Matthew Wilson 1 day ago Featured Tech News, General Tech
Elgato is introducing more accessories for streamers and content creators this week. Two new accessory lines have just been announced, the Elgato Light Strip and Elgato Wave Panels, both of which aim to help people personalise their home studios.
Starting off with the Elgato Light Strip – as you would expect, this is an RGB LED strip capable of displaying 16 million colours at different levels of brightness and colour temperature. Using an app, users can control the lights via an app. Each strip contains 108 RGBWW LEDs, which help provide a wider colour temperature range, capable of up to 2,000 lumens in brightness and colour temperatures from 3500K to 6500K.
Next up we have the Elgato Wave Panels, which feature two-layer foam construction to reduce room echo and reverberation, easily mounting to your wall in modular hexagonal panels. This will improve the audio quality of live broadcasts and recordings.
The Elgato Wave panels utilise EasyClick Frames to make it easier to connect multiple panels together. They stick to the wall using tesa adhesive strips, but there is an optional screw mounting method too. These panels will be available in multiple colours so people can mix and match.
Elgato Light Strips are available now for £59.99. Elgato Wave Panels are also available, with a starter kit costing £119.99. Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.
KitGuru Says: Are any of you currently looking to upgrade the look of your setup for streaming or other content creation?
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Matthew Wilson 1 day ago Featured Tech News, Software & Gaming
GeForce Now returned to its weekly library update schedule earlier this year, which means a new batch of games are being served up today. This time around, we also have a sneak peek at what else is coming throughout March.
This month, 21 games will be added to the GeForce Now library. Six of those are coming today, with the rest being spread out over the coming weeks.
Here is the full list of games coming to GeForce Now today:
Disgaea PC (Steam)
Legends of Aria (Steam)
Loop Hero (day-and-date release on Steam)
The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk: The Amulet Of Chaos (Steam)
Wargame: Red Dragon (Free on Epic Games Store, March 4-11)
WRC 8 FIA World Rally Championship (Steam)
And here are the other games coming later this month:
Door Kickers (Steam)
Endzone – A World Apart (Steam)
Monopoly Plus (Steam)
Monster Energy Supercross – The Official Videogame 4 (Steam)
Narita Boy (Steam)
Overcooked!: All You Can Eat (Steam)
Pascal’s Wager – Definitive Edition (Steam)
Spacebase Startopia (Steam and Epic Games Store)
System Shock: Enhanced Edition (Steam)
Thief Gold (Steam)
Trackmania United Forever (Steam)
Uno (Steam)
Workers & Resources: Soviet Republic (Steam)
Worms Reloaded (Steam)
Wrench (Steam)
All of these games should appear within the GeForce Now app by the end of today, streamable across PC, Mac, Android, Chromebook and via web browser.
Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.
KitGuru Says: Do any of you use GeForce Now when you’re away from your usual gaming PC?
Become a Patron!
Check Also
Ghost of Tsushima’s developers will become ambassadors for the island
Ghost of Tsushima took many by surprise when it launched last Summer, offering a beautiful …
(Pocket-lint) – Think ‘Montblanc’ and in your mind’s eye you could be picturing any number of things: wallets, pens, jewellery, watches, bags, belts, or even notebooks. The one thing that they all have in common (apart from often being made from black leather) is that they’re luxury items and aren’t cheap. A Meisterstück gold-coated Classique ballpoint pen could set you back hundreds.
So when Montblanc launches a Wear OS smartwatch it’s best to go in with the expectation that it won’t be cheap. But actually, if you compare this second-gen watch – here the Summit Lite – to other Montblanc watches, it’s relatively cost efficient. That means there’s still definitely some appeal here for anyone wanting a luxury smartwatch but who doesn’t wish to spend more than a grand.
Design
Colours: Grey or black
43mm aluminium case
Straps: Fabric or rubber
Anti-scratch crystal glass
Water resistant to 50m (5ATM)
Rotating crown and 3 push buttons
Montblanc’s first smartwatch, the Summit, was pretty but underwhelming. From a design perspective there was a missed opportunity – it had a stylish looking crown, but it didn’t rotate and it was the only button on the side; and we found the whole device too big.
