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An employee of electronics repair firm iFixit is seen opening models from Apple?s iPhone 14 lineup to reveal a circuit board inside in this undated handout image. Courtesy of IFixit/Handout via REUTERSRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif., Sept 17 (Reuters) - Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPhone 14 models contain a Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) chip that can talk to satellites, but have additional custom-designed Apple components used in the phone's biggest new feature, according to an analysis of the phone by iFixit and an Apple statement.Apple released its iPhone 14 lineup on Friday. One of the major new features is the ability to connect to satellites to send emergency messages when there is no WiFi or cellular data connection.Apple said earlier this month that the iPhone 14 models contain new hardware that makes possible the emergency message service, which Apple plans to turn on with a software update coming in November. Apple did not give details about the satellite-specific hardware.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comiFixit, a San Luis Obispo, California-based firm that disassembles iPhones and other consumer electronics to assess how easily they can be repaired, took apart an iPhone 14 Pro Max model on Friday, revealing a Qualcomm X65 modem chip.The Qualcomm chip provides 5G connectivity for cellular networks but is also capable of using what is called band n53, the frequency band used by satellites from Globalstar (GSAT.A).Globalstar earlier this month announced a deal in which Apple will take up to 85% of Globalstar's satellite network capacity to enable Apple's new emergency messaging feature.In a statement to Reuters on Saturday, Apple said there is additional proprietary hardware and software in the iPhone 14 for the new messaging feature.“iPhone 14 includes custom radio frequency components, and new software designed entirely by Apple, that together enable Emergency SOS via satellite on new iPhone 14 models," Apple said in a statement.Qualcomm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Stephen Nellis in San Luis Obispo, California; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Consumer Electronics |
Amazon.com plans to launch its first internet satellites to space in the first half of 2024 and offer initial commercial tests shortly after, the company said Tuesday, as it prepares to vie with Elon Musk's SpaceX and others to provide broadband internet globally. Reuters reports: Amazon's satellite internet unit, Project Kuiper, will begin mass-producing the satellites later this year, the company said. Those will be the first of over 3,000 satellites the technology giant plans to launch in low-Earth orbit in the next few years. "We'll definitely be beta testing with commercial customers in 2024," Dave Limp, senior vice president of Amazon devices, said at a conference in Washington.
The 2024 deployment target would keep Amazon on track to fulfill a regulatory mandate to launch half its entire Kuiper network of 3,236 satellites by 2026. Limp, who oversees Amazon's consumer devices powerhouse, said the company plans to make "three to five" satellites a day to reach that goal. With plans to pump more than $10 billion into the Kuiper network, Amazon sees its experience producing millions of devices from its consumer electronics powerhouse as an edge over rival SpaceX, the Musk-owned space company whose Starlink network already has roughly 4,000 satellites in space.
Amazon plans to launch a pair of prototype satellites early this year aboard a new rocket from the Boeing-Lockheed joint venture United Launch Alliance. The 2024 launch, carrying the initial production satellites, is expected to be the first of many more in a swift deployment campaign using rockets Amazon procured in 2021 and 2022. The company on Tuesday also revealed a slate of three different terminals, or antennas, that will connect customers with its Kuiper satellites in orbit. In a blog post on Tuesday, Amazon detailed its new terminals with photos and pricing.
Standard Customer Terminal: "Project Kuiper's standard customer terminal measures less than 11 inches square and 1 inch thick. It weighs less than five pounds without its mounting bracket. Despite this modest footprint, the device will be one of the most powerful commercially available customer terminals of its size, delivering speeds up to 400 megabits per second (Mbps). Amazon expects to produce these terminals for less than $400 each."
"Most Affordable" Terminal: "A 7-inch square design will be Project Kuiper's smallest and most affordable customer terminal. Weighing just 1 pound and offering speeds up to 100 Mbps, its portability and affordability will create opportunities to serve even more customers around the world. This design will connect residential customers who need an even lower-cost model, as well as government and enterprise customers pursuing applications like ground mobility and internet of things (IoT)."
"Most Capable" Antenna Model: "Project Kuiper's largest, most capable model is designed for enterprise, government, and telecommunications applications that require even more bandwidth. The device measures 19 inches by 30 inches, and will deliver speeds up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps)."
The 2024 deployment target would keep Amazon on track to fulfill a regulatory mandate to launch half its entire Kuiper network of 3,236 satellites by 2026. Limp, who oversees Amazon's consumer devices powerhouse, said the company plans to make "three to five" satellites a day to reach that goal. With plans to pump more than $10 billion into the Kuiper network, Amazon sees its experience producing millions of devices from its consumer electronics powerhouse as an edge over rival SpaceX, the Musk-owned space company whose Starlink network already has roughly 4,000 satellites in space.
Amazon plans to launch a pair of prototype satellites early this year aboard a new rocket from the Boeing-Lockheed joint venture United Launch Alliance. The 2024 launch, carrying the initial production satellites, is expected to be the first of many more in a swift deployment campaign using rockets Amazon procured in 2021 and 2022. The company on Tuesday also revealed a slate of three different terminals, or antennas, that will connect customers with its Kuiper satellites in orbit. In a blog post on Tuesday, Amazon detailed its new terminals with photos and pricing.
Standard Customer Terminal: "Project Kuiper's standard customer terminal measures less than 11 inches square and 1 inch thick. It weighs less than five pounds without its mounting bracket. Despite this modest footprint, the device will be one of the most powerful commercially available customer terminals of its size, delivering speeds up to 400 megabits per second (Mbps). Amazon expects to produce these terminals for less than $400 each."
"Most Affordable" Terminal: "A 7-inch square design will be Project Kuiper's smallest and most affordable customer terminal. Weighing just 1 pound and offering speeds up to 100 Mbps, its portability and affordability will create opportunities to serve even more customers around the world. This design will connect residential customers who need an even lower-cost model, as well as government and enterprise customers pursuing applications like ground mobility and internet of things (IoT)."
"Most Capable" Antenna Model: "Project Kuiper's largest, most capable model is designed for enterprise, government, and telecommunications applications that require even more bandwidth. The device measures 19 inches by 30 inches, and will deliver speeds up to 1 gigabit per second (Gbps)." | Consumer Electronics |
- Laptops and tablets are among a handful of electronics that will require a license to be imported into India, according to a government notice published Thursday.
- In theory, companies from Apple and Samsung to HP will need licenses to import such products into India.
- On Friday, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, India's information technology minister, said the move was designed to reduce dependence on imports and increase the domestic manufacturing of these products.
India imposed restrictions on the imports of personal computers and tablets, citing security reasons and the need to boost domestic manufacturing — in a move that could impact Samsung and Apple hardware sales in one of the world's largest markets for consumer electronics.
Laptops and tablets are among a handful of electronics that will require a license to be imported into India, according to a government notice published Thursday.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, India's information technology minister, on Friday laid out a reason for the development, citing his country as one of the world's fastest-growing markets for digital products.
In a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Chandrasekhar said that the government aims to ensure "trusted" hardware and systems, to reduce dependence on imports and to increase the domestic manufacturing of these products.
In theory, companies from Apple and Samsung to HP will need licenses to import products like laptops and tablets into India.
Apple and Samsung did not respond to a CNBC request for comment. On Thursday, Bloomberg had reported that Apple, Samsung and HP were among the companies freezing imports of restricted products to India, citing people familiar with the matter.
The move comes as New Delhi looks to position itself as a high-tech manufacturing hub for everything from consumer electronics to semiconductors. The government has sought to lure in the world's biggest technology firms with incentives.
Already, Apple has shifted some manufacturing to India for its latest iPhones. Foxconn, the main assembler of Apple's iPhones, announced a $600 million investment in India this week as part of a phone manufacturing project and separate semiconductor equipment facility.
Tarun Pathak, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, said that the licensing development could lead to price increases for certain products ahead of the Diwali festive season in India in early November.
Pathak said that the Diwali month festive season accounts for one-fifth of the annual sales of these products that have come under the latest restrictions.
"The recent restrictions on imports may lead to short-term price increases and a supply crunch for some key brands relying mostly on imports. Assembling locally or even obtaining licenses for such brands will take time," Pathak told CNBC.
"With the festive season approaching, there might be some disruptions in offers and discounts as well and those couldn't be as aggressive as last year due to possible demand and supply mismatches." | Consumer Electronics |
It’s an ominous looking disc that sits on a night table, resembling a tiny satellite dish. It uses radar to monitor your movements while you sleep, combining that data with information about your bedroom—temperature, humidity, and brightness—to measure the quality of your sleep. Around the time you’ve set the alarm—at the instant it senses your sleep has passed out of the deepest stages—it brightens its semi-circle of soft LED light to ease you gently from your slumbers. And this most intimate companion is made by Amazon, one of the world’s biggest—and to some scariest—companies.Meet Halo Rise, the latest contribution to Amazon’s mission of creating a persistent yet almost undetectable computational cocoon that monitors, listens, and fulfills your every whim and need. It’s one of a bevy of products announced at the company’s annual hardware event today. The event is further confirmation that the ecommerce giant is now a giant hardware provider, only fifteen years after its Kindle launch was mocked as an example of a software company venturing out of its lane.While the variety of devices launched or updated are as disparate as a home-roaming robot and a television set, Amazon’s hardware chief Dave Limp, is emphatic that they all serve the company’s grand mission—constructing a silent infrastructure of ambient intelligence to do just about anything for us.Think of it as the opposite of the metaverse: Instead of asking people to venture into an artificial virtual world, Amazon wants to weave its computing products, whether it builds them itself or licenses the technology to others, into our homes and cars, to the point where it seems invisible, even as it switches on gadgets, alerts us to home intruders, and figures out what we want to watch or read next.“Our strategy differs than that of the others,” says Limp, slyly referring to Amazon’s big tech competitors. “Our view isn't that you start with the phone and emanate outwards. Instead you start with intelligent devices that are placed throughout the house or the car, that when they interact together, they act better. They're always there.”Amazon's Halo Rise uses radar to monitor breathing patterns.
Courtesy of AmazonLimp does admit that this strategy became a necessity when Amazon’s effort to take on Apple and Android with its 2014 Fire Phone flopped. But as he tells it, that failure became liberating. “We weren’t planning failure,” he says. “But sometimes a Phoenix does rise—it allows us to accelerate our focus in the home. So after we wound down the phone, our team sat in a room and said, ‘Okay, what are we going to do?’ and what came out of that was a mission statement which we have roughly to this day.” The lynchpin was the Echo smart speaker, powered by the conversational Alexa interface, evidence of the company’s deep investment in AI for natural language processing.The next step is moving from language to intent. “One of our long term objectives is to get customers to talk to Alexa less,” Limp says. In 2020, he says, about twenty percent of Alexa’s tasks were proactive, meaning that the system executed by predicting what the user wanted, not via voice command. By the next year, the percentage rose to a quarter of the system's actions. Now, he says, it’s approaching a third. And when it comes to back-to-the-future-esque daily routines that people grow accustomed to via Alexa—like a morning regimen of waking up to music, having the lights go on, and starting the coffeemaker—those happen automatically nine times out of ten.Still most of the Amazon ambient universe now depends on voice commands prefixed by the familiar wake-word Alexa. (Limp says that his children think it weird when they visit a neighbor and find that the house doesn’t listen to them.) But, like super-sensitive animals like wolves or spiders, Amazon is increasingly stuffing its devices with an array of non-verbal sensory technology that pick up changes in light, humidity, temperature and motion, and improve the previous audio and video capabilities.The Halo Rise uses all of those to determine whether a boudoir is optimized for sleep. But Amazon is installing improved sensors and accelerometers in new versions of the Echo Dot as well. It’s adding advanced features like 3-D motion detection, color images, and a “birds-eye” aerial map to its Ring doorbell system. The company’s new products include the Fire TV Omni QLED, which doesn’t have a camera but has sensors built into the screen to adjust to the lighting in a room. When it’s not streaming video, you can use it as a dynamic picture frame to show art, photos, or the widgets you have on your phone. Or it can show you who’s at the door, via your Ring camera. Alexa, of course, is built in.Also, Amazon’s roaming home robot Astro can now figure out where your pets are—owners can even have it locate Rover or Tabby and use the robot’s microphone to confuse the animals by greeting them remotely. Amazon is also opening up the Astro operating system to developers, beginning with students at several universities, to devise their own uses for an autonomous robot.There’s also a lot of sensing in the latest version of the Kindle, which might have been the coolest device Amazon unveiled. On the ebook reader’s 15th anniversary Amazon is releasing the first version, Kindle Scribe, with a stylus. With a 10.2 inch screen, the $339 device is supersized compared to previous versions of the Kindle, reminiscent of the short-lived Kindle DX. (For $30 more, you get a stylus with a virtual eraser.)While the Kindle is designed to isolate the owner from the world of devices connected to each other, it was Amazon’s first effort to make a hardware tool that “falls away” so you hardly know it’s there. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said that the measure of its success would be that you would forget you were using a device and simply be lost in prose. Just as the original Kindle wanted to make you feel like you were reading a plain old book, the Scribe wants to make you feel you’re writing on a piece of paper, even making scratchy sounds for verisimilitude. “It feels just like writing on real paper,” says Kevin Keith, vice president of Amazon devices.To extend the range of all those ambient devices—as well as laptops, phones, tablets and other connected appliances—Amazon is adding technology from its Eero wi-fi devices to recent models of the Echo Dot smart speaker. Updating past products to perform new tasks is another practice that Limp says gives Amazon an edge over competitors. “I’m a little frustrated that our industry spends a huge amount of money and time trying to convince customers that they always have to upgrade their consumer electronics,” he says. One example of this is Amazon using a software update to upgrade its current high-end smart speaker, Echo Studio, to stream music with spatial audio.One problem with Amazon’s ambitious push towards an ambient world is that it forces users to choose between competing corporate ecosystems. If you want your Fire TV Omni QLED to show family pics, they must be stored in Amazon’s photo app—the feature doesn’t work with Google or Apple photos. Limp blames this on his competitors, too. “I can't speak for Google or Apple, but I can speak for us,” he says. “We absolutely believe that all these ecosystems do need to interoperate. Sometimes, other companies don't want to get deals done, but over time, I think it'll all work out.”And then there’s the fear that Amazon itself is so powerful that it’s the wrong company to establish an all-encompassing ambient intelligence in our homes and cars. The FTC wants to sue the company and is demanding that Bezos and current CEO Andy Jassy testify in its investigation. The Senate is considering a bill to constrain Amazon. None of this has discouraged it from trying to weave its technology deeper and deeper into the everyday lives of consumers.That project is now personified by today's announcement of Halo Rise, the $140 “no-contact bedside sleep tracker, smart alarm and wake up light” that picks up signals from your bedroom that even the partner sleeping beside you won’t notice. (To get the best use of that data to improve sleep, users must subscribe to the premium Halo app; the first six months are free.) Amazon had already been in the popular sleep tracking game with its wearable Halo wristband, but a dedicated radar-equipped device is enough to cause stress-breathing anomalies among its critics. I asked Limp whether there might have been any hesitation before developing a product that seems so intimate. Weren’t the Seattle executives wary of releasing a product that causes people to say, “WTF, Amazon is using radar to monitor my sleep?”The answer was no. Like every other Amazon product, Halo Rise was first proposed via a six-page pitch document that outlined a press release for its future launch. “Amazon is built on customers’ trust—it’s not What would a pundit think?” Limp says. Amazon had already been working with low powered sensors, in this case radar, and it figured out that without ever touching anything, you could get a very accurate signal of a person’s breathing and translate that to sleep. “So how do you do it in a safe and private way?” he says. “We chose not to add a camera, and we didn’t need a microphone. Let's make sure that the data is encrypted, in transit and also at rest.”Amazon’s director of new products, Michael Fisher, says the Halo Rise has other safety features, like a one button-push that turns off the monitoring. All data is wiped from the cloud after 10 days. Amazon has even accounted for the concern that its perceptive little disk might take note of nocturnal boffing. When a breathing pattern of the designated sleeper indicates that a little night music is afoot, it cools its sensors until a sleep pattern emerges—the same silent treatment it employs when the person is reading or watching TV, activities that Amazon says have their own distinctive breathing patterns that Halo Rise doesn’t track. “The device focuses on recognizing you are sleeping,” Fisher says.Of course it’s a stretch to think that the Halo Rise will achieve the ubiquity of popular Alexa devices like Echo or Dot. Perhaps it will go the way of the Ring Always Home Cam, the in-home multi-camera security drone announced by Amazon in 2020 that has yet to ship. But regardless of whether people choose to retire and rise with Amazon’s odd new sleep monitor, the company is fixated on producing and enhancing hardware to populate your environment with Amazon sensors, cameras, microphones, and AI, all done in a way that you hardly know it’s there.And, by the way, Limp says that that Amazon’s home-patrolling drone isn’t dead. Hundreds of test prototypes are already in homes, he says, collecting data that will help the company perfect the device. “I’m still a believer in the product,” he says. At Amazon, it seems, ambient intelligence has no bounds. | Consumer Electronics |
The recession for electronics continued this spring as Best Buy reported same-store sales dropped a little more than 10% from last year.
Total sales for February, March and April of nearly $9.5 billion were lower than the $10.6 billion the Minnesota-based company reported the same time last year and came in just a few million shy or mostly in line with what Wall Street expected.
It's a trend that has persisted for Best Buy for the past year and that company leaders think will continue until electronics shoppers need to update the devices they purchased during the pandemic.
"We've been seeing a consumer who is, whether or not you call it a recession, exhibiting some recessionary behaviors depending on the different category that you are talking about," said Best Buy CEO Corie Barry in a call with analysts.
On Thursday morning, the company said it earned $244 million, down more than 28% from $341 million a year ago. Its adjusted per-share profit, which doesn't include non-cash expenses, amounted to $1.15, which was more than the $1.11 analysts forecast.
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Electronics sales have been on the decline for the past year at many retailers as consumers are reluctant to spend money outside of necessities like groceries while dealing with high inflation. And many households still have a hoard of newish gadgets they bought when they had to work, study and play from home during the pandemic.
Some of the categories Best Buy is seeing softness in are computing, home theater, appliances and mobile phones.
"Specifically in (consumer electronics), given especially how much demand we saw through the pandemic, the consumer was going to make trade-off decisions, and it's a consumer that clearly when they're faced with record-high inflation versus 2020 in food, housing and fuel, that's going to drive those trade-off decisions," Barry told analysts.
Last week, Target said its apparel, home and hardlines sales — which includes sporting goods and electronics — experienced sales declines from the mid-single digits to low-double digits. Walmart saw comparable sales drop in the mid-single-digit range for general merchandise sales, which its leaders said reflected softness in discretionary categories including home, electronics and apparel.
Electronics manufacturers are also feeling the pain. South Korean electronics company Samsung reported its operating profit tanked more than 90% in the first quarter of the year compared with 2022. Phone behemoth Apple saw revenue decline slightly; however, iPhone sales were a little better than analysts expected.
Another indicator there's a decline in the tech sector is the rise of layoffs. At the beginning of the year, Microsoft announced it would lay off 10,000 workers. In March, Amazon leaders said the online retailer would eliminate 9,000 jobs after announcing it would lay off 18,000 employees.
In April, Best Buy laid off hundreds of workers in a week as the retailer continued to adjust its business. In the past three years, Best Buy's workforce has been reduced by about 25,000 people or 20% as it also has closed around 70 large-format stores with plans to close more this year and in the coming years. Best Buy said Thursday a lot of the workforce reduction during the pandemic came through attrition and the company's decision not to backfill jobs.
Best Buy leaders said the industry's promotional environment has normalized in recent months. The company expects possibly by the end of this year or by next year that the industry will stabilize as consumers update items like mobile phones. As more innovative products come out and people decide to upgrade their devices, consumer electronics sales will eventually rebound, Best Buy leaders said.
"People will upgrade and want to replace their equipment and their consumer electronics," Barry said. "And so I think what gives us confidence is understanding that there is a very large vendor community out there that is very interested in continuing to stimulate demand, continuing to create really cool solutions for our customers, and that over time, I don't see a world where we rely less on technology."
To continue to engage with customers, Best Buy announced earlier this month updates to its membership program to make it more affordable and tailor services for different customers. Starting next month, the memberships come in three tiers: My Best Buy (which is free), My Best Buy Plus for $49.99 and My Best Buy Total for $179.99. | Consumer Electronics |
Apple CEO Tim Cook delivers a keynote address during the WWDC22 at Apple Park on June 06, 2022 in Cupertino, California. Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked off the annual WWDC22 developer conference.Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesApple is holding a launch event at its headquarters in Cupertino, California, on Wednesday where it will unveil its latest hardware products, including the new iPhone 14.Apple has used prerecorded videos for its launch events since early 2020 thanks partly to Covid restrictions, and this will be the first iPhone launch with an in-person component since 2019. Apple is streaming the launch event online on its website and YouTube in addition to inviting some media to its campus.related investing newsApple's hype-filled fall launches are a signature event for Apple. They typically draw millions of simultaneous viewers on YouTube. They garner attention from around the world and set the stage for a holiday marketing blitz during the last three months of the year, which is when Apple's sales are the highest.This year's event has the tagline "far out," which could refer to features such as night-sky photography.Last year, Apple released new iPhones and Apple Watches at an event in September, and then followed it up with an October launch featuring iPads and Macs.Here's what Apple is likely to launch Wednesday, based on reports.iPhone 14: Four new modelsCustomers look at the iPhone13 smartphones at apple's flagship store in Shanghai, China.Xing Yun | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesApple is expected to release four new iPhone models. If Apple's current naming convention holds up, they will be called the iPhone 14.This year Apple will likely discontinue the "mini" model with a 4.7-inch screen, according to reports. Instead, Apple could offer two sizes, one with a 6.1-inch screen and one with a 6.7-inch screen, each coming in a standard model and a pricier "Pro" model.The Pro models are expected to get more upgrades, according to reports from Bloomberg News, TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, and other analysts and Apple watchers.Since 2017, iPhones have included a space at the top of the phone's display with space for Apple's FaceID system, which includes several sensors and a camera. The Pro models could ditch Apple's "notch" where it houses the FaceID camera for a slimmer, more streamlined "pill" or "cutout" approach with a smaller space that has to remain blank, leaving room for an even larger display.The Pro models are also expected to get upgraded A16 processors and cameras. The camera bump is expected to get larger.Apple could release an always-on screen display for showing notifications, like some Android phones have sported for years. Beta iPhone software released over the summer suggested that Apple may be planning a similar feature because of new widgets that show weather and battery life.One of the biggest questions is how Apple will price its iPhones in a period of inflation around the world and macroeconomic uncertainty in some regions. Other consumer electronics, such as Sony's Playstation 5, have seen price cuts.Apple's least-expensive iPhone 13 model is the $699 iPhone 13 Mini, which is expected to be discontinued. That would make Apple's mainline device, which is currently the iPhone 13, the least-expensive new model at $829, if its price doesn't change. Some analysts also expect Apple to increase the price of its Pro models.Apple usually drops the price of older models when it releases new ones, giving more price-sensitive consumers an option.Apple WatchCustomers try Apple Watch devices in the Apple Marunouchi store on September 07, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan.Tomohiro Ohsumi | Getty ImagesApple is likely to show the eighth major new version of its watch on Wednesday. Last year, the Apple Watch Series 7 got a slightly larger screen, but the redesign did not significantly change the look and feel of the device, which has remained mostly the same since 2014.Expect more evolution this year, too. Apple is considering a body temperature sensor in the new devices, according to the Wall Street Journal, which could help with fertility and sleep tracking. Other sleep tracking features could include the ability to detect advanced sleep patterns or apnea.But the biggest Apple Watch Series 8 announcement could be a new "Pro" model with a bigger screen and more durable finish. Apple has previously released Apple Watches with pricey case materials such as gold, ceramic and titanium, and the new "Pro" model described by Bloomberg and Kuo could be one of the first high-end Apple Watches to gain additional features over its less-expensive siblings.Also likely: A new updated version of the Apple Watch SE, its $329 entry-level Watch model.iOS 16How to edit an iMessage in iOS 16Todd Haselton | CNBCIPhone owners who don't plan to buy any new gear this fall will still get an annual update to the iPhones software, iOS 16, which was announced in June and has been in testing over the summer.The software has several new features that users will immediately notice. The biggest banner feature is the ability to customize the iPhone's lock screen with widgets that can display weather forecasts, calendar appointments and other information at a glance. Users can also change the font for the lock screen clock for the first time, as well.IOS 16 also lets you unsend or edit iMessage text messages, as long as you catch them within a few minutes of sending.IOS 16 will also introduce short-term loans from Apple called Apple Pay Later. The feature will allow users to buy stuff online with Apple Pay but pay for the item in four installments without paying interest.One cool feature in iOS 16 is if a user has both an iPhone and a Mac laptop or desktop, they can use the iPhone as a very high-definition web camera.After the event: iPads, MacsApple's September event invite.AppleApple is unlikely to release new iPads on Wednesday because their software isn't ready yet. Earlier this month, Apple told TechCrunch that iPadOS, the iPad software, will ship after iOS this fall, suggesting a staggered release.Apple's statement was terse, and the company dislikes talking about unannounced products. But in general, it likes to release new hardware together with new software, so the statement clearly suggested that new iPads would come at a later launch date than iPhones.IPadOS and iOS are very similar, but this year iPadOS is getting a feature called Stage Manager that could allow users to multitask more efficiently — but also got panned by early testers. Improved iPads could include more powerful processors that are closers to laptop processors, smoother displays and better integration with accessories.Apple also uncharacteristically teased a new "Mac Pro" in the spring. The Mac Pro is currently a $5,000 tower of power using an Intel processor.Apple wants to transition its entire Mac lineup away from Intel to its own M-series processors, but a pricey niche product doesn't fit as well with Apple's mass-market iPhones and Apple Watches. Instead, new Macs could be announced at a separate event later this year, as happened last year. | Consumer Electronics |
- Best Buy topped Wall Street's fiscal first-quarter earnings expectations, but missed on sales.
- The retailer affirmed its full-year outlook.
- The company expects weaker spending on electronics, as inflation hits household budgets.
Best Buy on Thursday topped Wall Street's quarterly earnings expectations, but its sales missed estimates and it reiterated expectations for weaker spending on consumer electronics this year.
The retailer affirmed the outlook it shared in March. It expects full-year revenue of between $43.8 billion and $45.2 billion, a decline from its most recent fiscal year, and a comparable sales decline of between 3% and 6%.
Shares rose more than 4% in premarket trading.
CEO Corie Barry said Best Buy has not seen a change with its mix of customers and the percentage of premium products that they buy.
Still, she added that "in this environment, customers are clearly feeling cautious and making tradeoff decisions as they continue to deal with high inflation and low consumer confidence due to a number of factors."
Here's how the company did for the three-month period that ended April 29, compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv:
- Earnings per share: $1.15 adjusted vs. $1.11 expected
- Revenue: $9.47 billion vs. $9.52 billion expected
Best Buy's net income in the first quarter fell to $244 million, or $1.11 per share, from $341 million, or $1.49 per share, a year earlier.
Net sales declined from $10.65 billion in the year-ago period and fell short of Wall Street's expectations.
Comparable sales declined 10.1% in the quarter, in line with the drop expected by investors, according to StreetAccount.
Shares of Best Buy closed Wednesday at $69.15, bringing the company's market value to $15.12 billion. So far this year, its stock is down about 14%, trailing the 7% gains of the S&P 500 and the 2% declines of the retail-focused XRT during the same period.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates. | Consumer Electronics |
Never mind Adele's residency, it's the gadgets of the future that will be taking Las Vegas by storm this week.Two miles down the road from where the British star is entrenched in a four-month run of performances at the Caesars Palace Hotel, thousands of enthusiasts will go hands on with the latest in tech.
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at the Las Vegas Convention Center will be at full capacity for the first time since before the pandemic when it kicks off on Thursday, raising the anticipation for what the likes of Samsung, Amazon and Sony might show off.Here's a guide to what you can expect from the world's biggest consumer technology event.When is it?
The CES show floor officially opens on Thursday and runs until Sunday, but plenty of announcements will come via news conferences hosted by major attendees on Wednesday.The likes of LG, Sony, and Samsung will be livestreaming their events on their YouTube channels.Who's going to be there?Most of the biggest names in tech will be represented, including Amazon, LG, Microsoft, and Samsung. However, it's worth noting that Apple is never at CES, as it prefers to make announcements at its own events.That's also true of Samsung and Google when it comes to their annual smartphone updates, so expect the former to prioritise TVs and appliances here, while the latter's presence will likely be focused on the smart home.It does mean there's plenty of room for smaller firms and start-ups to make their mark among the almost 3,000 companies attending, with a focus this year on sustainability and health gadgets.CES is also always stacked with computer manufacturers like Intel, Nvidia, and AMD, which will be worth watching given ongoing struggles with chip supplies, and carmakers like BMW and Mercedes.CES 2020's strangest announcements:Concept car inspired by AvatarSelf-sinking golf balls and a flying taxiAnti-snore pillows and tiny security systems Image: Health and fitness tech, like this Massage Robotics booth, are mainstays of CES What kinds of products should we expect?Thousands of products will be on show at the convention centre, and familiar standbys like TVs, monitors, drones, and kitchen appliances will take up plenty of floor space.Asus is teasing a laptop with a 3D display - and Samsung has already unveiled a camera-equipped oven that can recognise food and even livestream the view from inside to social media (take that, MasterChef).Beyond those, here are a few key areas to keep an eye on:Electric carsSony is best known for cameras, TVs, and its PlayStation division, but its most intriguing announcement at CES is related to its first venture into electric cars.The Japanese tech giant entered into a partnership with compatriot carmaker Honda last year, and has all but confirmed that the fruits of that deal - almost certainly a self-driving vehicle - will be shown off this week.Stellantis, which owns Peugeot, Vauxhall and Fiat, will have a major presence at the show, and BMW will also be hosting a keynote.Health and fitnessThere's no better time than the start of a new year to jangle enticing new fitness products in front of people, and exhibitors are likely to bring plenty of health gizmos to the show.Among them are the Evie ring - a wearable aimed at women which can monitor heart and respiratory rate, and offer period and ovulation tracking.Organisers say the show will also be highlighting "the importance of remote connectivity for accessible health care", which will likely resonate here in the UK amid unprecedented pressure on the NHS. Image: The PlayStation VR2 will get a showing ahead of its February launch. Pic: Sony Smart homeA major shake-up in the smart home market late in 2022 may have gone under your radar, but opened the door to a potential deluge of new appliances.Matter launched in November - it's a new smart home standard which essentially allows all the different ecosystems (Amazon's Alexa, Google's Home, etc) to talk to one another, theoretically meaning that you can control every smart device in your home via your chosen platform.Companies large and small are expected to take advantage and show off their wares at CES, from home security to cooking appliances, with Samsung promising a "new and expanded experience" for its SmartThings range.Virtual realityWhile CES is not traditionally focused on gaming, it would be remiss of Sony not to dedicate some of its keynote to PlayStation VR2, which launches just a month from now.Other players in the space could also look to grab some attention, with HTC expected to announce a competitor to Meta's Quest 2, which was one of the most sought-after gadgets during the Christmas shopping season.Don't bet on Meta itself having any announcements, but it will be hoping CES encourages punters to take a second look at its premium Quest Pro headset, which launched to mixed reviews at an eye-watering £1,499 in October. | Consumer Electronics |
Apple on Thursday reported quarterly revenue and profit above Wall Street’s expectations, with iPhone sales rising and wearables sales slipping less than analysts had feared despite a continuing slump in the consumer electronics market and a cloudy economic outlook.
Apple said sales for its fiscal second quarter ended April 1 fell 2.5% to $94.84 billion, better than analyst expectations of a 4.4% decline to $93 billion, according to data from Refinitiv.
Profit was flat at $1.52 per share, compared with estimates of a 5.7% fall to $1.43 per share, according to Refinitiv data.
A 1.5% rise in Apple’s iPhone revenue contrasted with the broader consumer electronics industry, which is grappling with a decline in sales of smartphones, tablets and PCs as consumers and businesses who scooped up electronics during the pandemic tighten spending amid rising interest rates and economic uncertainty.
The company also held its dividend and stock buyback programs roughly in line with its last update to them a year ago, approving $90 billion in additional buybacks.
Apple CEO Tim Cook told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that the company set a fiscal second-quarter record for iPhone sales, thanks in part to picking up new users in markets such as India, where Cook recently traveled for the opening of the company’s first retail stores in the country.
“We were thrilled by our performance in emerging markets,” Cook said. “We set records for the iPhone installed base in every geographic segment, and we had very strong ‘new to’ (sales in) emerging markets, particularly in Brazil, India and Mexico.”
Cook also said supply-chain snarls have vanished.
“We had no material shortages at all during the quarter across any of the products,” he said.
But not all of Apple’s business lines were immune to the electronics slump, with sales of Macs falling sharply while iPad revenue slipped.
Sales in China also dropped 2.9% to $17.8 billion, a slightly larger drop than overall revenue.
Other firms in the industry have predicted a rebound in the second half of the year, and Wall Street expects Apple to recover faster and show modest year-over-year revenue growth during its fiscal third quarter ending in June.
Apple executives are expected to give a forecast on a conference call with investors later on Thursday.
Apple has in recent weeks announced new service businesses such as a high-yield savings account, but investors are still waiting to see the company’s next major hardware product.
Bloomberg has reported the iPhone maker could unveil a mixed-reality headset as soon as next month, when it holds its annual software developer conference.
IPhone sales rose 1.5% to $51.33 billion, compared with analyst expectations of a 3.3% decline to $48.9 billion, according to Refinitiv.
Those results occurred against the backdrop of a 13% decline in global smartphone shipments during the first three months of 2023, during which the research firm Canalys said Apple gained market share against Android rivals.
Mac sales fell more than 30% to $7.17 billion compared with analyst estimates of a 25% decline to $7.8 billion, according to Refinitiv.
Apple’s sales fared only slightly better than PC unit shipments in the market, which fell 33% in the calendar first quarter, according to Canalys data.
Sales in Apple’s wearables business, which includes devices like AirPods and the Apple Watch, fell less than 1% to $8.76 billion, compared with estimates of a 4.4% drop to $8.4 billion.
Apple’s biggest growth segment was its services business, which includes products like iCloud and Apple Pay, which grew 5.5% to $20.9 billion, in line with analyst expectations.
Cook said Apple now has 975 million subscribers on its platform, which includes both Apple services and third-party apps, up from 935 million last quarter and an increase of 150 million from a year ago.
Apple said its board of directors authorized a 24 cents-per- share dividend in addition to share repurchases.
Both were roughly the same as the 23 cents-per-share dividend and previous $90 billion share repurchase increase the company announced a year ago.
Apple shares rose 1% in after-hours trading. | Consumer Electronics |
A worker sorts out parcels in the outbound dock at Amazon fulfillment center in Eastvale, California on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021.Watchara Phomicinda | MediaNews Group | The Riverside Press-Enterprise via Getty ImagesAmazon shoppers bought more than 300 million items during this year's Prime Day sale, enough that it was the biggest event in Amazon's history, the company announced Thursday.The company, which didn't disclose total sales from the two-day event, said Prime members worldwide purchased more than 100,000 items per minute during the discount bonanza. The top-selling categories in the U.S. were consumer electronics, home goods and Amazon-branded devices.The event, which ran Tuesday and Wednesday, comes at a time when consumers' wallets are being squeezed by soaring inflation. This year, shoppers appeared to reach for necessities over indulgences, with products like Frito-Lay snack packs landing among the top purchased items, according to Numerator, which tracked Prime Day spending. Most Prime Day items soldRoughly 58% of orders were placed for items under $20, Numerator data showed, based on a survey of Prime Day purchases from 21,306 households.Still, the prospect of higher prices didn't seem to damper consumer enthusiasm around Prime Day and other discount events run by competing retailers like Best Buy and Target. Total online retail sales in the U.S. during Amazon's Prime day event surpassed $11.9 billion. That's 8.5% higher than overall e-commerce transactions generated during last year's event, according to Adobe Analytics data.Amazon also called out the use of Amazon Live, its livestreaming service. Prime Day live streams had more than 100 million views, the company said, though it did not disclose how that compares to last year's event. Thousands of users hosted live streams during this year's event, Amazon said.WATCH: As inflation continues, demand for deals becomes more important, says Citi's Ron Josey | Consumer Electronics |
This year's Consumer Electronics Show debuted tons of state-of-the-art technology, and people are already going nuts over it. CLICK TO GET KURT’S CYBERGUY NEWSLETTER WITH QUICK TIPS, TECH REVIEWS, SECURITY ALERTS AND EASY HOW-TO’S TO MAKE YOU SMARTERThere's a lot to be excited about, and a bit weirded out about - too, from bird feeders with cameras to pillows that breathe and even a self-driving stroller. Not sure that is mom approved. However, we're highlighting 5 of the strangest new tech.5. Bird Buddy The AI-powered hummingbird feeder comes with a camera that can capture photos and videos of over 350 different hummingbird species. (Birdy Buddy)This just might be the coolest bird feeder around. The AI-powered hummingbird feeder comes with a camera that can capture photos and videos of over 350 different hummingbird species. It has a motion sensor that will trigger the camera to take pictures once the bird approaches, and it can even catch wing speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. Once the picture is taken, it will automatically send it to the smartphone device connected to the feeder via the Bird Buddy app. It's a great invention, especially for bird lovers.HOW YOUR HOUSE CAN KEEP YOU HEALTHY: 5 COOL NEW INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS4. Glüxkind's self-driving stroller The Ella self-driving stroller, a hands-free motorized buggy with built-in sensors that can detect incoming obstacles to ensure the baby's safety. (Glüxkind)Parents' lives may have just gotten a whole lot easier thanks to tech company Glüxkind. They invented the Ella self-driving stroller, a hands-free motorized buggy with built-in sensors that can detect incoming obstacles to ensure the baby's safety. It can even drive itself without a baby strapped in, so it can follow parents along if the parents decide they'd rather carry their child. It will stop automatically if any obstacles get in the way, as it has cameras built in that are designed to track moving objects like people, bikes, and much more. It also has built-in sounds and flashing lights, so it can alert parents when a potential danger is present. I think many new parents out there will want to get their hands on one of these.3. Withings Urine Detector c (Withings)You're probably thinking, why would I want to analyze my pee at home? Well, your pee contains all sorts of clues about your health. So that's where the U-SCAN comes in. It's the first at-home automatic urine analyzer, and it hygienically sits inside your toilet and can unlock important health information daily about your urine. The urine is detected through a thermal sensor, which activates a pump that will send the urine to a test pod. Inside the test pod, a chemical reaction is read to get all the health information it needs. You can then get your results through the Withings app. This will allow people to be more proactive and informed about their health. WILD INNOVATIONS COMING IN 2023 DESPITE DOWNTURN IN ECONOMY2. Yukai Engineering's breathing pillow The Japanese robotics firm Yukai Engineering has invented an incredible pillow that feels like it's breathing when you hold it. (Yukai)The Japanese robotics firm Yukai Engineering has invented an incredible pillow that feels like it's breathing when you hold it. It does this by expanding and contracting slowly and subtly as you're holding it, which helps train your body to do the same. It is meant to help those with anxiety and high-stress levels calm and feel at ease when needed. I'm sure this will be a super popular invention for people around the world in the new year. 1. OVR Technology's IONWhat exactly is the metaverse? It's a non-physical world that people can react with, usually by using digital technology such as a virtual reality headset. These VR headsets are not new. However, OVR Technology has upped the stakes by creating a brand new set that produces smells while you're in the metaverse, making your virtual reality experience much more enriching. WHY YOUR KITCHEN COULD BE THE SMARTEST ROOM IN THE HOUSE THIS YEARWith OVR’s new wearable scent technology, ION, your digital experiences can be more immersive, emotional, and effective than ever. It is designed to copy the human smell sense by linking scent to what the person will see in the VR world, like producing the smell of a flower seen on the ground. It's an insanely cool invention. However, I’ve got an idea. Put down the VR headset, walk into nature and take in a deep breath of the real outside yourself. No headset or smell tech is required. With OVR’s new wearable scent technology, ION, your digital experiences can be more immersive, emotional, and effective than ever. It is designed to copy the human smell sense by linking scent to what the person will see in the VR world. (Yukai)I'd like to know your thoughts on this strange new tech. Love it or hate it? Drop me an email and let me know.5 COMMON MISTAKES THAT ARE SLOWING DOWN YOUR WI-FIFor more of my tips, head over to CyberGuy.com and be sure to subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by clicking the "Free newsletter" link at the top of my website.CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPCopyright 2023 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved. CyberGuy.com articles and content may contain affiliate links that earn a commission when purchases are made. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com. | Consumer Electronics |
Just what the hell is happening with the iPhone 15’s external buttons? Despite numerous leaks and countless reports that premium iPhone 15s would ditch physical buttons and get new, trackpad-like touch-based controls, the Cupertino company may have made a last-minute change that has thrown all of that out the window, drawing blood from some of its major suppliers in the process.
