Topics

Smart TVs will continue to grow as a market until 2025. (Source: Wikipedia)

Smart TV shipments may grow by about 57 million until 2025

Smart TVs are already popular purchases, and may become more so in the future due to their role as smart-home hubs. The latest analysis of their market has found that their shipments may number about 266 million over the next 5 ye...

Deirdre O Donnell, Fri, 24 Jan 2020 20:36:00 +0100

Both Mac Pro form-factors may be available soon. (Source: Pro Tools Expert)

The non-tower Mac Pro 2019 and MacBook Pro 13 2020 may be close to launch

Apple has reportedly certified 2 new PCs with the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC). They both run Catalina (the latest version of macOS). One may be the next 13-inch MacBook Pro, whereas the other could be the Mac Pro rackable S...

Deirdre O Donnell, Mon, 13 Jan 2020 22:25:00 +0100

The Amazfit SMART GYM HUB and Home Studio. (Source: Huami)

CES 2020 | Amazfit's HomeStudio is a new line of personal, at-home fitness machines

Amazfit has launched a series of products in a category new to this brand: personal work-out equipment. It consists of the SMART GYM HUB, a 43-inch vertical screen with AI and a ToF sensor that can deliver fitness classes right in...

Deirdre O Donnell, Wed, 08 Jan 2020 22:34:00 +0100

Smart assistant activation can result in embarrassing situations. (Source: The Manifest)

Up to 64% of users have activated a smart assistant by accident

A new study of those who use voice-activated searches have found that 64% of this group set the assistant in question off by mistake during December 2019. An accidental press of a hardware button was found to be the culprit in 49%...

Deirdre O Donnell, Wed, 08 Jan 2020 21:46:00 +0100

CES 2020 | Samsung's NEONs are basically just deepfake-esque digital assistants

Have you ever met an artificial? You will soon be able to, thanks to STAR Lab's project NEON. Despite the marketing claims of intelligent, artificial life, NEON looks more akin to a deepfake video tethered to an Internet-connected...

Sam Medley, Tue, 07 Jan 2020 22:40:00 +0100

The Wearbuds now have a Pro version. (Source: Aipower)

CES 2020 | Aipower updates its Wearbuds with a Pro variant

The Wearbuds are well known as the first true-wireless (TWS) earbuds that come with an innovative wrist-band into which they can slot and use to charge, rather than a case that has to be carried around. Now, their maker Aipower ha...

Deirdre O Donnell, Tue, 07 Jan 2020 18:54:00 +0100

CES 2020 | NEC's Lavie Home AIO is a sleek Comet Lake-powered All-in-One with Wake on Voice functionality

NEC's latest All-in-One, the Lavie Home AIO, is targeted directly at families. The AIO sports a Core i7 Comet Lake-U CPU and a 27-inch FHD display. The Home AIO pumps sound through screen-mounted speakers thanks to LG's Crystal So...

Sam Medley, Fri, 03 Jan 2020 18:00:00 +0100

Smart homes and the devices that make them are more and more popular. (Source: Verify Recruitment)

29% of US high-speed internet households now have a smart home device

The latest research on smart-home tech uptake has shown that 29% of all broadband-using households in the US polled owned at least 1 such device. This is a change of 20% compared to 2018. However, concerns about personal data rema...

Deirdre O Donnell, Tue, 31 Dec 2019 17:14:00 +0100

LG will showcase its new soundbars at CES 2020. (Source: LG)

LG's 2020 premium soundbars will be able to adapt to a room using AI

LG's upcoming line of soundbars will be unveiled at CES 2020. However, the OEM has offered some details on these new products ahead of this event. They have been developed with Meridian Audio, while also supporting Dolby Atmos, DT...

Deirdre O Donnell, Sat, 28 Dec 2019 19:10:00 +0100

Nest Hello video doorbell data on a DISH-connected TV. (Source: DISH)

DISH integrates Google Nest's doorbell into its TV receiver platform

DISH, a source of paid TV that also integrates apps such as Netflix, has announced that some Google Nest products can now co-ordinate with its "Hopper" or "Wally" receivers. As a result, users of both products will gain the abilty...