Pocket-lint
The company improved things considerably with the Summit 2, which launched in 2019, and now there’s the new Summit Lite model – hence that slightly more affordable price point.
The Summit Lite has three buttons on its side. Each of them feels sumptuous when pressed, giving a lovely ‘click’ and feeling just like a proper watch with proper buttons should. But the best thing about these buttons is that the middle one has a proper rotating crown.
Rotating it is smooth and effortless without it feeling too loose. Doing so enables you interact with elements on the screen. For instance, you can use it to scroll up and down lists or messages, or – when on the watch face – bring up notifications or the quick settings tiles.
Our only complaint about the rotating crown – as pretty and shiny as it is – is the surface is just a little too smooth and shiny. That means you need a little firm pressure to make sure you finger gets enough traction to turn it. A slightly toothier edge would have made this a little easier.
Pocket-lint
What’s great about traditional fashion and design companies getting involved in the smartwatch market is that they deliver decent case designs. For its full-fat Summit watches, Montblanc uses stainless steel for the case material. With the Lite model it’s aluminium.
The 43mm case isn’t too big and sits comfortably on the wrist. The contrast between the glossy bezel and buttons with their softer anodised finish on the case is eye-catching. It has that glint of dress watch that looks great just subtly poking out from under your blazer or cardigan sleeve.
There are some subtle angles on the lugs that make the edges softer in appearance, while they curve downwards towards the strap to create a skinny side-on profile. It’s nice and lightweight too thanks to that shift from steel to aluminium.
It’s not just about being pretty though. The casing feels like it’s well put together, while the screen is capped off with crystal glass to help avoid scratches from when you inevitably brush it against all manner of hard surfaces in your daily activity.
Pocket-lint
Our unit shipped with a thick black rubber strap which had something of a ‘sticky’ feel when we first put it on, but that sensation has since tamed. Other fabric strap options are available too. However, the case will fit any 22mm strap and the quick-release catches mean it’s super simple to swap for one you really want.
Turn the Summit Lite upside down and you’ll see its well-considered underside. Right in the centre is the optical heart-rate sensor – built within a subtle protrusion that’s surrounded by a metal ring – and accompanied by a four-pin connector for the charging base.
It looks and feels more purposeful than a lot of other Wear OS undersides and, happily, it snaps onto its magnetic charging cradle with ease. It holds the watch in position well and – thanks to having a rounded cutout for the rotating crown – only fits the watch one way, so there’s no chance you’ll ever find yourself placing the watch in the wrong way.
If there’s any criticism it’s that the cradle itself is relatively lightweight plastic and so – because of the strong connection – if you try and remove the watch one-handed you’ll more than likely take the cradle with you. You need to hold both in order to separate them.
Pocket-lint
On the plus side, the underside is coated in an almost-sticky rubber-like material that helps it not to slide around all over the place.
Display and software
1.2-inch circular AMOLED display
390 x 390 resolution
Wear OS software
For the most part, the software situation with the Montblanc Summit Lite is the same as pretty much every other Google Wear OS watch. The main interfaces and preinstalled apps are the same, but it comes with Montblanc’s own watch faces.
Pocket-lint
Press the middle button and it launches your apps list, and the top and bottom buttons can be customised to launch any number of functions or apps. By default, however, they launch two elements of Montblanc’s own activity tracker screens. And this is where the Summit Lite is slightly different to some of the other Wear OS devices.
The activity app can be used to manually track any workout, but will also track your movement, heart-rate and stress levels throughout the day, and your sleep quality at night. Combining that information it can also measure how well rested you are and give you an Energy Level reading. It’s similar in theory to Garmin’s Body Battery feature.
Go running and it’ll work out your VO2 Max (that’s blood oxygen saturation) and judge your fitness level. It’ll even give you the time frame you need to rest for in order to recover for you next workout session. Interestingly, there’s also a Cardio Coach function which tells you what you should aim for in terms of heart rate intensity and duration for your next activity.
