

Described as "the ultimate digital board game," the 21.5-inch Archos Play Tab is a tablet that runs Android Pie and promises to hit the European market for a sub-US$300 price tag just in time for this year's "Back to School" period. The processor brand and model are not public yet, but we should expect a MediaTek Helio P-series chip.

Last year, we reported on rumors that Huawei was working on its first smart TV. Now, a Chinese news outlet claims that its sources have told it these products are nearly ready for release. These products are apparently to be released in 55- or 65-inch variants.

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.

LG has stated its US dollar prices for its new OLED TVs. These state-of-the-art panels were previewed at CES 2019, and come with Dolby Vision, ThinQ AI and inbuilt Google Assistant. They start at US$2,499 - and work their way up to US$12,999.

Huawei has launched its latest device, the Nova 4e, in China. The mid-ranger features a Kirin 710, 3340 mAh battery, triple rear cameras, 32 MP selfie camera, up to 6 GB of RAM, and 128 GB of storage. It will be sold as the Huawei P30 Lite in other markets.

The Sunday edition of the New York Times has published a full-page advert by Sprint in the form of an open letter to wireless consumers. In the letter, the telecommunications company berates its rival, AT&T, for the use of the term “5G Evolution.” Sprint feels AT&T is deliberately misleading customers looking for 5G networks.

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.

A thin majority - 52% - of all households with broadband connections in the US now watch content that can be found, bought or sourced online on their connected TVs. These findings have been reported by Parks Associates. They have also discovered that this activity is now more popular among such households compared to other leisure pursuits - even gaming.

The Pine H64 Model B succeeds the Model A and adds onboard Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The Raspberry Pi competitor starts at US$25 and is now based on a Rock64 footprint.

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.

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.

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.

Samsung's in-house virtual assistant, Bixby, has been historically linked to many limitations over its life. One of them is the inability to work in certain languages, German and Italian included. However, support for these languages, as well as for Spanish, is now being rolled out to its 2.0 version.

The latest corporate acquisition in the AI field for Apple is San Francisco-based PullString, a company that was founded in 2011 by former Pixar executives and has been working on "shaping the future of voice applications" ever since. The value of the deal is rumored to be around US$30 million.

Apple does not quite match up to some other major software companies in terms of smart-home products. It has only one product dedicated to this market: the HomePod. The company may by trying to change this by hiring Sam Jadallah, an ex-Microsoft executive with experience in the smart-home space.

This new dating trend originates from Samsung and shows just how handy the integrated camera in its Family Hub refrigerators can be. Instead of having to swipe through dating profiles plastered with snapchat filter modified photographs; users pick their partners based on the contents of their refrigerators alone.

RetailMeNot, a company that collates online deals for consumers, has released a report indicating that this month is a good time to buy a new TV, along with some other appliances - second only to the Black Friday weekend, in fact. This mainly applies to the US, as it cites factors such as President's Day sales and Super Bowl promotional events.

The Intel Core i9-8950HK represents the top of the line, but users with tighter budgets can opt to get one of the variants sporting Core i5-8300H / i7-8750H / Xeon E-2176M CPUs. All models may be equipped with up to 32 GB of DDR4-2666 RAM and up to 1 TB of NVMe SSD storage, plus there is room for a 2.5-inch HDD as well. With a standard issue CPU cooler, these mini PCs will be anything but quiet.

Besides integrating UHD Blu-Ray players or DVD writer drives, the new VivoMini HTPCs come with internal PSUs and generous room for storage expansions. These mini PCs are powered by Intel's 35 W Core T CPUs that bridge the gap between the ULV chips and the desktop processors. Additionally, there is support for up to 32 GB of RAM and up to 4 HDDs.

While most people around the world are still waiting to get 5G access, T-Mobile and Metro are back with an accessory for their 600 MHz LTE network. The Coolpad Surf hotspot is capable of connecting up to 15 devices simultaneously and its 2,150 mAh battery can last for up to 5.3 hours of continuous use or 48 hours on standby.

The next Google I/O event is scheduled for May 7 to 9 2019, at the Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View, California. These details were uncovered as part of some code relating to a cryptic Tweet on the subject. This conference may focus on the release of Android 10 (Q).

There has been a report published stating that the American consumer electronics manufacturer Sonos is planning a foray into the headphones market. The company is probably best known for its work with smart speakers and other home-based sound equipment. Rumor has it that Sonos will be targeting the top end of the market where headphones can cost hundreds of dollars.

The new Intel RealSense Tracking Camera T265 was designed for applications such as robotics, drones, and augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR). This US$199 piece of hardware uses proprietary visual inertial odometry simultaneous localization and mapping, can be already pre-ordered, and shipments will begin at the end of February.

The Orange Pi, an alternative to the Raspberry Pi, has received a RAM upgrade this week. There are four new versions of the single-board computer, which start at US$29.90 plus shipping.

Although Xiaomi is present in most African markets via third-party distributors, the Chinese brand is now ready to take a more direct approach by launching a dedicated department for this part of the world. Xiaomi's African Regional Department will bring official launches and after-sales support in the area, as well as better prices.

Xiaomi has surprisingly announced a new 4K MIJIA laser projector. The device can create up to a 150-inch display and will last for over 25,000 hours. The projector will cost 14,999 Yuan, but Xiaomi is currently running a 5,000 Yuan introductory discount.

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 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.

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’s new Smart Tab M10 tablet with Smart Dock has been revealed. The 10.1-inch tablet comes with a Smart Dock and Amazon Alexa to beef up its potential usage scenarios. Users can easily integrate the device from the Chinese manufacturer into their smart home and use it to help with day-to-day tasks around the house or simply enjoy its Smart Screen ability.

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.

Panasonic has launched its new GZ2000 TV at CES 2019. The company calls this product "the world's most cinematic TV" as it has been tuned by Hollywood colorist Stefan Sonnenfeld. Panasonic also claims that the GZ2000 is the world's first to have HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and the new HLG photo format in a TV.

TVs that can curl up and store themselves in a box are becoming a staple of CES. This technology, introduced by its maker LG in 2017, has yet to appear in stores. However, this year, the company has brought them to the event again - as well as the news that they will go on sale in 2019.

The partnership between Microsoft and Kroger, the largest grocery retailer in America comes as a joint effort to bring Retail as a Service to other retailers. The first result of this effort is the pair of connected experience stores that use Kroger Technology products powered by Microsoft Azure.

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.

Samsung has announced a new partnership between it and Apple. The frenemies have collaborated to bring a new iTunes app to Samsung’s new 2019 TV range in over 100 markets globally.

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.

Right now, the only way to benefit from OLED displays as a gamer is to buy a TV that has at least a 55-inch diagonal. This could prove to be quite the investment, and gamers have been looking forward to OLED monitors in the 20/30-inch range for several years now. 2019 might just be the year for such monitors, as Sony and Panasonic recently showcased 21.6-inch FHD and 4K OLEDs plus a 27-inch display for smart home applications.

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.

Some AT&T customers may start seeing a “5G E” label appearing on their Android smartphones soon. It might initially seem to some that the telecommunications company is already offering 5G network connection to its subscribers, but the truth is the label stands for “5G Evolution”, which is still classed as 4G technology.

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.

The first noticeable result of the new strategic partnership that involves Xiaomi and IKEA will come forward next month when IKEA's line of smart lighting products will be connected to the IoT platform of the Chinese company. Obviously, more IKEA smart home products should get the Xiaomi treatment in 2019.