Gadget

GoPro has reported that it made a total of US$204 million in revenue for the first quarter of 2021 (1Q2021), or 71% more than it did in 1Q2020. Of this, 40% (or $82 million) came from its website's sales, a 224% increase year-on-year (YoY). The action-cam company also celebrated selling its first millionth subscription in this quarter.

Sony has just added new variants of its Mobile Elevated Standard (ES) audio equipment for cars. They consist of 4 kinds of speaker and 1 subwoofer equipped with the latest generation of the OEM's MRC-reinforced diaphragms, combined with Separated Notch Edge Surround technology for increased clarity and an "audiophile-grade crossover" in certain units. They are available to pre-order from now.

Apple’s new AirTag has been a hit with Apple fans keen to use it to keep track of their belongings. However, it is a little too thick to be comfortably fitted into the average wallet. Naturally, that hasn’t stopped someone from deconstructing an AirTag and repurposing it to fit into a card that slides into a wallet much more easily.

Sony and Nike have teamed up with basketball player Paul George and PS5 designer Yujin Morsawa on the PG 5, a pair of PlayStation 5 sneakers. Unsurprisingly, the PG 5 has a PlayStation 5-inspired colour scheme and incorporates many design elements from Sony's latest console. The Nike PG 5 will sell for US$120.

Huawei has reportedly patented an in-house controller for virtual reality (VR) applications such as gaming. It is depicted as having a fairly standard form-factor, and possibly as coming in blue or black, in its new CNIPA documentation. Therefore, the OEM might be about to unveil products for this market.

Google has revealed the Pixel Buds A, although seemingly ahead of schedule. The budget earbuds will support Bluetooth Fast Pair and retain the Pixel Buds' design. The Pixel Buds A will be available in multiple colours, too.

A new Apple AirTag teardown video reveals that each one is packed with drivers, coils and (of course) button batteries. However, and possibly more importantly, it may also show that their clearly keenly developed appearance might degrade quickly over time with use. On the other hand, they can theoretically be torn down for repair (should the user want to do so) at least.

A YouTube content creator successfully managed to install an entire Royal Kludge RK61 mechanical keyboard into a 2008 MacBook Pro. While the keyboard and MacBook Pro work without any issues, it is impossible to close the lid given the keyboard's size.

Apple’s AirTag location trackers have been a long time coming but their launch isn’t going as smoothly as the company would like. Australian retailer Officeworks has pulled the product from its store shelves over child safety concerns that its user replaceable battery could be too easily removed.

An anonymous user submitted a GPU-Z validation report for what seems to be a Clevo laptop sporting the as-yet unannounced Ampere NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti. The GPU report offers details about the mobile GPU, including that it'll have 2560 CUDA core count and a boost clock of over 1485 MHz.

A filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has led to some speculation that a future Apple wearable, possibly even the expected Apple Watch Series 7, could be fitted with a non-invasive glucose indicator. On top of that, an Apple Watch 7 may even sport an alcohol monitor, thanks to Rockley Photonics’ expertise.

Apple has yet to update the vanilla iPad, not to mention its Mini variant, despite having been repeatedly rumored to do so in 2021. Now, new registrations with the EEC authority may point to a launch for these tablets soon. In less expected news, they have been joined on this database by what look like a new accessory for the AirPort Time Capsule, Extreme and Express.

The Xiaomi Mi Smart Band 6 Global Edition fitness tracker is now officially available. The latest wearable in the popular Mi Band range comes with a new SpO2 sensor, 30 fitness modes, a full-screen AMOLED display, and it can offer up to 14 days of battery life. The affordable Mi Smart Band 6 can be ordered for under US$60.

Xiaomi has introduced its most premium offering, the Mi QLED TV 75 smart TV in India recently. The QLED TV 75 offers the Android 10 smart TV platform with Google Assistant, Chromecast, and Alexa support. The TV also features wide color gamut support, a MediaTek MT9611 SoC, and the company's PatchWall content aggregation service that connects to more than 25 streaming services.

Programmer 8-bit Show And Tell managed to mod his 1 MHz Commodore 64 to mine Bitcoin. This is a remarkable feat for hardware that's close to 40 years old. However, at 0.3 H/s, the system will take nearly a billion years, just to turn a profit of US$10.

Sony has announced the XAV-AX150, XAV-AX8100 and XAV-AX5600 as its latest AV auto receivers. Sony asserts that they deliver clear, bass-heavy in-car audio thanks to the OEM's proprietary technologies. The new units also feature HDMI inputs for the first time, as well as Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and WebLink Cast.

Bitmain has launched a new ASIC tailor-made for Ethereum. It can hit peak hash rates of 3GH/s, roughly equivalent to 32 GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards. It consumes 2,665W of power and will be available for purchase later for an unspecified price.

Sony asserts that its latest lens is a particularly compact and versatile example of its G Master series. The new accessory has a large F1.8 aperture, and advanced optical components rated for enhanced resolution and reduced distortion. Therefore, the OEM asserts it is as suitable for ultra-wide photography as it is for low-light shots and bokeh shots.

Following Samsung and Apple's footsteps, Oppo seems to be working on object trackers. Leaked images from Weibo show that it packs a USB Type-C port for some reason. An ultra-wideband chip is thrown in, too.

The Ultenic U10 enters a saturated market, but the company hopes to set its vacuum apart with its 'infrared dust detection technology', HEPA Filtration System and its 23,000 Pa of suction power. The U10 retails for US$189, but Ultenic is currently selling it for just US$149. The Ultenic U10 is available in the UK and the Eurozone, too.

Apple's new NFC, Bluetooth and UWB-powered object tracker called is finally here. Users can attach an AirTag to a bevy of household objects and track it via the Find My app. A single AirTag costs US$29, while a pack of four retails at US$99.