There are some pretty glaring holes in this workout software though. Firstly, there’s no mobile companion app. That means all that useful data and detail just stays on the watch. Secondly, if you go on a run or bike ride, there’s no map to look at afterwards to see if it tracked your route properly.
The solution to these issues is to use third-party apps – like Strava for running/cycling – or just use the Google Fit app that’s built-in as standard to all Wear OS watches.
Pocket-lint
For those who want those features it makes more sense to completely bypass Montblanc’s offering. It’s a shame really, because otherwise that data and information on the watch could be really useful. It’d just be nice to get access to it from a phone.
Otherwise accuracy seems on point. Comparing the Summit Lite’s data to that captured on the Garmin Vivoactive 4 reveals that the average heart-rate was within one or two beats-per-minute away from matching. There was a slight difference in distance measured and, as a result, pace – but not enough that it made any serious difference to the tracked activity. It was about 10-20 metres out on a 25 minute 4km run, which is a pretty standard discrepancy between watches.
All of this software and detail is shown on a fully round AMOLED panel. It’s a 1.2-inch screen, and boasts 390 pixels both vertically and horizontally, making pretty much on par with the latest hardware from the likes of Fossil.
Hardware and battery performance
Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform
1GB RAM + 8GB storage
Tech aficionados will complain that a watch in 2021 doesn’t feature the newest Snapdragon Wear 4100 processor. Nonetheless, there’s not a huge amount wrong with the way the Montblanc Summit Lite performs.
The Wear 3100 processor here ensures that the interface and animations are mostly smooth and responsive. There are elements that still feel a little laggy and slow, however, which is usually when extra data is required – like when browsing the Google Play Store on the wrist to download apps. There’s a little bit of a wait launching most apps, too. You’ll maybe need to wait three seconds for Google’s Keep Notes to launch, for example.
Pocket-lint
As far as connectivity and modern tech goes, the Summit Lite has pretty much everything you’d want from a smartwatch. There’s NFC (near field communication) to enable Google Pay for contactless payments. There’s Wi-Fi for direct downloading apps on to the watch. And there’s GPS for location tracking.
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By Britta O’Boyle
·
Battery life is pretty standard for a Wear OS watch too: you’ll get roughly two days between charges. We managed to get through two work days even with the always-on display switched on – because the watch faces run a lower brightness and lower refresh rate than the main watch face.
Verdict
The Montblanc Summit Lite’s side buttons have been purposefully redesigned with a proper rotating crown for enhanced interaction, paired with a great all-round display, plus all the features you’d expect from a Wear OS watch.
Despite being a ‘Lite’ model it’s still expensive, though, so you’re very much still paying for the Montblanc brand name. Furthermore Montblanc’s otherwise useful activity tracking doesn’t have a companion phone app to download and view your data in much detail. So it’s more decoration than designed for those super serious about tracking fitness.
Overall, things have improved dramatically since the first Montblanc Summit watch. The Summit Lite is really well designed, with its subtle, stylish and almost minimalist look, while also featuring practical material choices and the durability you’d expect from any modern smartwatch.
Also consider
Pocket-lint
Tag Heuer Connected 2020
squirrel_widget_231495
Compare the prices and the Montblanc starts to look like good value for money. The Tag is about double the price, but it’s still the luxury smartwatch champ that has a lot going for it.
Read our review
Pocket-lint
Fossil Gen 5 Garrett HR
squirrel_widget_307331
On the complete opposite end of the scale, but with a similar approach to style, Fossil’s Garrett is one of the nicest looking and more affordable options from the popular fashion brand.
Amazon has always tried to push its Alexa-enabled smart speakers as a platform, boasting about the number of third-party “skills” available (more than 100,000 in the most recent count). In our experience, the majority of these skills are useless gimmicks; one-note jokes you install and forget about. But it turns out they might pose a privacy threat, too.