Longtime industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote late on Tuesday that “due to unresolved technical issues,” the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max wouldn’t see any “solid-state” buttons, AKA the long-rumored flatter touch sensitive design that’s supposed to offer better waterproofing. Though his report was exceptionally light on details, he added that some investors were hoping the new button style would be a financial boon to certain Apple parts suppliers like the U.S.-based Cirrus Logic and AAC Technologies.
Based on everything we thought we knew about the iPhone 15, the next iteration of Apple’s smartphones was almost certain to have buttons with “taptic” feedback, which work almost like miniature trackpads instead of your usual mechanical ones.
Despite the report’s brevity, Kuo’s latest analysis created no small amount of consternation for Apple suppliers on the U.S. stock exchange on Wednesday. According to CNBC, Cirrus’ stock plunged 12% by the early afternoon ET. The China-based AAC similarly dropped close to 15% around the same time.
Just last month, a video made the rounds on Chinese TikTok counterpart Douyin showing a metallic mockup of the iPhone 15 Pro, which seemed to feature slim volume and mute buttons, pointing to the phone having those touch-sensitive controls. Apple usually releases device scale specs early for companies making iPhone cases, so the dummy model could be real, which would indicate plans have very quickly changed (assuming Kuo’s most recent predictions are accurate).
As pointed out by CNBC, Apple is Cirrus’ biggest customer, and it accounted for approximately 88% of the company’s revenue for its recent quarter. In a letter to shareholders from this past February, the company wrote “Our relationship with our largest customer remains outstanding with continued strong design activity across a wide range of products.”
But even if Kuo turns out to be right, the hit to the Apple suppliers’ stock lays an outsized importance on what’s, in the end, just a minor change to how some users would control their iPhone. The expectation was these more-recessed buttons would lead to less wear and tear, but it’s not like anybody outside Apple has had the chance to test that for themselves. Perhaps we would all be as amazed as we were when Apple first released the trackpad on the original iPod—or perhaps not—especially considering the feature would be limited to external controls.
There are multiple reasons Apple could be walking back its touch-based external controls. Case designers would have had to figure out a way to offer users the ability to access the solid state buttons. Some makers could have had to create cutouts on their cases to give users access to the thin taptic-based buttons, which could potentially reduce case integrity. There’s also accessibility concerns for the vision impaired.
Perhaps we’ll know for sure whether the solid state buttons survived at WWDC 2023 in June.
Want more of Gizmodo’s consumer electronics picks? Check out our guides to the best phones, best laptops, best cameras, best televisions, best printers, and best tablets. And if you want to learn about the next big thing, see our guide to everything we know about the iPhone 15. | Consumer Electronics |
What is this, a game controller for ants? The company that brought you wireless versions of the classic NEOGEO CD controller and an upgrade kit to turn an N64 controller into a wireless gamepad now has a controller so compact it seems purpose-built for getting lost between the couch cushions.
8BitDo’s new $25 Micro controller contains everything you would need in a bluetooth controller for playing 2D games, and it only weighs 24.8 grams, or about .8 ounces. For comparison, that’s less than a single AA battery. The new controller has Bluetooth and wired capabilities, plus it has all the basic controls needed for most 2D games including two sets of two shoulder buttons. It measures about 72 mm long and has a depth of about 14 mm, so it should slip comfortably into any sized pocket.
8BitDo claims the Micro will get 10 hours of play time before needing a recharge with its 180mAHLi-on battery. The only two colors available are a blue and mint green, so unlike 8Bitdo’s compact Lite controller, you won’t be able to do any direct color match it to your Nintendo Switch Lite.
The controller is compatible with Android 9.0 and above and the Nintendo Switch 3.0 or later. You can also get this to work with a Rasberry Pi. The company promoted it has its own software suite for customizing each of the 16 different inputs on the controller, and users can enable Micro on “Keyboard Mode” to use it to control software other than games. In keyboard mode, the Micro will also work on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and Windows, but you may need to finagle the controls first to make sure it all works properly.
The closest comparison to make to this kind of device is 8BitDo’s earlier Zero 2 gamepad and the more-recent Lite controller (which also makes room for two joysticks). In comparison, the Micro has more buttons than the Zero 2 and is only slightly heavier than the Zero 2.
Want more of Gizmodo’s consumer electronics picks? Check out our guides to the best phones, best laptops, best cameras, best televisions, best printers, and best tablets. If you want to learn about the next big thing, see our guide to everything we know about the iPhone 15. Click here to save on the best deals of the day, courtesy of our friends at The Inventory. | Consumer Electronics |
The Apple iPhone 14 Pro is seen at the Apple Fifth Avenue store in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., September 16, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif., Sept 17 (Reuters) - Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) iPhone 14 models contain a Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) chip that can talk to satellites, but have additional custom-designed Apple components used in the phone's biggest new feature, according to an analysis of the phone by iFixit and an Apple statement.Apple released its iPhone 14 lineup on Friday. One of the major new features is the ability to connect to satellites to send emergency messages when there is no WiFi or cellular data connection.Apple said earlier this month that the iPhone 14 models contain new hardware that makes possible the emergency message service, which Apple plans to turn on with a software update coming in November. Apple did not give details about the satellite-specific hardware.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comiFixit, a San Luis Obispo, California-based firm that disassembles iPhones and other consumer electronics to assess how easily they can be repaired, took apart an iPhone 14 Pro Max model on Friday, revealing a Qualcomm X65 modem chip.The Qualcomm chip provides 5G connectivity for cellular networks but is also capable of using what is called band n53, the frequency band used by satellites from Globalstar (GSAT.A).Globalstar earlier this month announced a deal in which Apple will take up to 85% of Globalstar's satellite network capacity to enable Apple's new emergency messaging feature.In a statement to Reuters on Saturday, Apple said there is additional proprietary hardware and software in the iPhone 14 for the new messaging feature.“iPhone 14 includes custom radio frequency components, and new software designed entirely by Apple, that together enable Emergency SOS via satellite on new iPhone 14 models," Apple said in a statement.Qualcomm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Stephen Nellis in San Luis Obispo, California; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Consumer Electronics |
I find it impossible to hide my disgust when someone offers me their earbuds to listen to a song. You might as well be asking me to share a spoon. Like it or not, your wireless earbuds are probably filthy and could use a deep cleaning, which Belkin is now making relatively painless with a new cleaning kit designed specifically for AirPods.OffEnglishThis is far from the first product designed to make cleaning earbuds easier and less stomach churning. Just last year, we brought you news of a tiny desktop washing machine that promised to make cleaning earbuds as easy as doing a load of laundry. But based on the thousands of Kickstarter comments for the Cardlax Airpods Washer, it not only failed to deliver on its lofty promises, but also failed to deliver product to all of its backers. And that’s the tricky part of finding a product to help clean delicate electronics: you don’t want to damage them in the process.Belkin is not only a respected brand name when it comes to consumer electronics; it’s also the brand that Apple itself uses when installing screen protectors for iPhone owners at Apple Stores. So we’re inclined to trust its approach to cleaning AirPods more than what random brands with unpronounceable names on Amazon are proposing.Belkin has shared a tutorial video on how the AirPods Cleaning Kit works, and it seems simple enough. Users first apply two drops of an earwax softener to the areas they want to clean and then wait 60 seconds for it to work its magic. The softener is then poured out onto an included microfiber cloth, before a cleaning brush is used to scrub those same dirty areas for 30 seconds. The last step is to use a glob of slime, which Belkin refers to as a “Cleaning Gel,” to dab off the remaining bits of now loosened earwax and dirt for another 30 seconds. If the earbuds aren’t clean, the process can be repeated again and again until the earwax softener is all used up.The $15 kit is promised to be “simple, safe, and easy to use.” It supposedly “restores acoustic performance” without damaging the headphones, although Belkin specifies it’s only compatible with the AirPods 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation models. If you attempt to use it on the AirPods Pro, you do so at your own risk, but those tend to only see wax build up on their silicone ear tips, which are already easy to pop off and clean. | Consumer Electronics |
Europe could end its reliance on China for electric car batteries by 2030 but only if it keeps pace with Joe Biden’s $369bn (£298bn) green subsidy spree, experts predict.A report by the renewable energy campaign group Transport & Environment said the EU was on track to produce enough lithium-ion battery cells by 2027 to meet demand and cut China from supply chains. “Li-ion” batteries are rechargeable and used in consumer electronics and electric cars.The study forecasts that Europe’s reliance on China for the refining and processing of battery metals could also fall dramatically – predicting more than 50% of Europe’s refined lithium demand can come from European projects by 2030.There are now no lithium refineries in Europe, and about 90% of the world’s processing of the meta takes place in east Asia. But refinery projects under way in Germany and France are expected to boost Europe’s prospects, and planned EU legislation on critical raw materials is designed to ensure they meet high environmental standards.MPs have raised concerns that Britain’s electric vehicle supply chain is overly reliant on China, a key vulnerability amid political tensions between Beijing and the west.Britain has banned the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, while the EU has committed to phase out combustion engines from 2035.However, Biden’s flagship Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has attracted green investment to the US and put pressure on Britain and the EU to respond at a time when policymakers have been levying windfall taxes on renewable energy firms.The T&E report showed two-thirds of Europe’s demand for cathodes – which are also used in batteries and contain critical raw materials – can be produced on the continent by 2027, with projects such as Umicore in Poland and Northvolt in Sweden contributing.However, the study’s authors warned that companies could still move projects planned for Europe to the US, tempted by the tax benefits and other subsidies provided by the IRA for localising battery supply chains in the US.Julia Poliscanova, senior director for vehicles and e-mobility at T&E, said: “Today half of the lithium-ion battery cells used in the EU are already made there. But the Inflation Reduction Act has changed the rules of the game, and Europe needs to put more money on the table or risk losing planned battery factories and jobs to America.”T&E called for a dedicated EU fund with cash raised through joint debt issuance to aid investment into electric vehicles, batteries and renewables.Last week, Britishvolt, the battery startup that had hoped to build a “gigafactory” near Blyth, Northumberland, collapsed into administration. The company struggled to find funding and was denied access to promised state funds after failing to hit government targets.Its collapse has sparked calls for a comprehensive industrial strategy to map out Britain’s approach to the green economy, including the car industry’s switch to electric vehicles.On Monday, Tony Danker, the director general of the Confederation of British Industry, said the government had failed to invest in the green economy, and is falling behind the US and EU.He said the US and Europe are “outspending and outsmarting us” in their approaches to encouraging low carbon investments.“While our competitors across Europe, Asia and the US are making their move, and going hell for leather, we seem to be second guessing ourselves and hoping for the best,” he said in a speech at University College London. | Consumer Electronics |
- Apple's Vision Pro headset has sparked a resurgence of interest in virtual reality headsets.
- Some of the most powerful consumer electronics companies have released headsets, including Nintendo, Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Sony. None have been a hit.
Engineers have been dreaming about virtual reality since 1968 when a professor at the University of Utah built the first 3D VR headset, and since then some of the most powerful consumer electronics companies have released headsets, including Nintendo, Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Sony. None have been a hit.
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Now Apple's at the table and virtual reality experts and developers say it has a chance to succeed where others haven't.
"When people ask me what's really special about this announcement, in one word, it's Apple. The largest tech company in the world and also the most responsible," said Ori Inbar, co-founder of Superventures and the CEO of Augmented World Expo, an industry conference. "They always put everything behind every product they put out there. And that's exactly the message they're sending to the XR industry, but also to everyone else out there."
Apple's reputation and record afford it the benefit of the doubt when it comes to genuinely new technologies, and many consumers already own and like Apple's products.
Apple commercialized the success of multitouch displays with the iPhone, which transformed the smartphone industry by showing the world a new way to interact with phones. It may be able to replicate that in the VR industry with the Vision Pro's gesture and voice-based user interface. Unlike other headsets, it doesn't require a controller.
"Part of the Apple effect is they've built up this brand equity, they've done it time and time again, across multiple categories, whether it's the watch, music player, and of course, the smartphone," said Tipatat Chennavasin, general partner at the Venture Reality Fund. "What I think is really interesting about it, too, is they clearly laid out for their vision for the future — this is the next iPhone, the next big platform."
The Apple Vision Pro is significantly more powerful than nearly all competing products on the market. It's equipped with two high-definition screens, a battery of cameras and sensors, and custom processors that reduce latency and lag. Put simply: It can do more than any other headset.
The increased horsepower under Apple's goggles has also enabled a relatively new concept, sometimes called "XR," "mixed reality," or "passthrough," or, as Apple dubs it, "spatial computing."
The cameras on the outside of the Vision Pro can display the real world in near-real time inside the headset, which makes the technology less isolating, and addresses one long-time issue with virtual reality: Users can't see what's around them while they're in virtual reality.
But Apple also has to change the public perception of virtual reality. The moment that everyday consumers wear headsets on a daily basis may still be years away.
One notable aspect of Apple's Vision Pro is that it has a lot of raw power and expensive parts. Past initial Apple products didn't emphasize processor speed, display resolution, or specifications.
The Vision Pro does. A short and incomplete list of its components we know so far:
- Two Micro-OLED displays about an inch in diameter, each with the resolution of over a 4K television.
- An Apple M2 processor — the same as in a laptop — and a specialized R1 processor for cameras and other visuals.
- Eye tracking
- Six microphones
- 12 cameras and five sensors for monitoring hand gestures
All these specs put together means that the Apple Vision Pro operates at a higher level of fidelity than products currently on the market, like Meta's $299 Quest 2, which uses a mobile processor and has lower resolution screens.
It also costs a whole lot more: It costs at least $3,499, and likely even more if users opt for custom lenses or other potential upgrades, like storage.
The powerful specs allow the Vision Pro to display the outside world through video feeds on the inside of the headset in real time, making it the first device to do both high-quality VR, which transports users to a virtual world, and AR, which integrates virtual objects into the real world.
"Apple seems to be all in on the notion that it will let you see out, but it will let you see out using cameras and passthrough and very, very, very, low latency and very, very, very, high-powered computing and processing applied to the problem," said Avi Greengart, analyst at Techsponential, who demoed the headset earlier this week at Apple's campus.
That's compared to rival devices like Magic Leap and Microsoft Hololens, which use transparent displays, that require less processing power but offer lower-quality images.
This level of visual quality means that demos can be better, and that developers don't have to limit themselves based on the hardware. There's headroom for new experiences that require a lot of processing power.
It also establishes a floor for virtual reality experiences going forward: Once people have tried an Apple headset, with thousands of dollars of computing gear, it will be more difficult to use a cheaper headset without seeing the tradeoffs.
"Apple is unapologetically saying, in order to do VR, or AR, or what they're calling 'spatial computing,' this is the experience you need to offer, and that's the price point it's going to cost," said Greengart. "Anyone else coming out with a product at that price point would simply be dismissed as niche. But Apple, because of its history with consumer products, and because of its history iterating, you can expect the experience gets better over time, and the price comes down — well, hopefully it comes down."
Just as the iPhone did, the Apple Vision Pro introduces a new kind of user interface.
The iPhone introduced multi-touch screens, replacing styluses and mechanical keyboards, and enabled web browsing and full-color maps on a pocket device.
"The user experience is always the most important aspect. The most important part of the iPhone wasn't shrinking it down, the display quality, the multi-touch, but it was making that UX feel good and magical," Chennavasin said.
The Apple Vision Pro replaces controllers with simple gestures. The user's eyes become the cursor and a simple tap of the thumb and index finger selects a button.
"No other headset has really introduced eye-plus-pinch as the main interaction modality," said Jamin Hu, technical chief of Doublepoint, a private firm working on software to enable gesture-based interactions. "Apple is the first one that we've seen focusing on building their entire operating system to support eye tracking."
Eye tracking often uses small sensors to see where the user's gaze is resting. It works well, according to people who had controlled hands-on demos earlier this week. "Meta's headset has a similar feature, but it doesn't work nearly as well as it does on Apple Vision, if it works at all," wrote CNBC's Steve Kovach.
The controller-less, gesture-based interface has been a goal of the VR industry for years.
"I think it's pretty well known in the industry that eye-plus-pinch is magical. It's even faster than the computer mouse. And it's easier to learn," said Hu.
Apple even brought up its record on new computer interfaces as one reason to believe in the potential of Vision Pro.
"So in the same way that Mac introduced us to personal computing and iPhone introduced us to mobile computing, Apple Vision Pro will introduce us to spatial computing," Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the launch.
The VR industry has waited years for Apple's formal entry. Developers and experts believed Apple could set the standard once it launched its own headset. It invented the iPhone, and it could be inventing the next major mainstream computing product now.
"You have this element that Apple never comes into an industry until they really know this is going to be something special," said Sean Mann, CEO of RP1, a technology firm working to enable immersive online experiences.
Apple is likely to have the strongest pipeline of apps that could take advantage of the unique aspects of a virtual reality headset. It already has millions of software developers and the Vision Pro will support iPhone and iPad apps at launch. No other headset has that.
"Apple has the unique ability to catalyze developer interest in new platforms," Greengart said. "For the Apple Vision Pro, the App Store is going to be there on day one."
Plus, Apple has a product ecosystem it can integrate with, from iPhones, Apple Watches, and even the Mac. The headset can even function as a massive Mac monitor for getting work done.
Apple also has retail stores that are well-suited to be a first-experience in virtual reality for people who are curious about the technology. Apple's headset needs significant configuration, including head scans and custom lenses for people who wear glasses — but if any company was well-suited to providing those demos to give them the best chance to elicit a "wow," it's Apple.
"No one else in the industry has what Apple has. Apple has the phone, they have the watch, they have the desktop, and now they have a headset, and they all work with each other," Mann said. "Something that I capture on my cell phone now could easily be shown in my new Vision Pro, and that ecosystem doesn't exist in any other VR manufacturer."
The industry is still nascent. Data from Forrester, a research firm, found that 79% of online adults don't currently use a VR headset.
"It can be read, as, you know, 'My gosh, most people aren't going to use these this device' or it can be read as, 'Hey, there's an opportunity to now penetrate an untapped market with something that will help everyday users," said Mike Proulx, a research director at Forrester.
It's expected to be a low-volume product, however, selling hundreds of thousands of units over the year, according to TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, versus the tens of millions of iPhones Apple sells in a quarter.
But many people in the VR industry think that's fine for this kind of product, which isn't meant for the mainstream yet due to its price, its clunky battery pack and its novelty.
Instead, it's possible to see the Apple Vision Pro as a sort of developer's kit. Sure, some Apple fans and enthusiasts will buy it, and everyone wants to try it, but what it's really doing is kicking off a gold rush for software developers to make must-have apps for the platform.
Eventually, like other computers, prices for Apple's Vision could come down, updated models could become slimmer and lighter, and it could become a must-have like a smartphone.
"I talked to a lot of developers who are already in the XR space, and all of them have said they're interested in getting this headset and getting their hands on it and using it. Every single one of them," said Anshel Sag, an analyst at Moor Insights.
When the iPhone introduced multi-touch, advanced phone cameras, and mobile internet, it birthed Uber and Instagram. Now, it costs $3,500 to start tinkering with software that could become an everyday experience for regular people as the market potentially expands.
"If you could've gotten the iPhone two or three years before it was released, and had access to understand the hardware, don't you go for that? How much would you pay for that? This is the future today," Chennavasin said. "If I was a developer, $3,500 is a small price to pay for that." | Consumer Electronics |
Just last week, the European Union officially reached an agreement on making the USB-C charging port the mandatory standard starting in 2024. Now, a group of senators in the United States is looking to follow suit, calling on the US Commerce Department to adopt a similar policy to address the “lack of interoperability standards for charging and other device accessories.” USB-C charging requirement in the United States? The letter was sent to Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce for the United States, and it’s signed by senators Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders. In the letter, the three explain that the lack of an interoperability standard in the United States results in e-waste and environmental damage, while also being a burden on consumers (via The Verge). “We urge you to follow the EU’s lead by developing a comprehensive strategy to address unnecessary consumer costs, mitigate e-waste, and restore sanity and certainty to the process of purchasing new electronics,” the letter explains.
According to the senators, proprietary charging standards such as Apple’s Lightning port are an example of “planned obsolescence” that is “expensive and frustrating for consumers, and drives the proliferation of electronic waste.” As for how to tackle this problem, the senators write that the United States should look no further than the EU. The new common charger law in the EU is an example of “taking on powerful technology companies” to reduce e-waste and “help consumers who are tired of having to rummage through junk drawers full of tangled chargers to find a compatible one, or buy a new one.” The letter concludes by urging the secretary of commerce to address the lack of a common US charging standard to solve these issues: We urge you to coordinate with offices and agencies across the Department of Commerce to develop a comprehensive plan that will protect both consumers and the environment by addressing the lack of a common U.S. charging standard. We cannot allow the consumer electronics industry to prioritize proprietary and inevitably obsolete charging technology over consumer protection and environmental health. Apple’s response: USB-C iPhone in 2023? It’s important to remember that it took years and years for the EU to finally pass its own common charging port agreement. In fact, when the efforts first started to gain traction, the plan was to standardize on microUSB as the common charging port standard. Apple has regularly pushed back on the EU’s common charger narrative, saying that such a requirement would actually lead to more e-waste being generated and stifle innovation. Regardless of how it feels about the EU legislation, reports indicate that Apple is planning to switch to USB-C charging for the iPhone 15 in 2023. The company’s end goal, however, is to make the iPhone completely port-less. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news: About the Author Chance Miller @ChanceHMiller Chance is an editor for the entire 9to5 network and covers the latest Apple news for 9to5Mac.
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This afternoon, the Biden White House convened a meeting of top executives and government officials to discuss growing calls to institute right to repair on a national level. The virtual meeting came two weeks after California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 244 into law, creating requirements for consumer electronics and appliance manufacturers to allow easier access to repair manuals and other resources.
Apple famously came out in favor of the California legislation, representing a shift for the company. Fittingly, it was present on today’s call, alongside individuals representing the farm equipment and automotive sectors. While SB 244 focused on mostly consumer electronics (with the exclusion of game consoles) and many appliances, it lacks farm and automotive provisions.
A Massachusetts ballot initiative, which passed three years earlier, included cars. A Minnesota law passed in May, meanwhile, ultimately made a carve out for farming equipment, while Colorado’s version exclusively covers farm equipment and electric wheelchairs. New York’s version, meanwhile, was hit with a number of carve outs on the way to Governor Kathy Hochul’s desk. The push to implement something at a federal level, however, could help standardize some of these issues.
“I’ve learned through the course of my experience that it’s best when we build a consumer protection ecosystem,” said director of the National Economic Council, Tom Perez, “a combination of federal actions, to the alphabet soup of regulators [FCC, FTC,et al.], state actions and local actions.”
FTC chair Lina Khan commented on the pushback many corporations have given such legislation. Device and automotive manufacturers have argued that putting such choice in the hands of consumers opens them up to additional security risks.
“We hear some manufacturers defend repair restrictions, claiming that they’re needed for safety or security reasons,” said Khan. “The FTC has found that all too often these claims are backed by limited evidence. Accordingly, the FTC has committed itself to using all of our enforcement and policy tools to fight for people’s right to repair their own products.”
Apple’s Vice President, Service and Operations Management, Brian Naumann, reiterated the need for data and security protections, while committing the company’s support to the passage of legislation at the federal level.
“We believe that a uniform federal repair law should do the following,” the executive said, “maintain privacy, data and device security features, which help to thwart theft, ensure transparency for consumers about the type of parts used in a repair, apply prospectively to allow manufacturers to focus on building new products that can comply with the proposals and, finally, create a strong national standard that benefits consumers across the US and reduces the confusion created by potentially conflicting state approaches.”
The Apple representative also reiterated the importance of building more durable devices for “the ultimate goal, which is product longevity.” Many state and national politicians have latched onto the cause, as a rare piece of legislation with real bipartisan support.
“We heard from a diverse coalition across Minnesota from all over our state, laying out the reasons why right repair was so important,” said Minnesota Attorney general, Keith Ellison. “First, it’s good for business. We heard from a number of small business owners who are part of a device and equipment reuse sector that accounts for over 45,000 jobs in Minnesota. That’s a lot of jobs in Minnesota, giving them the tools that they need to better serve consumers helps strengthen a sector that generates $5 billion a year in Minnesota. Also, it’s good for the environment. We heard from county waste management agencies, recycling advocates who share the same message.” | Consumer Electronics |
Schematic representation of the MEMS add-drop filter. The device is tuned by actuating the vertically movable suspended ring resonator. The extremely compact footprint allows fast operation, and the electrostatic actuation mechanism ensures an extremely low power consumption, which makes this new filter highly energy efficient. Credit: Journal of Optical Microsystems (2022). DOI: 10.1117/1.JOM.2.4.044001 In recent years, global digitalization has seen unprecedented acceleration. Video streaming and video conferencing in home office and remote learning settings has resulted in a spike in residential broadband usage. Emerging applications such as artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles will further accelerate the need for data communication in the future. Today's internet infrastructure is built on fiber-optic communications, but how can the fiber-optic communication systems be made more efficient to fulfill future digital communication needs? To cope with the increasing data rates, fiber-optic communication systems use many individual communication channels at dedicated wavelengths, a technique known as wavelength division multiplexing. The channels are combined in a multiplexer before transmission over an optical fiber. To retrieve the data, the optical spectrum is de-multiplexed on the receiver side. Commonly, this operation is performed using photonic integrated circuits (PICs). PICs confine and guide light into microscale components that manipulate information in multiple wavelength channels, such as arrayed waveguide gratings or integrated ring resonators.
In a paper published in the Journal of Optical Microsystems, Hamed Sattari and co-authors have now demonstrated a power-efficient component for the demultiplexing operation by physically moving a suspended silicon ring resonator in a photonic integrated circuit. The mechanical displacement of the ring resonator allows the extraction of a wavelength channel into a bus waveguide, effectively acting as a micro-mechanically operated add-drop filter. The electrostatic actuation mechanism builds on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), a technology widely implemented in consumer electronics, such as micromirrors for video projectors.
Compared to these established optical MEMS, the novel silicon photonic MEMS demonstrated in the paper is about 3 orders of magnitude smaller. The waveguide cross-section of the ring resonator is less than 650 nm x 220 nm, and a displacement of less than 500 nm is sufficient to operate the filter. This compact footprint allows fast operation compared to established MEMS products, and the electrostatic actuation mechanism ensures an extremely low-power consumption, making this new filter highly energy efficient. Optical microscope image of the silicon photonic chip area in the left and a closer view of the suspended MEMS micro-ring resonator filter in the right. Successful integration of the MEMS device in the full stack of standard silicon photonic platform next to the grating couplers and the electrical bond pads. Credit: Journal of Optical Microsystems (2022). DOI: 10.1117/1.JOM.2.4.044001 The silicon photonic MEMS add-drop filter has been implemented by postprocessing on a standard silicon photonics platform from IMEC, an international research and development organization with headquarters in Belgium. "The integration of MEMS in silicon photonics that has been manufactured in a standardized foundry process represents a technology milestone. We demonstrate that photonic MEMS can be integrated alongside established high-performance photonic components on-chip and can be scaled to large volumes," said Niels Quack, who led photonic MEMS development activity at EPFL, Switzerland (now at the University of Sydney).
"Our contribution demonstrates that silicon photonic MEMS have taken an important step forward in technology maturity," said Sattari. "Large-scale photonic integrated circuits composed of thousands of components such as the add-drop filter can now be built, providing a missing platform that can make data-center and fiber-optic communication applications more energy efficient." More information: Hamed Sattari et al, Silicon photonic microelectromechanical systems add-drop ring resonator in a foundry process, Journal of Optical Microsystems (2022). DOI: 10.1117/1.JOM.2.4.044001 Citation: Silicon photonic microelectromechanical systems take a step forward (2022, November 7) retrieved 8 November 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-11-silicon-photonic-microelectromechanical.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. | Consumer Electronics |
US President Joe Biden arrives to speak on rebuilding US manufacturing through the CHIPS and Science Act at the groundbreaking of the new Intel semiconductor manufacturing facility near New Albany, Ohio, on September 9, 2022.Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty ImagesPresident Joe Biden is joining the founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. on Tuesday to announce the opening of a second chip plant in Arizona, raising the company's investment in the state from $12 billion to $40 billion.The company will also announce it will be producing more technically advanced chips than originally proposed. The investment by TSMC is one of the largest foreign investments in U.S. history, and the biggest in the state of Arizona.Semiconductor chips are used in everything from computers and smartphones to cars, microwaves and health-care devices. The Covid-19 pandemic shined a bright light on U.S. dependence on Chinese manufacturers as lockdowns led to a global shortage of the high-tech chips.Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law in early August, allocating billions to lure manufacturers to produce the widely used chips domestically. The law includes $52.7 billion in loans, grants and other incentives as well as billions more in tax credits to encourage investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing.Once the TSMC plants open, they will produce enough chips to meet the U.S. annual demand, 600,000 wafers per year, according to Ronnie Chatterji, National Economic Council acting deputy director for industrial policy who oversees CHIPS implementation."It's the foundation of our personal electronics, and also the future of quantum computing and AI," Chatterji said. "At scale, these two [factories] could meet the entire U.S. demand for U.S. chips when they're completed. That's the definition of supply chain resilience. We won't have to rely on anyone else to make the chips we need.""The passage of the CHIPS and Science Act was absolutely critical in providing the long term certainty for companies like TSMC to expand their footprint and expand their commitment to the United States," said Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council.The goal of the legislation was to spur private investment in chip manufacturing. CEOs from companies who will benefit from U.S. chip production, like Apple CEO Tim Cook, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, will also be in attendance.CNBC PoliticsRead more of CNBC's politics coverage:Supreme Court hears case of Colorado wedding website refusing gay marriage workOp-ed: FTX crash shows cryptocurrency market needs bank-like regulationGeorgia man arrested for shooting boy campaigning for Sen. Warnock in runoff election against WalkerBiden condemns antisemitism as Ye praises Hitler days after dinner with Trump, white nationalist FuentesBiden signs bill averting rail worker strike despite lack of paid sick daysInfoWars host Alex Jones files for bankruptcy protection, court records showFormer FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried met with top officials at the CFTC more than 10 times over the past 14 monthsBiden, Macron reaffirm their partnership, support for Ukraine at joint White House press conferenceSupreme Court takes Biden student debt relief case, holds program for nowIn Biden’s first state visit, French President Macron says U.S. must stand with democracies amid Russian aggression"Whether it's in electric vehicles or consumer electronics, CEOs of major companies are making decisions about their plans 18 to 24 months forward," Deese said. "The build out in the United States gives them more confidence to operate as well."Biden is visiting the first plant in Phoenix which is expected to begin producing chips by 2024. It was initially slated to produce 5 nanometer chips, but now will create 4 nanometer chips. The second plant will open in 2026 and produce 3 nanometer chips, the most cutting-edge chips currently available.The opening of the plants will further help boost Arizona's economy which was hard hit by the pandemic. Phoenix had an unemployment rate of 6.5% in 2020 when more than 9,000 of the city's residents filed for bankruptcy. Phoenix's unemployment rate has since dropped to 3.2%. The state's economy grew by 6.3% in 2021, the most in 16 years. | Consumer Electronics |
A poster with a logo of Foxconn is seen at the IEEE Global Communications Conference in Taipei. Taiwan, December 9, 2020. REUTERS/Ann WangRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comTAIPEI, July 5 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Foxconn (2317.TW), the world's largest contract electronics maker, raised its full-year business outlook on Monday thanks to strong sales of smartphones and servers despite concerns of slowing demand due to rising inflation.Like other global manufacturers, the Taiwanese firm has grappled with a severe shortage of chips, which has hurt smartphone production including for its major client Apple (AAPL.O), partly due to COVID-19 lockdowns in China.But the company said in a statement late on Monday that June sales jumped 31% from a year earlier to a record high for the month, thanks to appropriate supply chain management and rising sales of consumer electronics. Smartphones make up the bulk of its revenue.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comFoxconn's better-than-expected June sales come at a time when investors are concerned about slowing tech demand during a downturn in major markets due to high inflation and the war in Ukraine.Chip stocks across the world tumbled on Friday after memory chip maker Micron Technology Inc (MU.O) forecast on Thursday significantly worse-than-expected revenue for the current quarter and said the market had "weakened considerably in a very short period of time." read more Foxconn said it was optimistic about its business in the third quarter, adding it could see "significant growth" compared with a year earlier.For 2022, Foxconn said the outlook has improved compared with earlier expectations for no growth, without providing details. read more The company, formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, said it has seen double-digit yearly growth in sales from servers and telecommunications products so far this year.The company has said that COVID-19 controls in China only had a limited impact on its production as it kept workers on-site in a "closed loop" system.Analysts at Daiwa Capital Markets in Taipei said in a report demand for servers from U.S.-based cloud service providers helped propel double-digit growth for the sector. They expected Foxconn's operating profit to grow 12-19% this year.Morgan Stanley analysts said Foxconn's upbeat guidance for the third quarter showed that strong demand for cloud servers and iPhone assembly will continue.The company's shares rose as much as 3% on Tuesday before closing up 2.5%, outperforming the broader market (.TWII), which gained 0.9%. Foxconn shares have dropped around 1.4% so far this year, giving the firm a market value of $46.53 billion.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Louise Heavens and Sonali DesaiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Consumer Electronics |
Researchers' breakthrough in thermal transport could enable novel cooling strategies
Vanderbilt mechanical engineering professors Deyu Li and Josh Caldwell are part of a team of researchers who have discovered a new heat dissipation channel using phonon polaritons that could have extensive implications for novel cooling technologies in devices like smart phones and other modern electronics.
The research was recently published in Nature under the title "Remarkable Heat Conduction Mediated by Non-equilibrium Phonon Polaritons."
It is well known that electrons and atomic vibrations (phonons) are the major energy carriers in solids. Research teams from Vanderbilt University and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) were surprised to find that surface phonon polaritons, hybrid quasi-particles resulting from coupling between infrared light and optically active phonons, could contribute significantly to heat conduction in thin films and nanowires of polar crystals.
Although surface phonon polaritons have been predicted to contribute to heat conduction in polar thin films and nanowires, there has been no direct and conclusive experimental evidence for this to date. The Vanderbilt research team was able to demonstrate clear thermal conductivity enhancements in SiC nanowires with and without metallic polariton launchers at the ends.
"The substantial heat transfer capabilities of these polaritons can be engineered into novel cooling strategies, which are critical for a wide variety of technologies from consumer electronics to efficient building environment control," said Li. "This discovery may contribute to better living and efforts geared towards combating climate change."
Caldwell said phonon polaritons are a key focus within infrared nanophotonics research, with many applications emerging.
"I was excited to see that they can also provide a new heat dissipation channel, opening additional areas of impact, for instance ultrafast cooling in high-frequency and high-power electronic devices," he said.