Deirdre O Donnell, Mon, 23 Dec 2019 19:45:00 +0100

The cast icon in the YouTube app may lead to new options soon. (Source: Google)

YouTube on smart TVs to gain voice-control support

YouTube has developed a panel of controls that come into effect when it is being used on a smart TV or Chromecast-enabled device. Now, it may have also added voice commands and new remote-style buttons in this menu. They have been...

Deirdre O Donnell, Sun, 22 Dec 2019 20:06:00 +0100

The Wearbuds will be at Aipower's CES 2020 booth. (Source: Aipower)

Aipower is going to CES 2020, bringing its innovative Wearbuds and more

Aipower is a start-up that had great success in its crowdfunding endeavors for its Wearbuds product. This is a type of fitness band that also houses a pair of truly wireless (or TWS) earbuds. They will be on show at CES 2020, alon...

Deirdre O Donnell, Wed, 18 Dec 2019 20:32:00 +0100

Several Ring home cameras breached, recycled passwords likely to blame

Multiple families have reported their Ring cameras have been accessed by unknown third parties. The bad actors were able to access the video feeds and speakers of the cameras to frighten members of the affected households, includi...

Sam Medley, Mon, 16 Dec 2019 05:35:00 +0100

The updated Google Assistant is now available in some non-US regions. (Source: Google)

The latest Google Assistant version is rolling out to more English-speaking regions

Google unveiled an updated Assistant with new features at its I/O event this year. It has only been available to the US market since then; now, however, it is being applied to others such as Ireland and Canada. Then again, it rema...

Deirdre O Donnell, Sun, 15 Dec 2019 19:39:00 +0100

The new Gimdow smart lock. (Source: Gimdow)

The new Gimdow smart lock does not require a door teardown to install it

Gimdow claims that its new smart lock is one that doesn't require the user to replace the existing one (or even parts of it). This may be ideal for those who want this kind of Bluetooth-enabled security, but can't risk damage to f...

Deirdre O Donnell, Tue, 10 Dec 2019 18:51:00 +0100

Vizio sold 80% more 4K smart TVs over the 2019 Black Friday event compared to 2018

The panel-maker Vizio has reported that it "exceeded expectations" over the Black Friday/Cyber Monday period just gone, having sold 500,000 or more units of its smart TVs between these days in 2019. For example, it sold 87% more p...

Deirdre O Donnell, Sun, 08 Dec 2019 19:09:00 +0100

Nokia partners with Flipkart to launch Smart TV in India

Nokia's first-ever smart TV will be released in India on December 10th. The TV features a 55-inch 4K panel and runs Android 9.0. It will be available on Flipkart for ₹41,999($590).

Anil Satyanarayana, Fri, 06 Dec 2019 22:20:00 +0100

YI partners with Home Depot for its Black Friday outdoor camera sale

YI is a home security brand with some Black Friday deals that have already been added to its own online store. However, it has announced that its weather-proof outdoor variant will be up to 40% through the chain Home Depot on the ...

Deirdre O Donnell, Wed, 27 Nov 2019 18:37:00 +0100

Google Assistant's Ambient Mode is rolling out now. (Source: YouTube)

The Google Assistant Ambient Mode is now official

Google introduced Ambient Mode for the Assistant at I/O 2019. It is a kind of alternative interface for Android devices that makes them take on the functions of a smart display. This can involve a revolving series of screens showi...

Deirdre O Donnell, Tue, 26 Nov 2019 22:05:00 +0100

Google Stadia upscales games to 4K rather than rendering them natively at 4K as advertised

According to multiple outlets, some games on Google's Stadia streaming service are not rendered natively at 4K, like Google advertised them to be. Rather, some titles are rendered at lower resolutions and then upscaled to 4K once ...