The first large-scale study of privacy vulnerabilities in Alexa’s skill ecosystem was carried out by researchers at North Carolina State and Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany. They found a number of worrying issues, particularly in the vetting processes Amazon uses to check the integrity of each skill. Here’s a quick summary of their findings:
Activating the wrong skill. Since 2017, Alexa will automatically enable skills if users ask the right question (otherwise known as an “invocation phrase”). But researchers found that in the US store alone there were 9,948 skills with duplicate invocation phrases. That means if you ask Alexa for “space facts,” for example, it will automatically enable one of the numerous skills that uses this phrase. How that skill is chosen is a complete mystery, but it could well lead to users activating the wrong or unwanted skills.
Publishing skills under false names. When you’re installing a skill you might check the developer’s name to ensure its trustworthiness. But researchers found that Amazon’s vetting process to check developers are who they say they are isn’t very secure. They were able to publish skills under the names of big corporations like Microsoft and Samsung. Attackers could easily publish skills pretending to be from reputable firms.
Changing code after publication. The researchers found that publishers can make changes to the backend code used by skills after publication. This doesn’t mean they can change a skill to do just anything, but they could use this loophole to slip dubious actions into skills. So, for example, you could publish a skill for children that would be verified by Amazon’s safety team, before changing the backend code so it asks for sensitive information.
Lax privacy policies. Privacy policies are supposed to inform users about how their data is being collected and used, but Amazon doesn’t require skills to have accompanying policies. Researchers found that only 28.5 percent of US skills have valid privacy policies, and this figure is even lower for skills aimed at children — just 13.6 percent.
None of these findings are a smoking gun for any particular Alexa skill siphoning off data unseen. But together, they paint a worrying picture of Amazon’s (in)attentiveness to privacy issues. With that in mind, it’s probably as good a time as ever to prune the Alexa skills you have enabled on your devices.
You can do that through the Alexa app or, more easily, through the web. Just head to alexa.amazon.com, log in to your Amazon account, click “Skills” on the sidebar, then “your skills” in the top-right corner, and disable any skills you’re not using. I just checked my own account and found I had more than 30 installed from various tests over the years. That’s now been trimmed down to a healthy three.
We can only hope Amazon pays a bit more attention to this area in future. In a comment given to ZDNet, a company spokesperson said “the security of our devices and services is a top priority” and that the firm conducts regular reviews to identify and remove malicious skills. Perhaps some of those protocols need updating.
(Pocket-lint) – Think ‘Montblanc’ and in your mind’s eye you could be picturing any number of things: wallets, pens, jewellery, watches, bags, belts, or even notebooks. The one thing that they all have in common (apart from often being made from black leather) is that they’re luxury items and aren’t cheap. A Meisterstück gold-coated Classique ballpoint pen could set you back hundreds.
So when Montblanc launches a Wear OS smartwatch it’s best to go in with the expectation that it won’t be cheap. But actually, if you compare this second-gen watch – here the Summit Lite – to other Montblanc watches, it’s relatively cost efficient. That means there’s still definitely some appeal here for anyone wanting a luxury smartwatch but who doesn’t wish to spend more than a grand.
Design
Colours: Grey or black
43mm aluminium case
Straps: Fabric or rubber
Anti-scratch crystal glass
Water resistant to 50m (5ATM)
Rotating crown and 3 push buttons
Montblanc’s first smartwatch, the Summit, was pretty but underwhelming. From a design perspective there was a missed opportunity – it had a stylish looking crown, but it didn’t rotate and it was the only button on the side; and we found the whole device too big.
Pocket-lint
The company improved things considerably with the Summit 2, which launched in 2019, and now there’s the new Summit Lite model – hence that slightly more affordable price point.
The Summit Lite has three buttons on its side. Each of them feels sumptuous when pressed, giving a lovely ‘click’ and feeling just like a proper watch with proper buttons should. But the best thing about these buttons is that the middle one has a proper rotating crown.
Rotating it is smooth and effortless without it feeling too loose. Doing so enables you interact with elements on the screen. For instance, you can use it to scroll up and down lists or messages, or – when on the watch face – bring up notifications or the quick settings tiles.