PINE64 has revealed the Quartz64 Model B, a single-board computer that the company teased earlier this year. The Model B uses a Rockchip RK3566 SoC that features ARM Cortex-A55 cores and is configurable with up to 8 GB of LPDDR4 RAM. The Quartz64 Model B will be available with up to 128 GB of eMMC flash storage, too.

Popular YouTube tech channel ZONEofTECH has produced great-looking renders of how the Nintendo Switch 2 (Pro) could end up looking. Utilizing the numerous rumors that have already appeared in regard to the widely expected Switch sequel, the content creators came up with a device that is instantly recognizable as a Switch but with Pro modifications.

OnePlus released the US$159 OnePlus Watch a while ago. Sadly, though, the watch looks set to be a colossal flop, with reviews consistently panning it for its inability to be good at being, well, a smartwatch at the very least.

The Air 2S is the successor to the DJI Mavic Air 2, even if it has new and snappier branding. It also has a sensor of 1 inch in size, which outdoes its forebear by a good margin. The new CMOS supports up to 5.4K recording at up to 30fps, and allows for zooming while in flight. The DJI Air 2S starts for US$999 from now.

A new single-board computer from Chinese semiconductor designer Allwinner will feature an SoC based on the RISC-V 640bit architecture. However, the board lacks power due to its single-core CPU. Since it supports Linux and should cost less than US$15, the SBC should still be versatile enough for tinkering and projects.

The LG Wing is, as it turns out, one of this OEM's last ever high-end smartphones. It is also the only one around with an innovative "swivel-action" main display. It is currently on sale for 62% (or ~US$665) off its normal price via Flipkart in India: clearly, the retailer has noticed LG has left the smartphone market.

DJI is on the verge of launching the successor to the Mavic Air 2, apparently as early as April 15. The new drone, called the DJI Air 2S, has a larger 1-inch sensor that supports 10-bit colour and intelligent HDR. The DJI Air 2s features other innovations too, including ActiveTrack 4.0 and OcuSync 3.0.

The Tesvor S6 is relatively affordable by robot vacuum standards, but Tesvor has still managed to include many of the features that its competitors offer. Unfortunately, the Tesvor S6 misses the mark in its execution.

Microsoft has implemented what it calls the world's first liquid-cooling system for high-performance computing (HPC), at a datacenter located in Washington, US. This prototype rig type uses a custom-designed, electronics-safe dielectric fluid rather than water, which means the servers in question can be immersed in it directly. This, as the OEM asserts, confers various advantages over alternatives such as air-cooling.

The Cambridge Melomania Touch has come a long way in a few months, having had a rough start at the turn of the year. We have been using the company's latest earbuds for a few months now, but a few issues remain, unfortunately.

Creative has announced the new Sound Blaster GC7, its latest DAC. The company has tailored its premium DAC for gamers and streamers, but it has also included its Super X-Fi headphone holography.

Apple announced today that it has opened the Find My network to third-party companies. Now non-Apple products can connect to and share their location via the Find My app within Apple's ecosystem.

An unboxed copy of the game Super Mario Bros for the legacy Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) console has reportedly sold at auction for US$660,000. This is the largest final asking price for a video game yet. The item in question was a 1986 release in rare condition and packaging.

A well-known leaker now claims that OPPO is working on a prototype mobile device with that ever-popular "port-less" design in mind. However, it seems the OEM has struck a unique balance between function and looks in this concept, as it does in fact have a USB port (albeit one a user might have trouble finding). It is also said to integrate electrochromic glass and under-display tech in order to deploy its cameras at need.

Creative Technology has unveiled its latest pair of headphones, which it claims combines the SXFI AIR and SXFI GAMER's features. The headphones have 50 mm drivers, an audio mode for gaming and a CommanderMic microphone that is also suitable for conference calls. The SXFI AIR GAMER has a kevlar-reinforced cable too and retails for US$149.99, or £124.99 in the UK.

Nokia has reportedly posted a new job listing for a UX designer. This position's remit will apparently involve producing an optimal user experience both for mobile devices and online. The OS in question is not mentioned; however, the call for applicants has led to speculation as to the future of this brand's smartphones.

It has nearly been two years since Sony released the WF-1000XM3, which remain its flagship pair of TWS earbuds. Bluetooth SIG and FCC certifications suggest that Sony is preparing to release a new model though and one with a newer SoC that supports Bluetooth 5.2. There will be no aptX or aptX HD support, but LDAC may be coming the way of the WF-1000XM4.

Recent rumors of Huawei's planned entry into the electric vehicle market seem to have been given more weight today thanks to the well-known leaker @RODENT950. It seems that the first car developed in partnership with the OEM will launch on April 17, 2021. Then again, it may be that Huawei has only provided the smart system for this product, which is likely only to be available in China.

Are standard face masks too dull? Are you looking for a new piece for your Cyberpunk cosplay costume? You can fight the spread while looking like an astronaut and enjoying your favorite tunes with the Xupermask, a new face mask made by rapper Will.i.am and Honeywell.

OPPO has patented a new kind of phone or phablet with an optional secondary display to which it can attach using custom-designed hinges. Therefore, this detachable portion could act as a keyboard, or perhaps allow the entire product to imitate a Surface Duo at will. The OEM has also apparently patented a mobile gaming controller with in-built earphones.

The Galaxy SmartTag is Samsung's recent answer to Tile-like devices. It was released in vanilla and Plus variants, although only the former has been available until now. The latter is now also on the market, although it is listed with only 1 retailer thus far.

The idea of a more portable refrigerator styled after the latest Xbox Series X console - one that you might be able to buy soon, moreover - sounds like the most April Fool’s Day thing ever. However, a Microsoft executive still states that it is real and will be available soon.