Sam Medley, Wed, 20 Nov 2019 23:08:00 +0100

The Huawei Sound X smart speaker is packed with hardware. (Image source: Weibo)

Huawei Sound X smart speaker images and specifications leaked

The information guide for Huawei’s Sound X smart speaker has leaked online ahead of the device’s expected launch. The Sound X offers an interesting collection of hardware specifications that includes two 60 W subwoofers and a 1.5 ...

Daniel R Deakin, Tue, 19 Nov 2019 07:16:00 +0100

The new Lenovo Smart Display 7. (Source: Lenovo)

Lenovo announces a new version of its Google Assistant-powered Smart Display

Lenovo has launched the Smart Display 7, which, like its predecessors, is a smart speaker with an in-built touchscreen. This new version has its display above its speakers this time, although they are still 10-watt (W) drivers. It...

Deirdre O Donnell, Sat, 16 Nov 2019 20:16:00 +0100

John Carmack steps down as CTO of Oculus to develop Artificial General Intelligence

John Carmack, the creator of Doom and a pioneer of virtual reality, is stepping down as the CTO of Oculus to focus on artificial general intelligence, which can be considered a super-powered version of artificial intelligence. Car...

Sam Medley, Thu, 14 Nov 2019 05:31:00 +0100

5G connectivity promises a better future, but it might hide some health hazards as well (Source: H2S Media)

Health check: Is 5G really bad for you? Debunking some 5G-related myths and fake news

As 5G networks go live in more and more markets with each month, some questions regarding the health hazards that might come with this new technology remain unanswered. However, most 5G dangers that some websites have been warning...

Codrut Nistor, Tue, 12 Nov 2019 07:00:00 +0100

Here's the full launch lineup for Google's Stadia (plus what's coming soon)

Google's Stadia game streaming service is coming November 19. The service will initially launch with 12 games (listed below) and will eventually gain 14 more before the end of the year. Only those that purchased a Stadia Founder's...

Sam Medley, Tue, 12 Nov 2019 00:45:00 +0100

An example of a home theater in a box. (Source: Lifewire)

The home theater market could be worth US$13.4 billion by 2025

Home theaters brought in a total of US$7.7 billion last year. However, this market value is thought to be capable of growing by up to $5.7 billion more over the next 6 years. The sound bar sector may grow at the greatest rate over...

Deirdre O Donnell, Fri, 08 Nov 2019 22:44:00 +0100

Qualcomm has posted its fourth-quarter results for 2019. (Source: Qualcomm)

Qualcomm reveals its 2019 fiscal-year performance

Qualcomm has announced the results for its fiscal year, which ended on September 29, 2019. Its revenues came in at US$24.3 billion, or 7% more year-on-year (YoY). The company also made a total of $4.8 billion in the last quarter o...

Deirdre O Donnell, Thu, 07 Nov 2019 19:59:00 +0100

Samsung is now making an effort to draw 3rd-party TVs into its ecosystem. (Source: Samsung)

Samsung makes Tizen available for third-party TVs

Samsung's Developer Conference (SDC) 2019 contained numerous interesting announcements, not the least that Tizen OS for TVs can be ported to third-party devices. In addition, there are now additional developer-friendly facilities ...

Deirdre O Donnell, Wed, 06 Nov 2019 23:41:00 +0100

A handful of the 100+ devices that have had their Google AUEs altered. (Source: AndroidPolice)

Google extends the EOL of 140 different Chrome OS devices by up to a year each

Google provides hardware that runs its own OS with automatic updates for a fixed period of time after their release. This software policy applies to a range of devices, from Chromebooks to Chromebits, the end-of-life (EOL) of whic...

Deirdre O Donnell, Wed, 06 Nov 2019 19:46:00 +0100

The new Mi TV 5 series. (Source: MySmartPrice)

Xiaomi launches the Mi TV 5 and 5 Pro

Xiaomi also promised details on a fifth generation of its smart TVs during the Mi CC9 Pro debut. The OEM made good on this - less expectedly, it introduced 2 new variants of the same during the event. The Mi TV 5 Pro is the one th...