More information: Zhiliang Pan et al, Remarkable heat conduction mediated by non-equilibrium phonon polaritons, Nature (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06598-0
Journal information: Nature
Provided by Vanderbilt University | Consumer Electronics |
Customers try out new iPhones at an Apple store as iPhone 14 series go on sale on September 16, 2022 in Shanghai, China.VCG | Visual China Group | Getty ImagesApple's next iPhone is likely to be equipped with USB-C charging, analysts said, after a European law on common chargers took a step closer to becoming reality.On Tuesday, lawmakers in the European Parliament approved a law requiring electronics, including mobile phones, tablets and cameras sold in the European Union, to be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port by the end of 2024.Apple currently uses its proprietary Lightning chargers which are different to USB-C. But that could change from the iPhone 15, the next version of its flagship smartphone."It is now inevitable that Apple will have to capitulate and transition to USB-C on the iPhone 15 when it arrives in 2023," Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, said in a note earlier this week."My thinking is that Apple has already moved to USB-C on MacBook and iPad Pro so the transition has started. iPhone 14 was quite iterative so iPhone 15 could be a bigger step in design. Therefore, it would be a good time to make the change," Wood said in follow up comments to CNBC.There are rumors that Apple is exploring USB-C for the iPhone 15, which is what the next device could be called if traditional naming convention continues.In May, Bloomberg reported that Apple is testing future iPhone models with USB-C charging but those won't come out until 2023 at the earliest.Will iPhone 15 have USB-C charging globally?If Apple does switch to USB-C next year, Bryan Ma, technology industry analyst at IDC, said the U.S. technology giant would make the change for iPhones globally, not just in the EU."Most likely it would make sense that they get the scale out of moving to this common charger globally rather than having to make individual parts, unless they think that they're really making so much [money] off of those chargers and accessories and that sort of thing that it's still worth it for them to maintain that separate," Ma told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" on Wednesday."In their own house, they're already getting ready and making preparations for the eventuality within a couple of years," he added.The change would bring Apple's charging ports in line with competitors including Samsung which already use USB-C.The EU law has been about 10 years in the making and looks set to potentially get a final stamp of approval this year.Lawmakers argue different charging standards create waste and the law will mean consumers won't need to buy a new charger every time they purchase a device."This is a victory for common sense. Although Apple has a huge installed base of lighting cable powered devices, the ubiquity of USB-C across all consumer electronics products means that harmonising on USB-C makes perfect sense," Wood said. | Consumer Electronics |
Photo: George Frey (Getty Images)Delta Airlines will offer free WiFi on its flights beginning on February 1, CEO Ed Bastian said at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas on Thursday. OffEnglishThe airline first considered the possibility of adding in-flight WiFi in 2018, but at the time, the company said it was holding off to ensure they could provide high-speed internet access. The growing concern amounted to whether passengers would encounter slower WiFi speeds, creating grievances and complaints. Delta explained that WiFi access will initially be available on about 80% of its domestic flights and the remaining planes on its fleet will be upgraded to include free WiFi each week.“It’s going to be free, it’s going to be fast and it’s going to be available for everyone,” Bastian said, adding that in the past several years, the airline had invested more than $1 billion in WiFi technology.Passengers will know the plan offers WiFi by a decal placed on the door of the aircraft as they board, but although Bastian boasts that the WiFi will be free, that option will only be available to those who are members of its free SkyMiles loyalty program. Those who aren’t members of the program will have to pay $10 to access the aircraft’s WiFi.G/O Media may get a commissionDelta said in a press release that the service, created alongside T-Mobile, will be offered on more than 700 Viasat-equipped airplanes by the end of this year, and will expand to international and regional flights by the end of 2024.T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said in the press release that the company believes passengers’ WiFi connection should be seamless. He added, “T-Mobile customers already get free in-flight Wi-Fi and now we’re partnering with Delta to bring that experience to all customers — regardless of their wireless provider — so that anyone flying Delta can enjoy online access from takeoff to touchdown.”Delta currently charges about $50 per month for WiFi within North America and charges about $70 on international flights, according to CNBC. However, the airline did introduce free messaging in 2017.Delta also announced it plans to introduce the Delta Sync Exclusives hub which will connect passengers to a mobile platform through SkyMiles that will increase their “in-flight connectivity experience.” This expansion will include “exclusive offers, access, and entertainment,” and is set to be released this spring. “Our vision has long been to deliver an experience at 30,000 feet that feel similar to what our customers have available on the ground,” Bastian said at CES. He added, “We didn’t just want free Wi-Fi to offer base-level service – we wanted it to be transformative for the entire onboard experience. “It is imperative all customers onboard can enjoy their favorite content just as they would at home, and we’ve put this system through meticulous tests to make that possible.” | Consumer Electronics |
get the free app Updated on: August 9, 2022 / 10:47 AM / CBS News CBS News Live CBS News Live Live Washington — President Biden on Tuesday is signing into law legislation that will provide billions of dollars in subsidies for domestic production of semiconductor chips and aims to make the United States more competitive with China.Called the Chips and Science Act, the bill passed both chambers of Congress last month with bipartisan support following months of negotiations. The legislation was a top priority for the Biden administration, with top officials warning lawmakers ahead of its passage that failure to act would have implications for national security and the economy. "We know there are those who focus more on seeking power than securing the future, those who seek division instead of strength and unity, who tear down rather than build up," Mr. Biden said during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House. "Today's a day for builders. Today, America is delivering."Congressional leaders, representatives from the private sector and state and local elected officials attended the event marking enactment of the measure. Among those in attendance were the heads of Intel, HP and Lockheed Martin, the governors of Illinois and Pennsylvania, and mayors from Ohio, Michigan, Texas, Idaho and Utah, according to a White House official. President Biden speaks during a signing ceremony for the Chips and Science Act at an event on the South Lawn of the White House on Aug. 9, 2022. SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images Ahead of the bill signing, the White House promoted what it said is nearly $50 billion in additional investments in domestic semiconductor production that was prompted by approval of the legislation by Congress."The CHIPs and Science Act makes the smart investments so that American to compete in and win the future," the White House said in a fact sheet about the legislation.The measure provides more than $52 billion in subsidies for U.S. semiconductors and roughly $24 billion in tax credits for new chip manufacturing facilities. It also includes billions of dollars for boosting investments in research and development and establishing regional innovation and technology hubs to create jobs and catalyze regional economic development.The White House has touted the legislation as a win for the U.S. economy that will reduce the cost of cars, smartphones, consumer electronics and appliances, all of which are require chips. | Consumer Electronics |
Apple CEO Tim Cook delivers a keynote address during the WWDC22 at Apple Park on June 06, 2022 in Cupertino, California. Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked off the annual WWDC22 developer conference.Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesApple is holding a launch event at its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., on September 7. The company is expected to announce new iPhone models, as it has every September since 2012.Apple has used pre-recorded videos for its launch events since early 2020 thanks partly to Covid restrictions, and this will be the first iPhone launch with an in-person component since 2019. Apple is streaming the launch event online on its website and YouTube in addition to inviting some media to its campus.Apple's hype-filled fall launches are a signature event for Apple. They typically draw millions of simultaneous viewers on YouTube. They garner attention from around the world and set the stage for a holiday marketing blitz during the last three months of the year, which is when Apple's sales are the highest.This year's event has the tagline "far out," which could refer to features such as night-sky photography,Last year, Apple released new iPhones and Apple Watches at an event in September, and then followed it up with an October launch featuring iPads and Macs.Here's what Apple is likely to launch next Wednesday, based on reports.iPhone 14: Four new modelsCustomers look at the iPhone13 smartphones at apple's flagship store in Shanghai, China.Xing Yun | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesApple is expected to release four new iPhone models. If Apple's current naming convention holds up, they will be called the iPhone 14.This year Apple will likely discontinue the "mini" model with a 4.7-inch screen, according to reports. Instead, Apple could offer two sizes of phone, one with a 6.1-inch screen and one with a 6.7-inch screen, each coming in a standard model and a pricier "Pro" model.The Pro models are expected to get more upgrades, according to reports from Bloomberg News, TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, and other analysts and Apple watchers. Since 2017, iPhones have included a space at the top of the phone's display with space for Apple's FaceID system, which includes several sensors and a camera. The Pro models could ditch Apple's "notch" where it houses the FaceID camera for a slimmer, more streamlined "pill" or "cutout" approach with a smaller space that has to remain blank, leaving room for an even largerThe Pro models are also expected to get upgraded A116 processors and cameras. The camera bump is expected to get larger.Apple could release an always-on screen display for showing notifications, like some Android phones have sported for years. Beta iPhone software released over the summer suggested that Apple may be planning a similar feature because of new widgets that show weather and battery life.One of the biggest questions is how Apple will price its iPhones in a period of inflation around the world and macroeconomic uncertainty in some regions. Other consumer electronics, such as Sony's Playstation 5, have seen price cuts.Apple's least expensive iPhone 13 model is the $699 iPhone 13 Mini, which is expected to be discontinued. That would make Apple's mainline device, which is currently the iPhone 13, the least expensive new model at $829, if its price doesn't change. Some analysts also expect Apple to increase the price of its Pro models.Apple usually drops the price of older models when it releases new ones, giving more price-sensitive consumers an option.Apple Watch Customers try Apple Watch devices in the Apple Marunouchi store on September 07, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan.Tomohiro Ohsumi | Getty ImagesApple is likely to show the 8th major new version of its watch next week. Last year, the Apple Watch Series 7 got a slightly larger screen but the redesign did not significantly change the look and feel of the device, which has remained mostly the same since 2014.Expect more evolution this year, too. Apple is considering a body temperature sensor in the new devices, according to the Wall Street Journal, which could help with fertility and sleep tracking. Other sleep tracking features could include the ability to detect advanced sleep patterns or apnea.But the biggest Apple Watch Series 8 announcement could be a new "Pro" model with a bigger screen and more durable finish. Apple has previously released Apple Watches with pricey case materials such as gold, ceramic, and titanium, and the new "Pro" model described by Bloomberg and Kuo could be one of the first high-end Apple Watches to gain additional features over its less expensive siblings.Also likely: A new updated version of the Apple Watch SE, its $329 entry-level Watch model.iOS 16How to edit an iMessage in iOS 16Todd Haselton | CNBCiPhone owners who don't plan to buy any new gear this fall will still get an annual update to the iPhones software, iOS 16, which was announced in June and has been in testing over the summer.The software has several new features that users will immediately notice. The biggest banner feature is the ability to customize the iPhone's lockscreen with widgets that can display weather forecasts, calendar appointments, and other information at a glance. Users can also change the font for the lockscreen clock for the first time, as well.iOS 16 also lets you unsend or edit iMessage text messages, as long as you catch them within a few minutes of sending.iOS 16 will also introduce short-term loans from Apple called Apple Pay Later. The feature will allow users to buy stuff online with Apple Pay but pay for the item in four installments without paying interest.One cool feature in iOS 16 is if a user has both an iPhone and a Mac laptop or desktop, they can use the iPhone as a very high-definition web camera.After the event: iPads, MacsApple's September event invite.AppleApple is unlikely to release new iPads next week because their software isn't ready yet. Earlier this month, Apple told TechCrunch that iPadOS, the iPad software, will ship after iOS this fall, suggesting a staggered release.Apple's statement was terse and the company dislikes talking about unannounced products. But in general, it likes to release new hardware together with new software, so the statement clearly suggested that new iPads would come at a later launch date than iPhones.iPadOS and iOS are very similar but this year iPadOS is getting a feature called Stage Manager that could allow users to multitask more efficiently — but also got panned by early testers. Improved iPads could include more powerful processors that are closers to laptop processors, smoother displays, and better integration with accessories.Apple also uncharacteristically teased a new "Mac Pro" in the spring. The Mac Pro is currently a $5,000 tower of power using an Intel processor.Apple wants to transition its entire Mac lineup away from Intel to its own M-series processors, but a pricey niche product doesn't fit as well with Apple's mass-market iPhones and Apple Watches. Instead, new Macs could be announced at a separate event later this year, as happened last year. | Consumer Electronics |
BMW's new i Vision Dee car can change colors on demand. BMW unveiled Wednesday the prototype of a car that can change color and showcases digital features like projecting driving data across the inside of the windshield. This car, called i Vision Dee, was presented at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas at an event attended by "Terminator" actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
BMW unveiled last year at this same show a car that could change hue but only from white to black and gray in between.
But the body of the new car can change in a rainbow of colors, in one solid hue or in stripes or checks.
BMW i Vision Dee is just an idea for now but it is supposed to shape the design of future cars from the luxury manufacturer.
For example, having driving data such as speed or direction flash on the windshield is scheduled to be an option as of 2025. BMW has also raised the possibility of projecting augmented reality images on the windshield and turn it into a full-fledged screen with technology that mixes "real and virtual worlds."
The idea is to use software to create "the ultimate companion" offering a personalized driving experience, said BMW chief Oliver Zipse. The name Dee is an acronym for digital emotional experience. Actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger with BMW boss Oliver Zipse at the CES consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. Schwarzenegger joked about a prototype brimming with all this new technology. "I was a little concerned because in most of my movies the machine was the enemy. Now they are the allies," he said. © 2023 AFP Citation: BMW unveils car that can change color (2023, January 5) retrieved 5 January 2023 from https://techxplore.com/news/2023-01-bmw-unveils-car.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. | Consumer Electronics |
- Foxconn will invest more than $600 million in India as part of a phone manufacturing project and separately a semiconductor equipment facility.
- Foxconn is one of the world's biggest contract electronics manufacturers. It is best known as the main assembler of Apple's iPhones.
- But the company has been looking to diversify its business beyond China at a time when India is trying to bring high-tech manufacturing to its shores.
Foxconn will invest more than $600 million in India as part of a phone manufacturing project and separately a semiconductor equipment facility, according to the government of the state of Karnataka.
In a tweet on Wednesday, M B Patil, Karnataka's minister of commerce said the Taiwanese firm and U.S. chip firm Applied Materials pledged to invest more than $360 million into a phone casing component plant and some $240 million into a semiconductor equipment manufacturing project.
The phone project will create employment opportunities for 12,000 people, Patil said, while the semiconductor facility will generate employment for 1,000 people.
Foxconn is one of the world's biggest contract electronics manufacturers. It is best known as the main assembler of Apple's iPhones but the company has been looking to diversify both geographically and in terms of its portfolio of products.
Foxconn's main operations are in China, where it runs the world's largest iPhone factory. But India, which has been pushing to bring high-tech manufacturing to the country, has been a target of Foxconn's expansion plans.
Meanwhile, the company has ramped up efforts to set itself up as an electric car manufacturer to diversify beyond consumer electronics. Foxconn has also, with little success so far, tried to enter the semiconductor manufacturing area.
Foxconn agreed with Indian metals-to-oil conglomerate Vedanta to set up a semiconductor and display production plant in India as part of a $19.5 billion joint venture. But Foxconn pulled out of the venture last month.
Foxconn declined to comment on the investment in Karnataka when contacted by CNBC. Applied Materials was not immediately available for comment.
Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has looked to position itself as a hub for advanced technology, in particular semiconductors. Modi attended a semiconductor event in India last week, at which senior executives from big U.S. chip firms including Applied Materials and AMD were present. Young Liu, chairman of Foxconn, was also present as companies praised India and announced investments. | Consumer Electronics |
- Best Buy is laying off hundreds of store workers as more of its shoppers buy online and sales of consumer electronics weaken.
- Retailers, including Best Buy, have struck a cautious tone as shoppers pull back in some categories like consumer electronics.
- Best Buy said in a statement it is "evolving our stores and the experiences we offer to better reflect the changes in customer shopping behavior."
Best Buy said Friday that it is laying off hundreds of store workers as more of its shoppers buy online and sales of consumer electronics weaken.
A spokesperson for the company confirmed the layoffs, but declined to share the specific number. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
In a statement, Best Buy said it is "evolving our stores and the experiences we offer to better reflect the changes in customer shopping behavior, as well as how we organize our teams to ensure we continue to provide our expertise, products and services in the best way possible."
The jobs market in the U.S. remains strong and labor market continues to be tight. The unemployment rate was 3.5%, even as more people got back to work after the Covid pandemic, according to the recent jobs report from the Labor Department.
Yet retailers, including Best Buy, have struck a cautious tone as shoppers pull back in some categories like consumer electronics. Retailers have seen softer sales of discretionary merchandise as consumers pay more for necessities because of inflation and spend more on services again, such as booking flights or dining at restaurants.
Best Buy is also following a period when many of its customers sprang for new laptops, kitchen appliances and home theater systems during the early years of the pandemic. Much of what it sells are big-ticket items that people don't replace frequently. | Consumer Electronics |
India wants to be a bigger player in the global hardware manufacturing industry, and it sees a route to boosting local economies while doing so. Now, it’s putting some money where its mouth is. The country has announced a $2 billion program designed to promote and incentivize local businesses building hardware like laptops, PCs, servers and related edge computing kit.
On Wednesday, India’s IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the Union Cabinet approved the new scheme for with a budgetary outlay of over $2.06 billion (17,000 crores Indian rupees). The initiative, which is called the Production-Linked Incentive Scheme, is focused on spurring local production, by offering cash awards based on a sliding scale linked to sales of the hardware being produced.
The program will run for six years and is expected to attract investments of $295 million and incremental production of $40.7 billion. It will also generate roughly over 200,000 jobs — 75,000 direct and the rest indirectly — the minister said at a press conference.
India’s moves come at a time when the country — the second biggest country in the world, and one of the most lucrative for consumer electronics — is still a net importer of hardware, largely from China. More recently, it has been chipping away at an opportunity to leverage some of its own size and technical expertise to compete with China on the electronics manufacturing front.
The scheme announced today has not been without its headaches, though.
For starters, it has been in the works for years already, but the original incarnation had been delayed due to low interest, reportedly because manufacturers — who were already producing hardware in China — didn’t see enough of a financial incentive to invest in moving to India.
Originally, when the Indian government announced the incentive program for IT hardware production in March 2021, it had a total budget outlay of $892 million tied to attracting investments of up to $303.5 million. The revised scheme announced today has bumped up the budget outlay to more than twice as much, while reducing the overall demand for outside investment to be eligible for the offer.
The fact that the Indian government has budged on those two numbers is, on one hand, a sign of current, tougher economic times: this can help kickstart local economies at a time when the world feels like it is teetering on economic stagnation or even recession (and in some of the toughest geographies and demographies, collapse). On the other hand, it underscores the opportunity that India sees in becoming a hardware net exporter, at a time when many are looking to usurp that crown from China.
“Today, that environment is there in the country. Today in India, there is a good policy framework, very proactive government,” said Vaishnaw in his press remarks. “And, of course, the global situation is also supporting us, and the ecosystem has got created. So, all these factors are supporting this [scheme].”
The scheme announced today will sit alongside similar efforts India has established to boost electronics and telecom equipment manufacturing. The government also separately offers some $6.6 billion in incentives to manufacturers producing smartphones in the country. Companies such as Samsung and Foxconn, Wistron and Pegatron — who all work with Apple — have applied for the smartphone incentive program.
India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), which counts Apple, Samsung and other key device makers as its members, believes that the new scheme will help expand IT hardware exports from India.
“We currently import a significant portion of our laptops and tablets for consumption,” said Pankaj Mohindroo, chairman of ICEA, in a prepared statement. “This revised PLI scheme will not only foster domestic manufacturing but also likely benefit major global manufacturers of IT hardware products such as laptops and tablets. We urge the global industry to acknowledge this and consider India as a crucial destination for manufacturing IT hardware products.”
Over the past eight years, electronics manufacturing in the South Asian nation has experienced a yearly growth rate of 17%, reaching a total value of $105 billion. The country has become the second largest manufacturer of mobile phones after China, with exports of mobile phones surpassing $11 billion this year, per government data. | Consumer Electronics |
Insignia F30 Series 4K UHD Smart Fire TV
TCL 65S455 4-Series UHD Roku TV
Amazon Fire TV Omni Series
If you think the best budget TV on the market is small and low quality without the full array of features, you'd be surprised by the spacious screens you can buy for just a few hundred dollars. Even the most basic best TVs offer the razor-sharp 4K resolution, onboard Wi-Fi wireless connectivity and built-in streaming software of high-end TVs; some add voice controls and Dolby-powered audio to the mix. For a bit more, you can get a so-called budget TV with a screen that fills even the biggest living room.
Below I've rounded up my buying guide for the best 65-inch budget Smart TVs you can buy right now from Roku to Amazon and Samsung. That size represents the current "sweet spot" in terms of an affordable price: Dropping down to a 55-inch model wouldn't save you much, but jumping to a 70- or 75-inch would cost a fair bit more. Plus, I think a 65-inch is "just right" for the average living room, offering a really good viewing experience for movies, sports, video games and the like without overwhelming the space.
What to look for in a budget TV
On paper, most modern 65-inch TVs, whether they’re expensive TVs or entry-level TVs, may list the same specs: 4K ultra-high definition (aka UHD), HDR10, Wi-Fi, Dolby this-or-that, 3-4 HDMI inputs and so on. OLED TV display technology will yield the best possible image quality, but that's hard to find in budget models. Thankfully, QLED and ULED tech, which definitely raises the image-quality game versus a standard LED TV, is available in some of the models listed here.
Speaking of games, gamers planning to connect a current-generation PlayStation or Xbox should look for a new TV with a 120Hz refresh rate and, if possible, support for HDMI 2.1 to reduce input lag. That will ensure you get the best visual experience your game console has to offer.
Crazy though it may sound, the first thing I look for in any budget TV is the built-in software. Does it run Amazon's Fire TV operating system? Google's Android TV? Roku? Or perhaps there's a proprietary operating system like the ones found in LG and Samsung TVs.
This didn't matter in the old days, when you just flipped channels or used the cable-box TV guide. Now, the OS dictates the look, feel and features of the TV, particularly the streaming apps like Netflix and Hulu. Some interfaces are easier to use than others; some can go beyond basic streaming (like offering games or Zoom calls).
Of course, if you decide you're not happy with the built-in OS functionality, you can easily plug in a different one: There are streaming sticks and boxes available from Amazon, Apple, Google and Roku, among others. Most game consoles have streaming capabilities as well. So while it's wise to choose a TV with the operating system you like best, it's not a forever decision.
Read more: The best streaming devices of 2023
But that does bring us back to the number of HDMI ports, something to think about before buying. If you decide to plug in, say, an Apple TV, that's one. A cable box? That's two. Game console? Three. Sound bar? That can plug into an optical audio port, but HDMI is the better option. And that would mean you'd need four HDMI inputs to cover your bases. Figure out how much hardware you're bringing to the TV table, because running out of ports is no fun.
Beyond that, I'd definitely look for hands-free voice controls, and if you're planning to add surround-sound speakers, consider a model offering Dolby Atmos.
Best budget TV picks (65-inch) for 2023
Proof-positive that screen size doesn't have to break the bank, Best Buy's Insignia F30 is currently priced at just $342. And if you think this model means compromises, think again: It earned a 4.5-star average rating from around 1,800 buyers.
Make no mistake, it doesn't have fancy features like QLED or Dolby Atmos, but it delivers a solid 4K viewing experience — which is all that matters for many buyers, especially those upgrading from an older and/or smaller TV.
The F30 uses Amazon's Fire TV OS, which gives access to not only streaming services but also some pretty cool games. There's Apple AirPlay support as well, great for viewing iPhone photos and the like on your big screen for optimal picture quality. Plus, press a button on the remote and you've got Alexa at your disposal, ready to act on your spoken commands.
I'd argue that the Roku TV interface is the easiest to use, and therefore the most novice-friendly pick for best budget TV. That's something to think about if you're fairly new to streaming or haven't used a smart TV platform like this before. Roku makes it a breeze to switch between different apps and inputs, and the built-in Roku Channel provides access to a wealth of free movies and TV shows.
This model is also notable for including four HDMI inputs, one of them supporting eARC — important if you plan to connect, say, a sound bar, audio receiver or other home entertainment. And although the included infrared remote doesn't support voice commands, the Roku app (for Android and iOS) does. It also makes for a good backup remote in case the regular one gets lost in the couch cushions. I especially like the app's Private Listening feature, which routes TV audio to your favorite earbuds or headphones.
This is definitely the budget TV in TCL's lineup, so don't expect features like quantum dot or local dimming. But user ratings on Amazon, Best Buy and elsewhere are overwhelmingly positive, so if you just want a basic 4K TV with an excellent interface, look no further.
I first reviewed Amazon's Fire TV Omni Series last year, and I remain impressed by the picture quality and breadth of features — not the least of which is webcam support, which allows for big-screen Zoom calls. Just plug in a compatible camera and you can enjoy video chats from the comfort of your couch.
Beyond that, the Fire TV operating system — which I dinged in my review for its somewhat unintuitive design — is newly overhauled and better organized than ever. And it plays very nicely with any other Alexa-capable devices you might have in your home, though you certainly don't need any. On its own, it has very handy voice-powered TV controls (and hands-free at that).
And you can't help taking into account Amazon customer ratings, which currently number over 21,000 and average out to 4.5 stars. That means most buyers have been extremely happy with the TV, good to know when you're making a major purchase.
However, here's the really important part: Like most Amazon-branded hardware, this frequently goes on sale. It's rare to see it at $760, the list price; right now, for example, it's down to $540, but I've seen it as low as $500. Bottom line: If you want this TV deal (and it's definitely worth considering), wait for a sale.
If you're a Google-ecosystem fan (Android phone, Nest smart speakers, etc.), it might make sense to choose a TV with the familiar Google TV operating system baked in. That's what you get from the Hisense U6H Series, which is notable not just for its Google TV features, but also for frequently discounted pricing and the surprising inclusion of quantum dot technology (which promises a wider color spectrum than you get from standard 4K HDR).
In addition, the U6H offers local dimming for better picture quality, which helps improve the contrast in individual areas of the screen (rather than just "across the board"). There's also Dolby Atmos sound support, great if you're planning to pair your budget TV with a surround speaker system. Dolby Vision and variable refresh rate (VRR) round out the impressive feature set — the latter an important gaming feature.
Hisense backs the U6H series with a two-year warranty, which is double what you get with most TVs (and, for that matter, most consumer electronics).
I've owned a similar version of this TV for nearly a year and can't think of a bad thing to say about it. (OK, it's not as bright as a few other models I've tested, but in a vacuum it's plenty bright.) I continue to consider it a remarkable "budget" TV, especially when you're able to get it on sale.
What about a budget projector?
Before you pull the trigger on buying the best budget TV for your needs, should you look at a projector instead? For about the same money you’d spent on the best cheap TV (anywhere from $500 to $800), you can enjoy an image of up to 100 inches or even larger, provided you have a blank wall available (or you hang a screen). I'm a big fan of this option, but there's one key consideration on the list of specs: resolution.
As noted above, all modern TVs are capable of 4K resolution, or 3,840 x 2,160 pixels. The vast majority of under-$1,000 projectors top out their best picture at 1080p resolution, or 1,920 x 1,080 pixels. That's not bad, but it simply doesn't measure up to 4K picture quality. And the bigger your projection, the more pixels you want. So gamers won’t likely consider it the best gaming TV.
Plus, brightness is always a concern: If you're looking for something for your living room, a projector may not be bright enough for daytime viewing with the curtains open.
That said, if you want to give this a try, consider the ViewSonic PX701-4K, a native-4K projector that normally sells for $900 but is currently marked down to $800. (Remember, you want native 4K resolution, not simply "supported," which is the marketing language used with a lot of low-cost projectors.) It's super bright and features dedicated modes for movies and gaming. | Consumer Electronics |
Not all who wander are lost, but some of those who “wonder” do… “lust?” Well, at least according to Apple, fans do seem to lust after whatever next product is coming down the road from its headquarters at 1 Infinity Loop. Now, the company is finally ready to share details about its upcoming iPhone 15 lineup, its Apple Watch Series 9, and potentially more on Sept. 12.
Apple sent out its media invites Tuesday two weeks ahead of its “Wonderlust” event broadcasting from Apple Park at the company’s headquarters in Cupertino, California. The event should be streamed on Sept. 12 from the company’s events website at 10 a.m. PT, 1 p.m. ET. The stream should also be available on the company’s YouTube page and Apple TV.
The teaser image for the event shows an Apple logo in the shape of morphing, sandy dunes in silver, gold, and blue colors. These could hint at the color selection of the upcoming iPhone 15. Up until now, most rumors indicated the iPhone 15 would come in “Midnight,” “Starlight,” along with more common green, yellow, pink, and classic red.
Based on everything we know about the iPhone 15, Apple’s next device will be a big transition, in more ways than one. The tech giant may finally implement USB-C onto its phones. The next edition should have slimmer bezels compared to previous renditions.
Apple is putting extra emphasis on its beefier Pro or Pro Max variants, and the more expensive phones could include a titanium chassis rather than the normal aluminum frame. The Pro variants could also come with a programmable “Action” button rather than a mute toggle in order to quickly access features or apps without navigating through the phone. Inside, the iPhone 15 Pros are expected to support the A17 processor, Apple’s initial outing for its 3-nanometer chip.
As far as the Apple Watch Series 9, things are looking a lot more dull. There could be new colors and a faster processor inside, but rumors say we shouldn’t expect any major improvements to the device or changes to its overall silhouette.
Want more of Gizmodo’s consumer electronics picks? Check out our guides to the best phones, best laptops, best cameras, best televisions, best printers, and best tablets. If you want to learn about the next big thing, see our guide to everything we know about the iPhone 15. Click here to save on the best deals of the day, courtesy of our friends at The Inventory. | Consumer Electronics |
Apple Music Classical, the company’s big venture into a dedicated platform for classical music, finally went live on the App Store Tuesday. It’s only available on iPhone currently, and though it bears many features that classical fans have been clamoring for, it takes a bit of extra work to listen to classical songs offline.
The app was spun out of Apple’s purchase of Primephonic back in 2021, though the company missed its expected release date of 2022. Apple Music Classical finally reared its head earlier this month, promising more than 5 million tracks with 192 kHz, 24-bit Hi-Res lossless audio as well as Apple’s Spatial Audio feature. Users need an Apple Music subscription to access Apple Music Classical, but do not need to pay extra for it. It’s limited to iOS currently, though an Android version is on its way in the near future.
The music list is extensive, with the company advertising there’s 20,000 composers, 115,000 works, and 350,000 movements found within the app. The application is laid out into four sections, with its “Browse” tab showcasing a curated selection based on artistic periods such as Baroque or modern, “moods,” and music lists created by some modern artists and composers. The dedicated classical search function can look up by composer, instrument, artist nicknames, and more. The search can be further broken down by tags like release date and duration. Each composition displays multiple recording options from different orchestras, with some songs featuring dozens or even hundreds of separate recordings (hence that 5 million track number). The app also includes some composer bios and descriptions for some of history’s major pieces.
Though you need an Apple Music subscription to access the ad-free classical music selection, Apple Music Classical is a separate app. According to Apple’s own support page, the reason for this app being separate from Apple Music is to “support the complex data structure of classical music.” Classical listeners often search for music via decades, themes, and more, something most music apps don’t take into account. There’s also that business of there being many multiple recordings of the same composition. Back in its heyday, Primephonic talked up how it would input all the metadata “by hand,” a laborious process but one that classical music connoisseurs know is so important to searching for Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C Minor versus his Piano Concerto No. 5.
“Classical music is different. It has longer and more detailed titles, multiple artists for each work, and hundreds of recordings of well-known pieces,” Apple’s support page explains.
At the same time, Apple Music Classical does rely on the standard Apple Music app for some functionality. Users can track their Classical albums, playlists, and tracks in the regular Apple Music app, though none of the new playlist features showing recordings, works, or composers will appear on the mainline music application. You also can’t shuffle music in Apple Music Classical, but you can in Apple Music.
There’s also a bit of a process if you want to listen to classical music offline. The support page notes you can’t download any music from the Classical app. Instead, you have to pop back into Apple Music to download tracks from your Classical playlists.
There’s enough that Apple Music Classical can do on its own to make classical fans jump on. That said, it’s clear that there’s still room for Apple to expand Apple Music Classical’s standalone features in the future, which will help justify its nature as a separate app more. It’s also a bit of shame that Apple Music subscribers on Android will have to wait to access Apple Music Classical.
Want more of Gizmodo’s consumer electronics picks? Check out our guides to the best phones, best laptops, best cameras, best televisions, and best tablets and eReaders. And if you want to learn about the next big thing, see our guide to everything we know about the iPhone 15. | Consumer Electronics |
The days of constantly swapping Apple Watch straps may soon be over, because the tech giant is working on a chameleon-inspired band that changes colour.
A newly-granted patent from the Cupertino firm describes an 'electrochromic' Apple Watch band that switches shades when a current is applied.
It would be made from a fabric woven from electrochromic filaments in three distinct bands that can each show alternate colours, the patent suggests.
Colours could be changed by the user to match their clothes, environment or mood, or could even flash to relay information such as notifications.
It follows news that Apple has already filed a patent for a camera on the bottom of an Apple Watch, for taking quick snaps or video.
The patent for the colour-changing band was granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office and noticed by Patently Apple.
'Users may desire the ability to customise their watch bands to express variety and style,' the patent reads.
'For example, a user may desire a watch band of a particular color based on the user's selection of clothing, other wearable articles, environment, or another preference.'
Apple Watch users can already swap out their strap for ones with a different colours or designs, but the new invention could eliminate the need for this.
'The color selections can be made and adjusted without removing and exchanging the watch band,' the patent explains.
Different sections of the filaments could also light up certain colours to display icons or shapes, almost like dot matrix display, the patent suggests.
'Color-adjustable elements of the watch band can be arranged and independently controlled in a manner that allows the system to display particular icons, shapes, and/or text by illuminating certain elements in a particular way,' it reads.
'Accordingly, the color changing features can be used as a visual output of information from the watch to the user.'
Electrochromic technology has already been used for window tinting on commercial planes, making them a darker colour so people can get to sleep.
These 'smart' electrochromic windows are also used in homes, giving people power to control the amount of heat and sunlight coming through.
But this would be a major design innovation for the Apple Watch, should it come to fruition.
The fact this patent has only just been granted suggests the colour band technology will be a while away from hitting the market.
Apple regularly files patents for several concepts without ever releasing them, so the colour-changing band may not even get a release.
Apple was also awarded a patent earlier this month for a camera attached to an Apple Watch band, allowing the wearable to rotate or detach to snap a photo and make video calls.
The James Bond-worthy gadget would feature a unique band connecting the Apple Watch with a magnet or latch, allowing it to be easily removed and reattached.
The release of the first ever Apple Watch nearly a decade ago caused a stir in the tech industry but its latest flagship watch, Apple Watch 8, was described as providing only 'incremental upgrades' compared with the previous iteration.
The £419 ($399) Apple Watch 8 has an Always-On display – meaning the screen shows a small amount of quickly glanceable information when it's idle.
It also has a strong crack-resistant front crystal, a temperature sensor that provides estimates of when a female wearer is ovulating and the same crash detection technology as the iPhone 14.
Apple Watch 8 was launched alongside two other new watch models – Apple Watch SE 2 and Apple Watch Ultra.
Apple Watch SE delivers some of the Series 8's advanced features, including crash detection, at a lower price (starting from £259 or $249).
Meanwhile, the Apple Watch Ultra is the Cupertino company's most durable smartwatch to date – and its most expensive, at £849 or $799.
A rugged smartwatch for 'extreme athletes', it has flat sapphire front crystal and a titanium case that wraps around the display, as well as side buttons that work even when the user is wearing gloves.
Another tech firm called Nowatch turned heads at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month when it showed off its display-less smartwatch that doesn't even tell the time. | Consumer Electronics |
Advanced chips made using leading-edge process technologies often need high-quality multi-layer motherboards. To ensure that such printed circuit boards (PCBs) can be produced in the U.S., President Joe Biden this week signed a presidential determination authorizing the use of Defense Production Act (DPA) to support domestic PCB and advanced chip packaging industries with $50 million.
Gradual migration of high-tech industry from the United States to Asia in the recent decades affected not only sophisticated semiconductor production and high-volume assembly of consumer electronics, but also things like chip packaging and production of PCBs. Meanwhile, all electronics devices — from a humble mouse all the way to a mission critical server or a piece of military equipment — use some kind of a motherboard, so the ability to produce sophisticated PCBs in the U.S. is also a matter of national security.
The presidential determination lets the Department of Defense use $50 million to provide DPA Title III incentives — including purchases and purchase commitments — to support the PCB and Advanced Packaging industries in the U.S.
While the U.S. government is interested in production of PCBs for use in national defense, energy, healthcare, and other crucial sectors in America, companies that receive subsidies from DoD will gain the technological capability and knowhow necessary to produce advanced boards in general, and will be able to serve other sectors as a result. We can only speculate whether this could eventually bring production of things such as graphics cards or PC motherboards back to the U.S. — it's definitely a possibility.
In fact, companies such as AMD, Apple, Google, Intel, Nvidia, and many others produce a variety of motherboards for their devices in the U.S. for test purposes, before initiating volume production in Asia. At least some American companies could expand their PCB and packaging operations in the U.S. to serve clients here — if they receive the right financial incentives.
"Without Presidential action under section 303 of the Act, United States industry cannot reasonably be expected to provide the capability for the needed industrial resource, material, or critical technology item in a timely manner," Biden wrote in a memo. "I find that action to expand the domestic production capability for printed circuit boards and advanced packaging is necessary to avert an industrial resource or critical technology item shortfall that would severely impair national defense capability." | Consumer Electronics |
Eve, the manufacturer of smart home devices that work particularly with Apple’s ecosystem and HomeKit, just unveiled a brand new device at IFA, a consumer electronics trade show. The Eve Play is a small AirPlay 2 receiver that can turn any traditional speaker into a smart, connected speaker. It will be available on November 14 for $149.95 (or €149.95).
From the outside, the Eve Play looks deceptively simple. There’s no screen, no on/off button and no remote. It’s a simple streaming box with an aluminum frame and a glossy black finish on the top of the device.
The back of the device is more interesting as it features plenty of ports. In addition to the power port, there are optical, coaxial and RCA audio outputs. This way, you can connect it to a wide variety of stereo systems.
When it comes to local network connectivity, the Eve Play is limited to Wi-Fi 4 (802.11n on 2.4 or 5 GHz networks). Fortunately, there is also an Ethernet port for reliable connectivity.
Once everything is set up, you will be able to connect to the Eve Play receiver from the audio output screen of your iPhone, iPad or Mac. The Eve Play will also appear in Apple’s Home app, which means that it could be used for home automation.
And because it supports AirPlay 2, it means that you can use it as part of a multi-room audio setup. For instance, you could have a HomePod in your kitchen, a Sonos speaker in your bedroom and an Eve Play connected to your stereo in your living room and play the same music across all your rooms.
While AirPlay 2 is supposed to automatically adjust latency between speakers, Eve will also let you manually set a latency in the Eve app. Behind the scenes, Eve uses a Texas Instruments digital-to-analog converter to turn your digital audio into an analog audio signal.
There are other audio receivers on the market from Belkin or Bose. Some of them offer more options, such as Bluetooth pairing. But if you’re looking for a clean and simple AirPlay 2 solution, the Eve Play could be an interesting option. | Consumer Electronics |
All those pencil pushers out there chomping at the bit for an Apple-brand USB-C stylus no longer have to wait. On Wednesday, Apple put its new Apple Pencil with USB-C up for order, and customers can expect delivery beginning Nov. 3.
The $79 Apple Pencil is like its previous installments, though now the cap slides out to reveal a USB-C port. The pen itself still attaches magnetically to an iPad on the flat end. Since iPads have long since moved on to the common charging port, this will make it far easier to charge both devices without having to switch cables. When magnetically attached to an iPad, the pen enters a sleep state to conserve battery.