Our only complaint about the rotating crown – as pretty and shiny as it is – is the surface is just a little too smooth and shiny. That means you need a little firm pressure to make sure you finger gets enough traction to turn it. A slightly toothier edge would have made this a little easier.
Pocket-lint
What’s great about traditional fashion and design companies getting involved in the smartwatch market is that they deliver decent case designs. For its full-fat Summit watches, Montblanc uses stainless steel for the case material. With the Lite model it’s aluminium.
The 43mm case isn’t too big and sits comfortably on the wrist. The contrast between the glossy bezel and buttons with their softer anodised finish on the case is eye-catching. It has that glint of dress watch that looks great just subtly poking out from under your blazer or cardigan sleeve.
There are some subtle angles on the lugs that make the edges softer in appearance, while they curve downwards towards the strap to create a skinny side-on profile. It’s nice and lightweight too thanks to that shift from steel to aluminium.
It’s not just about being pretty though. The casing feels like it’s well put together, while the screen is capped off with crystal glass to help avoid scratches from when you inevitably brush it against all manner of hard surfaces in your daily activity.
Pocket-lint
Our unit shipped with a thick black rubber strap which had something of a ‘sticky’ feel when we first put it on, but that sensation has since tamed. Other fabric strap options are available too. However, the case will fit any 22mm strap and the quick-release catches mean it’s super simple to swap for one you really want.
Turn the Summit Lite upside down and you’ll see its well-considered underside. Right in the centre is the optical heart-rate sensor – built within a subtle protrusion that’s surrounded by a metal ring – and accompanied by a four-pin connector for the charging base.
It looks and feels more purposeful than a lot of other Wear OS undersides and, happily, it snaps onto its magnetic charging cradle with ease. It holds the watch in position well and – thanks to having a rounded cutout for the rotating crown – only fits the watch one way, so there’s no chance you’ll ever find yourself placing the watch in the wrong way.
If there’s any criticism it’s that the cradle itself is relatively lightweight plastic and so – because of the strong connection – if you try and remove the watch one-handed you’ll more than likely take the cradle with you. You need to hold both in order to separate them.
Pocket-lint
On the plus side, the underside is coated in an almost-sticky rubber-like material that helps it not to slide around all over the place.
Display and software
1.2-inch circular AMOLED display
390 x 390 resolution
Wear OS software
For the most part, the software situation with the Montblanc Summit Lite is the same as pretty much every other Google Wear OS watch. The main interfaces and preinstalled apps are the same, but it comes with Montblanc’s own watch faces.
Pocket-lint
Press the middle button and it launches your apps list, and the top and bottom buttons can be customised to launch any number of functions or apps. By default, however, they launch two elements of Montblanc’s own activity tracker screens. And this is where the Summit Lite is slightly different to some of the other Wear OS devices.
The activity app can be used to manually track any workout, but will also track your movement, heart-rate and stress levels throughout the day, and your sleep quality at night. Combining that information it can also measure how well rested you are and give you an Energy Level reading. It’s similar in theory to Garmin’s Body Battery feature.
Go running and it’ll work out your VO2 Max (that’s blood oxygen saturation) and judge your fitness level. It’ll even give you the time frame you need to rest for in order to recover for you next workout session. Interestingly, there’s also a Cardio Coach function which tells you what you should aim for in terms of heart rate intensity and duration for your next activity.
There are some pretty glaring holes in this workout software though. Firstly, there’s no mobile companion app. That means all that useful data and detail just stays on the watch. Secondly, if you go on a run or bike ride, there’s no map to look at afterwards to see if it tracked your route properly.
The solution to these issues is to use third-party apps – like Strava for running/cycling – or just use the Google Fit app that’s built-in as standard to all Wear OS watches.
Pocket-lint
For those who want those features it makes more sense to completely bypass Montblanc’s offering. It’s a shame really, because otherwise that data and information on the watch could be really useful. It’d just be nice to get access to it from a phone.