Deirdre O Donnell, Wed, 06 Nov 2019 18:54:00 +0100

SiriusXM content will become playable on Google Nest products soon. (Source: SiriusXM)

The Google Assistant will start integrating SiriusXM soon

Google and SiriusXM have partnered in order to enable streaming of the latter on smart speakers from the former. In addition, the content provider's subscribers will be able to activate and control their channels by asking the Ass...

Deirdre O Donnell, Thu, 31 Oct 2019 15:33:00 +0100

The Realme X, a community fan-favourite. (Image source: Mobiledevices.ru)

The Realme X is an example of community development done right

Not a fan of ColorOS but like the Realme X? Well, Realme has been actively encouraging community developers to build custom kernels and ROMs for the device. The project has borne fruit after just a month, with there now being many...

Alex Alderson, Thu, 31 Oct 2019 11:48:00 +0100

A sizeable proportion of eligible consumers are still wary about smart-home products. (Source: Parks Associates)

Research finds privacy concerns put US consumers off buying smart home products

A recent publication has reported that 52% of all US households with high-speed internet would rather not buy into the smart-home concept. 25% of this group nominated worries about data security and privacy as their reasons to rem...

Deirdre O Donnell, Wed, 30 Oct 2019 22:21:00 +0100

The SHIELD TV Pro and its remote. (Source: The Verge)

The new SHIELD TV remote has a Netflix-branded button, but it can be re-assigned or disabled

The new NVIDIA SHIELD TV and TV Pro have been released, and they come with an interestingly-shaped new remote. The manufacturer has partnered with Netflix to include a button that summons this app directly on it. However, Reddit u...

Deirdre O Donnell, Wed, 30 Oct 2019 21:43:00 +0100

The Apple TV app is now rolling out to the latest Android TVs from Sony. (Source: Apple)

Apple TV app now surfacing on Sony Android TVs [Update]

Sony has joined the ranks of Samsung in offering the Apple TV app on its smart TVs. Users who own some of the newer models have noted that the latest firmware update introduces the Apple TV app to the collection of preinstalled ap...

Sanjiv Sathiah, Wed, 30 Oct 2019 10:33:00 +0100

Apple pulls iOS 13.2 after multiple reports of bricked HomePod smart speakers

Do not install iOS 13.2. If you have a HomePod and have installed iOS 13.2, DO NOT RESET YOUR HOMEPOD. Multiple users are reporting that iOS 13.2, released yesterday, bricked their HomePod smart speakers. Apple has since pulled th...

Sam Medley, Tue, 29 Oct 2019 18:35:00 +0100

The new SHIELD TV and TV Pro. (Source: NVIDIA)

The 2019 NVIDIA SHIELD TV and SHIELD TV Pro are now live

NVIDIA now stocks the new Pro and non-Pro variants of the SHIELD TV on its official site. As projected, the latter is a 4K streaming stick with HDR 10. Both new Android 9.0 devices support Dolby Audio, can access GeForce NOW and h...

Deirdre O Donnell, Mon, 28 Oct 2019 16:39:00 +0100

Smartwatches are increasingly popular, but could be more secure. (Source: TechRadar)

Nok Nok Labs claims that its new SDK can make smartwatches more secure and better equipped to take over from phones

The consumer-grade security development group Nok Nok Labs has unveiled its new SDK. It asserts that it is the first such app software capable of conferring FIDO-based authentication on smartwatches. This, then, may help users dep...

Deirdre O Donnell, Sun, 27 Oct 2019 14:34:00 +0100

Qualcomm is set to make a sizeable investment in 5G's future. (Source: RTE)

Qualcomm incentivizes 5G development with a new multi-million-dollar fund

Qualcomm's Venture division has announced the implementation of the 5G Ecosystem Fund, a source of investment worth up to US$200 million. As the name suggests, it will help support start-ups involved in new, innovative and potenti...

Deirdre O Donnell, Thu, 24 Oct 2019 22:49:00 +0200

The new NVIDIA SHIELD 4K TV streaming stick. (Source: Reddit)

The NVIDIA SHIELD TV Pro is likely to launch alongside its new 4K dongle sibling

Recently, Amazon may have accidentally spoiled the launch of the NVIDIA SHIELD TV Pro, an upcoming update to the 2017 streaming machine. A new leak indicates that the OEM has indeed prepared a 4K HDR streaming stick as well as the...