The first orders should go out from Nov. 3 through Nov. 7, while in-store pickup should be available starting Nov. 8.
The new Apple Pencil 3 promises a lower entry point for the company’s other first- and second-gen stylus. The $129 Apple Pencil has features like pressure sensitivity and wireless charging from the iPad itself, two absent from the Pencil 3.
Still, Apple claims its latest stylus still has tilt sensitivity and is just as accurate as any of the past versions. It still supports Apple Pencil hover with the 6th-gen 12.9-inch iPad Pro and the 4th-gen 11-inch iPad Pro.
This Apple Pencil 3 doesn’t exactly fill the hole left by the lack of an iPad release, as it seems Apple’s tablets have skipped this year entirely. Instead, Apple took time this Halloween to promote more desktop devices like the new M3-powered iMac and MacBook Pro.
Want more of Gizmodo’s consumer electronics picks? Check out our guides to the best phones, best laptops, best cameras, best televisions, best printers, and best tablets. If you want to learn about the next big thing, see our guide to everything we know about the iPhone 15. Click here to save on the best deals of the day, courtesy of our friends at The Inventory. | Consumer Electronics |
Drivers can expect more electric cars and autonomous features to hit the market in the next few years as car makers go high-tech and tech industry giants like Google and Amazon branch further into automotives. Those trends were on full display at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show with companies from Sony to BMW, and even the United States Postal Service, showing off electric vehicles and digital features the companies say improve safety and add entertainment value. “Not to disparage smartphones or anything else, but automotive is really the place where it’s at right now,” Patrick Brady, vice president of automotive at Google, said during a CES panel. Cars are offering opportunities for innovation where software and artificial intelligence (AI) “really come together in one,” he said. But the additional bells and whistles may come at a price for drivers — in both money and privacy. Users could see a growing trend in paid subscriptions to access the new tech. And the advances may give rise to data privacy concerns similar to those that have surrounded smartphone and computer advancements. Companies may also run into traditional tech regulatory challenges in their efforts to introduce the new features. Here is what to know about the advancements being made, as well as their potential drawbacks and obstacles they could be facing. The rise of the connected car During CES several major tech companies highlighted smart features they’ve developed for cars, updating systems to be more personalized for drivers. Google, for instance, highlighted its Android Auto feature, which allows users to connect an Android phone to their car display. The feature had a design revamp that aimed to prioritize three driver goals: navigation, communication and audio entertainment. It also uses Google Assistant to make suggestions, such as missed call reminders, and provides on-screen shortcuts to reply to messages or call favorite contacts. Amazon, meanwhile, unveiled a feature for its virtual assistant Alexa that allows people with an Alexa-enabled vehicle or Alexa auto accessory to ask Alexa to “find an EV charging station near me.” Stellantis, the automaker behind brands including Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep, estimates it will reach 34 million connected vehicles by the end of the decade. The company already hosts a suite of connected vehicle features, offered through packages by monthly subscriptions. For example, drivers can pay for internet access in vehicles under Stellantis brands for a monthly fee at market prices set by data providers. Stellantis and data providers share revenue from the deal, but Stellantis does not disclose what portion of the monthly rates it receives. Stellantis is also diving further into the data and connected services market by launching a new unit called Mobilisights, announced at CES. Mobilisights will have exclusive access and rights to license vehicles and related data from all Stellantis brands to external customers such as private enterprises, public-sector utilities and research institutions. “Harnessed effectively, sensor and other data available from connected vehicles can enable a wide range of services and applications with compelling benefits, ranging from personalized usage-based insurance to road hazard detection and traffic management,” Mobilisights CEO Sanjiv Ghate said in a statement. Data privacy concerns amplified For privacy advocates, though, the introduction of new sensors and data collecting technologies into cars magnifies concerns about how information such as real-time location or biometric data is collected and used. A group of nearly two dozen tech advocacy groups, led by Demand Progress, sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Wednesday arguing that data collected by tech companies as they expand into the automotive industry can be used both to “consolidate their position of market advantage” and in “other ways that verge on the dystopian.” Brady, the Google executive, addressed concerns about data privacy and how companies will comply with new regulations intended to protect user information while speaking at CES. Brady said companies need to work to create a “balanced” experience that can give users control over how their data is used or acquired without introducing transparency methods that are intrusive for drivers, like having red lights flash to show data is being accessed. “If you don’t do it right, you actually lose the value of transparency and control because consumers will just start ignoring it. I think we need to solve that together,” Brady said. Tech companies have been facing a rising number of laws meant to protect data privacy around the world. Several countries and international bodies have implemented sweeping data privacy laws in recent years, such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. The U.S., meanwhile, has lagged behind those global counterparts and has not yet passed a comprehensive data privacy law. States have instead created a patchwork of varying data privacy laws of their own in a way that the tech industry broadly argues makes it hard for companies to cooperate. When it comes to vehicles, which by nature take drivers from one place to another, concerns about how laws apply when users cross state lines may be even more prominent. The advocates pleading to the FTC and DOJ don’t trust tech giants to be in the driver’s seat to make decisions on those questions. In their letter to regulators, the advocacy groups said “these corporate giants have already shown that in every industry, they are committed to dominating at any cost: they will ignore plain-language laws and regulations designed to protect competition, circumvent consumer privacy laws, and use their considerable market weight to disadvantage smaller competitors.” The groups urged the regulators to “redouble” their efforts to ensure laws and regulations are enforced to maintain a “healthy and competitive marketplace in the sector.” Autonomous features seek to improve safety Beyond connected vehicle features, other tech brands displayed autonomous vehicle technology that aims to improve driver safety at CES. Luminar, a company that uses lidar, or light detection and ranging technology, for its autonomous features, showcased its automatic stopping feature in tests against cars equipped with competing technology. In a test drive at the show, a car equipped with Luminar’s technology stopped in front of a dummy of a child on the road, while a Tesla going the same speed on the roadway hit the dummy. Entertainment features bringing color — and karaoke! — to cars Other companies highlighted entertainment and aesthetic auto tech during CES. Sony and Honda unveiled their new electric vehicle prototype called Afeela at the show. The car features a narrow display screen Sony called a media bar that can light up with different colors or images, or let drivers share messages like the car’s battery level or the current weather to interact with others outside of the vehicle. During the unveiling of the prototype, an ad for the movie Spider-Man: No Way Home briefly flashed on the bar, raising questions about whether Sony also plans to use the media bar as forms of advertising on the cars. BMW also revealed a color-changing car called i Vision Dee, with “Dee” standing for “Digital Emotional Experience,” that can change its exterior in up to 32 colors. The year before, BMW showcased a version that could alternate between black and white. Beyond name brand tech firms, the Singing Machine, the company behind a wide range of karaoke machines, is launching the first car karaoke system. Outside of the separate microphone, the company is speaking with car manufacturers about integrating the system to provide a screen with lyrics and connection to a car’s audio system into vehicles. | Consumer Electronics |
An electric vehicle battery for all seasons
Many owners of electric vehicles worry about how effective their battery will be in very cold weather. Now a new battery chemistry may have solved that problem.
In current lithium-ion batteries, the main problem lies in the liquid electrolyte. This key battery component transfers charge-carrying particles called ions between the battery's two electrodes, causing the battery to charge and discharge. But the liquid begins to freeze at sub-zero temperatures. This condition severely limits the effectiveness of charging electric vehicles in cold regions and seasons.
To address that problem, a team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories has developed a fluorine-containing electrolyte that performs well even in sub-zero temperatures.
The research appears in Advanced Energy Materials.
"Our team not only found an antifreeze electrolyte whose charging performance does not decline at minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit, but we also discovered, at the atomic level, what makes it so effective," said Zhengcheng "John" Zhang, a senior chemist and group leader in Argonne's Chemical Sciences and Engineering division.
This low-temperature electrolyte shows promise of working for batteries in electric vehicles, as well as in energy storage for electric grids and consumer electronics like computers and phones.
In today's lithium-ion batteries, the electrolyte is a mixture of a widely available salt (lithium hexafluorophosphate) and carbonate solvents such as ethylene carbonate. The solvents dissolve the salt to form a liquid.
When a battery is charged, the liquid electrolyte shuttles lithium ions from the cathode (a lithium-containing oxide) to the anode (graphite). These ions migrate out of the cathode, then pass through the electrolyte on the way into the anode. While being transported through the electrolyte, they sit at the center of clusters of four or five solvent molecules.
During the initial few charges, these clusters strike the anode surface and form a protective layer called the solid-electrolyte interphase. Once formed, this layer acts like a filter. It allows only the lithium ions to pass through the layer while blocking the solvent molecules. In this way, the anode is able to store lithium atoms in the structure of the graphite on charge. Upon discharge, electrochemical reactions release electrons from the lithium that generate electricity that can power vehicles.
The problem is that in cold temperatures, the electrolyte with carbonate solvents begins to freeze. As a result, it loses the ability to transport lithium ions into the anode on charge. This is because the lithium ions are so tightly bound within the solvent clusters. Hence, these ions require much higher energy to evacuate their clusters and penetrate the interface layer than at room temperature. For that reason, scientists have been searching for a better solvent.
The team investigated several fluorine-containing solvents. They were able to identify the composition that had the lowest energy barrier for releasing lithium ions from the clusters at sub-zero temperature. They also determined at the atomic scale why that particular composition worked so well. It depended on the position of the fluorine atoms within each solvent molecule and their number.
In testing with laboratory cells, the team's fluorinated electrolyte retained stable energy storage capacity for 400 charge-discharge cycles at minus 4 F. Even at that sub-zero temperature, the capacity was equivalent to that of a cell with a conventional carbonate-based electrolyte at room temperature.
"Our research thus demonstrated how to tailor the atomic structure of electrolyte solvents to design new electrolytes for sub-zero temperatures," Zhang said.
The antifreeze electrolyte has a bonus property. It is much safer than the carbonate-based electrolytes that are currently used, since it will not catch fire.
"We are patenting our low-temperature and safer electrolyte and are now searching for an industrial partner to adapt it to one of their designs for lithium-ion batteries," Zhang said.
In addition to John Zhang, Argonne authors are Dong-Joo Yoo, Qian Liu and Minkyu Kim. Berkeley Lab authors are Orion Cohen and Kristin Persson.
More information: Dong‐Joo Yoo et al, Rational Design of Fluorinated Electrolytes for Low Temperature Lithium‐Ion Batteries, Advanced Energy Materials (2023). DOI: 10.1002/aenm.202204182 | Consumer Electronics |
Can robot assistants transform our care system? It's a radical solution that could have come straight out of a science-fiction blockbusterThe fully autonomous Aeo android can check on care home residents on its ownMeanwhile human staff can keep an eye on its progress remotely through an app Aeolus Robotics said its droid has been used in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan Published: 17:08 EST, 5 January 2023 | Updated: 17:12 EST, 5 January 2023 It's a radical solution that could have come straight from a science-fiction blockbuster.But a robot could be brought into British care homes this year to help solve the staffing crisis.The fully autonomous Aeo android can do the rounds on its own, checking up on residents and bringing them their medicine.Human staff meanwhile can keep an eye on its progress remotely through an app, with a live video feed showing its progress in real time. Robots could be brought into British care homes this year to help solve the staffing crisisAeolus Robotics said its droid has already been used to great success in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan, where it has been employed by some of the countries’ biggest care providers. The firm told the Daily Mail it is looking to expand into the UK in 2023 and is in talks with distributors and partners.It is unveiling the android – which is also used in Japan as a security guard in schools and offices – at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. Staff shortages were recently identified to be a key problem in three-quarters of care homes who had their ratings cut to ‘inadequate’ this summer by the regulator. It's already a key member of the team A wave of inspections revealed the issue was affecting thousands of vulnerable residents, with reports of some left in their rooms for 24 hours a day.Aeo however – who resembles robot Eve from 2008 animated Pixar film Wall-E – can take over the job of human staff. Onboard cameras and built-in infra-red sensors let it navigate autonomously through corridors at just over 2mph. Human staff meanwhile can keep an eye on its progress remotely through an app, with a live video feed showing its progress in real timeMeanwhile, its two mechanical arms can be fitted with various tools, including a pincer to operate lifts, open doors, or close windows and pick things off shelves up to 7ft high.A tray can also be attached to deliver food or medicine, or it can be equipped with an ultraviolet light to disinfect door handles and other surfaces.Aeo is strong enough to lift a gallon of milk but gentle enough to hold a phone without dropping or crushing it. It is also built with sophisticated artificial intelligence that can alert nurses if residents’ posture looks to have changed, signalling they may have had a fall.The boss of one of Japan’s biggest care providers, Senior Life Central, has told how the robot is improving its patient services. General manager Kayo Kojima said: ‘The robot is already one of our colleagues and a key member of our team. It takes on completing simple tasks that frees up our staff to have more time to interact with patients and staff.’And Alexander Huang, of Aeolus Robotics, said: ‘Our goal is to create robots that will enhance quality of life and advance the positive impact robots already have on society.’ Advertisement | Consumer Electronics |
Just a week after the launch of Apple’s AirPod Pro 2, new owners started receiving an unusual alert: It was, apparently, time to replace their batteries soon. This is unusual, of course, both because the AirPod Pros are brand new—and because it is, for all intents and purposes, impossible to replace said battery. In fact, the AirPods have a reputation as being one of the most famously unfixable pieces of consumer electronics of the modern era. Which is precisely why we were eager to get our hands onto these, “the world’s most popular headphones”—the second generation AirPods Pro. We wanted to see if, as with the iPhone 4, anything had changed. Well, we’re sorry to say the irony of Apple’s device telling you to replace a battery that cannot physically be replaced will live on: The AirPods are as unrepairable as ever. Want to see for yourself? Let us walk you through the teardown to prove it to you. AirPod Opening Put on the pressure and the earbuds do offer up a seam, but it takes way more effort to pop them open than more repairable options like Sony’s. Once open, the bud is full of rubbery silicone-like glue, keeping the battery and speaker driver locked tightly away. That’s good for vibration-dampening, but not great for repair. The battery is conceivably removable at this point, but the driver is toast if you ever get it out. But no repair was ever solved by removing the battery alone. While these cells are still relatively common types, the reassembly process—thanks to specialty glue and press-fit plastic—isn’t exactly DIY-friendly. Case Opening Replacing the case batteries is a job we’re pretty confident in saying is of the “don’t try this at home” variety. We’ve spent several generations trying to get in without mangling the plastic, and this time around, we cut right next to the battery cell—our most terrifying reveal of the year. Thanks to incredible amounts of glue, we can only open the case further by carving chunks out of the plastic. An ultrasonic cutter is handy, but it is at the bottom of our repair tools list, this thing is definitely not going back together. The Reality of AirPod Battery Replacement So? How can you replace your batteries? Well, you can’t. And chances are, Apple isn’t even replacing your batteries either. They’re probably replacing them with new units. Sure the AirPods you turn in might get fixed, but they’re going to be shipped back to the factory and batch processed to save a fraction of the material for reuse. And that’s for the ones that are turned in. Apple loves to claim that AirPods are recyclable, but that’s really stretching the term. The world is already awash with wish-cycling and faux-green bioplastics, to the point that ‘recyclable’ has become an empty promise. If you can only recycle them by giving them to an Apple store, and they can only recycle them by sending them across the globe to a private facility I’m not sure that’s “recyclable.” What really happens to AirPod batteries at the end of their lives? I’d bet my lunch money that most are hanging out in the bottom of a drawer. If they do get tossed and end up with an e-recycler, they’re not likely to get out of the storage yard—AirPods are only valuable to them shredded, and they can’t shred something with a built-in battery. How to Fix AirPods Obviously we’d love if Apple could reclaim and reuse all of their electronics, it sounds like a logistical and carbon-intensive transportation scheme, but hey it’s better than what we’ve got. But we have another pitch. Make AirPods actually recyclable—design repairable. We’ve talked before about Apple undervaluing wearables—they know your phone is essential to your day-to-day, but they also know that you can go without your AirPods for a while. And better yet, they can give you new airpods without your ever noticing. So they do. AirPods are fungible, and tiny, and not profitable to repair. Why spend money to fix what isn’t broken. Well, Apple is ahead of the curve in most environmental concerns—they even made DIY repair happen—so I think they know that AirPods are broken. And I think they can fix them. I’m willing to bet that if Apple stopped treating AirPods as disposable, 2-3-year devices, they could design them to be opened. Unscrew the earbud, remove a gasket, swap the battery, maybe even the driver, and boom. You have a product that can be serviced by anyone. That will improve its lifespan, and make recycling painless—and therefore more profitable. It’s not as hard as you might think. Even the tiny AirTags have replaceable batteries, after all—they had to, in order to compete with Tile’s offerings. The Apple Watch isn’t the most serviceable, but it’s an incredible feat of engineering, and at least it tries. I’m confident in Apple’s design and environmental teams ability to make these changes. We just have to get marketing and the CFO’s of the world on board. Repairable is within reach, and it can make the future sound all the sweeter. | Consumer Electronics |
The moment that tech fans around the world have been waiting for is finally almost here, with the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) set to return on January 5. The event will be the first in-person, full capacity CES since 2020, due to the Covid pandemic. Held at the the Las Vegas Convention Center, the event showcases some of the newest products from tech giants including Amazon, Samsung and Meta. It takes place between January 5 and January 8, although most major announcements will take place during the two days before. CES 2023 is set to be the first in-person, full capacity Consumer Electronics Show since 2020, due to the Covid pandemic CES 2023 attendees - Samsung- Amazon- Google- LG- Microsoft- Sony- Panasonic - Asus ...and many more'CES 2023 will harness the power of human-to-human interaction to keep the innovation engine moving forward,' says Consumer Technology Association (CTA), organiser of the annual event. 'CES is the most influential tech event in the world – the proving ground for breakthrough technologies and global innovators. 'This is where the world's biggest brands do business and meet new partners, and the sharpest innovators hit the stage.'Here's all you need to know about CES 2023 before it officially commences on Thursday. WHAT IS CES?CES is a technology trade show held annually in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show, which is usually attended by more than 100,000 people, is often used by some of the biggest names in the industry to announce new products.The first Consumer Electronic Show kicked off in 1967, with 250 exhibitors and 17,500 attendees in New York. It used to be held twice a year in various until 1998, when it switched to once-a-year with Las Vegas as the permanent location. CES is held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center (pictured) in Winchester, Nevada, USWHO WILL BE ATTENDING? More than 2,800 companies have signed up to attend CES 2023, including big names such as Samsung, Amazon, Google, LG, Microsoft, Sony, Panasonic and Asus.Apple, meanwhile, doesn't attend CES, nor the other big tech exhibitions of the year, because it prefers to hold its own events under its own steam. Other smaller attendees include Canadian robotics firm WowWee, 'deeptech' startup Greenerwave that specialises in the control of electromagnetic waves and LA health-tech Movano, which will show off its Evie ring, a wearable developed for women. The ring can read metrics including heart rate, respiration rate, skin temperature, period and ovulation tracking and menstrual symptom tracking. Evie ring, a wearable developed with women in mind, will be shown off at CES 2023 by its creator, MovanoWHAT ELSE WILL BE ANNOUNCED? Some of the big companies have been tight-lipped on what it might reveal at CES 2023, while others have released teasers. Samsung has already sent out invitations for its CES press conference at 2pm local time on January 4, a day before the event is set to begin. The invitation has the title 'Bringing calm to our connected world'. Samsung has said CES will be an opportunity to 'share our journey together for creating a sustainable and prosperous future'. Samsung has already sent out invitations for its CES press conference with the title 'Bringing calm to our connected world' Pictured, controllers for the Sony PlayStation VR2 headset for the PlayStation 5. The headset is set to be released in February so will likely be on display at CES 2023It will also present a 'new and expanded experience' on SmartThings, its ecosystem for internet-connected devices. Sony, meanwhile, has released a video of what looks like a car, along with the message, 'See you in Las Vegas on January 4'. It's already known that the Japanese giant has partnered with compatriot Honda to produce and sell electric vehicles from 2025. Sony's PlayStation VR2, its new virtual reality headset for the PlayStation 5, is also set to be released in February so will likely be on display. Asus is rumoured to be launching a 3D OLED laptop, featuring lifelike images that appear to leap off the screen. A teaser video from the company posted in December with the words 'witness the change' shows what this might look like. Dell, HP and Lenovo are expected to reveal new 2-in-1s or monitors with a focus on gaming. Amazon also has a dedicated webpage for CES 2023, although it doesn't reveal much in terms of products.It does say it will be showcasing 'smart homes, autos, entertainment and more'. WHAT'S THE THEME FOR CES 2023?The theme for this year's show is 'human security', which refers to basic human rights such as access to food and health care. 'We were approached by The World Academy of Art and Science, which has been working with the United Nations for a long time on human security,' Kinsey Fabrizio, senior vice president at CTA, told Associated Press. 'They wanted CES to really use this theme because our exhibitors are showcasing how they're solving some of these big global challenges with technology.' Fabrizio also said the metaverse will be 'a key theme' shared and immersive virtual experiences, while there will be a dedicated part of the show floor for Web3. CES is returning to Las Vegas in January 2023 with the hope that it inches closer to how it looked before the pandemicWeb3 is a word for the third stage of evolution of the World Wide Web, incorporating blockchains, digital currencies, non-fungible tokens and more. The organisation is expecting CES 2023 to draw 100,000 attendees - up from around 40,000 in 2022 due to the impact of Covid. CES 2022 ended one day earlier than planned and many companies, including Amazon, Google and Meta, pulled out of attending in-person. CES 2022 saw a 70 per cent drop in in-person attendance amid the spread of the Omicron variant. The one before that was held virtually, replacing in-person displays and meet and greets with video streams and chats. If you enjoyed this article...Bertone is back! Italian car runs on fuel made out of plastic waste NHS trials helper robot to deliver medicines around hospitals Virtual and augmented reality headset sales drop 12 per cent worldwide Robot cat that nips your fingers and metaverse body suit are among the devices showcased at CES 2022 A robotic cat that nips at your fingers, a smart bulb that can monitor your health and a suit designed to put you in the metaverse are among thousands of products revealed at CES 2022.One of the biggest sections of the 2022 show is transportation, with an increasing focus on electric and autonomous vehicles. As well as consumer electronic devices, new vehicles on show included a prototype electric SUV by Sony, and a LiDAR based breaking system. Meanwhile, US startup Sengled unveiled a smart lightbulb that makes use of radar sensors and bluetooth to provide health tracking information on people in a room. Hyundai revealed details of an interactive and partly virtual future it calls 'metamobility,' where a variety of robotic devices interact with humans to provide a broad range of mobility services. Read more | Consumer Electronics |
Counterfeit designer goods seized by the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport in 2022 have already been valued at over $1 billion, based on the retail prices of the genuine items they’re attempting to imitate. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KTLA) – Officials in California seized $1 billion worth of counterfeit products in 2022, marking a new record. Authorities with the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport hit the historic mark on Sept. 15, with several months still left in the calendar year. The most popular counterfeit items included apparel, accessories, handbags, wallets, footwear, watches, jewelry, and consumer electronics. Images released from the bust featured a bounty of fake designer goods including Nike Dunks, Gucci slides, Burberry scarves, handbags from Chanel and Louis Vuitton, and plenty of fake apparel, cologne, wallets and more. The $1 billion amount reflects the estimated total manufacturer’s suggested retail price of the seized goods if they were genuine. Authorities say the accessibility of online shopping has made it quite easy to sell counterfeit designer goods. “Historically, illegal actors have sold counterfeit products on illegitimate websites and in underground outlets,” authorities said. “However, the rise of e-commerce offers a haven for criminals who are now able to hide behind seemingly legitimate listings on well-known websites.” Concerned about scammers? Always follow the tips below when making big-ticket purchases, online or otherwise: Purchase goods directly from authorized retailers.When shopping online, read seller reviews and check for a working U.S. phone number and an address that can be used to contact the seller.If the price seems too good to be true, it probably is.Counterfeit items are often inferior quality and may feature poor/uneven stitching, fragile fabrics, and improperly sized or designed logos.Peeling labels, low-quality ink or printing errors on the packaging are also signs. Donald R. Kusser, Port Director of the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport, said the $1 billion milestone “asserts the exceptional skill, vigilance and keen focus of our trade enforcement teams at our nation’s largest seaport complex.” “Every day they protect American consumers from the fraudulent traps unscrupulous smugglers place on unsuspecting buyers,” Kusser said. Tags California Fake designer goods | Consumer Electronics |
Appliances, Consumer Electronics Sales May Grow 20% During Festivals Backed By Cricket Fervour
The cricket World Cup tournament is coinciding with the festival season in India for the first time after 1987, and the industry expects the country's most popular sport to act as a catalyst, leading to growth in sales of TV, especially with bigger screen sizes as well as audio products such as battery-powered party speakers, soundbars, wireless headphones and ear buds.
Buoyed by a good start with Onam in the southern markets, the appliances and consumer electronics industry expects around 18-20% value-driven growth this festive season which is coinciding with the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.
The Cricket World Cup tournament is coinciding with the festival season in India for the first time after 1987, and the industry expects the country's most popular sport to act as a catalyst, leading to growth in sales of TV, especially with bigger screen sizes as well as audio products such as battery-powered party speakers, soundbars, wireless headphones and ear buds.
TV makers, including LG Electronic, Panasonic and Thomson, expect increased number of replacements of conventional and small-size TV screens with large-size smart TV panels above 55 inch screen size. Premium and ultra-premium ranges of QLED and OLED TVs are also expected to be in much demand during the World Cup from October 5 to November 19.
The industry expects overall sales growth of 18% to 20%, and in continuation of the previous year a higher growth of over 30% from premium products such as large screen TVs, higher capacity refrigerators and washing machines.
Like in earlier season, the industry is gearing up with offers and interest-free finance schemes to woo customers with new launches along with high-decibel 360 degree campaigns. However, there are also concerns about sales of value-based opening price point (OPP) mass segment products.
Godrej Appliances Business Head and Executive Vice President Kamal Nandi said again that this festive season would be price-led, where the volume would be similar to last year but high-priced premium products would grow over 30%.
"Mass segment will be under pressure, as we have been experiencing throughout this year right from Q1 because the inflationary trend is still continuing and as a result, there is pressure on the discretionary spends. Moreover, variation in monsoon, with some states not getting adequate ranis, could impact agricultural income. So, I think this both will play on the mass segment and therefore, we do not expect the mass segment really to do well," Nandi told PTI.
The appliance and consumer electronics industry is expected to cross Rs 70,000 crore sales this year and the festive season sales, which start from Onam in the south and cover Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja and Deepawali, contribute around 25-27%.
Companies also expect pent-up demand for airconditioners which faced challenged due to weather-related uncertainties this summer.
"There is demand even during the monsoon as there has been lesser rainfall. Therefore, temperatures were high. We see that trend very clearly in the southern, northern and parts of western and eastern markets also. In the north temperatures are high and with with little rainfall, humidity levels are also high. So AC demand will be there," he said.
Panasonic Life Solutions India also expects a double-digit value-led growth this festive season, primarily led by smart ACs and home appliances products including refrigerators and washing machines.
"Last year, we observed that value growth surpassed volume growth and anticipate the trend to continue this year as well with consumers seeking value-added features and lower total cost of ownership. Inverter ACs followed by 4K Android LEDs continue to be the growth drivers for us that grew in double digits," said Panasonic's Marketing India Managing Director Fumiyasu Fujimori.
South Korean major LG India is encouraged by a 20% growth in Onam sales and expects good growth both in volume and value terms during the festive season this year.
It has introduced Diwali offers ahead of the festive season to boost consumer sentiment and encourage early purchases, said LG India Senior Vice President-Head GTM Ashish Agrawal.
"This festive season is coinciding with the World cup. We will see good demand for large screen TVs, battery-backed party speakers and soundbars (audio category). There are many consumers who upgrade their homes or shift to new homes so demand for premium segment like large screen TV, large size refrigerators, washing machines, microwave ovens and AC will significantly increase," he said.
Similarly, Super Plastronics Pvt Ltd., which has licences for international brands including Blaupunkt, Thomson, Kodak and White-Westinghouse for the Indian market, also expects the TV market to grow.
"There are few instances in the TV Industry where festival season and India's most popular sport cricket's main event World Cup will be together. We may witness the highest viewership ever, as a result, there can be significant growth in TV sales especially in higher screen sizes," said SPPL Chief Executive Officer Avneet Singh Marwah.
According to Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA), it is 'optimistic' about the uptick in consumer demand and expects 10% to 15% sales growth this festive period'.
"Unlike last year when there was high volatility in commodity prices, this year has witnessed stable commodity prices. Consequently, no price hikes are anticipated as we approach the festive season, which is indeed a positive sign," said CEAMA President Eric Braganza.
Emphasising on premiumisation of products, BSH Home Appliances India Managind Director and Chief Executive Officer Saif Khan said consumer preferences are shifting towards high-quality, feature-rich and innovative appliances.
"The premium segment continues to be a significant growth driver for us. The external headwinds have had their fair share of impact on sales but Indian consumers have showcased resilience and the pent-up demand will work to our advantage this year," he said.
Haier India expects 30% growth in sales and has launched a range of new products across categories. It expects the premium segment to perform even better than last year as more consumers are looking to upgrade their appliances.
"Our experience during Onam in the south has been encouraging... We have observed that premiumisation has been a consistent trend in the consumer electronics industry, and we anticipate premium segments will continue to lead the festive sales," said Haier India President Satish NS. | Consumer Electronics |
David Limp is set to step down from his role as head of Amazon’s consumer devices division later this year. Amazon has confirmed the news with TechCrunch, following a Wall Street Journal report.
Limp has been the company’s Senior Vice President of devices and services for more than 13 years. In the role he has headed up the division that includes the Echo/Alexa, along with products like Amazon’s line of Fire tablets.
The move follows widespread reports that its massive bets on the smart home haven’t paid off the way it was clearly hoping. In November, the division was reported to be operating at a staggering $5 billion a year revenue loss. It was among those departments heavily hit by widespread layoffs. All told, Amazon has slashed around 27,000 roles, all told, as CEO Andy Jassy has implemented cost cutting measures amid economic headwinds.
“Dave will remain in his role for the next few months, and we’ll announce his successor in the coming weeks,” Jassy notes. “I remain excited and quite optimistic about the products and services we’re building in Devices and Services—we’re at the relative beginning of what’s possible and what I believe these businesses will add for customers and the company.
Nevertheless, Jassy and co. have insisted that company is committed long term to consumer hardware generally and the Echo line specifically. Last week, Amazon revealed that Alexa head Rohit Prasad would be heading up expanded efforts to remain competitive in white hot generative AI and large language model efforts.
Limp addressed the news in a blog post today, stating that, “It’s time.”
He adds,
I have been doing a version of this job (building and shipping consumer electronics) on and off for 30+ years. I love it, but I also want look into the future through a different lens. I am not sure what that future is right now, with the notable exception that it won’t be in the consumer electronics space. I will be around for a few more months and we have a lot to deliver on with our fall products. Given that, you should expect the same bug reports from me for a little while more.
The company is set to reveal a news lineup of devices on September 20, at an event in Arlington, Virginia – the site of its secondary HQ2 offices.
Prior to his nearly 14 years at Amazon, Limp worked at Apple and Palm.
“Under Dave’s leadership, Amazon has become one of the world’s leading innovators in building devices and underlying services that customers love,” says Jassy. “From Kindle readers to Fire TV to Alexa and Echo, over the past decade and a half we’ve been able to invent and keep improving experiences that help make our customers’ lives better every day.” | Consumer Electronics |
Cue up the Jetson's theme song. The future is right around the corner. Some wild new innovations like flying cars, kinder tech, and even more robots are being unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Last year's hyped focus on VR, AR and the Metaverse feels like it's falling flat this year for more gear worth living within the real world. Electric Vehicles will see enormous growth in 2023 Dodge is unveiling the Ram 1500 Revolution, a battery-electric vehicle concept. From the predictable expansion of major car brands into the EV territory, we will see innovative EV technologies coming to our old bike to the extreme version of a flying machine looking for FAA and NTSB certification. The ASKA A5 4-seater drive and fly vehicle. (ASKA)5 COMMON MISTAKES THAT ARE SLOWING DOWN YOUR WI-FIThe ASKA A5 4-seater drive and fly vehicle may not hit the road or sky this year, yet its fully working electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing concept is closer than imagined to reality. Bigger, thinner and better best describes the next generation of televisions coming this year. For 2023, we will see TVs with better wireless capabilities, easier-to-use interfaces inside and a new maker with a unique wireless big screen. The moment any of these are announced to hit retail stores is the perfect time for the best price on last year’s smart TV. Kurt Knutsson next to the Displace TV. (CyberGuy.com)Startup TV company Displace is planning a lightweight 55-inch battery-operated wireless TV that sticks to a surface with no mounting hardware required. Displace describes this 20-pound TV will use a proprietary vacuum suction technology and can be combined to make a giant multi-panel TV display. Reservations are being taken for sets when they become available in late 2023. Healthier home technology We are seeing smarter ways home technology can influence your health and well-being. Look for more passive health data tracking inside your bathroom, where you’ll never need to set foot on a scale again. The better health-related technologies accurately work together and yield more meaningful information you and your doctor can use to stay healthy.5 APPS THAT WILL HELP YOU STICK TO YOUR NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONSI’ve got my eye on how all these health companies are keeping and recording our data. Many of these health tracking devices can come with the danger of your sensitive and personal health information falling into the wrong hands. Kinder standard for all our smart devices Imagine if your Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Apple’s Siri could have a conversation with each other. A protocol called Matter, meant to allow this sort of love fest between smart devices, is becoming a reality. The Connectivity Standards Alliance, behind the attempt to standardize interoperability so that everything works together seamlessly, says it is also aiming to enhance security of smart devices by validating credentials with blockchain technology. Ultimately, transitioning home devices that require the less secure cloud toward locally controlled connected devices can actually help protect your personal data more effectively. A Meta Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headset. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File)A NEW INNOVATION DELIVERS PERFECTLY FITTING CLOTHESMeta what? It hasn’t entirely disappeared. I’m still seeing startups with Meta-focused inventions. One of them has you close out the rest of the world with a fragrance-emitting sense accessory attached to a VR headset. The combination of the two emulates the great outdoors by making it smell like you are outside in nature. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPI’ve got an idea. Put down the VR headset, walk into nature and take in a deep breath of the real outside yourself. No headset or smell tech is required.Sometimes I wish I had a woodchipper for some of the tech that takes us backwards. Do you think VR meta-related technology has gone too far? Or not far enough? Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com. | Consumer Electronics |
Logitech has joined the likes of Google and Samsung in tagging iFixit to help build a self-repair program. iFixit will sell spare parts for Logitech's MX Master and MX Anywhere series of mice and provide relevant repair guides in the US this summer.
The iFixit Logitech Repair Hub will stock parts for what iFixit claims are the most common repair needs, namely replacing the mice's feet and rechargeable battery and opening the device.
"Once in store, the replacement parts for feet and batteries will be available for purchase individually or in our complete-solution Fix Kits," iFixit said, noting that the kits include tools like opening picks and a screwdriver handle and bits.
Neither iFixit nor Logitech has provided a detailed parts list or pricing, but iFixit promised that guides made by the brands' collaboration will be sufficient for helping "even the most novice fixer."
Elizabeth Chamberlain, director of sustainability at iFixit, said in a statement that the company has also been working with Logitech to help develop product designs that support DIY repairs.
When considering the growing concern that is e-waste, it's not hard to see why Logitech is encouraging DIY repairs. In its announcement, Logitech pointed to The Global E-waste Monitor 2020 report from United Nations Institute for Training and Research that predicted that global e-waste would reach 74 million metric tonnes by 2030 after reaching 53.6 million metric tonnes in 2019.
A simple problem like a dead battery can result in the average consumer considering a mouse is trash even if it works otherwise. And once that mouse is considered dead, it may or may not be recycled. The Environmental Protection Agency has reported that only 38.5 percent of consumer electronics get recycled properly. Making products with designs meant for easy repairs and even upgrades is a way to address these concerns.
It's why companies like Google, Samsung, Valve (with iFixit), and Apple (independently) have launched programs enabling DIY repairs in recent years. Such announcements get vendors some clout, but the right to repair is about more than just making self-repairs possible. As iFixit's announcement pointed out, self-repair programs should also make repairs "feasible" for consumers.
Apple, for example, has faced a lot of criticism from right-to-repair advocates like iFixit for its approach to user repairability. A top concern is its program's requirement of a serial number or IMEI for spare parts.
"This strategy hamstrings third-party repair with feature loss and scare tactics and could dramatically limit options for recyclers and refurbishers, short-circuiting the circular economy," iFixit's Chamberlain wrote in an April 2022 iFixit blog post.
This week, the Halte a L'Obsolescence Programme (HOP)—the same rights group that filed a complaint about Apple slowing iPhone performance, leading France to fine the Cupertino giant $25 million in 2020— announced that France's public prosecutor has opened an investigation into Apple, following HOP's complaint of alleged "planned obsolescence and obstacles to repair." The complaint targets the Apple repair program's serial number requirements.
This summer, we'll get a better look at Logitech's program with iFixit to see if it does a sufficient job of providing parts and guides to consumers. As it stands, the program only targets two mice series from Logitech's deep collection of products; expanding the program would make it more impactful.
When it comes to sustainable designs, there's always room to grow (hot-swappable switches for Logitech's many mechanical keyboards come to mind). But for what it's worth, the MX Master, including the latest MX Master 3S and MX Anywhere are some of Logitech's most popular and well-known mice series, especially for power users. | Consumer Electronics |
The smart ring that tells women how to snap out of a mood: £250 Evie device monitors the wearer's menstrual cycles and sleep patterns in a bid to help her 'learn how to feel her best'Evie ring monitors menstrual cycles, sleep patterns, and other vital statsResults are simplified into 'actionable insights' for user to change their lifestyleThe aluminium ring – available in pink, gold, or silver – is set to hit the market later this year and cost just under £250 Published: 04:29 EST, 4 January 2023 | Updated: 04:29 EST, 4 January 2023 A smart ring designed exclusively for women will do what no husband would ever dream of – tell them how to snap out of their mood.The Evie ring will monitor the wearer's menstrual cycles, sleep patterns, and other vital statistics in a bid to help her 'learn how to feel her best'.Rather than provide the data in complex graphs and charts, the results will instead be simplified into 'actionable insights' for the user to change their lifestyle. The Californian-based firm behind the smart ring, Movano, is aiming for it to become the first wearable to also be approved as a medical device. The Evie ring will monitor the wearer's menstrual cycles, sleep patterns, and other vital statistics in a bid to help her 'learn how to feel her best' How does it work? Alongside monitoring heart rate, respiration rate, and skin temperature, the ring will also track users' ovulation, periods, and menstrual symptoms.It further claims to be able to use this biometric data – which also notes down blood oxygen levels and sleep patterns - to track the user's mood.A smartphone app will then crunch this information down and provide the user with 'personalised insights' into how they can change their lifestyle.It said: 'The clearance will offer women trusted and personalised insights that can help them draw connections between cause and effect, so they can better understand the "why" behind what they're feeling.'The aluminium ring – available in pink, gold, or silver – is set to hit the market later this year and cost just under £250.It will be unveiled for the time in public at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.Evie is the first smart ring to be specifically tailored towards women.Alongside monitoring heart rate, respiration rate, and skin temperature, it will also track users' ovulation, periods, and menstrual symptoms.It further claims to be able to use this biometric data – which also notes down blood oxygen levels and sleep patterns - to track the user's mood.A smartphone app will then crunch this information down and provide the user with 'personalised insights' into how they can change their lifestyle.Movano is currently trying to get approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to make it the first consumer wearable that is also a medical device. Alongside monitoring heart rate, respiration rate, and skin temperature, it will also track users' ovulation, periods, and menstrual symptomsThe wearable market has become increasingly focused on helping women make babies by using their data to work out their fertility window.With the Apple Watch adding similar features to its latest watch, software installed on the devices can detect slight rises in your temperature to determine your ovulation.Tiny upswings in temperature will reveal if it is the time of month you're most likely to get pregnant.Dr John Mastrototaro, CEO of Movano Health said; 'We are bringing together medical-grade biometric data and insights in a comfortable and contemporary wearable that allows women to take ownership of their unique health journey.'If you enjoyed this article:Here's what to expect at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week Rumours suggest Apple is developing cheaper wireless AirPods to keep up with competitors The 'driverless' buggy you can control at arms' length for parents who are happy to let technology take their baby for a walk Robot cat that nips your fingers and metaverse body suit are among the devices showcased at CES 2022 A robotic cat that nips at your fingers, a smart bulb that can monitor your health and a suit designed to put you in the metaverse are among thousands of products revealed at CES 2022.One of the biggest sections of the 2022 show is transportation, with an increasing focus on electric and autonomous vehicles. As well as consumer electronic devices, new vehicles on show included a prototype electric SUV by Sony, and a LiDAR based breaking system. Meanwhile, US startup Sengled unveiled a smart lightbulb that makes use of radar sensors and bluetooth to provide health tracking information on people in a room. Hyundai revealed details of an interactive and partly virtual future it calls 'metamobility,' where a variety of robotic devices interact with humans to provide a broad range of mobility services. Read more Advertisement | Consumer Electronics |
The 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) recently showcased game-changing tech gadgets for work-from-home life. With a projected 36.2 million Americans working remotely in 2025, workers are finding they’re more productive getting their work done from home.
Staying productive is essential for the work from home lifestyle, but a cluttered workspace can minimize your productivity. Get organized and protect your workspace with the magnetic Desk Mat Pro which also includes two cable block managers. This CES-featured desk mat bundle is now just $49.99 (reg. $59.95) until March 5.
Organization is critical to helping you stay on task and complete your best quality of work. Fit your laptop or monitor, keyboard, mouse, and beverages on the 31” by 16” Desk Mat Pro. The PU pebble leather surface creates an elegant vibe for your workspace while also protecting it from scratches and spills. The bottom is made with naturally water-resistant faux suede that makes cleaning simple and easy.
Desk Mat Pro and 2 Magnetic Cable Block Manager Bundle, $50, original price: $60
Magnetically secure your charging cables to the metal infused desk mat with the included cable blocks. These silicone blocks have strong magnets and weights on their bottoms to keep your cords from dropping to the ground. Fit virtually any size cable into the blocks and place them anywhere on the mat to completely customize your workspace.
By protecting your desk’s top surface, you may be increasing the longevity of its use. The Desk Mat Pro helps you avoid water rings from your beverages and scratches occurring as you focus on work.
Your charging cords can also avoid potential damage from repeatedly falling to the floor and getting crushed with this accessory. Plus, it might save you some unnecessary frustration from hunching over to retrieve cables. You can do all of this with this chic, minimalistic desk mat.
Maximize your productivity with the CES-featured Desk Mat Pro and Cable Block Manager bundle for just $49.99 (reg. $59.95) through March 5 at 11:59 p.m. PT.
Prices subject to change. | Consumer Electronics |
With all the hubbub surrounding the upcoming iPhone 15 this year and talk of next year’s MacBook Pros, what’s missing from the picture is any mention of the long-suffering iPad, specifically the iPad Pro. However, next year the tablet could finally receive upgrades that would put it in line with current iPhones and MacBooks.
Bloomberg’s Apple guru Mark Gurman dropped a pretty big bomb Sunday night for all those wondering what the hell Apple was doing with its tablets. According to his insider sources, there are four iPad Pro models coming down the pike next year, all of which will feature Apple’s proprietary M3 silicon chip. The four models are designated J717, J718, J720, and J721. More than likely, the sizes will range from 11 inches to 13 inches, topping out slightly bigger than the current 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
In addition, the iPads may finally make the switch to OLED screens. iPhones have used OLED screens since the iPhone X, making the devices lighter and more power efficient. Though analysts suspect we’ll have to wait two years for an OLED MacBook Pro, we might only need to wait a year for the same upgrade on iPad. Gizmodo reached out to Apple for comment, but we didn’t immediately hear back.
If Apple’s to reconfigure its iPad lineup, the company will likely try to bring in some of its iPhone innovations to the mix. The Cupertino, California-based tech giant has been iterating on its screens for the past several years, none of which has come to the iPad on its yearly release schedule. The iPhone 14 got rid of the notch in exchange for a so-called Dynamic Island. Experts expect Apple to reveal its iPhone 15 in around two weeks time, Sept. 12, and Apple is expected to push the device’s organic displays to the edge of the device by shrinking the bezels.
There’s also hope for the company’s Magic Keyboard. Gurman reported Apple will offer a “revamped” folded keypad that can turn an iPad into a laptop-like device. We don’t know much in the way of details, but the accessory will reportedly be bigger and sport a larger trackpad. Gurman said this makes the tablet look even more akin to a laptop than before. Apple has recently filed patents for features that would make its Magic Keyboard more like Microsoft’s Surface Pro, so perhaps Apple is trying to allow users more viewing angles for the attached keyboard.
Last year’s M1-powered iPad Air was a solid iteration that didn’t include a price increase, but despite moderate changes to its tablets—especially on the cheaper end—Apple didn’t get much mileage out of its 10th generation iPad line, at least in terms of sales. Analyst firm IDC reported that Apple’s tablet shipments declined nearly 17% year-over-year, in line with other makers in the tablet space. Still, Apple product shipments have suffered considerably in 2023, and the company is expected to cut the number of iPhones it produces this year, pointing to a global tech sales slowdown.
These upgrades might shift some focus back to Apple’s tablet enterprise. Compared to its iPhone, Mac, wearables, and other subscription-based services, the iPad makes the company the least money in sales every year. iPads trailed laptop and computer sales by close to $1.1 billion in earnings this past quarter. Both are dwarfed by total iPhone sales.
Want more of Gizmodo’s consumer electronics picks? Check out our guides to the best phones, best laptops, best cameras, best televisions, best printers, and best tablets. If you want to learn about the next big thing, see our guide to everything we know about the iPhone 15. Click here to save on the best deals of the day, courtesy of our friends at The Inventory. | Consumer Electronics |
California state Assembly has voted in favor of a right to repair legislation that increases consumer ability to fix devices at home. After winding its way through state legislature, the bill is headed to Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk.
Senate Bill 244 isn’t the first right to repair bill passed by a U.S. state – nor is it California’s first attempt to pass such legislation. Those efforts date as far back as 2018. But the bill, written by state senator Susan Eggman, is considered one of the more expansive takes on the idea.
The legislation requires manufacturers to, “make available, on fair and reasonable terms, to product owners, service and repair facilities, and service dealers, the means, as described, to effect the diagnosis, maintenance, or repair of the product, as provided,” regardless of warranty.
Among its wide sweeping impacts is that requirement to make repair manuals available. Such documents have historically been extremely difficult to find for many. This legislation affords far easier access to that material.
It also, “require[s] a service and repair facility or service dealer that is not an authorized repair provider, as defined, of a manufacturer to provide a written notice of that fact to any customer seeking repair of an electronic or appliance product before the repair facility or service dealer repairs the product, and to disclose if it uses replacement parts that are used or from a supplier that is not the manufacturer.”
Also notable is what the bill does – and doesn’t – include. In addition to consumer electronics, the law also impacts appliance makers – meaning your dishwasher’s manual could soon be much easier to find. There are, however, some key carve outs here – namely game consoles and alarm systems.
Late last month, the bill found an unlikely ally in Apple. “Apple supports California’s Right to Repair Act so all Californians have even greater access to repairs while also protecting their safety, security, and privacy,” the company told TechCrunch at the time. “We create our products to last and, if they ever need to be repaired, Apple customers have a growing range of safe, high-quality repair options.”
It was a key vote of confidence from the world’s most profitable company, which also happens to call California home. | Consumer Electronics |
Dave Limp, a longtime executive at Amazon who oversees the unit that makes Echo smart speakers and the Alexa voice assistant, plans to retire "before the end of the year." The Seattle Times reports: In a note to employees, also posted on Amazon's corporate blog, Limp wrote that he'd been working in consumer electronics off and on for more than 30 years. "I love it, but I also want to look into the future through a different lens," he said. "I am not sure what that future is right now, with the notable exception that it won't be in the consumer electronics space." Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy said the company would announce Limp's successor "in the coming weeks."
Limp's division was among those affected by an unprecedentedly large round of layoffs that affected 27,000 people. "I remain excited and quite optimistic about the products and services we're building in Devices and Services -- we're at the relative beginning of what's possible and what I believe these businesses will add for customers and the company," Jassy said.
Limp's division was among those affected by an unprecedentedly large round of layoffs that affected 27,000 people. "I remain excited and quite optimistic about the products and services we're building in Devices and Services -- we're at the relative beginning of what's possible and what I believe these businesses will add for customers and the company," Jassy said. | Consumer Electronics |
SAN JOSE — An advanced battery maker has opened a new engineering hub in San Jose in a move that enables the energy company to expand its Silicon Valley operations.
Sakuu has opened an engineering hub in south San Jose where it will conduct 3-D printing of cutting-edge solid-state batteries that can be used in electric vehicles and other applications.
The new complex, which Sakuu describes as a “state-of-the-art” facility, is located at 5500 Hellyer Ave. and occupies a building that totals 79,000 square feet and is a short distance from the company’s headquarters at 5870 Hellyer Ave.
The engineering hub is expected to accommodate 115 Sakuu employees by the January-through-March first quarter of 2023, the company said. “Sakuu is committed to building an extremely talented workforce that wants to be part of our reinvention of sustainable energy production,” said Robert Bagheri, Sakuu’s chief executive officer and founder.
The company focuses on two lines of work, which both are expected to be bolstered through the new south San Jose engineering center:
— One line of business is the high-volume production of batteries that can be used in green energy uses such as electric vehicles.
— The other is the use of the 3-D printing technologies that could encourage advanced applications in sectors such as aerospace, automotive, consumer electronics, the Internet of Things and medical devices.
“We are in a rapid growth phase due to strong demand for our forthcoming printed batteries,” said Sean Sharif, Sakuu’s vice president of global supply chain and logistics. Sakuu has landed two major rounds of venture financing that together total $62 million, the company stated. The financing consists of a $50 million Series A funding round in 2021 and a $12 million follow-up round in 2022.
“Full commercialization and volume production of solid-state batteries” are expected to result from the latest venture financing round, the company stated.
The new Sakuu engineering hub will accommodate the company’s battery, engineering, material science, research and advanced manufacturing endeavors. The engineering center also will pave the way for the company’s first gigafactory powered by Sakuu’s 3D printing platform, which is being called Sakuu G-One.
Sakuu will use the new San Jose engineering hub to train employees to operate the company’s future gigafactories that will produce batteries for electric vehicles on a mass scale.
“The facility will allow our teams to fine-tune all aspects of our battery printing technologies to enable swift deployment of our gigafactories,” Sharif said. | Consumer Electronics |
LOS ANGELES—With the holiday shopping season in full swing, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials are cautioning consumers about counterfeit products sold by illegitimate sources over the internet and in underground outlets.
On September 15, for the first time in history, the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport seized one billion dollars’ worth of counterfeit products in less than a year. This amount represents the estimated total manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of the goods seized, had they been genuine. The new record marks an increment of 38 percent from the $725,365,590 of counterfeit goods seized in fiscal year 2021. The most pirated items included wearing apparel, accessories, handbags, wallets, footwear, watches, jewelry, and consumer electronics.
“CBP commits substantial resources in intercepting and seizing products that infringe intellectual property rights such as trademarks, copyrights, and patents. These illicit goods often fund criminal activities and organized crime,” said Carlos C. Martel, Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles. “These historic records show that smugglers exploited the increased demand for products via e-commerce and other sources.”
Historically, illegal actors have sold counterfeit products on illegitimate websites and in underground outlets. However, the rise of e-commerce offers a haven for criminals who are now able to hide behind seemingly legitimate listings on well-known websites. The sale of counterfeit commodities multiplies the illegal profits of smugglers and traffickers who reinvest the proceeds from such sales into further criminal enterprises and activities.
“This milestone asserts the exceptional skill, vigilance and keen focus of our trade enforcement teams at our nation’s largest seaport complex,” said Donald R. Kusser, Port Director of the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport. “Every day they protect American consumers from the fraudulent traps unscrupulous smugglers place on unsuspecting buyers.” Facebook Comments | Consumer Electronics |
- Arm, which is owned by SoftBank, is expected to file for its initial public offering as soon as Monday, according to reports.
- The firm, headquartered in Cambridge, England, is an incredibly important force in the world of consumer electronics, designing the architecture of chips that are found in 99% of all smartphones.
- Arm's debut will be a big deal for the market. But the company's listing has big implications for SoftBank.
Arm, which is owned by SoftBank, is expected to file for its initial public offering as soon as Monday, according to reports. The firm's stock market debut will be a major test for the IPO market, which has more or less closed off from new listings due to rising interest rates which have hammered appetite for risky assets in the last year or so.
Arm is one of the most important companies in technology. Its chip designs found in nearly all the world's smartphones, including Apple iPhones and most Android devices. Its debut will be a big deal for an IPO market that's been in the doldrums since 2022, but the company's listing has big implications for SoftBank as well.
SoftBank has been attempting to bounce back from a grim tech market by reining in on its growth-focused investments and pivoting its focus to artificial intelligence, the hot topic of the hour in tech.
Arm, which is headquartered in Cambridge, England, designed the architecture of chips found in 99% of all smartphones.
The company traces its history to an early computing company known as Acorn Computers. In 1990, Acorn spun out a new company named Advanced RISC Machines, structured as a joint venture between Acorn, Apple and U.S. chipmaker VLSI Technology.
Arm isn't a chipmaker itself. Rather, the company is responsible for coming up with the "architectures" — or overall designs, including components and programming language instructions that other companies use to build chips. Its original value was designing chips with extremely low energy consumption compared with the X86 chips common in personal computers at the time. It's seen as something of a neutral party or "Switzerland" in tech, since its designs are used in nearly smartphone processors, including those made by Apple, and increasingly, server and laptop processors as well.
It's also often considered the crown jewel of the U.K.'s technology sector.
Speaking with CNBC at a developer conference in October 2022, Arm CEO Rene Haas said that companies can't afford not to work with the company, given its technology is embedded in virtually every device out there.
"Given the fact that we license the technology to all the major players in the industry, no one can really afford to miss a product cycle or scale back on R&D or not do a product," Haas said at the time.
Arm's business model is to license the intellectual property for these architectures so that they can build systems around them. In recent years, ARM has tried to sell its own designs for processors, a more lucrative business than just licensing the underlying architecture technology.
SoftBank agreed to acquire Arm in 2016 for $32 billion, which at the time was the biggest-ever purchase of a European technology company. SoftBank at the time said it was acquiring the business to gain a foothold in the growing internet of things sector. IoT, is a small part of the firm's business, but at the time it was a much-hyped part of tech.
Not just for wearables or smart home appliances, Arm has been expanding its semiconductors to other uses such as connected cars.
For the quarter ended June 30, the company generated 88.5 billion Japanese yen ($605.5 million), according to an earnings release from SoftBank.
But the company is also facing headwinds from a slowdown in demand for products like smartphones, which has hit chip firms across the board. Arm's net sales fell 4.6% year-on-year in the second quarter.
The unit also swung to a 9.5 billion yen loss, having made a profit of 29.8 billion yen in the same period a year earlier.
SoftBank originally tried to sell Arm to chip giant Nvidia, but the deal faced pushback from regulators, who raised concerns over competition and national security. Nvidia is a behemoth in the world of semiconductors, and the company is now benefiting heavily from the boom in AI applications as demand for its GPUs soars.
Since then, SoftBank has opted to list Arm as an independent company. The Japanese tech investing giant is reportedly looking to purchase the remaining 25% stake in Arm that it does not currently own from its massive $100 billion Vision Fund.
In the U.K., which has sought to boost its domestic chip industry through up to £1 billion ($1.3 billion) in investments, Arm is seen as strategically important.
The change of the company's ownership to foreign hands is seen as a thorny topic for the domestic tech industry, not least due to concerns that it undermines the U.K.'s "tech sovereignty," an issue that has cropped up throughout Europe as officials look to reduce dependence on technology from the U.S. and other nations.
The government had pushed aggressively for Arm to list in London, however the company opted to go with New York for its debut instead, dealing a blow to the London stock exchange.
SoftBank is pushing ahead with a listing of Arm even as U.S. markets have been in an unsteady state. Technology valuations have fallen sharply from the peak of the 2021 tech boom.
That year, shares of newly minted public companies such as Palantir and UiPath rose to seismic levels as investors grew excited by their growth prospects in the boom times.
Arm filed confidentially for a listing in the U.S. earlier this year. It's not yet clear what valuation SoftBank is seeking for Arm, however reports have pegged the prospective market value at between $60 billion and $70 billion.
As well as being a bellwether for the chip industry, Arm plays a role in the AI space — and is increasingly touting itself as an AI company. Investors will be watching out for the company's S-1 filing to see how it sees the technology benefiting its business over time.
In May, Arm unveiled two new chipsets targeted at machine learning applications. One, a new CPU called Cortex-4, is a chipset that delivers faster machine-learning performance and consumes 40% less power than its predecessor, according to Arm. The other, a GPU called G720, offers better performance and uses up 22% less memory bandwidth than its predecessor, Arm said.
"Arm remains committed to developing and testing our GPUs against new applications for machine learning (ML)," the company said in a May 29 blog post announcing the products.
High-powered chips such as those offered by Nvidia and AMD are crucial to AI applications, which require lots of computing power to run smoothly. Earlier this month, Nvidia unveiled its new Grace Hopper chip for generative AI applications, which is based on Arm architecture.
SoftBank is banking on the growth in AI to lift the prospects of its Vision Fund, which has flagged in tandem with souring bets on firms like WeWork, China's ride-hailing giant Didi Global, and Uber, the latter of which the Vision Fund has since shed its holdings.
SoftBank's CFO Yoshimitsu Goto said during the company's June quarter earnings call that the company has been "carefully and slowly emerging back to investment activity," with a focus on AI investments.
SoftBank said its Vision Fund booked an investment gain of 159.8 billion yen, its first gain in five consecutive quarters. SoftBank said the fund mainly benefited from investments in its own subsidiaries — including Arm.
That still came after SoftBank's Vision Fund reported a record 4.3 trillion yen loss in the fiscal year ending Mar. 31.
The Japanese tech giant has been starting to talk up its investments in AI recently. In July, the company led a $65 million investment in U.K. insurance technology company Tractable.
- CNBC's Kif Leswing contributed to this story. | Consumer Electronics |
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law today making California the third US state to approve right-to-repair legislation. When the law goes into effect in July 2024, electronics manufacturers will be legally required to make repair parts, tools, documentation, and software available to consumers and independent repair shops. Supporters say it’s the most expansive, consumer-friendly right-to-repair legislation passed to date.
“The era of manufacturers’ repair monopolies is ending, as well it should be,” iFixit CEO Kyle Wiens said in a statement. “Accessible, affordable, widely available repair benefits everyone.” IFixit has been a leading voice advocating for the right-to-repair legislation for years.
Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment.
Califorina’s legislation, called Senate Bill 244, goes further than its predecessors in Minnesota and New York by mandating a longer time period where manufacturers must provide access to repair resources. Manufacturers of electronics between $50-$99, for example, will need to make repair resources available for three years. For products over $100, manufacturers will need to make repair resources available for a whopping seven years. The legislation will cover most consumer electronics and appliances made and sold after July 1, 2021. That means California could have the ability to request repair tools for their iPhone or dishwasher as late as 2030.
This wasn’t California’s first right-to-repair effort, but it was its strongest. The bill, which received the support of environmental groups, repair shops, and even Apple, passed the California state assembly in a unanimous 50-0 vote. Prior to that, the bill passed the state senate with a unanimous 38-0 vote. California’s massive population means this law could potentially lead to more repair tools and resources leaking out and being made available to consumers nationwide. The law also has the potential to induce a so-called “California Effect” where manufacturers simply make providing repair resources a standard nationwide so that they can avoid navigating between complicated legal distinctions from state to state. Around 45 other states have considered some form of right-to-repair legislation, according to Repair.org.
Expansive as it is, California’s law does have several key carve-outs, namely game consoles and alarm systems. The legislation claims gaming devices like an Xbox Series X or a PlayStation 5 are not “all-purpose” computers, despite them seeming to fulfill many of the requirements. Nathan Proctor, the head of RtR initiatives at U.S. Public Interest Research Group previously told Gizmodo video game companies specifically requested an exemption during negotiations over worries customers could jailbreak their devices. Similarly, fire protection systems or other electronics defined as an “alarm system” were not included and does not fall under the legislation’s definition of an “electronic or appliance product.”
Last-minute changes and oddball expeditions aren’t new to the right-to-repair battles. In New York, independent repair advocates cried foul of late-stage amendments that they say created various loopholes and let original equipment manufacturers off the hook for providing the public with passwords, security codes or materials to override security features. The law also lets OEM’s provide users with “assemblies of parts” rather than the single, specific components they may require for a repair.
Maybe the oddest thing about California’s beefy right-to-repair legislation is its support from Apple, who up until very recently straddled the line between Darth Vadar and Satan in the eyes of independent repair shops. In a letter sent to state senator Susan Talamantes Eggman’s staff seen by CNBC, Apple’s policy team said it would support the bill, so long as it required repair shops to disclose “the use of non-genuine or used parts.”
“We support SB 244 because it includes requirements that protect individual users’ safety and security, as well as product manufacturers’ intellectual property. We will continue to support the bill, so long as it continues to provide protections for customers and innovators,” the company said in the letter according to CNBC.
Apple’s support for the legislation represents part of a larger shifting of the tides for the once unapologetically anti-right-to-repair company. In late 2021, the company shocked many by announcing it would begin selling customers the parts and tools they need to repair their devices at home as part of its Self-Service Repair program. | Consumer Electronics |
Perk up your ears—and then plug ‘em with some Apple-brand earbuds—because Apple is back with its latest AirPods and this time, they’re letting you charge with one of the most readily available cables around. On Tuesday, Apple announced its second-gen AirPods Pro would charge via USB-C instead of the Lightning cables of the past. The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro will also charge via USB-C, Apple announced Tuesday.
Although Apple is also offering a different way to to charge AirPods with the ability to steal charge directly from an iPhone. The new version of the AirPods Pro are will be available for $249 starting Sept. 22.
During its “Wonderlust” event where the company announced its latest devices iPhone 15 and Apple Watch Series 9, Apple shared the latest on its new version of the AirPods Pro, which have very little in the way of substantial hardware updates. The most significant change is the case will use a USB-C port for charging instead of previous editions’ Lightning connection.
The changing port is one thing, but the most interesting changes we should see with the AirPods Pro with iOS 17. In a press release, Apple said the first new feature people can expect is a new Adaptive Audio mode that adjusts noise cancelling depending on the ambient sound. This means the AirPods should dampen more annoying sounds like the nearby vacuum, but not necessarily the birds singing in the trees outside.
In addition, the new AirPods will automatically silence media playing on the phone if it recognizes somebody is speaking to the user. Apple also said it would use AI to add a Personalized Volume setting that should fine-tune itself based on what settings the listener tends to use. Much of these settings can be modified on iOS 17.
Other than USB-C, these earbuds are the same kind of device as last year’s second-gen AirPods Pro which brought on the H2 chip and new options like customized spatial audio profiles. Despite those additions, the buds were a solid though minor iteration to the Apple product lineup, though with quality active noise canceling (ANC).
In addition, there’s a revised version of the wired EarPods that uses USB-C. Unlike their more expensive cousin, the AirPods and AirPods Max won’t receive the USB-C upgrade until sometime in 2024.
Want more of Gizmodo’s consumer electronics picks? Check out our guides to the best phones, best laptops, best cameras, best televisions, best printers, and best tablets. If you want to learn about the next big thing, see our guide to everything we know about the iPhone 15. Click here to save on the best deals of the day, courtesy of our friends at The Inventory. | Consumer Electronics |
- In its roundup of top tech predictions for 2024 and beyond, CCS Insight said that it expects smartphone makers to begin producing phones with "self-healing" displays within five years.
- The way this could work is by incorporating a "nano coating" on the surface of the display that, if scratched, creates a new material thSat reacts when exposed to air and fills in the imperfection.
- Companies have been talking about smartphone display technology that can be self-repaired for several years now.
Smartphones with displays capable of repairing themselves could start appearing on the market by 2028, according to analyst firm CCS Insight.
In its roundup of top tech predictions for 2024 and beyond, CCS Insight said that it expects smartphone makers to begin producing phones with "self-healing" displays within five years. The way this could work is by incorporating a "nano coating" on the surface of the display that, if scratched, creates a new material that reacts when exposed to air and fills in the imperfection.
"This is not in the realms of science fiction, it can be done," Wood told CNBC on a call earlier this week. "I think the biggest challenge with this is setting expectations correctly."
Companies have been talking about smartphone display technology that can be self-repaired for several years now.
LG, the South Korean consumer electronics giant, was touting self-healing technology in its smartphones as far back as 2013. The company released a smartphone called the G Flex which featured a vertically curved screen and a "self-healing" coating on the back cover. It didn't explain how exactly the technology worked at the time.
"There's some new technologies that people are working on right now that looks as though this could become something that people have another go with. We're not talking about smashed screens miraculously coming back. This is all just little cosmetic scratches," Wood told CNBC.
A few other phone makers have touted self-healing materials in smartphones. In 2017, Motorola filed a patent for a screen made from a "shape memory polymer" which, when cracked, repairs itself. The idea is that, when heat is applied to the material, it heals over the cracks.
Still, the technology is yet to be found in a commercially successful handset. And there are a few barriers to launching such phones at a mass scale.
For one, companies require lots of investment in research and development to ensure they can identify new innovations in smartphone screens. Cash is also required to market and sell the phones in big volumes — and ensure consumers are actually properly informed about what level of damage in the phones can be fixed without any manual intervention.
Wood jokingly said he fears that tech tear-down enthusiasts like the popular YouTuber JerryRigsEverything will take a knife to test their self-healing capabilities. This, he says, isn't the point of self-healing devices. Rather, it's about technology that can make minimal repairs to the surface of its own accord.
Phone makers are getting more and more inventive when it comes to display technology. At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Motorola released a rollable concept smartphone that extends vertically when pushed upward.
Samsung is pretty far along in the journey toward commercial smartphones with more advanced displays, with its folding Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5 phones now capable of folding hundreds of thousands of times over their lifetime.
Separately, CCS Insight also predicted that Taiwanese tech giant HTC will bow out of the virtual reality industry by 2026.
HTC was a pioneer in the smartphone market, responsible for several models which broke the mould in terms of design, performance and functionality. The company's HTC Hero, HTC Legend, HTC Desire and HTC One were among some of the leading Android phones.
But in 2017, HTC more or less exited the smartphone market and sold its handset business to Google, which has since gone on to aggressively expand its drive into consumer hardware with its Pixel range of devices and Nest smart home products.
HTC has largely staked its future on the merging of virtual and physical worlds. In January, the company launched its Vive XR Elite device, a lightweight headset focused on gaming, fitness and productivity, at a $1,099 price point.
"HTC was one of the pioneers of VR, they've done a lot there," CCS Insight's Wood said. "But they have kind of struggled to compete, because they haven't gone for the race to the bottom on price, whereas Meta, with Quest, have been prepared to take very aggressive pricing — almost just above cost pricing — to drive adoption."
HTC "may get a little bit of an uptick with Apple coming into the space as it's kind of renewed interest in the category," Wood continued. "But, ultimately, we think it's hard for them to stay in it. So we're predicting that by 2026, they'll exit the market, and they'll sell their IP [intellectual property] to some of the other players who are bigger in the space."
CCS Insight also predicted that Apple will seek to gain more direct control over the second-hand smartphone market to avoid the growing popularity of second-hand devices denting sales of new iPhones.
Apple may do this by encouraging customers to trade in their phones with the company directly, rather than relying on third-party marketplaces like PCS Wireless; or by incentivizing carriers to give in their old phones to get credits to offset the cost of buying a new iPhone, the firm's analysts said.
Apple could also start focusing on a "verified" system for grading refurbished iPhones, in order to encourage quality secondhand devices, according to CCS Insight — reinforcing the move in the technology industry toward more "circular" products that can be repaired and resold to avoid electronic waste.
CCS Insight estimates iPhone accounts for around 80% of the organized secondary smartphone market. | Consumer Electronics |
Canada Wants a Standard Charging Port for Electronics, Just Like the EU
Canada’s 2023 budget promises to establish a common charging standard for smartphones, tablets, laptops, cameras, and other devices, much like the European Union (EU) recently did.
“Budget 2023 announces that the federal government will work with international partners and other stakeholders to explore implementing a standard charging port in Canada, with the aim of lowering costs for Canadians and reducing electronic waste,” Ottawa said in its 2023 budget, which was released to the public on Wednesday.
Late last year, the EU set a deadline of December 28, 2024, for all new phones (and more) sold in the region to use USB-C for charging. The move will force tech giants like Apple to adopt the port as standard on all of their consumer electronics, saving consumers the hassle and cost of having multiple cables to charge their devices.
Apple is set to switch to USB-C on the iPhone as early as this year with the upcoming iPhone 15 lineup.
“Over the past decade, multiple chargers have been developed by manufacturers for phones, tablets, cameras, laptops, and other devices. Every time Canadians purchase new devices, they need to buy new chargers to go along with them, which drives up costs and increases electronic waste,” the 2023 budget plan explains.
The budget went on to reference the EU’s decision, and while the feds did not explicitly say they would establish USB-C as the common charging standard, there aren’t any other notable alternatives at this time.
Canada’s 2023 budget also promises to introduce a “targeted framework” for consumers’ right-to-repair, in addition to tackling junk telecom fees, like internet overage and roaming charges, that Canadians are forced to pay. | Consumer Electronics |
CAST IN BRONZE: Daniel Arsham, the artist famed for transforming items like Walkman cassette players and Nike sneakers into “future relics,” is bringing his weathered aesthetic to that most personal device, the mobile phone. Known for collaborations with brands including Adidas, Tiffany & Co. and Dior, the U.S. artist has teamed up with Chinese consumer electronics giant Xiaomi on the Xiaomi 12T Pro Daniel Arsham Edition, whose packaging and case recall his eroded bronze sculptures. Launching on Dec. 16 in a limited edition of 2,000, priced at 899 euros, the phone will go on sale in Europe exclusively on highsnobiety.com and mi.com, in addition to a Berlin pop-up on Dec. 16 and 17. The project marks Arsham’s first collaboration on a smartphone, and Xiaomi’s first artist partnership branching into the international market, as it steps up its challenge to Apple on the high-end segment of the smartphone market. “The phone today is the most ubiquitous object that we engage with. I’m always interested in bringing my work into arenas that are not typical art-world scenarios. This seemed like an interesting project to bring this type of erosion into something that people would engage with daily,” Arsham told WWD. Mindful of the built-in obsolescence of consumer goods, he approached the project like a sculpture with a lifespan beyond its use as a functional object. “In 20 years, there will be people who have this phone who no longer use it as a phone. It will transition into a sculptural object linked to a particular moment in time. In that way its use is carried beyond the functionality,” the globe-trotting artist said via e-mail. Xiaomi said it was interested in engaging with Arsham’s time-bending approach. “This collaboration is not only a smartphone, but advanced technology used to actualize the artist’s design. We believe it will be an exciting product for people today, and remain an interesting and collectible piece for decades to come,” the company said in a statement. The Xiaomi 12T Pro Daniel Arsham Edition.Daniel Arsham with the Xiaomi 12T Pro Daniel Arsham Edition. Courtesy of Xiaomi Arsham’s design has been completely customized, from the packaging to the phone exterior and the user interface design. “The packaging was probably the most challenging to actualize. There were two key parts — the surface of the outer box made of special gold foil paper, and a multiple three-dimensional embossing process used to give the surface the erosion feeling I wanted to achieve,” he explained. “The packaging was made of paper with a magnetic structure, weighted to match a wood box. The inner packaging is made with a matt UV technology, fully customized with new design,” he added. Advance images show the phone screen blissfully uncluttered by apps, though Arsham said he has more than 70 on his own device, with the camera being the most frequently used. While Xiaomi touted an “imaginary future of digital dematerialization,” Arsham isn’t certain that the phones of today will eventually appear as clunky as the brick phones of the 1980s. “It is hard to say. For a while phones were getting smaller, but lately they have been getting bigger to accommodate more technology,” he remarked. | Consumer Electronics |
Apple CEO Tim Cook delivers a keynote address during the WWDC22 at Apple Park on June 06, 2022 in Cupertino, California. Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked off the annual WWDC22 developer conference.Justin Sullivan | Getty ImagesApple is holding a launch event at its headquarters in Cupertino, California, on Sept. 7. The company is expected to announce new iPhone models, as it has every September since 2012.Apple has used prerecorded videos for its launch events since early 2020 thanks partly to Covid restrictions, and this will be the first iPhone launch with an in-person component since 2019. Apple is streaming the launch event online on its website and YouTube in addition to inviting some media to its campus.Apple's hype-filled fall launches are a signature event for Apple. They typically draw millions of simultaneous viewers on YouTube. They garner attention from around the world and set the stage for a holiday marketing blitz during the last three months of the year, which is when Apple's sales are the highest.This year's event has the tagline "far out," which could refer to features such as night-sky photography.Last year, Apple released new iPhones and Apple Watches at an event in September, and then followed it up with an October launch featuring iPads and Macs.Here's what Apple is likely to launch next Wednesday, based on reports.iPhone 14: Four new modelsCustomers look at the iPhone13 smartphones at apple's flagship store in Shanghai, China.Xing Yun | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesApple is expected to release four new iPhone models. If Apple's current naming convention holds up, they will be called the iPhone 14.This year Apple will likely discontinue the "mini" model with a 4.7-inch screen, according to reports. Instead, Apple could offer two sizes, one with a 6.1-inch screen and one with a 6.7-inch screen, each coming in a standard model and a pricier "Pro" model.The Pro models are expected to get more upgrades, according to reports from Bloomberg News, TFI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, and other analysts and Apple watchers.Since 2017, iPhones have included a space at the top of the phone's display with space for Apple's FaceID system, which includes several sensors and a camera. The Pro models could ditch Apple's "notch" where it houses the FaceID camera for a slimmer, more streamlined "pill" or "cutout" approach with a smaller space that has to remain blank, leaving room for an even larger display.The Pro models are also expected to get upgraded A16 processors and cameras. The camera bump is expected to get larger.Apple could release an always-on screen display for showing notifications, like some Android phones have sported for years. Beta iPhone software released over the summer suggested that Apple may be planning a similar feature because of new widgets that show weather and battery life.One of the biggest questions is how Apple will price its iPhones in a period of inflation around the world and macroeconomic uncertainty in some regions. Other consumer electronics, such as Sony's Playstation 5, have seen price cuts.Apple's least-expensive iPhone 13 model is the $699 iPhone 13 Mini, which is expected to be discontinued. That would make Apple's mainline device, which is currently the iPhone 13, the least-expensive new model at $829, if its price doesn't change. Some analysts also expect Apple to increase the price of its Pro models.Apple usually drops the price of older models when it releases new ones, giving more price-sensitive consumers an option.Apple WatchCustomers try Apple Watch devices in the Apple Marunouchi store on September 07, 2019 in Tokyo, Japan.Tomohiro Ohsumi | Getty ImagesApple is likely to show the eighth major new version of its watch next week. Last year, the Apple Watch Series 7 got a slightly larger screen, but the redesign did not significantly change the look and feel of the device, which has remained mostly the same since 2014.Expect more evolution this year, too. Apple is considering a body temperature sensor in the new devices, according to the Wall Street Journal, which could help with fertility and sleep tracking. Other sleep tracking features could include the ability to detect advanced sleep patterns or apnea.But the biggest Apple Watch Series 8 announcement could be a new "Pro" model with a bigger screen and more durable finish. Apple has previously released Apple Watches with pricey case materials such as gold, ceramic and titanium, and the new "Pro" model described by Bloomberg and Kuo could be one of the first high-end Apple Watches to gain additional features over its less-expensive siblings.Also likely: A new updated version of the Apple Watch SE, its $329 entry-level Watch model.iOS 16How to edit an iMessage in iOS 16Todd Haselton | CNBCIPhone owners who don't plan to buy any new gear this fall will still get an annual update to the iPhones software, iOS 16, which was announced in June and has been in testing over the summer.The software has several new features that users will immediately notice. The biggest banner feature is the ability to customize the iPhone's lock screen with widgets that can display weather forecasts, calendar appointments and other information at a glance. Users can also change the font for the lock screen clock for the first time, as well.IOS 16 also lets you unsend or edit iMessage text messages, as long as you catch them within a few minutes of sending.IOS 16 will also introduce short-term loans from Apple called Apple Pay Later. The feature will allow users to buy stuff online with Apple Pay but pay for the item in four installments without paying interest.One cool feature in iOS 16 is if a user has both an iPhone and a Mac laptop or desktop, they can use the iPhone as a very high-definition web camera.After the event: iPads, MacsApple's September event invite.AppleApple is unlikely to release new iPads next week because their software isn't ready yet. Earlier this month, Apple told TechCrunch that iPadOS, the iPad software, will ship after iOS this fall, suggesting a staggered release.Apple's statement was terse, and the company dislikes talking about unannounced products. But in general, it likes to release new hardware together with new software, so the statement clearly suggested that new iPads would come at a later launch date than iPhones.IPadOS and iOS are very similar, but this year iPadOS is getting a feature called Stage Manager that could allow users to multitask more efficiently — but also got panned by early testers. Improved iPads could include more powerful processors that are closers to laptop processors, smoother displays and better integration with accessories.Apple also uncharacteristically teased a new "Mac Pro" in the spring. The Mac Pro is currently a $5,000 tower of power using an Intel processor.Apple wants to transition its entire Mac lineup away from Intel to its own M-series processors, but a pricey niche product doesn't fit as well with Apple's mass-market iPhones and Apple Watches. Instead, new Macs could be announced at a separate event later this year, as happened last year. | Consumer Electronics |
- The Quest 3 will be priced starting at $499 and is the successor to Meta's Quest 2 headset, which was released in the fall of 2020 at a starting price of $299.