Deirdre O Donnell, Thu, 24 Oct 2019 21:01:00 +0200

Google Home speakers are left unresponsive after a firmware update. (Image via Reddit user Umagafr3sh.)

Firmware update bricks Google Home and Google Home Mini smart speakers

A firmware update pushed out to Google Home and Google Home Mini smart speakers earlier this month has been bricking devices, leaving them completely unresponsive. Google has acknowledged the problem and promised a resolution in t...

Sam Medley, Thu, 24 Oct 2019 16:36:00 +0200

ARM is targeting IP usage in smart devices such as televisions, phones, and consoles. (Image source: ARM)

ARM announces Ethos-N57 and Ethos-N37 NPUs, Mali-G57 GPU, and Mali-D37 DPU

ARM has revealed four new processors that should help enrich consumer tech products aimed at the mainstream market. The new additions to the company’s lineup are the Ethos-N57 and Ethos-N37 Neural Processing Units (NPU), the Mali-...

Daniel R Deakin, Thu, 24 Oct 2019 04:52:00 +0200

Older Fitbit devices can now use Spotify. (Source: Fitbit)

Fitbit updates older Versa devices with support for Spotify

Fitbit has expanded access to its Spotify app to the first-generation Versa and Versa Lite. The Ionic fitness watch is also included in this update. It enables these wearables to manage playback and podcasts on the music streaming...

Deirdre O Donnell, Thu, 17 Oct 2019 00:23:00 +0200

Nest Wi-Fi is Google's new mesh solution

Google also announced its new Nest Wi-Fi home product at the 2019 Pixel launch event. It consists of scalable router and point units in various muted colors. A single 802.11s router covers up to 2200 square feet of space each, whe...

Deirdre O Donnell, Tue, 15 Oct 2019 22:49:00 +0200

Google renews its Home Mini series with a Nest re-brand

The Nest Mini is a new Connected Home devices launched by Google at its latest live event. It is a smart speaker with integrated Assistant functions and touch controls. It is now up for pre-order at a price of US$49.

Deirdre O Donnell, Tue, 15 Oct 2019 21:00:00 +0200

The X55 modem will move beyond smartphone integration soon. (Source: Qualcomm)

The Snapdragon X55 modem will power 5G fixed broadband equipment for over 30 OEMs

Qualcomm has announced that over 30 manufacturers have taken the Snapdragon X55 modem up in order to produce their 5G fixed wireless broadband consumer-premises hardware. This means the equipment carriers and ISPs will install in ...

Deirdre O Donnell, Mon, 14 Oct 2019 18:59:00 +0200

The LG Tone+ Free truly wireless earbuds. (Source: LG)

LG launches its first true wireless earbuds in South Korea

LG has unveiled new products called the Tone+ Free earbuds in its home country. Unlike the OEM's earlier similar products, these wearables are completely wireless and come in a charging case like the AirPods and other similar devi...

Deirdre O Donnell, Tue, 01 Oct 2019 23:47:00 +0200

The next generation of NVIDIA SHIELD TV may be nearly here. (Source: ZoomApps)

A new certification brings the NVIDIA SHIELD TV 2019 closer to launch

The NVIDIA SHIELD TV is due an update soon. The most likely candidate to fit this bill has gone through registration with the FCC, and has also just secured Bluetooth SIG approval. Therefore, there may still be time for it to be r...

Deirdre O Donnell, Mon, 30 Sep 2019 23:24:00 +0200

The new Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro earbuds. (Source: Soundcore)

Soundcore claims to have made the world's first "sonically aligned" truly wireless earbud

Soundcore has unveiled its new Liberty 2 Pro truly wireless earbuds. The company claims that they have been designed in a way that produces true "sonic alignment", thus delivering a more accurate soundstage, clear bass and distinc...

Deirdre O Donnell, Sat, 28 Sep 2019 19:34:00 +0200

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