- Apple is expected to debut its competing VR headset next week as part of the company's June WWDC event.
- Meta's Reality Labs unit, which is developing VR and AR technologies, recorded an operating loss of $3.99 billion in the company's first quarter while generating $339 million in revenue.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg teased his company's latest virtual reality headset, the Quest 3, on Thursday.
The new headset will start at $499, Zuckerberg said in a video on Instagram. The post noted that it'll be the first announced headset with "high-res color mixed reality." The Quest 3 is 40% thinner than its predecessor, the Quest 2.
It appears to have at least three cameras on the front that may improve some of the pass-through experiences, where a user can see the real world around them while wearing the headset and interacting with apps. The video noted that it had improved "natural" depth perception for the wearer, and touted graphics improvements for gaming.
The Quest 3 will ship with a next-generation Qualcomm chipset, the post said. Meta said it will provide more details on Sept. 27 during its Connect conference.
Meta's Quest 2 headset was released in the fall of 2020 at a starting price of $299.
Apple is expected to debut its competing VR headset next week as part of the company's June WWDC event. The iPhone-maker's consumer headset, which could also incorporate augmented reality technologies, will reportedly work with hundreds of thousands of iPad apps and cost at least $3,000.
Meta first announced that it would debut the Quest 3 this year as part of the company's third-quarter 2022 earnings when it said that the company's cost of revenue would grow in part because of "Reality Labs hardware costs driven by the launch of our next generation of our consumer Quest headset later next year."
Meta continues to be spending heavily in the metaverse, the yet-to-be-developed digital universe that requires virtual reality and augmented reality technologies to access.
The company's Reality Labs unit, which is developing VR and AR technologies, recorded an operating loss of $3.99 billion in the company's first quarter while generating $339 million in revenue.
In July 2022, Meta raised the price of the entry-level Quest 2 from $299 to $399, citing a rise in the costs to manufacture and ship the device.
Last October, Meta debuted its Quest Pro VR headset intended for businesses as opposed to consumers. Although the Quest Pro initially sold for $1,499.99, Meta lowered the price of the device to $999.99 in March while also dropping the price of a more expensive version of the Quest 2 headset with extra storage from $499.99 to $429.99.
Research group NPD Group told CNBC last December that sales of VR headsets in the U.S. declined 2% in 2022 from a year earlier to $1.1 billion, indicating that the immersive technology is still far away from being a mainstream consumer electronics hit. | Consumer Electronics |
- Chinese consumer electronics firm Honor has launched its flagship foldable smartphone overseas — venturing into a high-end market dominated by Samsung and Apple.
- The Honor Magic V2 will go on sale in markets in Europe and elsewhere — but not in the United States — no later than the first quarter of 2024, the company said.
- The Magic V2 comes with all the latest features expected of a premium phone. It has a triple lens camera, sports Qualcomm's latest mobile chipset and has storage options that go up to 1 terabyte.
Chinese consumer electronics firm Honor launched its flagship foldable smartphone overseas — venturing into a high-end market dominated by Samsung and Apple.
The Honor Magic V2 will go on sale in markets in Europe and elsewhere — but not in the United States — no later than the first quarter of 2024, the company said.
Honor was sold to a consortium of investors to spin it off from Huawei after the latter was slapped with a number of U.S. sanctions that cut it off from key technology and crushed its smartphone business, taking it from the No. 1 player in the world to a very small part of the overall market.
Honor has been looking to chart its own path since the spinoff, making a play especially for the premium segment of the smartphone arena and expanding overseas.
The Magic V2 is the company's second foldable smartphone. The entire phone can be folded and unfolded.
Honor launched the handset in China in July, with the device starting at 8,999 yuan ($1,235), and it appears to have got off to a strong start. The Shenzhen-headquartered firm will be hoping for similar success abroad. Pricing has not yet been announced for the phone in international markets.
Honor commanded a 5.2% market share in the second quarter of this year, slightly higher than the 4.9% in the same period last year, and it remains a small player in the market, according to IDC. China accounts for nearly 78% of Honor's total smartphone shipments, highlighting its reliance on its domestic market.
Part of Honor's strategy in improving its global standing is launching high-spec phones at competitive prices, particularly in mature European markets like the U.K. The Magic V2 is part of that.
"Honor appears to be following Huawei's playbook in its successful big push in the global smartphone market before U.S. actions set it in reverse, and is aiming for a largely upmarket portfolio with an emphasis on top notch technology and specs," Simon Baker, director of IDC's mobile phone research in Europe, told CNBC via email.
"However the now independent Honor is doing so with fewer resources than Huawei had."
However, Honor faces a number of challenges in trying to compete in the high end with giants Apple and Samsung, particularly in trying to raise its brand profile.
"Apple and Samsung both have huge advantages in scale and R&D (research and development) resources and marketing clout. Honor's new phones are generally being very well received as products, but it takes years to become a well known and respected name in the phone business," Baker added.
The Magic V2 comes with all the latest features expected of a premium phone.
It has a triple lens camera, sports Qualcomm's latest mobile chipset and has storage options that go up to 1 terabyte.
When the phone is unfolded, users can enjoy a 7.92-inch screen.
The device is also 9.9 millimeters when folded, smaller than the 13.4 millimeters of its closest rival — the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5. Honor's product is also lighter than Samsung's.
CNBC looked at the battery in the device which is extremely thin at just 2.72 mm.
While the specs are innovative, Honor could still have a hard time convincing people to buy its device.
"When Honor was a subsidiary brand of Huawei it was not present or well known in many countries. That is an advantage now as it is not readily associated with Huawei for many consumers, but at the same time Honor has to establish itself as being seen as a trusted and premium brand," Baker said.
Samsung and Apple accounted for nearly 70% of the smartphone market in Western Europe in the first quarter, according to Counterpoint Research, while Chinese brand Xiaomi was a distant third with 15% market share. That highlights Honor's challenge in some of the markets it is aiming to get a foothold in.
"The experience of the Chinese phone makers which followed Huawei into Europe in the last few years has been that this is a challenge, particularly in persuading consumers to buy their more expensive models," Baker said.
On Friday, Honor also showed off a concept device designed to be worn like a handbag. | Consumer Electronics |
Roku is counting on its growing consumer base beyond 70 million customers as it launches its own line of televisions, CEO Anthony Wood told CNBC on Thursday.The streaming company unveiled its new line of televisions, Roku Select and Roku Plus Series, Wednesday during the Consumer Electronics Show.related investing newsRoku has sold hardware items in the past, like sound-amplifying devices and streaming players, though they have often been the money-losing parts of its business. Still, Wood is optimistic about selling the new TVs."We generate billions of dollars a year in revenue from advertising, from distributing streaming services and we have a great platform to do that, but the core of that business is the market share of our platform," said Wood.It will sell 11 TV models ranging from 24 to 75 inches, which will be available for purchase in the spring. Prices will be between $119 to $999.Roku's commitment to hardware comes after a tough year that saw its stock fall 80%, forcing the company to cut costs in areas like advertising and jobs.The company tightened its fourth quarter guidance in November, projecting $800 million in revenue, a more than 7% decrease year over year. Weeks later, the company announced it was cutting around 200 jobs, or 5% of its workforce. It also reined in its advertising expenses in an attempt to slim margins."If you look at our overall ad business, obviously the industry is hurting right now," said Wood, though he noted that advertising in streaming is growing faster than traditional television advertising.But Wood is staying hopeful, banking on the momentum of the streaming industry at large."Roku streaming hours were 87 billion hours of streaming last year" said Wood. "That was up 19% year over year. The world is moving to streaming. All TV is going to be streamed, that means all TV advertising is going to be streamed."So far, Roku's streaming technology has been usable through TVs made by manufacturers Hisense, TCL, Philips, JVC and others. By introducing its own television line, it will compete with those very partners.Shares of Roku are up more than 4% in the early going of 2023. | Consumer Electronics |
Why L'Oréal's CEO is not worried about inflation 03:03 - Source: CNN Top business news 16 videos Why L'Oréal's CEO is not worried about inflation 03:03 Now playing - Source: CNN Here's what school protocols Bill Gates thinks didn't work during pandemic 01:27 Now playing - Source: CNN Artificial Intelligence can write as well as humans. See how it works 02:20 Now playing - Source: CNN She feels unsafe at her fast food job. Could a fast food council help? 04:16 Now playing - Source: CNN Her ex-boyfriend stalked her using an AirTag. Now, she's suing Apple 03:36 Now playing - Source: CNN Business Men are dropping out of the workforce. Here's why 02:55 Now playing - Source: CNNBusiness Elon Musk suspends Twitter account tracking his private jet 03:01 Now playing - Source: CNN Here's where mortgage rates and home prices may be headed in 2023 01:41 Now playing - Source: CNN Business Prosecutor: FTX founder committed 'one of the biggest financial frauds' in US history 02:41 Now playing - Source: CNN Dave Chappelle brought out Elon Musk at a show. See how the audience reacted 01:30 Now playing - Source: CNN Watch Orion spacecraft splashdown JPMorgan CEO: Crypto is like 'pet rocks' 01:15 Now playing - Source: CNN Business 'Shark Tank' star discloses how much she pays for her home 02:34 Now playing - Source: CNN Planet Fitness CEO explains how it keeps gym memberships at $10 This techworker went public with her story of discrimination. Now she's helping other do the same 03:20 Now playing - Source: CNN Business Released Twitter emails show content moderation conversations before 2020 election 05:19 Now playing - Source: CNN New York CNN — Many of us swipe on our favorite lipstick, mascara or blush in an easy breezy manner, without much physical effort. But there are millions of people for whom applying makeup poses a much bigger challenge. French cosmetics giant L’Oreal unveiled a new handheld makeup applicator called HAPTA at this year’s the Consumer Electronics Show (or CES) in Las Vegas, that aims to assist people with limited mobility or tremors to apply makeup independently. The device was developed in partnership with Verily, a life sciences research company within Alphabet, which is also the corporate parent of Google. “An estimated one in ten people in the US have some type of fine motor skill challenge. Most of us know someone or have someone in our family that faces this challenge,” said Guive Balooch, global vice president of L’Oreal’s technology incubator. The device consists of a base, applicator and an attachment that snap into place magnetically for ease of use and offer 360 degrees of rotation. “We’ve been thinking for a long time about how to use technology with a sense of purpose to meet the beauty needs of individuals with limited hand and arm mobility,” he said. Balooch said HAPTA incorporates technology originally developed by Verily to stabilize and level the applicator. Built-in smart motion sensors recognize patterns of essential tremors and unintended movements when it is held. The device, he said, adjusts to those rhythms to assist in steady makeup application. It also has a built-in battery that enables about one hour of continuous use when fully charged. The initial functionality of the device is to assist in lipstick application. While L’Oreal piloted HAPTA with its Lancôme lipstick brand at CES, Balooch said the goal is for users to ultimately be able to fit any brand of lipstick into the device and also expand usage to other makeup applications, including foundation, blush and mascara. L’Oreal expects to launch HAPTA for sales at the end of the year, with an estimated price of between $150 to $200. L’Oreal debuted another invention at CES called Brow Magic, a handheld electronic eyebrow makeup applicator to create customized brow shapes. It developed Brow Magic with Korean tech company Prinker, a maker of printed, non-permanent tattoos. People can download the Brow Magic app and scan their face with it, choosing a desired shape and thickness of the brow they want to create. After brushing a Brow Magic primer through brows, users move the printer across the eyebrow in a single motion. The device uses 2,400 tiny nozzles and printing technology with up to 1,200 drops per inch (dpi) printing resolution to deposit removable ink on the skin. Each ink cartridge should last six months. The final step involves applying a topcoat to lock in the shape. The printed brow shape can be removed using makeup remover. Balooch said Brow Magic should also hit the market at the end of 2023, priced between $150 and $200. | Consumer Electronics |
The Department of Energy has agreed to loan a Nevada startup $2 billion to support its production of critical battery materials, a staggering sum that illustrates the Biden Administration’s determination to domesticate the electric vehicle supply chain.
Redwood Materials will use the money for construction of the first factory in the nation to produce anode copper foil and cathode active materials, two essential components in EV batteries. The company, founded by former Tesla executive JB Straubel, says it will manufacture enough of them to support the production of 1 million electric vehicles per year by 2025. That would reduce the country’s gasoline consumption by more than 395 million gallons annually and cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 3.5 million tons. It also would ease automakers’ reliance on battery components made overseas.
“It accomplishes the goals of less reliance on critical minerals from Asia, brings manufacturing and the supply chain to the US, and produces components for electric vehicles, which ultimately reduces greenhouse gas emissions,” Bob Marcum, chief operating officer of the DOE Loan Programs Office, told Grist on Friday. “It’s a very important project and something that we’re very excited about.”
The loan, which the Energy Department agreed to in a conditional commitment announced Thursday, will come from the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, which supports manufacturing projects that improve vehicle fuel efficiency.
The Biden Administration wants electric vehicles to comprise half of all new car sales 2030. The essential components of electric vehicle batteries are produced almost exclusively in Asia. “We have some catching up to do,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said at an event at Redwood Materials’ Nevada facility on Thursday. “China has dominated every step of the supply chain.” That poses supply chain security risks, drives up the cost of batteries, and creates greenhouse gas emissions in transporting materials around the world.
“Once we realized how systemically important this technology had become to our entire transportation system and our grid, all eyes started sharpening on how to build independence,” said Nathan Iyer, senior associate at the clean energy nonprofit RMI.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS & Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act direct more than $135 billion to the country’s electric vehicle transition, including toward critical minerals sourcing and processing as well as battery manufacturing.
“They targeted essentially every single part of the manufacturing process,” said Iyer. “What the US is doing is unique, strategic and aggressive.”
Redwood Materials was founded in 2017 by JB Straubel, the co-founder and former CTO of Tesla. While working on Tesla’s massive battery Nevada Gigafactory, he realized the U.S. would soon confront a dire challenge sourcing the supplies needed to support the EV transition. “Even eight years ago, it was clear this would be a really big bottleneck for the entire industry as it scaled,” he said at the on Thursday.
Redwood Materials will produce the two most important components of an electric vehicle battery: the anode, which contributes to the battery’s charging performance, and the cathode, which contains the battery’s critical metals. Together, they make up almost 80 percent of a battery’s cost. Domesticating their production not only provides a more secure supply stream for the materials, it lowers the cost of battery production, which can make electric vehicles more affordable for consumers.
Last month, Redwood Materials began producing anode copper foil at its Nevada facility, the first time the component has been commercially produced in the U.S. It expects to begin testing on its cathode products later this year.
Once complete, the Nevada facility will employ about 1,600 full-time workers.
The company is bringing circularity to the battery supply chain. The metals in EV batteries are almost infinitely recyclable, and Redwood Materials has begun recycling electric them and collecting scrap from factories, lithium-ion batteries from e-bikes, consumer electronics and other sources for use in its anode and cathode components.
While there are not yet enough electric vehicle batteries in circulation to use materials exclusively from recycled sources, the infrastructure Redwood Materials is creating now could eventually support almost completely closed-loop battery manufacturing.
“They’re a little ahead of the recycled material inputs,” said Iyer, “but if they’re successful this will be the cornerstone of the circular economy.”
Eighty battery manufacturing or supply chain companies have announced that they are either reshoring or opening in the United States in the last two years, according to Secretary Granholm. “This is happening because there is now an industrial strategy to make this stuff in America,” she said. “China might be starting to worry.”
This article originally appeared in Grist at https://grist.org/energy/tesla-co-founders-startup-gets-2-billion-to-boost-ev-battery-production/. Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at Grist.org | Consumer Electronics |
Photo taken on Jan. 8, 2020 shows the world's first 5G personal computer launched by Lenovo during the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the United States.Wu Xiaoling | Xinhua News Agency | Getty ImagesThe personal computing market saw shipments continue to cool in the third quarter as demand waned and supply chain issues persisted, according to the data from the International Data Corporation released Monday. Compared with this time last year, shipments were down 15%, which is still well above pre-pandemic levels, IDC found. Global shipments totaled 74.3 million in the quarter, down from 87.3 million during the same period last year.HP saw PC shipments decline about 28%, Dell shipments were down 21% and Lenovo 16%. Meanwhile, Apple bucked the trend with PC shipments rising 40% in the third quarter.AMD hinted at this headwind last week when the chipmaker cut its sales forecast on Thursday for the third quarter, blaming a larger-than-expected decline in the PC market and supply chain issues.Investors will likely be watching for signs of weakness in PC shipments when Microsoft and Intel report third quarter earnings later this month. Microsoft is set to release results on Oct. 25, while Intel will report on Oct. 27.WATCH: PC weakness hitting semi stocks like AMD, says BofA's Vivek Arya | Consumer Electronics |
Not one to let Apple hog the buzz of phone launch season, Google declared Wednesday it’s planning to host its own big phone announcement extravaganza soon. Called “Made By Google,” the event will include a livestream keynote where the company is expected to unveil its Pixel 8, the Pixel Watch 2, and more hardware.
Made By Google will take place at 10 a.m. ET Oct. 4 in New York City. If last year’s big Pixel announcement is anything to go on, the company will livestream the event on YouTube. It’s very likely that Google will unveil its Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro then. Just as well, the sequel to the Pixel Watch may finally make its debut after a rather simple and pared down initial outing.
Though we didn’t get any real hint at the Pixel 8 at Google I/O earlier this year as the company focused on its AI initiatives and the Google Pixel Fold, there have been plenty of leaks to fill the void. One leak has even come directly from Google, albeit inadvertently. The Pixel 8 Pro should include the company’s Tensor G3 chip, the third in the line started back with the Pixel 6. Leaks from Android Authority have hinted that the G3 chip will include nine CPU cores and a performance boost to go along with it. The graphics on the Pixel 8 are expected to be similarly enhanced with 10 GPU cores running at 890MHz compared to the Tensor G2’s 7, according to the rumors.
Otherwise, the Pixel 8 should see some improvements to its camera array with the introduction of a 64 MP ultrawide sensor. The new phone might go back to its older, more curved corners, and—according to 9to5Google—feature colors found on the Pixel Fold. These include Porcelain, Obsidian, plus some sort of “Sea” blue hue.
As far as the Pixel Watch 2 goes, 9to5Google reports that the sequel smartwatch should make the switch to the Qualcomm Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chip. The watch should also get a much improved battery life compared to its older brother, with rumors pointing to 24 hours of operation with its always-on display turned on. It will also likely sport Wear OS 4.
On Tuesday, Apple declared it will host its “Wonderlust” event Sept. 12, and Google is hot on its competitor’s heels. Last year, Google also offered a peek at its Nest Wifi Pro, its Nest Doorbell, and a few other odds and ends. It’s unclear if we’ll see anything like a new Google Pixel Tablet, especially considering the first outing arrived just last year to little fanfare. There’s still the lingering possibility of new Nest devices, but there’s been little to no rumors on that front compared to Google’s phone and wearable lines.
Want more of Gizmodo’s consumer electronics picks? Check out our guides to the best phones, best laptops, best cameras, best televisions, best printers, and best tablets. If you want to learn about the next big thing, see our guide to everything we know about the iPhone 15. Click here to save on the best deals of the day, courtesy of our friends at The Inventory. | Consumer Electronics |
Something isn't loading properly. Please check back later. CNN — Sony and Honda, which announced a joint venture last year to develop and build electric cars, have revealed the name of their new car brand. It will be called Afeela. At a presentation during the Consumer Electronics Show, Sony Honda Mobility chief executive Yasuhide Mizuno revealed a prototype of the company’s first car, which looked like a mid-sized sedan, but he revealed little detail about it. The car will be available to order and even purchase in 2025, he said, but the first deliveries of the car would not take place in North America until 2026, he said. The car will be built at one of Honda’s factories. “At the heart of this mobility experience is the word ‘feel,’” Mizuno said, explaining that focus will be on sensing and interacting with people. The car will have safety and driver assistance systems from Honda along with entertainment and interactive features from Sony, Mizuno said. When developing the car, the emphasis has been on software and user interface technology as much as on driving dynamics and performance, he said. Running above the car’s front bumper is a narrow exterior display screen the company calls the media bar. It will allow the vehicle to show information and interact with people outside the vehicle, Mizuno said. Inside, the company is working with Unreal Engine graphics technology from Epic Games, the company that produces Fortnite, to design interfaces for the vehicle. Unreal Engine’s technology has also been used by other auto brands including General Motors, which used the technology in the Hummer EV. The car will come with a wealth of entertainment options, he said. Mizuno also boasted of the 45 cameras and sensors inside and outside the vehicle, some of which are used to detect the condition of the driver to help ensure alertness and safety. | Consumer Electronics |
PRESS RELEASE April 13, 2023
Apple will use 100 percent recycled cobalt in batteries by 2025
Industry-leading innovation paves new path for key recycled metals in batteries, magnets, and circuit boards
Cupertino, California Apple today announced a major acceleration of its work to expand recycled materials across its products, including a new 2025 target to use 100 percent recycled cobalt1 in all Apple-designed batteries. Additionally, by 2025, magnets in Apple devices will use entirely recycled rare earth elements, and all Apple-designed printed circuit boards will use 100 percent recycled tin soldering and 100 percent recycled gold plating.
In 2022, the company significantly expanded its use of key recycled metals, and now sources over two-thirds of all aluminum, nearly three-quarters of all rare earths, and more than 95 percent of all tungsten in Apple products from 100 percent recycled material. This rapid progress brings Apple closer to its aim to one day make all products with only recycled and renewable materials, and advances the company’s 2030 goal to make every product carbon neutral.
“Every day, Apple is innovating to make technology that enriches people’s lives, while protecting the planet we all share,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “From the recycled materials in our products, to the clean energy that powers our operations, our environmental work is integral to everything we make and to who we are. So we’ll keep pressing forward in the belief that great technology should be great for our users, and for the environment.”
“Our ambition to one day use 100 percent recycled and renewable materials in our products works hand in hand with Apple 2030: our goal to achieve carbon neutral products by 2030,” said Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of Environment, Policy, and Social Initiatives. “We’re working toward both goals with urgency and advancing innovation across our entire industry in the process.”
Charting Progress to 2025
Apple has significantly expanded the use of 100 percent certified recycled cobalt over the past three years, making it possible to include in all Apple-designed batteries by 2025. In 2022, a quarter of all cobalt found in Apple products came from recycled material, up from 13 percent the previous year. Cobalt is a critical material in the batteries used in most consumer electronics, including Apple devices, enabling high energy density while also meeting Apple’s robust standards for longevity and safety. Apple-designed batteries found in iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook, and many other products represent a significant majority of the company’s use of cobalt.
The company’s use of 100 percent certified recycled rare earth elements has greatly expanded in the last year as well, going from 45 percent in 2021 to 73 percent in 2022. Since first introducing recycled rare earths in the Taptic Engine of iPhone 11, Apple has expanded its use of the material across its devices, including in all magnets found in the latest iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, MacBook, and Mac models. As magnets are by far Apple’s largest use of rare earths, the new 2025 target means nearly all rare earths in Apple products will soon be 100 percent recycled.
As part of the accelerated new timeline, all Apple-designed printed circuit boards will use 100 percent certified recycled gold plating by 2025. This includes rigid boards, such as the main logic board, and flexible boards, like those connecting to the cameras or buttons in iPhone. Since pioneering an exclusively recycled supply chain for gold in the plating of the main logic board for iPhone 13, Apple has extended the material’s use in additional components and products, including the wire of all cameras in the iPhone 14 lineup, and printed circuit boards of iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods Pro, MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and HomePod. Apple is also working to encourage broader adoption of recycled gold for non-custom components across the electronics industry.
By 2025, the company will use 100 percent certified recycled tin soldering on all Apple-designed printed rigid and flexible circuit boards. In recent years, Apple’s use of recycled tin has expanded to the solder of many flexible printed circuit boards across Apple products, with 38 percent of all tin used last year coming from recycled sources. The application of recycled tin across even more components is underway, and the company is engaging more suppliers in this effort.
Innovation has also driven progress toward another of Apple’s 2025 commitments: to eliminate plastics from the company’s packaging. The development of fiber alternatives for packaging components like screen films, wraps, and foam cushioning has kept Apple on track toward this ambitious goal. To address the remaining 4 percent plastic in the company’s packaging footprint, Apple is innovating to replace labels, lamination, and other small uses. In the last year, Apple developed a custom printer to introduce digital printing directly onto the boxes of iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro, eliminating the need for most labels. And a new overprint varnish found in iPad Air, iPad Pro, and Apple Watch Series 8 packaging replaces the polypropylene plastic lamination found on boxes and packaging components. The innovation helped avoid over 1,100 metric tons of plastic and over 2,400 metric tons of carbon dioxide.
Progress in Responsible Sourcing of Primary and Recycled Materials
As Apple reduces its reliance on newly mined minerals, it is also pursuing ways to directly support communities whose livelihoods depend on mining. The company is partnering with experts such as the Fund for Global Human Rights to provide support for frontline human rights and environmental defenders, including in the African Great Lakes region, as well as vocational education programs that enable members of local communities moving away from mining to build skills and pursue new opportunities.
Apple sources primary minerals responsibly and drives the highest level of human rights and environmental standards across its supply chain. Apple was the first electronics company to publish a list of cobalt and lithium refiners in its battery supply chain, with cobalt in 2016 and lithium in 2020. In 2017, the company mapped its supply chain for rare earths. And since 2015, every identified smelter and refiner for tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold has participated in independent third-party audits.
In the transition to recycled and renewable content, Apple has prioritized 14 materials based on environment, human rights, and supply impact that together account for nearly 90 percent of the material shipped in Apple products: aluminum, cobalt, copper, glass, gold, lithium, paper, plastics, rare earth elements, steel, tantalum, tin, tungsten, and zinc.
In 2022, about 20 percent of all material shipped in Apple products came from recycled or renewable sources. This includes the first use of recycled copper foil in the main logic board of iPad (10th generation), the introduction of certified recycled steel in the battery tray of MacBook Air with the M2 chip, 100 percent recycled tungsten in the latest Apple Watch lineup, and the aluminum enclosures found in many Apple products, made with a 100 percent recycled aluminum alloy designed by Apple.
Innovating for the Future of Recycling
Apple’s work to pioneer new research and development for end-of-life disassembly and recycling has helped make this progress possible. Through extensive efforts including partnerships with leading research institutions and the Material Recovery Lab in Austin, Texas, Apple engineers and experts are developing innovative ways to give materials in Apple products new life, and helping inform design decisions that support disassembly and recovery.
The company’s iPhone disassembly robot, Daisy, separates batteries from other components, and enables specialty recyclers to recover cobalt and other materials, including lithium. Since 2019, Apple estimates that more than 11,000 kilograms of cobalt have been recovered from batteries extracted by Daisy and then returned to the secondary market. Daisy also helps recover rare earth elements, which are largely lost through traditional electronics recycling processes.
Daisy is just one example of how Apple’s innovations in recycling and disassembly can drive industrywide change. The company’s Dave robot, now deployed with a recycling partner in China, can help further accelerate recovery of rare earth elements by disassembling Taptic Engines.
Apple has also begun deploying overhead projector-based augmented reality (AR) systems to recycling partners. The system guides the disassembly of devices including MacBook and iPad by projecting video imagery directly onto a work surface. The company publishes Apple Recycler Guides for global recyclers to maximize efficiency of material recovery while safeguarding human health and safety. As recycled and renewable materials can contribute to lowering each product’s carbon footprint, enhanced recovery is also bringing Apple closer to its ambitious goal to be carbon neutral across its entire supply chain and the life cycle of every product by 2030.
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- All cobalt content references are on a mass balance system basis. | Consumer Electronics |
Art has long been a form of self-expression, amusement, and a significant part of understanding world history and culture, but methods of creating art have changed significantly through time.
Featured in the 2023 Consumer Electronics (CES) show, WOMBO’s AI art tool, Dream, is changing modern art. This app takes just a few words and turns them into a beautiful piece of artwork in seconds, available until March 7 for only $49.99 (reg. $169.99).
The Dream application can make your imagination a reality. Simply input a short description of whatever you want to create: “Rainbow fairy”, “UFO lifting cows”, or anything else that you can imagine out of billions of possibilities. Along with your idea, you may pick an overall art style that you’d like for the work, such as choosing for the piece to be bright and colorful, or dark and dreary. Dream then uses the power of artificial intelligence to bring your idea to life.
Dream by WOMBO AI Art Tool: Lifetime Subscription, $50, original price: $170
With the Premium Plan, you get to enjoy additional features like extra art styles to choose from, get a supporter role in the Wombo Dream Discord, get three generated variations for each art piece, and save as a video to share your artwork with friends and family.
This AI art app has over 10 million downloads, was named Google’s Best Overall App of 2022, and is rated at 4.8 out of 5 stars on the App Store.
Traditional art supplies can be expensive, take up valuable space, or be a physical barrier to some wanting to create art. Now anybody with an iOS or Android device can be an artist with just a few clicks, across as many devices as they want.
Create art in seconds with a lifetime subscription to Dream by WOMBO AI Art Tool’s premium plan for just $49.99 (reg. $169.99). Hurry, this app is only available through March 7.
Prices subject to change. | Consumer Electronics |
There’s a long list of things corporations can do to lessen consumer electronics’ environmental impact. Making systems easier to repair is up there, along with encouraging device recycling and updating manufacturing and supply chain processes. Utilizing recycled material in the devices themselves is a big piece of this puzzle, as well – it’s good publicity and better for the environment. A win-win.
Companies like Google and Samsung have leaned into those efforts – the latter providing a great visual in the form of recycled fishing nets. Almost exactly a year ago today (Earth Day is coming up, folks), Apple noted that it was doubling its use of recycled materials in products and pushing to eliminate plastics in packaging by 2025.
This morning, the company announced that same deadline to move to 100% recycled cobalt in its batteries, including the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and MacBooks. Batteries, the company notes, monopolize “a significant majority” of the cobalt the company uses. Cobalt is a rough one – both with regard to mining practices and the metal’s direct impact on those people who do the mining. Here’s a Guardian story from 2021 – horrific stuff.
In a release issued this morning, Apple notes,
Apple has significantly expanded the use of 100 percent certified recycled cobalt over the past three years, making it possible to include in all Apple-designed batteries by 2025. In 2022, a quarter of all cobalt found in Apple products came from recycled material, up from 13 percent the previous year.
The move follows similar initiatives for key materials including aluminum, tungsten and rare earth metals. It’s also more broadly a piece of Apple’s long standing push to carbon neutrality by 2030.
“Our ambition to one day use 100 percent recycled and renewable materials in our products works hand in hand with Apple 2030: our goal to achieve carbon neutral products by 2030,” says VP Lisa Jackson. “We’re working toward both goals with urgency and advancing innovation across our entire industry in the process.”
A big piece of the puzzle is, naturally, recycling cobalt from older, end of life devices. Five years back, the company implemented its Daisy robotic arm, which strips and separates materials from iPhones.
Says Apple,
Since 2019, Apple estimates that more than 11,000 kilograms of cobalt have been recovered from batteries extracted by Daisy and then returned to the secondary market. Daisy also helps recover rare earth elements, which are largely lost through traditional electronics recycling processes.
Another interesting note, in light of Apple’s XR ambitions, is the “overhead projector-based augment reality system” (seen at the top of the post) it’s been shipping to partners, in order to guide human workers through the disassembly process. | Consumer Electronics |
When Apple held its annual launch event for the iPhone 13 in 2021, it started with a joyful video featuring jazz dancers celebrating the natural beauty of California (which can be captured with an iPhone camera, of course).The tone of Apple's iPhone 14 launch this week was darker. After zooming in on Apple's headquarters from space, it kicked off with a video highlighting users who wrote letters to Apple CEO Tim Cook saying that they almost died — but were saved by their Apple Watch calling 911."Dear Apple: My dad was flying our small plane to Vermont. I was asleep in the back seat. I woke up when we were crashing into the tops of the trees. The plane broke into six pieces and we were miles away from civilization in the freezing cold. Then, all of a sudden, my Apple Watch started ringing," said one character named Hannah.Other characters in the short video told stories of falling into a frozen stream, getting trapped inside a trash compactor, and witnessing a cardiac episode in a restaurant.Saving lives in emergency situations was the major theme of Apple's launch this year, and many of the most notable new features the company announced were oriented around safety.The most significant new iPhone capability this year is called "Emergency SOS via satellite," which can send a message for help even if there's no cell service around for miles. Users can also share their location with family or friends in the Find My app.Apple's example of how the feature works showed a hiker with a broken leg on top of a mountain ridge calling for a helicopter. Later, Apple mentioned winding back roads as another place where iPhone users might be out of range.But this feature could be useful in outside wilderness settings. Wildfires, hurricanes, and other disasters can cut cell service, and having the ability to contact emergency services or tell your family where you are can literally be a life-saver in those circumstances.Another example: Apple's $799 or more watch, the Ultra, has an 86-decibel siren that can be heard 600 feet away, and compass features that allow the user to retrace their steps without the internet.As with the satellite feature, Apple advertised it as for backcountry adventurers, but it could also be useful in more mundane settings. Imagine sounding the alarm as a deterrent to an attacker, or using the retracing feature to find your way back to your car after a local disaster has interrupted cell service.Apple also announced this week that iPhones and Apple Watches can now call 911 if they detect a car crash using motion sensors."We truly hope you never need it but that you will feel a little bit safer every time you get in the car," an Apple presenter said, moments before rolling another commercial where a driver gets hit by an air bag in slow motion after crashing.Apple's launch events are designed to do one thing: Build up demand for Apple's new products. Apple wants to make the iPhone even more "essential" for its users though safety features, giving users reasons not to switch to competing Android devices.Will these features meaningfully increase iPhone adoption and sales? It turns out, Apple has at least considered the possibility in the past.In a disclosure with the ESG group CDP published in January 2019, Apple representatives wrote about potential business opportunities stemming from climate change, citing a previous version of the "SOS" feature as an example of Apple's work to build features for emergency situations."As severe weather events become more frequent, consumers may come to value more highly the immediate and ubiquitous availability of reliable mobile computing devices for use in situations where transportation, power, and other services may be temporarily interrupted," Apple representatives wrote.Apple cited the events of 9/11 and hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, and Harvey as "extreme weather events" that are occurring more frequently."Over time, as people begin to experience severe weather events with greater frequency, we expect an increasing need for confidence and preparedness in the arena of personal safety and the well-being of loved ones," Apple wrote in the disclosure.Apple's not the only consumer electronics company that is developing safety features for its devices. But Apple's devices also have a robust lineup of health features, like fall detection for seniors and heart monitoring, which make the overall safety pitch stronger."iPhone is there when you need it most," one presenter said at the launch event. "That confidence is especially important in moments where your safety is at risk."We may be seeing the start of a new messaging strategy at Apple: Its devices are the ones you want when things go wrong. | Consumer Electronics |
According to the new report from WalletHub, JCPenney and several other major department stores will offer the steepestacross a range of popular products, from apparel to consumer electronics.
JCPenney will provide the largest average Black Friday discounts on its merchandise, with an average markdown of 59.1%, followed by Macy's, with a typical cut of 58.2%, the analysis found. Discounts may be especially important this holiday to U.S. consumers, who have been walloped by more than a.
"Knowing exactly where to find the best deals can also help you save a lot of time and avoid a lot of aggravation," WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe said in a statement.
Best Black Friday deals
Here are the retailers ranked by average discount, according to WalletHub's analysis, which examined 3,500 products listed in the stores' 2023 Black Friday ads.
The 13 retailers included national online and brick-and-mortar companies, such as Amazon, Walmart, Dell, JCPenney, Macy's, Costco and Home Depot. However, it noted that Amazon didn't provide all the information it requested, and so some deals weren't included in their calculations.
- JCPenney — 59.1%
- Macy's — 58.2%
- Belk — 54.8%
- Kohl's — 48.8%
- Target — 32.7%
- BJ's — 30.1%
- Best Buy — 29.8%
- Amazon — 28.5%
- Walmart — 26.9%
- Dell — 25.8%
WalletHub also examined discounts by nine product categories, including apparel, consumer electronics and appliances.
While JC Penney's will have the biggest discounts on average, some other retailers have better sales in specific categories, the report found.
For example, Macy's will offer the best deals on toys, with an average discount of 44.5% for those products, according to the analysis. Meanwhile, Kohl's will be the top spot to get deals on jewelry, computers and phones, the data shows.
According to the report, jewelry shoppers will find the largest discounts, with an average price drop of 54% across all 13 retailers, followed by apparel and accessories, which will be marked down 42% on average. Meanwhile, the smallest discounts will be found on computers and phones, with an average discount of 26% across the stores.
for more features. | Consumer Electronics |
What if the color of your car could change based on your mood or the weather?That's the idea — or, at least, one of the ideas— behind BMW's new "i Vision Dee" concept car, a midsize electric sports sedan covered in futuristic panels that can change color on demand.BMW describes it as the world's first "color-changing" car. The Dee, which stands for "Digital Emotional Experience," can cycle between 32 different colors, the company said in a press release on Thursday, while unveiling the car at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.The car can cycle between 32 different solid exterior colors, with mix-and-match capabilities due to its 240 different panel segments. That's a significant leap past BMW's earlier iteration showcased last year, which could only alternate between black, white and gray.As with any concept vehicle, the technology behind the Dee's color-changing capabilities is likely years away from consumer availability. Exposure to the elements in day-to-day driving — from car washes to flying insects — keeps the high-tech panels from performing in the real world, The Verge noted Thursday.A photo composite shows some of the potential color combinations of the color-changing BMW i Vision Dee concept car.Source: BMWFor BMW, the car is meant as a glimpse of what could eventually be a much more colorful future. "This allows an almost infinite variety of patterns to be generated and varied within seconds," the company said in its press release, which described the light show as a "magical display of color."The Dee's outer skin is a film made of electronic paper built by a startup called E Ink, which also makes display tech for e-readers and mobile phones. The coating segments contain millions of tiny microcapsules with different color pigments that change shades when electricity is applied.The electronic coating is "ultra-low power," so changing the car's colors won't drain the electric vehicle's battery, E Ink said in its own press release on Thursday.E Ink also said it's able to manufacture its panels in any shape imaginable — potentially leading to applications like e-reader screens that mimic the look of actual paper or more energy-efficient digital signs and smartwatch displays.BMW hasn't released specs for the Dee's engine or battery, but says the concept car is additionally loaded with futuristic hardware and software that'll be available in cars on the road by 2025.That includes BMW's Head-Up display, a digital dashboard that spans the entire width of the windshield. It also features a Mixed Reality Slider, a touchscreen that allows you to control how much digital content is displayed on that dashboard, from driving speed and battery range to music controls and text messages.The interior of BMW's i Vision Dee concept car.Source: BMW | Consumer Electronics |
Apple has officially announced it will host its annual developer’s conference at Apple Park in Cupertino beginning June 5. The conference will offer an “in-person experience” but will take place primarily online.
WWDC, or the Worldwide Developers Conference, will occur for four days, between June 5-9. The event will be free for all developers, who can expect to learn more about what’s next in Apple’s walled garden. Space is limited, and if you’re interested in attending, you can visit Apple’s developer site for more information.
WWDC will feature a pre-recorded “State of the Union” presentation, akin to the same one that Google gives every year at its keynote during its developer conference, which is called Google I/O and takes place in May next door in Mountain View. Apple will also host online sessions for folks wondering what is new with iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS.
While there’s nothing confirmed, there’s already been plenty of conjecture about what’s coming next from Apple’s software platforms. Leakers hope iOS 17 will finally allow outside app stores on iOS devices, though reports have hinted that Europe would be the first market to enable it. The long-awaited revamp to CarPlay might also come from the developer event, which would be well-timed with Google’s recent Android Auto makeover. Apple initially showed off a prototype of the new CarPlay at last year’s WWDC. And we’ll hopefully learn more about the iPhone 15.
The rumblings around macOS have been relatively quiet, save for teases about new hardware, but the next version could include improvements to Stage Manager, which lets you use an iPad as a secondary display.
Since iPadOS 16 was a significant launch last year, this year’s announcements for the operating system may be more tempered. There’s little out right now on what the update would include, but folks are hoping for some of iOS 16's features to come to the tablet, including Lock Screen widgets and custom wallpapers.
That still leaves us with tvOS and watchOS, both integral parts of the ecosystem. Will the Apple Watch have a camera on it after all? Will Apple finally reveal to us what it’s been working on with AR/VR? Will macOS using California landmarks for its naming convention? For what we don’t know now, we’ll know more by the time WWDC rolls around in June. Stay tuned to Gizmodo, as we’ll be covering the rumors around the annual developer event and the official announcements straight out of Apple HQ.
Want Gizmodo’s consumer electronics picks? Check out our guides to the best phones, best laptops, best cameras, best televisions, and best tablets and eReaders. And if you want to learn about the next big thing, see our guide to everything we know about the iPhone 15. | Consumer Electronics |
Apple may be considering expanding the repertoire of its popular AirPods line beyond entertainment and into the realm of health.
Speculation about giving AirPods health chops was fueled over the weekend by Mark Gurman, who predicted in his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg that Apple would be upgrading the product in the next year or two to make it a health tool.
“It’s a natural step for Apple. Health has been a primary focus for their wearables,” observed Mark N. Vena, president and principal analyst at SmartTech Research in San Jose, Calif.
“I think they may start moving AirPods in a smart hearing aid direction,” he told TechNewsWorld.
It’s not a question of if Apple will bring health features to AirPods, but when, maintained Julie Ask, a vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research.
“Apple plays a long game,” she told TechNewsWorld. “They’ve long been committed to health. And, like many consumer electronics companies, they’ll pursue and prioritize large-scale problems where they believe they have a competitive ability to make a difference.”
Market Opportunity
One such area to which Apple has committed significant resources is helping people with diabetes manage their blood sugar levels. The potential for that kind of application is enormous. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, 37.3 million people have diabetes in the United States — 28.5 million adults diagnosed with the disease and 8.5 million undiagnosed.
Similarly, the hearing aid market could be substantial for Apple, too. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders, about 15% of American adults aged 18 and over — 35.5 million people — have reported some trouble hearing. The institute estimates that about 28 million adults could benefit from hearing aids.
“If Apple wipes out the hearing aid market with a $300 replacement that is more dynamic and effective, and my insurance pays for it, that is huge,” Ask declared.
“There are tens of millions of people with moderate hearing loss problems, and they don’t even know it. Or if they do know it, they don’t want to admit it because people who admit to a hearing loss problem admit to getting old, and they attach a stigma to that,” Vena added.
“If Apple can incorporate smart hearing into an AirPods-like device,” he continued, “it could remove the stigma of wearing a hearing aid to some people. That could be a tailwind for the product for Apple.”
Apple’s History of Health Patents
About a year ago, The Mac Observer reported that Apple had filed a patent describing advanced features for hearing aids running on made-for-iPhone devices. The patent describes a method for creating configurations for controlling the volume of hearing aids based on environmental conditions. Those configurations could be chosen automatically based on GPS and map information.
Patents for souping up AirPods with health features go back to at least 2014. Over those years, Apple has filed patents for using the ear and a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor to monitor a person’s heart rate and characterize their blood flow in the ear’s skin. It has also proposed electrocardiogram sensors, impedance cardiography, galvanic skin response, VO2 sensing, and measuring body temperature.
“There are new sensors many companies are using to monitor health conditions today,” observed Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies, a technology advisory firm in San Jose, Calif.
“Adding health features gives Apple and others a way to differentiate their ear pods from each other,” he told TechNewsWorld.
Apple’s current crop of AirPods already has some hearing-assistance technology. Live Listen, which works with Made for iPhone hearing devices connected to an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, lets users stream audio, answer phone calls, adjust settings, and more.
A similar feature, Conversation Boost, is supported by Apple’s AirPods Pro. This allows an iPhone to be used like a microphone, making it easier to hear someone in a noisy environment by pointing the phone at the person you’re conversing with; their speech is boosted when sent to the AirPods Pro device.
AirPods Pro (Image Credit: Apple)
Those kinds of features can act as a substitute for hearing aids. “Think about how you can change the font size on your smartphone so that you don’t have to use ‘readers,'” Ask explained.
Sleeping Features?
According to José Adorno, writing for BGR, it may not be necessary to wait for future AirPods versions to see health features appearing on the devices since existing versions of the products have the hardware to support those kinds of features.
“More recently, Apple turned on HomePod mini sensors to check room temperature and humidity two years after its release so it could coincide with a new HomePod announcement, meaning the company could do the same with AirPods,” he wrote.
AirPods are already bristling with sensors — dual beamforming microphones for directional sound, inward-facing microphones to reduce background noise, a skin-detect sensor, a motion-detecting accelerometer, and a speech-detecting accelerometer.
“These devices are full of sensors,” Ask noted. “What does it mean? You can jam more sensors into a smaller form factor and not diminish the battery life while getting more utility.”
If Apple wants to get serious about health features aimed at hearing loss, it may need to change the AirPods design, Vena maintained.
“Over time, they may be able to measure the quality of a person’s hearing and give them feedback, via an app, that could allow a person to take preemptive action on their hearing loss,” he said.
“That requires a different design,” he continued. “I’m not sure they can accomplish that kind of stuff without some type of in-the-ear canal solution. When you start monitoring hearing capability precisely, I don’t think you can get away with that without some mechanism in the ear canal.”
Reducing Device Sprawl
Ask, however, noted it is hard to imagine that Apple would depart from its existing model when it adds health features to AirPods.
“Put them into a Pro version, charge a premium for the new hardware and then gradually migrate these features into downstream products,” she said.
“They would also pursue services revenue if they thought they could,” she added. “This could also be part of a longer-term play. As they roll out more services, perhaps they eventually have a large enough portfolio to get $5 to $15 a month or more from its users.”
By making its AirPods a dual-function device, Apple could be helping to reduce device proliferation. “We’re at the point where we have to carry around multiple wearable devices,” Vena observed. “If Apple can reduce that, it’s a big deal.” | Consumer Electronics |
The European Parliament today voted overwhelmingly in favor of enforcing USB-C as a common charging port across a wide range of consumer electronic devices, including the iPhone and AirPods, by the end of 2024.
The proposal, known as a directive, forces all consumer electronics manufacturers who sell their products in Europe to ensure that a wide range of devices feature a USB-C port. This "common port" will be a world-first statute and impact Apple in particular since it widely uses the Lightning connector instead of USB-C on many of its devices. MEPs claim that the move will reduce electronic waste, address product sustainability, and make use of different devices more convenient.
The directive received 602 votes in favor, 13 votes against, and eight abstentions. A press release issued by the European Parliament earlier today states:
By the end of 2024, all mobile phones, tablets and cameras sold in the EU will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port. From spring 2026, the obligation will extend to laptops. The new law, adopted by plenary on Tuesday with 602 votes in favour, 13 against and 8 abstentions, is part of a broader EU effort to reduce e-waste and to empower consumers to make more sustainable choices.
Under the new rules, consumers will no longer need a different charger every time they purchase a new device, as they will be able to use one single charger for a whole range of small and medium-sized portable electronic devices.
Regardless of their manufacturer, all new mobile phones, tablets, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld videogame consoles and portable speakers, e-readers, keyboards, mice, portable navigation systems, earbuds and laptops that are rechargeable via a wired cable, operating with a power delivery of up to 100 Watts, will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C port.
All devices that support fast charging will now have the same charging speed, allowing users to charge their devices at the same speed with any compatible charger.
Exemptions will apply for devices that are too small to offer a USB-C port, such as smart watches, health trackers, and some sports equipment, but the legislation is expected to be expanded to other devices over time. Companies will also have to ensure that dedicated labels clearly inform consumers about the charging characteristics of devices they buy.
In addition, the EU seeks to ensure that wireless charging solutions are interoperable as the technology evolves over time. The directive empowers the European Commission to develop delegated acts by the end of 2024 that force companies to make their custom wireless charging solutions more open and meet interoperability standards, helping consumers to avoid getting locked into proprietary charging solutions while preventing fragmentation and reducing waste. It is not clear if this would include Apple's MagSafe charging system for the iPhone and AirPods since it is based on the Qi wireless charging standard. The EU Wants All Phones to Work With Interoperable Chargers, Here's What That Means for Apple's Lightning Port Now, the European Council must approve the directive so that it can be published in the EU Official Journal. It will come into force 20 days after publication in the EU Official Journal and its requirements will start to apply to new devices after 24 months. Products that went on sale before the date of application will be exempt and can continue to be sold after that point.
In 2018, the European Commission attempted to reach a final resolution on this issue but it failed to come into law. At the time, Apple warned that forcing a common charging port on the industry would stifle innovation and create electronic waste as consumers would be forced to switch to new cables.
The EU's effort resumed last year, with the European Commission spearheading a refreshed version of the directive. In April, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee voted to support the directive, with 43 votes in favor and just two against. In June, the EU's Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection reached an agreement to introduce the directive to the European Parliament. Five Apple Products Rumored to Switch to USB-C Both Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman have said that Apple is testing a version of the iPhone that has a USB-C port instead of a Lightning port. Kuo believes that Apple could switch the iPhone to USB-C starting with 2023's iPhone 15, before transitioning AirPods and other accessories at a later date. This timing would allow Apple to switch many of its affected devices to USB-C ahead of the EU directive coming into force.
Note: Due to the political or social nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Political News forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
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The HTC VIVE XR Elite headset.Photo: HTCHTC on Thursday announced its new all-in-one mixed reality headset, the VIVE XR Elite. The $1,099 consumer flagship device combines augmented and virtual reality capabilities into a single device and represents the Taiwanese consumer electronics company’s argument against Meta’s $1,499 Quest Pro, which was announced in October.OffEnglishThe VIVE XR Elite adds mixed reality capabilities to HTC’s family of VIVE virtual reality products, allowing consumers to view through its lenses to see virtual objects super-imposed on the real world around them. The headset includes a full-color RGB passthrough camera, four wide FOV cameras, a depth sensor, and hand-tracking. The display offers up 4K resolution (2K per eye), a 90 Hz refresh rate, and up to 110 degree FOV.The headset weighs 625 grams (including the battery) and features a redesigned hinge from previous VIVE products which the company says will allow extended arms to more comfortably fit a user’s head. A USB-C connecting port on the right-hand side allows users to plug into a power source for 30-watt fast charging, or connect to a PC to access PCVR content from VIVEPORT and Steam. The device also supports wireless PC streaming over WiFi 6E.OffEnglishVIVE XR Elite will be available to pre-order globally starting today, and pre-order shipments are estimated to begin in late February. The product ships with the VIVE XR Elite headset, two controllers, and the headset battery cradle.The VIVE XR Elite launches with over 100 new pieces of MR and VR content for the platform, according to HTC, including Demeo, Hubris, Yuki, Maestro, Les Mills Body Combat, FigminXR, Unplugged, Finger Gun, and more.HTC also said on Wednesday that the company will launch a Face and Eye Tracker unit for the headset later in 2023. | Consumer Electronics |
Boo! Apple has a not-so-surprising surprise in store for fans on October 30th. The Cupertino company announced Tuesday its set to reveal its second fall event of 2023. Titled “Scary Fast,” the online event is where Apple is expected to reveal new Mac products that could include a new iMac desktop or MacBook laptop.
Scary fast is being held Monday, Oct. 30 at 5 p.m. PT. The event will be pre-recorded and online only, meaning folks will have to wait to get hands-on time with whatever Apple’s got cooking up (probably not a pumpkin pie). The event should stream from the company’s official events page and on its YouTube channel. Looks like we’re all going to be bobbing for apples.
Earlier this week, reports hinted that Apple had one last big product announcement for this year. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman claimed Apple is planning to showcase a new iMac that would finally be an upgrade from the M1-powered all-in-one desktop first launched back in 2021. We likely won’t see any new updates to the MacBook Air, but Apple could show off a new 13-inch, 14-inch, or 16-inch MacBook Pro.
It’s unclear if these new products will be powered with the company’s latest 3nm M3 silicon, but since the iMac skipped over 2022 and the advent of the M2 chip, Apple could be trying to spook fans with the latest from its proprietary chips.
Rumors hint there’s far less chance we’ll see any new additions to the company’s iPad lineup, as it seems Apple is ready to skip this year and offer consumers something more dramatic when 2024 rolls around.
Want more of Gizmodo’s consumer electronics picks? Check out our guides to the best phones, best laptops, best cameras, best televisions, best printers, and best tablets. If you want to learn about the next big thing, see our guide to everything we know about the iPhone 15. Click here to save on the best deals of the day, courtesy of our friends at The Inventory. | Consumer Electronics |
Apple’s launch of Vision Pro, what it refers to as its first spatial computer, is generating a lot of buzz in China. The hashtag #Apple Vision Pro 苹果首款头显 (Apple’s first head-mounted display) amassed over 40 million views on Weibo, China’s Twitter equivalent, on the launch day alone.
The country’s virtual and augmented reality industry went from the talk of the town a few years ago to a disappointment to investors and consumers who expected to see mass adoption quickly — last year, XR device shipment crossed one million units in China, a number that’s insignificant compared to the reach of other consumer electronics.
While Wall Street traders are skeptical of Vision Pro’s price tag and usability, China’s mixed reality community is excited that the device’s debut has rekindled the public’s interest in XR, which could eventually help bring the necessary talent, supply chain resources and investments into the nascent space.
“The issue isn’t lack of progress or technological growth, the XR industry has that in strides, but rather overly optimistic timelines and inflated expectations that dampened both consumer and investor confidence in the industry’s ability to deliver a mainstream, consumer-friendly product,” said Gavin Newton-Tanzer, president of Sunrise International, Asia producer of the global XR conference AWE.
Market researcher Counterpoint summed up the recent development of China’s XR industry aptly:
The development of VR glasses took off in China in 2016, with standalone devices becoming mainstream in 2019. As of 2023, we are seeing the market frenzy for VR devices subsiding, with the industry waiting for the introduction of Apple’s first MR headset. Meanwhile, the development of AR glasses is still at an early stage, with only limited products available in China prior to 2022. However, since 2022/2023, we are seeing more products being commercialized.
Just as Stability AI and OpenAI inspired a legion of followers and challengers in China, Vision Pro will likely set in motion a period of rapid development at local device makers, buoyed by increased investor confidence. TechCrunch spoke to five XR entrepreneurs and experts with deep experience in China to find out how Vision Pro’s debut will shape the industry in the country for the foreseeable future.
Renewed excitement
Regardless of Vision Pro’s eventual commercial success, there’s no doubt that the device is a long awaited boost in confidence for China’s XR industry.
Chinese device makers have been through a few years of challenging times. For one, “COVID translated to a breakdown in international ties for many young companies just as the global XR ecosystem was gaining momentum,” Newton-Tanzer suggested.
XR startups have also been facing a harder time convincing Chinese investors, who Newton-Tanzer described as “particularly sensitive to hype cycles.”
“Negative press from the inevitable breakdown of the metaverse hype has led to many companies treading water,” he added.
“In this way, the Apple release is a beacon of hope shining through the current storm, which many will use to bolster the case for their business, as the respected hardware giant brings its formidable two billion users into the fold.”
The positive mood shift, in turn, could spur investments by various players that will benefit the long-term growth of the young industry.
Misa Zhu, founder and CEO of Hangzhou-based AR glasses maker Rokid, reckons Vision Pro will help drive the supply chain. Given the relatively small shipment volume of AR and VR devices, factories have been reluctant to scale up production capacity, resulting in deep costs for manufacturers which often have to let consumers share the costs.
“Now that manufacturers see Apple is betting on AR, they will be more confident in ramping up production. A flourishing supply chain will benefit not just Apple but also the other players in the industry,” suggested Zhu.
Zhu also believes that Apple will attract a flood of developers to create applications and content for the Vision Pro ecosystem. These developers will want to maximize the reach of their work so they will likely also publish them on other platforms, benefiting the less influential players.
Howie Li, founder and CEO of TCL’s XR brand RayNeo, which recently introduced lightweight AR glasses with features like real-time translation, navigation, and message prompts, echoed Zhu’s forecast: “When we examine the industry landscape, while Vision Pro didn’t unveil groundbreaking new AR use cases at WWDC, it has created a pivotal development platform for AR applications. This platform will play a significant role in driving the global growth of the AR application ecosystem.”
Zhu is thankful that Vision Pro is playing an important role in popularizing the concept of AR and distinguishing it from VR, which has been more familiar to the public thanks to its focus on entertainment and games.
“A lot of people mistook us for a VR company before, but having seen Vision Pro’s use cases, they now know that we are focused on AR and are quite different from companies like Pico, saving us from educating the market,” said the founder.
Make a move
As with previous pivotal technology launches from Silicon Valley, Vision Pro will prompt Chinese manufacturers who have been observing Apple’s progress to “make a move,” said XR industry veteran Sea Wan Toong.
“There will be companies coming out with similar modules, following Apple’s concept. The hardware isn’t hard to make, but Chinese companies lag behind in developing optic software,” he added.
But not everyone wants to follow the giant. Xreal (previously Nreal), co-founded by a Magic Leap veteran and has raised around $250 million in funding to work on lightweight XR glasses, has gone in “very different directions” wit its product development from Apple, said Peng Jin, co-founder at Xreal.
Its earlier product, the Xreal Light, is similar to Vision Pro. But the team soon found that many people were using the glasses for watching videos and playing games. These simpler tasks don’t require features like SLAM algorithms, which gather information about the physical environment, maps it and puts the user on the map, so the company subsequently introduced a model without SLAM, which is cheaper and has a longer battery life as a result, the Xreal Air.
“I believe new players in the market are in fact working together to bring diversity and awareness to this AR revolution,” Peng said.
Vision Pro’s future in China
Apple did not specify whether it will launch Vision Pro in China, though Newton-Tanzer believes that the device, which is priced at an prohibitive $3,500, will “almost certainly be available in China next year.”
“It’s expensive, but as an Apple fan, I’ll definitely buy it. It’s my mission to contribute to the progress of technology,” said a Shanghai-based entrepreneur who prides himself on buying the first iPhone when the handset still had limited functionality.
If Newton-Tanzer’s prediction is right, Xiong could be enjoying the vast library of Apple content via Vision Pro next year and using the headset to interface with his family of Apple products to perform work tasks.
Vision Pro’s “current content plan is mostly for native iOS content, as opposed to VR native games like Quest, which means they will have a tremendous advantage over all other players as they will launch with an already extensive content library,” Newton-Tanzer noted.
While most other American tech giants have left China as the country’s regulatory environment tightens over the years, Apple has striven to be in the good graces of local regulators, for instance, by storing Chinese user data within the country’s borders and censoring content services like podcasts. That means Vision Pro might come with limited features and a smaller reservoir of content in China, but Apple will have a head start in government relations over other foreign players like Quest, which has yet to launch in the country. Moreover, the lack of foreign content and applications might eventually be compensated by China’s homegrown developers who want to bet on Apple’s second-largest market. | Consumer Electronics |
What you need to know
- Qualcomm has unveiled its first series of Snapdragon X platform for Windows laptops, dubbed Snapdragon X Elite.
- The new Oryon CPU powers the chip and packs 4.5x faster AI processing than competitors.
- Qualcomm claims that in single-threaded scores, the Elite X platform can beat Apple’s best M2 Max and Intel’s mighty Core i9-13980HX processors and match peak performance at 30% and 70% less power consumption, respectively.
- Windows laptops powered by Snapdragon Elite X and the Oryon CPU are due in mid-2024 from various OEMs.
After a few years of development from its Nuvia acquisitions, Qualcomm is finally pulling the curtain back on its next-gen processors and, at least going by Qualcomm’s claims, these are going to be some of the most powerful mobile processors on the planet while also being significantly more efficient.
The Qualcomm Oryon CPU powers the new Snapdragon X Elite platform on a 4nm node, which sports a 64-bit architecture, 12 cores up to 3.8GHz, and single and dual-core boost up to 4.3GHz. The accompanying Adreno GPU packs a punch and can handle up to 4.6 TFLOPs.
|Feature||Specification|
|CPU||Qualcomm Oryon CPU, 64-bit architecture, 12 cores up to 3.8 GHz, single and dual-core boost, up to 4.3 GHz|
|GPU||Qualcomm Adreno GPU up to 4.6 TFLOPs, supports DX12|
|NPU||Qualcomm Hexagon NPU, 45 TOPs|
|Memory||LPDDR5x, 8533 MT/s transfer rate, up to 64GB, 136 GB/s bandwidth, 8 channels|
|Storage||SD v3.0, NVME over PCIe Gen 4, UFS 4.0|
|Process||4nm|
|Display||Qualcomm Adreno DPU, up to UHD 120Hz with HDR10|
|Connectivity||Snapdragon X65 5G Modem up to 10 Gbps, up to Wi-Fi 7, with Bluetooth LE 5.4|
|More features||AV1 encoding, decoding ffor 4K HDR video, lossless sound with Snapdragon Sound Tech Suite, on-device generative AI at 30 tokens per second, "enterprise grade" security|
Memory (RAM) gets up to LPDDR5x at 8533 MT/s up to 64GB, matching many of today’s top-tier laptops. NVMe SSD over PCIe Gen 4 is also supported for storage along with UFS 4.0.
Unsurprisingly, Snapdragon X Elite supports 4G TLE and 5G along with Bluetooth 5.4/LE, Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E, and the latest Wi-Fi 7, giving it all the modern-day connectivity you can handle.
While Thunderbolt 4 or Thunderbolt 5 (an Intel technology) is not supported, there is the ability to leverage USB 4.0 (up to 3x) along with 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 and 1x eUSB2. Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 are functionally equivalent, but the former has tighter minimum specs.
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite: Real-world comparisons
Of course, specs don’t tell the whole story, although what Qualcomm has listed so far is very impressive. Going deeper into what the Snapdragon X Elite compares to is extremely promising.
During today’s Snapdragon Summit Keynote, CEO Cristiano Amon revealed some specific details about the X Elite’s performance, which is quoted as:
- It beats Apple’s M2 Max in single-threaded performance and matches competitor peak performance at 30% less power consumption.
- It beats Intel’s Core i9-13980Hx in single-threaded performance and matches competitor peak performance at 70% less power consumption.
In multi-core, Qualcomm claims it is 50% faster than Apple's M2 processor at peak performance.
Indeed, in some graphs, which undeniably favor the story Qualcomm wants to tell, it claims its X Elite platform with Oryon CPU is 2x as fast as Intel’s Raptor Lake 13th Gen Core i7-1355U (10 core) and Core i7-1360P (12 core) processors while only using 1/3 of the power at peak performance.
Turning to the big guns, Qualcomm claims Oryon is even up to 60% faster than Intel’s 13th Gen Core i7-13800H (14 core) CPU, which is the type of processor found in workstations like the Dell XPS 15, while again only consuming 1/3 the power.
The same story holds for Snapdragon X Elite’s GPU, which is 2x faster than Intel Iris Xe found in the Core i7-13800H while using only ¼ the power draw and is 80% faster than AMD’s Ryzen 9 7940HS integrated GPU with 80% less power consumption.
Assuming Qualcomm’s numbers are remotely close to what is claimed, those are some astonishing benchmarks to be thrown around, especially compared to the older Snapdragon 8cX, which is closer to an Intel 11th Gen Core i5. Granted, Apple’s M3 series and Intel’s Meteor Lake chips are due in early 2024, negating some of the comparisons above. However, for a first-gen attempt, these numbers are a meaningful jump.
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite: AI, NPUs, and Sensing Hubs
Just as important is the neural processing unit (NPU) found in the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite platform, which is meant to usher in a new era of localized AI processing and will be a significant driver for what is expected to be Windows 12, due later in 2024.
Qualcomm claims its new Hexagon NPU hits up to 45 TOPs (Tera Operations Per Second) and can run generative AI LLM (large language models) over 13B parameters on-device with “blazing speeds.”
Some of the benefits of an NPU are the extreme speed and efficiency compared to using a CPU or GPU to calculate AI models. Additionally, since all processing is localized, it’s faster since data is not uploaded and redownloaded from the cloud, and it is also more secure for the same reason.
Perhaps more interesting is the addition of a second Micro NPU inside the “ultra-low power Qualcomm Sensing Hub,” which is a human presence detection system that can wake the PC when in sleep mode by noticing a person is in front of it (and lock when the person walks away). While Intel has had such abilities for a few years, Qualcomm claims its system is so efficient that it is always on.
Surface Pro 10? Faster than an XPS 15, more efficient than an iPad
Although Microsoft did not announce a Surface Pro 10 at today’s Qualcomm keynote, there is no reason that the company could not release what could be the dream 2-in-1 PC. Assuming Qualcomm’s numbers and no restrictions for tighter thermal constraints, Microsoft’s prized tablet PC could be more potent than the current gen Dell XPS 15 workstation and get better battery life than the iPad Pro.
Such a combination would be a remarkably powerful PC that is not only extremely fast but also packs some of the highest level NPU performance known, all while getting significantly better battery life than the competition.
Microsoft is not expected to release a Surface Pro 10 until fall 2024, and by then, Apple and Intel will already have faster systems, but that won’t negate what could be the holy grail in Windows computing.
Qualcomm Snapdragon X: More than Elite?
Qualcomm’s new platform, as revealed a few weeks ago, is Snapdragon X, with the new ‘Elite’ branding to signify we’re likely getting the top-tier version first (although Oryon can scale up, so a ‘Pro’ or ‘Max’ branding could also be in the works for desktop PCs.)
The takeaway is that the Elite series is just one of the multiple versions of this platform that Qualcomm is set to release over the coming years to hit different PC categories at different price points, possibly higher and very likely lower, to better compete against Intel and AMD.
Indeed, Qualcomm even remarked during the keynote that Oryon isn’t only for Windows laptops, as Oryon will be “making its way into smartphones, cars, XR devices, and more in the future.”
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite: What about emulation?
Although Qualcomm did work closely with Microsoft to ensure the Snapdragon X Elite platform is optimized for Windows 11 (and presumably the next refresh), there is no new news on any technology for translating x86 apps to ARM64.
The good news is it may not even be an issue any longer. While x86 apps always run on ARM in Windows, the previous complaint was the degradation in performance. You’re taking an older Core i5 and slowing it down to something worse.
With Oryon performing better than a Core i7 H-series processor (45W) and even HX series (55W) at 1/3 the power, any slowdown in performance is still likely to result in just-as-fast speeds as any current 13th Gen Intel Core P-series chip for standard Windows apps.
Of course, benchmarks need to be done, but with so much performance running, something like Google Chrome should “feel” just fine.
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite: When?
Qualcomm states that new PCs built on its X Elite platform will be available to consumers starting mid-2024. While that is a long lead time of roughly eight months, that aligns with previous Qualcomm CPU releases following announcements at its Snapdragon Summit.
Quite a few PC vendors are expected to release new hardware with the platform and new processors, including 2-in-1s, larger 15-inch laptops (which can support large batteries), traditional thin-and-light laptops, and maybe even PCs with displays that fold.
We’ll likely see early previews of that new hardware at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in early January 2024.
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite: More to come
Qualcomm is set to open the floor up later this afternoon to press to likely see reference designs (laptops built by Qualcomm to demonstrate the Snapdragon X Elite), go deeper into CPU benchmarks, platform specifications, and answer questions from the press.
It’s unclear if other Windows OEMs will be present with their hardware, but stay tuned to Windows Central, as we’ll have all the coverage and some interviews coming over the next few days.
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Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and for some reason, watches. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun. | Consumer Electronics |
Researchers: We've created a new lens that could take thermal cameras out of spy films and put them in your back pocket
Like something out of a spy movie, thermal cameras make it possible to "see" heat by converting infrared radiation into an image. They can detect infrared light given off by animals, vehicles, electrical equipment and even people—leading to specialized applications in a number of industries.
Our team at Flinders University has been working hard to turn this technology into something we can all use, and not just something we see in spy movies. We've developed a low-cost thermal imaging lens that could be scaled up and brought into the lives of everyday people. Our findings are published in the journal Advanced Optical Materials.
Thermal imaging across industries
Thermal imaging has obvious applications in surveillance and security, given its ability to detect the heat signature of people. It's not surprising defense forces all over the world use this technology—including in Australia.
In medicine, it can be used to detect tissues of a higher temperature. This means thermal cameras are useful in the non-invasive detection of tumors, which run at a higher metabolism (and temperature) than healthy tissue.
Thermal imaging even plays a crucial role in space exploration. For instance, it can be used to image distant stars, galaxies and planets, because infrared light can penetrate dust clouds much better than visible light. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope also takes infrared images—and its ability to see far "redder" wavelengths is opening up new corners of the universe for us.
Addressing the high-cost conundrum
Above are just some examples in a long list of the specialized applications of thermal imaging. Yet this technology could have many more potential uses if it wasn't so expensive to produce.
The high cost comes, in part, from the materials used to produce the camera lenses. These lenses need to have special properties that allow them to be used with infrared radiation in a way standard lenses can't.
Most glasses and plastics will absorb infrared radiation, so expensive materials such as germanium or zinc selenide must be used. Both materials can be difficult to manufacture and maintain; germanium is a critical element in short supply, and zinc selenide contains toxic elements.
Our team wanted to address the lens challenge head-on. We developed a new polymer made from the low-cost and abundant building blocks of sulfur and cyclopentadiene (an organic compound that takes the form of a colorless liquid).
The cost of the raw materials for the lens we've developed is less than one cent per lens. In comparison, some germanium lenses can cost thousands of dollars.
This new sulfur-based lens can also be molded and cast into a variety of complex shapes through common techniques used in the plastics industry. These techniques are simpler and less energy-intensive than those used to create conventional infrared lenses—further reducing the cost and making the polymer more scalable.
The key to developing this material was figuring out how to use cyclopentadiene as a gas for the reaction with sulfur. By doing this, we could precisely control the composition of the resulting polymer—leading to a lens with enhanced capabilities for thermal imaging.
Despite being completely opaque to visible light, the polymer has the highest long-wave infrared transmission of any plastic that has been reported—which means it can be used with a thermal imaging camera.
Possible applications
The development of this material opens doors to many new thermal imaging applications that weren't possible before.
Self-driving cars could use this technology to detect pedestrians or vehicles—even in low light or fog. Or it could be used in agriculture to monitor irrigation and crop health. Importantly, it would be affordable for farmers.
The new lens is also lightweight, which is helpful for aerial imaging by drone.
Finally, it could be integrated into consumer electronics such as smartphones, computers and home automation systems, to name a few. This would enable users to take thermal images or videos at any time from their phone. It could even be used to create next-generation smoke alarms.
The advances developed in this new study have significantly reduced the barrier to using thermal imaging—and may help revolutionize how it's used in our everyday lives.
More information: Samuel J. Tonkin et al, Thermal Imaging and Clandestine Surveillance using Low‐Cost Polymers with Long‐Wave Infrared Transparency, Advanced Optical Materials (2023). DOI: 10.1002/adom.202300058 | Consumer Electronics |
SummaryCompaniesQ3 profit T$38.8 bln vs T$41.3 bln market viewQ2 revenue rose 16% to T$33.3 blnSees growth for Q4 consumer electronics slightly decliningTAIPEI, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) supplier and iPhone assembler Foxconn (2317.TW) said on Thursday it expected flattish revenue in the fourth quarter, as the company grapples with COVID-19 curbs at a major factory in China's Zhengzhou industrial hub.Apple expects lower shipments of its high-end iPhone 14 models than previously anticipated following a significant production cut at the virus-blighted plant in China, dampening its sales outlook for the year-end holiday season. read more The Taiwanese company, the world's largest contract electronics maker which is formally called Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, said net profit for the July-September quarter rose 5% to T$38.8 billion from T$36.98 billion a year earlier.Eleven analysts were expecting on average profit of T$41.3 billion, according to Refinitiv.Reuters last month reported that Foxconn's production of Apple's iPhones at the Zhengzhou factory could slump by as much as 30% in November due to tight COVID-19 restrictions.Foxconn's main Zhengzhou factory in central China, which employs about 200,000 people and is the world's largest iPhone plant, has been rocked by discontent over stringent measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, with many workers fleeing the site.Apple, which launched sales of the new iPhones in September, said customers will experience longer wait times to receive their new products.Foxconn said on Monday it was working to resume full production at the plant as soon as possible. On Wednesday it said it would continue production in Zhengzhou under a "closed loop" system, where staff live and work on-site in a bubble isolated from the wider world. read more .Foxconn is Apple's biggest iPhone maker, accounting for 70% of iPhone shipments globally. It has other smaller production sites in India and southern China.Having said on Monday it would "revise down" its fourth quarter outlook given the situation in Zhengzhou, Foxconn said revenue in the final three months of this year would be flattish.It did not provide a numerical outlook.The fourth quarter is traditionally the hot season for Taiwan's tech companies as they race to supply cellphones, tablets and other electronics for the busy year-end holiday period in Western markets.Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Sarah Wu; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Christopher CushingOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | Consumer Electronics |
- Foxconn, a major iPhone supplier and Apple vendor, warned that it expected a decline in consumer electronics demand in the coming year.
- The company offered the guidance as it reported mixed results, beating on the top but missing on the bottom line.
Major Apple supplier Foxconn reported a 10% year-over-year decline in profit for 2022 and anticipated a decline in consumer electronics demand for the full year ahead, the company said in its earnings report Wednesday.
The negative sentiment reflected Apple's muted expectations for consumer sales. When Apple reported first-quarter 2023 results, Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri said the company anticipated double-digit declines for Mac and iPad sales for the coming March quarter compared to the prior year. The company added iPhone sales will decline less in the March quarter compared to the Dcember quarter.
Foxconn will continue to expand its presence beyond mainland China, and said that the exploration of new markets was a key priority for the company in 2023. Earlier this year, Foxconn committed to a major expansion of its presence in India.
Foxconn beat analysts' top-line estimates, recording 511.85 billion Chinese yuan for the full year, versus a consensus estimate of CNY493.95 billion, according to FactSet, but missed on the bottom line with a net income of CNY20.07 billion.
Taiwan-based Foxconn is a major manufacturer for consumer technology firms, but is best known for its relationship with Apple, which relies on Foxconn to produce and assemble its iPhone, among other products.
Foxconn's iPhone manufacturing facility in Zhengzhou garnered attention in late 2022 after videos of Foxconn employees fleeing the facility in the midst of stringent covid lockdowns spread worldwide. The Chinese government has since pulled back on the most aggressive of its Covid protocols, but Apple and other major technology companies have emphasized to suppliers a need to diversify beyond China.
Demand for electronic goods has slowed dramatically as consumers grapple with the realities of a largely post-pandemic world. Global macroeconomic uncertainty has also dampened discretionary income, making it difficult for companies to continue the pace of rapid growth many enjoyed from 2020 to late 2021.
An Apple spokesperson declined to comment. | Consumer Electronics |
Reliance Retail Q1 Results: Profit Jumps 18.8% On Higher Footfalls, Store Additions
Reliance Retail witnessed an all-time high of 249 million footfalls during the quarter across its diverse formats.
Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd.’s first quarter revenue and profit rose, aided by increased footfalls and store additions.
The net profit of India’s biggest retailer, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, increased 18.8% over the previous year to Rs 2,448 crore in the quarter ended June, according to its parent company, Reliance Industries Ltd.'s exchange filing.
Reliance Retail Q1 FY24 Highlights (YoY)
Revenue from operations (net of GST) increased by 20.5% to Rs 62,159 crore.
Gross revenue rose 19.5% to Rs 69,948 crore.
Ebitda increased 33.9% to Rs 5,139 crore—an all-time high.
Margin widened to 7.9% from 7.6%.
Reliance Retail recorded the highest ever footfalls at 249 million across formats during the quarter.
In April-June, the company added 406 stores to take the total count to 18,446, the highest in India, spanning across an area of 70.6 million sq. ft.
"Retail business delivered robust growth, with fast-paced store additions and steady growth in footfalls," Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd., said in a statement.
"The contribution of digital and New Commerce initiatives is scaling up, delivering value to consumers, and providing synergistic benefits to merchant partners," he said.
According to the company, revenue growth was led by grocery, consumer electronics, and fashion and lifestyle segments, while margin growth was a result of improving efficiencies.
Segmentwise Performance (YoY):
The grocery business grew 59%.
Fashion and lifestyle reported 15% growth.
Consumer electronics, excluding devices, rose 14%.
Digital and new commerce contributed 18% of revenue. | Consumer Electronics |
Hang onto your baby bonnets: Self-driving technology is coming to strollers.Canadian-based baby gear startup Gluxkind was showing off its Ella AI Powered Smart Stroller at this year's CES, the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas that offers some of the most cutting edge -- and out-there -- new technologies.The smart stroller offers much of the same tech seen in autonomous cars and delivery robots, including a dual-motor system for uphill walks and automatic downhill brake assist. Like a Tesla with "Autopilot," the Gluxkind's stroller's onboard technolgy has sensors that detect objects around it -- but it's meant to serve as an "extra pairs of eyes and an extra set of hands," according to the company's website -- not a replacement for a caregiver.The Ella stroller is able to drive itself for hands-free strolling -- but only when a child is not inside. It uses cameras to monitor surroundings and navigate the sidewalks.For parents who are probably and understandably nervous about putting their baby in a stroller with a mind of its own, Gluxkind provided a YouTube video with some use cases. A parent walking a stroller down hill rushes to save a child's dropped toy that is rolling away. The stroller brakes on its own.In another demo, a child is tired of sitting in the stroller and wants to be carried. The Ella strolls itself while the parent carries the child.Still self-driving technology isn't totally proven and certainly not ready for prime time. Although companies that have implemented the technology in cars say they add an element of safety when used properly and the driver is paying attention, putting children in the care of AI may not be for everyone.Gluxkind, founded in 2020, also put additional stroller-specific features into the Ella including "Automatic Rock-My-Baby" and a built-in white noise machine to soothe sleeping toddlers. The entire system is outfitted with a car seat, infant bassinet and toddler seat."The development has been driven by our own experience as new parents.," Anne Hunger, Gluxkind CPO and co-founder, wrote in a November press release. "We've put a lot of hard work into this product and are excited to get it into more customers' hands in 2023."For $3,300, parents can join the pre-order list for the 30-pound Ella, one of the consumer tech products named as an Innovation Awards Honoree at the 2023 CES show. Deliveries of the stroller are expected to begin in April 2023, according to the company website.The-CNN-Wire & 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. | Consumer Electronics |
In this photo illustration, the Cox Communications logo is displayed on a smartphone screen.Rafael Henrique | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesCox Communications is ringing in the new year with the official launch of its mobile business. The privately held cable and internet operator announced the national launch of Cox Mobile Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. CNBC earlier reported the announcement would come at CES.Cox has trailed peers like Comcast, Charter Communications and Altice USA, which started offering mobile service to their customers in recent years and have been adding customers at a fast clip.Like Comcast and Charter's services, Cox Mobile will only be available to new and existing customers. Cox has 7 million customers in 18 states, and has started quietly offering mobile service in certain markets in recent months. Cable operators began offering mobile service with the aim of giving customers another reason not to leave their broadband plans. This holds true now more than ever, as profitability for these business units is in sight. Cable companies have been losing pay-TV customers that opt for streaming-only services, although that accelerated recently. However, broadband subscriber growth has stalled in recent quarters as competition has ramped up and customers' moving activity stagnates as the housing market slows down. "I think now they're reusing wireless as a way to reinforce their broadband business. There's not much profitability in it yet, but that's not their concern. The concern is holding on to broadband customers," said John Hodulik, an analyst at UBS. How the competition shapes upAlthough wireless companies like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile hold the large bulk of wireless customers in the U.S., Comcast and Charter's mobile businesses have been growing at a faster rate due to cheaper and more flexible plans. Charter's Spectrum Mobile offers a $30 unlimited data plan, or $14 by the gigabyte of internet used in the month plan. Similarly, Comcast's Xfinity Mobile starts at $30 for unlimited data, or $15 by the gigabyte. The cheaper options stem from their ability to rely heavily on home broadband Wi-Fi and hotspots for data usage. When their mobile customers leave Wi-Fi and rely on a network, they're offloaded to the cable companies' partner operator — Verizon for both Comcast and Charter — still giving the wireless company a piece of the pie. Cox Mobile will offer similar plans, unlimited at $45 a month or $15 by the gig. Cox confirmed at CES on Thursday that it is also working with Verizon as its network partner.A wrench was thrown in Cox's plans to launch its mobile business when T-Mobile sued the company in 2021, saying Cox was obligated to pursue a partnership with them. Earlier this year, a Delaware court judge reportedly ruled in Cox's favor. Charter said it had 4.7 million wireless customers as of Sept. 30, while Comcast said it reached 5 million. "We started off with this reimagined mobile service because we knew customers would spend a significant amount of time on Wi-Fi," said Danny Bowman, chief mobile officer at Charter, adding Spectrum Mobile customers spend about 85% of their time on Wi-Fi. "By keeping the mobile package simple, we have exponential growth," Bowman added. Charter and Comcast also allow customers to bring their own devices, an option Cox won't yet offer. Currently, customers must purchase Samsung phones through Cox for service. 'We need to do this'Smaller cable operators are also seeing the value in offering a mobile plan to customers. The National Content and Technology Cooperative, or NCTC, an industry group made up of more than 700 cable and broadband providers, has been in discussions to create a mobile offering for its members. "It's become such a focal point. It's the thing everybody seems to think is what you need to have," NCTC President Lou Borrelli said of mobile offerings. "I've seen it referred to as the new bundle. I don't dispute that." Since NCTC's membership includes small providers — many in rural areas — the cooperative started discussions with wireless operators last year on behalf of its entire base. Borrelli said NCTC hadn't been in a rush to offer mobile until it saw how Charter and Comcast did in net additions in 2021. "I remember getting calls from some of our board members saying, 'You know, maybe we should look at this,'" he said.NCTC's negotiations should wrap up this year, Borrelli said. Some have already added mobile. Colorado-based WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone unveiled a mobile plan in July through a partnership with Reach Mobile. Borrelli said consumer research in certain markets showed companies had no choice in the matter. "Members have told us they don't care what the results are, we need to do this." Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. | Consumer Electronics |
The EV battery recycling giant just announced a new plant in South Carolina. The plant will help carmakers get the materials they need to make EV batteries. The news is also critical as car companies race to respond to this summer's climate law. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Electric vehicle battery recycling giant Redwood Materials is spending $3.5 billion on a new factory, and its location near the heart of the American "battery belt" is crucial to auto companies for a few reasons.Run by Elon Musk's former right-hand man at Tesla, JB Straubel, Redwood recycles and refines the many precious materials — like lithium, nickel, and cobalt — found in used lithium-ion batteries from electric cars and consumer electronics, then sends them back into the supply chain.The company's new plant, its second, will sit near Charleston, South Carolina. Redwood says it will break ground in the first quarter of 2023, have it up-and-running by the end of the year, and soon have it supply 1 million EVs annually. While Redwood's flagship plant is near its Carson City, Nevada headquarters, this one's in the "battery belt": A stretch across the country, particularly in the Southeast, where car companies, battery makers, and more are setting up new EV development shops. Redwood recycles and refines the many precious materials — like lithium, nickel, and cobalt — found in used lithium-ion batteries from electric cars and consumer electronics Redwood Materials Ford established its BlueOval City campus in Tennessee and two battery plants in Kentucky. GM, through its Ultium Cells joint venture with LG Energy Solution, is also investing in battery-making in Tennessee. Panasonic is building a new battery factory in Kansas. Hyundai is investing in EVs and battery production in Georgia. Redwood's ramp-up is also crucial as the auto industry races to comply with this summer's massive climate law, which requires that car companies source and build certain percentages of their EVs domestically if they want their vehicles to qualify for tax credits.But even without federal encouragement, the industry has worked to bring the various parts of the all-new EV battery supply chain to the US in order to drive down materials costs, and cut the sticker price for buyers.With more and more demand for the materials to make these things, taking advantage of recycling can ease a supply crunch and eventually drive down costs. The more materials the industry can put back into the supply chain, the better. Redwood takes the work a step further than many recyclers by next, remanufacturing the materials."The goal is to make the most sustainable battery materials," said Jackson Switzer, Redwood senior director of business development and one of Insider's 100 People Transforming Business. "To make the most sustainable battery materials, we need to get as much recycled nickel, cobalt, and lithium as we can into the front end of the system. You've got to scale the front end of the system, which is effectively, recycling." | Consumer Electronics |
This story is part of Amazon Prime Day, CNET's guide to everything you need to know and how to find the best deals. If I said "name a commodified consumer electronics category," wireless speakers and headphones would probably be at the top of your list. Search on Amazon -- or your local drugstore -- and you'll see plenty of them with generic or unfamiliar Chinese brand names in the $25 range. And that's why it's encouraging to see the JBL Go 3 on sale today, ahead of Amazon's Prime Early Access Sale (which officially runs Tuesday and Wednesday, October 11 and 12). Usually selling for $50, the JBL Go 3 is currently 40% off -- just $30. (It occasionally hovers at this price, but we've never seen it lower.)I own the Go 3, and it's one of my favorite gadgets and travel companions. It's also IPX 67 waterproof, so it's at home in the shower or by the pool. In fact, I installed a Command Hook by the bathroom sink where it can hang from its durable braided loop. The only two buttons are Bluetooth sync and power -- it's worked flawlessly with any phone, laptop to tablet I've ever tried to connect to it.
And the sound? For something that fits in the palm of my hand, I think it sounds great. With a good bit of midrange and even a touch of bass, you actually feel like you're getting some of that JBL audio DNA that you wouldn't find in those aforementioned no-name speakers. But don't trust me: Check out the full review from CNET audio guru David Carnoy, who also enshrined it on our list of best Bluetooth speakers. You could quibble with the battery life -- about 5 hours, and rechargeable via USB-C -- but otherwise, there's very little not to like about the Go 3, which is also available in a range of 8 fun colors, including teal, pink and even military camo. If you have an older portable speaker with tinny sound or flagging battery life, this makes a no-brainer replacement. It's also a great gift for anyone who travels or just likes listening to music or podcasts around the house. | Consumer Electronics |
Make sure your devices gets the best possible charge Between our cell phones, laptops and tablets, we use a lot of power to keep them fully charged. However, all our devices sometimes need charging at once, and some of us only have so many outlets in our homes. Kurt "The CyberGuy" Knutsson reports.It happens to me more often than I want to admit. My phone and I are on the go, and I watch the battery drain faster than expected, and my day runs longer than I had planned. You, too, right? You're out and about the entire day, and your phone just prompted you to go into "low battery mode." For these times, I always carry a portable battery with me wherever I go. It is one of my favorite accessories for my mobile phone and gets more use than a plug-in charger. CLICK TO GET KURT’S CYBERGUY NEWSLETTER WITH QUICK TIPS, TECH REVIEWS, SECURITY ALERTS AND EASY HOW-TO’S TO MAKE YOU SMARTER There are a number of great backup battery chargers to throw in your go bag. Here are the best picks that I know work. 1. Apple iPhone Battery Pack Apple iPhone Battery Pack Portable Charger. (Apple)This MagSafe magnetic extra battery for all iPhone 12 models and later can be used with or without a case and wirelessly charges an iPhone on the go. Plug it in when home, or lay it on a wireless Qi charger, and it recharges both the battery pack and your iPhone 12 or later. WHICH APPS ARE DRAINING YOUR PHONE’S BATTERY?It keeps kids from losing chargers and cables since none are needed while away from home. Now we just need to make sure they don’t lose the new battery pack. Amazon reports that it is seeing an 86% rise in people equipping themselves with cases for consumer electronics as more and more Americans are returning to a more active life away from home. At the time of publishing, this product had over 9,600 global ratings with 69% giving the product five stars.Get Apple iPhone Battery Pack2. Anker Portable Charger for iPhone, Android & Samsung Anker Portable Charger can be used for iPhone, Android and Samsung. (Anker)At this price and at this moment, it’s no wonder this portable extra battery to charge your phone has become a bestseller on the top ten list online. Say hello to the Anker Portable Charger. This PowerCore Slim 10,000mAh Battery Pack will do high-speed PowerIQ charging for iPhone, Android, Samsung Galaxy and tablets. When I see 77,000+ positive reviews, I take notice and look to see why this is getting so much engagement online. What I found is a very well-made, .57-inch slim extra battery to take on the go that gives my iPhone two-and-a-quarter charges, 1.6 charges on the Galaxy S20, and 1.2 charges on average for the iPad Mini. HOW TO STOP YOUR CELL PHONE FROM DYING SO FASTI love this extra portable battery that has earned the PSE safety certification seal in Japan. I have started buying the $35 USB-C version that delivers 20W power in black, blue, and green colors. At the time of publishing, this product had over 77,000 global ratings with 76% giving the product five stars. Get the Anker Portable Charger for iPhone, Android & Samsung 3. Anker 521 Magnetic Wireless Portable Charger from Anker Anker 521 Magnetic Wireless Portable Charger. (Anker)A nearly half the price of Apple’s MagSafe Battery Pack, this Anker Magnetic Wireless Charger gives you 5,000mHh power with a USB-C cable. What I love is the snap-and-go technology that offers the most convenient wireless charging. On the performance side of things, its 5W charging rate works great with all versions of iPhone 12 and later that have MagSafe charging. With an 18-month warranty, it's hard to resist this great accessory for anyone who has any version of the iPhone 12 or later model phones. ARE YOUR OWN DEVICES INADVERTENTLY SPYING ON YOU?At the time of publishing, this product had over 9,600 global ratings with 69% giving the product five stars. Get Apple iPhone Magnetic Wireless Charger from Anker 4. INIU Portable USB-C Charger INIU Power Bank Portable Charger. (INIU)This could be one of the highest-rated options for both Android and iPhone with its USB-C porta, slim and ultra-lightweight design. If your iPhone charging cable is the smaller USB-C version instead of the older fat USB-A, then this is a great option to plug in for a charge on the go. Android connects easily too. INIU offers an impressive 3-year warranty. I really like the triple 3 amp highspeed charging capability and the fact that INIU is sold in a two-pack so that I can keep one in the car and the other in my backpack or pocket.At the time of publishing, this product had over 11,000 global ratings with 82% giving the product five stars.Get INIU Portable USB-C Charger 2-pack 5. Universal 3-in-1 charger cable by Spigen Universal 3-in-1 charger cable by Spigen. (Spigen)My iPad takes the smaller USB-C plug, the iPhone takes a lightning plug, and everything else takes the micro USB plug. That means I need to cart around three different cables, right? Not anymore with the Spigen DuraSync 3-in-1 universal cable. Someone got smart and made one end compatible with everything mobile. I love that it's MFI certified to work with Apple devices, and the cable length is spot on at 4.9 feet, designed with a durable braided cable meant to last. At the time of publishing, this product had over 2,700 global ratings, with 65% giving the product five stars. Get the Universal 3-in-1 charger cable CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPFor more of my tips, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by clicking the "Free newsletter" link at the top of my website. Copyright 2023 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved. CyberGuy.com articles and content may contain affiliate links that earn a commission when purchases are made. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com. | Consumer Electronics |
State Director, CALPIRG
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State Director, CALPIRG
Consumer Advocate, CALPIRG
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California state Senate passed Sen. Susan Eggman’s (Stockton) Right to Repair Act (SB 244) on Tuesday with a 38-0, bipartisan vote. It’s the furthest a Right to Repair bill has advanced in the state. The bill would significantly expand consumers’ and independent repair shops’ access to the necessary parts, tools and service information required for repairing consumer electronics and appliances.
“This is a huge victory for anyone who’s ever been faced with limited options when their phone, fridge or other household electronics break down,” said CALPIRG State Director Jenn Engstrom. “It’s due time that California fixed its laws so that we can fix our stuff. For the hundreds of advocates and repair businesses and the untold number of consumers supporting Right to Repair, we’re one huge step closer to making that happen.”
Advocates have been pushing for Right to Repair legislation in California for 5 years. Similar bills have died in the Senate Appropriations Committee the past two years after intense industry lobbying efforts against their passage. But public support for the Right to Repair in the state has grown amid a swell of national momentum. New York, Colorado and Minnesota have all passed their own Right to Repair laws in the past year.
“Advancing SB 244, the Right to Repair Act, off the Senate floor is an important milestone and a real testament to the energy and activism behind this movement,” said Sen. Susan Eggman, the lead author of the bill. “Enshrining access to repair in California law will help small businesses, consumers and our environment, and I’m hopeful that we can deliver that this year.”
The Right to Repair Act has big impacts for both consumers and the planet. The bill would bring more competition and consumer choice to the repair marketplace, saving Californians households roughly $5 billion per year. Keeping electronics in use longer is also expected to reduce the amount of electronic waste sent to California landfills and reduce the need for additional mining and production to replace, rather than repair, devices. Californians currently throw away 46,000 cell phones a day and 772,000 tons of electronic waste — which often contains toxic heavy metals — per year.
“It’s great to see the California Senate stand-up for consumers and the environment over the opposition of some of the state’s largest businesses,” said Nick Lapis, Director of Advocacy for Californians Against Waste. “Senator Eggman’s persistent advocacy and the dedicated efforts of activists will allow California to finally lead the way on creating a Right to Repair.”
The Right to Repair Act is backed by 82 independent repair shops, 109 local elected officials, more than 50 environmental and consumer groups, and various other recyclers, school boards and law professors.
“California just took a huge step toward getting us all the right to repair everything we own. We’ve made it through Big Tech’s backyard, and now we’re knocking on the front door,” said Elizabeth Chamberlain, Director of Sustainability for iFixit. “So, Silicon Valley: Will you support small repair businesses, fight electronic waste, and ditch the throwaway economy once and for all?”
In total, 28 states have considered or are considering similar legislation in 2023. Passing SB 244 in California, the home of Silicon Valley, will likely further energize the Right to Repair movement nationwide.
“There is a growing movement for the Right to Repair spreading across the country, and we’ll keep working to get California to be the next state to act,” said Engstrom. “It’s common sense: the Right to Repair is an idea whose time has come.”
The bill now heads to the State Assembly for further deliberation. | Consumer Electronics |
Apple's iPhone 15 Pro Max has been the center of attention since its reveal a little bit ago, but we've yet to hear from one of its top competitors: Samsung. The South Korea-based consumer electronics company has already announced its lineup of foldable phones, but if that doesn't do it for you, its flagship Galaxy series is set for release some time next year before the Mobile World Congress. The Galaxy S23 Ultra is one of the best non-iPhones on the market right now, but it doesn't hurt to look ahead — especially if you're undecided on whether to get a 15 Pro Max. (You might not be able to get one anytime soon anyway.)
1. Design and Display
Similar to how Apple decided to go the titanium route with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, there are whispers that Samsung plans to follow the Cupertino-based tech giant's footsteps. These rumors got stronger after Apple confirmed it at its "Wonderlust" event earlier this month.
While the Galaxy S24 Ultra won't look too different from its predecessors, it's been rumored that the company will be ditching its iconic curved display for a flatter design to compliment its new titanium frame. One leaker said that while the sides will still be curved, the screen will be completely flat.
This modern design doesn't mean added weight, in case you were wondering. Prolific leaker Ice Universe says the S24 Ultra is expected to weigh in at a reasonable 223g or four cinnamon Pop-Tarts.
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Even more impressively, while maintaining its 6.8-inch, 1440p resolution, the S24 Ultra's screen might boast a whopping 2,500 nits brightness level, a considerable step from the previous model's 1,750 nits. Both iPhone 15 Pro models only offer a max brightness of 2,000 nits.
2. Camera Innovations
Samsung's camera tech for the S24 Ultra might not see big changes, but there's a heavy focus on optimizing the experience from the S23 Ultra. It's been suggested that the S24 Ultra will use an optimized version of its 200MP primary lens. Plus, the S24 Ultra will more than likely also keep its 12MP ultrawide and selfie cameras as well.
The biggest change might be a new telephoto lens for increased clarity on zoomed photos. A beefed-up 50MP lens with 3X optical zoom is said to replace the Ultra's 10MP 3X telephoto sensor. However, and this may be a dealbreaker, according to Ice Universe, Samsung may nix the other telephoto sensor — the one with 10x optical zoom. In other words, you're reportedly getting a new 50MP, 3X optical zoom that should beget sharper, crisper details, but unfortunately, you may be losing out on Samsung's popular 10MP 10X optical zoom telephoto sensor.
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If this rumor is true, on paper, the Galaxy S24 Ultra should deliver higher-resolution images compared to the iPhone 15 Pro Max's 12MP, 5X optical zoom periscope camera. However, the iPhone 15 Pro Max will give you more optical zoom range before the software kicks in.
3. Power and Performance Enhancements
The S24 Ultra is expected to pack some serious power. It's rumored to house Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Chip, having ditched the Exynos chips last year for the S23 Ultra. According to Pocket-Lint, this upgrade should "deliver an equal amount of efficiency while providing plenty of extra power under the hood."
Powered with One UI 6, the S24 Ultra is said to have a faster GPU that will bring a major graphics upgrade for those who love playing mobile games. This upgrade is complemented by a rumored 16GB RAM, doubling the iPhone 15 Pro Max's 8GB. Charging won't be a long affair either, with an anticipated 65W fast charging capability — triumphing over S23 Ultra's 45W capabilities. The same probably can't be said about the base models, unfortunately.
If these rumors are anything to go by, the Galaxy S24 could very well be the best Samsung has to offer, but don't be surprised if it costs just as much as an iPhone 15 Pro Max. | Consumer Electronics |
This may very well be the year of the foldable smartphone, or at least the year of more foldable choices. According to CNBC, Google plans to launch its first foldable smartphone before the next Pixel 8 flagship release. We could see the Pixel Fold, which previously seemed to have been canceled and vaguely revived, as soon as June.
CNBC got word of the matter through “internal communications” shared with its reporters. The Pixel Fold is codenamed “Felix” inside Google’s walls. The company claims it will have the “most durable hinge on a foldable.” (Is this a dig at the Z Fold’s cracking screens?) The Pixel Fold is supposedly water-resistant and “pocket-sized,” which could mean anything, as the current Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 is also marketed as pocket-sized despite being over 6-inches tall. It really depends on your pocket.
CNBC’s reports say that the Fold has a 5.8-inch screen on the front and folds out to a 7.6-inch screen on the inside, which is about the same as the Z Fold 4. But with that shorter front panel, it seems the rumors were correct that this would be a “stockier” entry into the foldables market compared to Samsung’s narrow, taller offering.
The Pixel Fold should weigh 10 ounces, which is slightly heftier than Samsung’s Fold. But there’s a bigger battery on the inside that leaked Google documents says should last for a total of 24 hours worth of use—I’m dubious after the relatively short battery life I’ve been experiencing on the small Pixel 7, but we shall see!
The report says there’s a Tensor G2 chip on the inside, which is the same processor as in the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro—and who knows, maybe even the Pixel 7a, as we’ll find out soon enough. As expected, the Pixel Fold should be the priciest of the Pixel smartphone lineup at $1,700+. It will give U.S. users more choice in the foldable category, which has so far been dominated in the country by Samsung.
Google I/O 2023 is set to be the launching ground for this new form factor for the company. The company plans to offer competitive trade-in values to convince folks to try the folding form factor. It also plans to bundle in a Pixel Watch, one of the best-selling Android-based smartwatches.
Want more of Gizmodo’s consumer electronics picks? Check out our guides to the best phones, best laptops, best cameras, best televisions, best printers, and best tablets. And if you want to learn about the next big thing, see our guide to everything we know about the iPhone 15. | Consumer Electronics |
US President Joe Biden arrives to speak on rebuilding US manufacturing through the CHIPS and Science Act at the groundbreaking of the new Intel semiconductor manufacturing facility near New Albany, Ohio, on September 9, 2022.Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty ImagesPresident Joe Biden is joining the founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. on Tuesday to announce the opening of a second chip plant in Arizona, raising the company's investment in the state from $12 billion to $40 billion.The company will also announce it will be producing more technically advanced chips than originally proposed. The investment by TSMC is one of the largest foreign investments in U.S. history, and the biggest in the state of Arizona.Semiconductor chips are used in everything from computers and smartphones to cars, microwaves and health-care devices. The Covid-19 pandemic shined a bright light on U.S. dependence on Chinese manufacturers as lockdowns led to a global shortage of the high-tech chips.Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law in early August, allocating billions to lure manufacturers to produce the widely used chips domestically. The law includes $52.7 billion in loans, grants and other incentives as well as billions more in tax credits to encourage investment in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing.Once the TSMC plants open, they will produce enough chips to meet the U.S. annual demand, 600,000 wafers per year, according to Ronnie Chatterji, National Economic Council acting deputy director for industrial policy who oversees CHIPS implementation."It's the foundation of our personal electronics, and also the future of quantum computing and AI," Chatterji said. "At scale, these two [factories] could meet the entire U.S. demand for U.S. chips when they're completed. That's the definition of supply chain resilience. We won't have to rely on anyone else to make the chips we need.""The passage of the CHIPS and Science Act was absolutely critical in providing the long term certainty for companies like TSMC to expand their footprint and expand their commitment to the United States," said Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council.The goal of the legislation was to spur private investment in chip manufacturing. CEOs from companies who will benefit from U.S. chip production, like Apple CEO Tim Cook, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, will also be in attendance.CNBC PoliticsRead more of CNBC's politics coverage:Supreme Court hears case of Colorado wedding website refusing gay marriage workOp-ed: FTX crash shows cryptocurrency market needs bank-like regulationGeorgia man arrested for shooting boy campaigning for Sen. Warnock in runoff election against WalkerBiden condemns antisemitism as Ye praises Hitler days after dinner with Trump, white nationalist FuentesBiden signs bill averting rail worker strike despite lack of paid sick daysInfoWars host Alex Jones files for bankruptcy protection, court records showFormer FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried met with top officials at the CFTC more than 10 times over the past 14 monthsBiden, Macron reaffirm their partnership, support for Ukraine at joint White House press conferenceSupreme Court takes Biden student debt relief case, holds program for nowIn Biden’s first state visit, French President Macron says U.S. must stand with democracies amid Russian aggression"Whether it's in electric vehicles or consumer electronics, CEOs of major companies are making decisions about their plans 18 to 24 months forward," Deese said. "The build out in the United States gives them more confidence to operate as well."Biden is visiting the first plant in Phoenix which is expected to begin producing chips by 2024. It was initially slated to produce 5 nanometer chips, but now will create 4 nanometer chips. The second plant will open in 2026 and produce 3 nanometer chips, the most cutting-edge chips currently available.The opening of the plants will further help boost Arizona's economy which was hard hit by the pandemic. Phoenix had an unemployment rate of 6.5% in 2020 when more than 9,000 of the city's residents filed for bankruptcy. The city's unemployment rate has since dropped to 3.2%. The state's economy grew by 6.3% in 2021, the most in 16 years. | Consumer Electronics |
A new milestone for flexible magnetic sensors
Flexible magnetic sensors have gained popularity due to their versatility and potential applications in major areas of flexible electronics, including soft robotics, consumer electronics, health care, automotive, and more. They are widely utilized for tasks such as navigation, strain and pressure sensing, posture and motion tracking.
A key advantage of flexible sensors compared to rigid ones, due to their bendability, is their conforming to a wide variety of surfaces including those that are soft and irregularly shaped. However, this advantage has come with a cost, as flexible magnetic sensors have exhibited significantly inferior capability of detecting small magnetic fields, which limits their potential use.
This may now change, as a group of researchers from Bar-Ilan University and Ben-Gurion University has reported a giant leap of more than an order of magnitude improvement in the sensitivity of flexible magneto-resistive sensors.
The sensors, elliptical in shape and grown on a polyamide tape, can detect low-frequency magnetic fields smaller than 200 pico-Tesla, which is more than 200,000 times smaller than the Earth's magnetic field. "These values are not only the best among all types of flexible magnetic sensors reported to date, but they also surpass those of many rigid counterparts," says Prof. Lior Klein, of the Department of Physics at Bar-Ilan University, who led the research with Dr. Asaf Grosz from Ben Gurion University.
"The unprecedented sensitivity, accompanied by simple design, low cost and remarkable flexibility, make these sensors particularly attractive for being integrated in the next generation of flexible electronic devices."
The recent development is reported in a paper co-authored by the group leaders, Dr. Nhalil, Daniel Lahav, Shai Amrusi and Moty Schultz. The paper appears as an Editor's Pick in the journal Applied Physics Letters.
More information: Hariharan Nhalil et al, Flexible planar Hall effect sensor with sub-200 pT resolution, Applied Physics Letters (2023). DOI: 10.1063/5.0156588 | Consumer Electronics |
When Apple held its annual launch event for the iPhone 13 in 2021, it started with a joyful video featuring jazz dancers celebrating the natural beauty of California (which can be captured with an iPhone camera, of course).The undertone of Apple's iPhone 14 launch this week was darker. After zooming in on Apple's headquarters from space, it kicked off with a video highlighting users who wrote letters to Apple CEO Tim Cook saying that they almost died — but were saved by their Apple Watch calling 911.related investing news"Dear Apple: My dad was flying our small plane to Vermont. I was asleep in the back seat. I woke up when we were crashing into the tops of the trees. The plane broke into six pieces and we were miles away from civilization in the freezing cold. Then, all of a sudden, my Apple Watch started ringing," said one character named Hannah.Other characters in the short video told stories of falling into a frozen stream, getting trapped inside a trash compactor and witnessing a cardiac episode in a restaurant.Saving lives in emergency situations was the major theme of Apple's launch this year, and many of the most notable new features the company announced were oriented toward safety.The most significant new iPhone capability this year is called "Emergency SOS via satellite," which can send a message for help even if there's no cell service around for miles. Users can also share their location with family or friends in the Find My app.Apple's example of how the feature works showed a hiker with a broken leg on top of a mountain ridge calling for a helicopter. Later, Apple mentioned winding back roads as another place where iPhone users might be out of range.But this feature could be useful in outside wilderness settings. Wildfires, hurricanes and other disasters can cut cell service, and having the ability to contact emergency services or tell your family where you are can literally be a lifesaver in those circumstances.Another example: Apple's $799 or more watch, the Ultra, has an 86-decibel siren that can be heard 600 feet away, and compass features that allow the user to retrace their steps without the internet.As with the satellite feature, Apple advertised it as a helpful tool for backcountry adventurers, but it could also be useful in more mundane settings. Imagine sounding the alarm as a deterrent to an attacker, or using the retracing feature to find your way back to your car after a disaster in your community has interrupted cell service.Apple also announced this week that iPhones and Apple Watches, using motion sensors, can now call 911 if they detect a car crash has occurred."We truly hope you never need it, but that you will feel a little bit safer every time you get in the car," an Apple presenter said, moments before showing images of a driver getting hit by an air bag in slow motion after crashing.Apple's launch events are designed to do one thing: build demand for Apple's new products. The company now wants to make the iPhone even more "essential" for its users through safety features, giving users reasons not to switch to competing Android devices.Will these features meaningfully increase iPhone adoption and sales? It turns out, Apple has at least considered the possibility in the past.In a disclosure with the ESG group CDP published in January 2019, Apple representatives wrote about potential business opportunities stemming from climate change, citing a previous version of the "SOS" feature as an example of Apple's work to build features for emergency situations."As severe weather events become more frequent, consumers may come to value more highly the immediate and ubiquitous availability of reliable mobile computing devices for use in situations where transportation, power and other services may be temporarily interrupted," Apple representatives wrote.Apple cited the 9/11 disaster and "extreme weather events" like hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, and Harvey that are occurring more frequently."Over time, as people begin to experience severe weather events with greater frequency, we expect an increasing need for confidence and preparedness in the arena of personal safety and the well-being of loved ones," Apple wrote in the disclosure.Apple's not the only consumer electronics company that is developing safety features for its devices. But Apple's devices also have a robust lineup of health features, like fall detection for seniors and heart monitoring, which underscore its overall safety pitch."iPhone is there when you need it most," one presenter said at the launch event. "That confidence is especially important in moments where your safety is at risk."We may be seeing the start of a new messaging strategy at Apple: Its devices are the ones you want when things go wrong. | Consumer Electronics |
GuliKit is offering modern handheld gamers a way to feel safe and snug in a piece of retro gaming history. The company’s new docking station is an all-in-one kit for supporting the Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally, and more, and it’s all packaged in something that looks very similar to the old Super Nintendo console.
The company has not offered much in the way of details for its new docking station unveiled during Gamescom, but images show that it has the same gray and purple colors as the old SNES, including the sliding switches on the top panel. It’s unclear if the switches actually do anything, but behind them in what would be the cartilage slot slides back to reveal a docking port with two vents facing out.
The rear panel includes USB-C and AC adapter ports, plus a LAN, HDMI, and three USB ports. Valve’s own Steam Deck Docking Station doesn’t contain many more bells and whistles than that, though the USB-C wire is hard connected to the base. A Steam Deck’s USB-C connection point is located on the top of the device. The same is true with the Asus ROG Ally.
As for the Switch, that device is meant to plug directly into the Switch Dock, nestled in so that it shields the screen. In a Twitter post, GuliKit said that Switches will need to be laid upside down in the SNES-like cradle ostensibly so a cable can access the proprietary charging port. We reached out to GuliKit to see if the kit will come with any cables in the box, and we’ll update this story if we hear anything more.
Essentially, the dock seems like it should support and charge any kind of handheld console with a standardized connection port, which could be any number of devices like the Razer Edge. The company is advertising that the dock should also work with Ayaneo devices such as the Ayaneo Geek.
Just this week, Ayaneo announced it’s releasing its new Android-based device with the Ayaneo Pocket S. The device is being powered on one of Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon G-Series processor, specifically the Snapdragon G3x Gen2. Just like the switch, the Pocket S’s charging port is on the bottom of the device, meaning you’ll have to flip it upside down to give it more juice while in the cradle.
GuliKit has seen success in the past with its Switch peripherals, such as its Joy-Con repair kits to remediate stick drift. The company’s anti-drift technology was also present in its KingKong Pro 2 controller released last year which we found outperformed Nintendo’s similar controller option.
Want more of Gizmodo’s consumer electronics picks? Check out our guides to the best phones, best laptops, best cameras, best televisions, best printers, and best tablets. If you want to learn about the next big thing, see our guide to everything we know about the iPhone 15. Click here to save on the best deals of the day, courtesy of our friends at The Inventory. | Consumer Electronics |
Brace yourself. This week kicks off a major play by Amazon for your attention and your shopping dollars. It starts with Amazon's annual devices event on Wednesday, when the company typically rolls out updates to the Fire TV, Echo and Ring lines and, in an attempt to catch your eye, something off the wall like a home drone or robot. The event comes two weeks before Amazon will roll out a second round of discounts with its Prime Early Access Sale event, aka Prime Day 2. As a result, you're likely to find some great deals in October on Amazon devices, which are already pretty affordable compared to competitors. But Amazon isn't just trying to sell you TVs and security cameras at a slashed price. Sales like this are designed to get you in the mood to spend.Once you get to Amazon.com to snag a Fire TV, you might be enticed to buy more, especially during a Prime Day or a Black Friday sale, said Andrew Lipsman, a retail analyst at Insider Intelligence."It's Amazon's version of the doorbuster," he said.Amazon's amped-up efforts to get you shopping come after a year of slowing growth as consumers pare back spending following two years of furious buying. The company built up its warehousing and logistics capacity to keep up with demand during the pandemic, but momentum has slowed on e-commerce sales across the industry. The company has told investors it's seeing increased costs in running the business at a time when revenues have slowed.Getting you hyped about Echo smart displays and robots is one way to get you filling up your Amazon cart, boosting sales and putting all that retail infrastructure to use.Amazon has Alexa devices for everyone The timing of the event can't be a coincidence. Placing the new product announcements right before the sales event could lead to savings on many devices, said Neil Saunders, a retail analyst at GlobalData."Amazon usually offers deep discounts on its devices during its events," he said, adding that Prime Day and other sales "can be useful for clearing down stock of older models to make space for the new devices coming through."Amazon doesn't just attract bargain hunters with its practical, affordable devices like Echo smart speakers and displays, Fire TVs and streamers, and Ring home security systems. The company also regularly offers some pie-in-the-sky ideas. Wouldn't you like a drone in the home, investigating weird sounds and monitoring the pets before flying back to a docking station? Or perhaps a rolling Alexa-powered robot? Those ideas aren't everybody's cup of tea. Amazon Astro, the robot, is available by invitation only and will cost $1,450 when released. It also has privacy-minded people on edge: It's designed to map your home and follow you around with cameras and microphones. Still, the new, flashy inventions have attention-grabbing power, and Amazon is expected to pull another surprising idea out of its hat at this year's event.Taken together, these offerings push forward Amazon's goal of being a household name that touches almost every part of your life.Early holiday shopping might be here to stayThis isn't the first time retailers have pushed for what amounts to an early start to the holiday shopping season. Last year, supply chain blockages prompted the retail industry to warn that shoppers might not be able to get the gifts they want delivered before the holidays if they waited until Black Friday. This year, the problem for retailers is getting wary consumers to spend money after months of inflation, the prospect of soaring interest rates and fears over a potential recession. Better to start the sales early, said Guru Hariharan, CEO of e-commerce services company CommerceIQ. Shoppers may not have as much spending power later in the year if inflation or other financial headwinds continue."It can potentially head off a deteriorating economy," Hariharan said of the sale's timing.That's not to say all the supply chain problems are gone, but there's generally plenty of stock in warehouses at Amazon and beyond this year. That's in part because demand has cooled, especially in the consumer electronics sector, which was plagued by a chip shortage that couldn't keep up with demand over the last two years. Don't be surprised if having multiple Prime Day sales a year becomes Amazon's annual strategy, said Lipsman, the retail analyst. "I'd expect them to have that every year," he said, "or maybe even quarterly Prime Days, who knows?" | Consumer Electronics |
Subsets and Splits