Otherwise accuracy seems on point. Comparing the Summit Lite’s data to that captured on the Garmin Vivoactive 4 reveals that the average heart-rate was within one or two beats-per-minute away from matching. There was a slight difference in distance measured and, as a result, pace – but not enough that it made any serious difference to the tracked activity. It was about 10-20 metres out on a 25 minute 4km run, which is a pretty standard discrepancy between watches.
All of this software and detail is shown on a fully round AMOLED panel. It’s a 1.2-inch screen, and boasts 390 pixels both vertically and horizontally, making pretty much on par with the latest hardware from the likes of Fossil.
Hardware and battery performance
Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform
1GB RAM + 8GB storage
Tech aficionados will complain that a watch in 2021 doesn’t feature the newest Snapdragon Wear 4100 processor. Nonetheless, there’s not a huge amount wrong with the way the Montblanc Summit Lite performs.
The Wear 3100 processor here ensures that the interface and animations are mostly smooth and responsive. There are elements that still feel a little laggy and slow, however, which is usually when extra data is required – like when browsing the Google Play Store on the wrist to download apps. There’s a little bit of a wait launching most apps, too. You’ll maybe need to wait three seconds for Google’s Keep Notes to launch, for example.
Pocket-lint
As far as connectivity and modern tech goes, the Summit Lite has pretty much everything you’d want from a smartwatch. There’s NFC (near field communication) to enable Google Pay for contactless payments. There’s Wi-Fi for direct downloading apps on to the watch. And there’s GPS for location tracking.
Apple watchOS 7: All the key new Apple Watch features explored
By Maggie Tillman
·
Battery life is pretty standard for a Wear OS watch too: you’ll get roughly two days between charges. We managed to get through two work days even with the always-on display switched on – because the watch faces run a lower brightness and lower refresh rate than the main watch face.
Verdict
The Montblanc Summit Lite’s side buttons have been purposefully redesigned with a proper rotating crown for enhanced interaction, paired with a great all-round display, plus all the features you’d expect from a Wear OS watch.
Despite being a ‘Lite’ model it’s still expensive, though, so you’re very much still paying for the Montblanc brand name. Furthermore Montblanc’s otherwise useful activity tracking doesn’t have a companion phone app to download and view your data in much detail. So it’s more decoration than designed for those super serious about tracking fitness.
Overall, things have improved dramatically since the first Montblanc Summit watch. The Summit Lite is really well designed, with its subtle, stylish and almost minimalist look, while also featuring practical material choices and the durability you’d expect from any modern smartwatch.
Also consider
Pocket-lint
Tag Heuer Connected 2020
squirrel_widget_231495
Compare the prices and the Montblanc starts to look like good value for money. The Tag is about double the price, but it’s still the luxury smartwatch champ that has a lot going for it.
Read our review
Pocket-lint
Fossil Gen 5 Garrett HR
squirrel_widget_307331
On the complete opposite end of the scale, but with a similar approach to style, Fossil’s Garrett is one of the nicest looking and more affordable options from the popular fashion brand.
A potential animation for Twitter’s long-rumored “undo send” feature has been discovered by app researcher Jane Manchun Wong, giving us our best look yet at how it might work.
The interface shows Twitter’s familiar “Your Tweet was sent” dialog above a new “Undo” button. The undo button doubles as a progress bar, which appears to show you how long you have to undo a tweet before it gets sent. Gmail offers a similar option for emails, where it provides a short window to stop messages from being sent after clicking the “Send” button.
“Undo send” has been a rumored part of a paid Twitter subscription tier after it was first mentioned in a user survey last year. It might not be the “edit button” that Twitter users have been requesting forever (and which will probably never happen), but it would still offer users the ability to quickly stop a tweet from posting if they spot a last second typo or Bad Take.
Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported that Twitter is exploring paid subscriptions as a way to reduce its reliance on advertising revenue in response to competition from Facebook and Snapchat. The subscriptions could include access to features like “undo send” and profile customization options, it said. Bloomberg also reported that Twitter was exploring ways for users to pay one another for exclusive content, a feature the company later announced as Super Follows.
Jane Manchun Wong is an app researcher who digs through code to find unreleased and unannounced features. Last year she was among the first to spot Twitter’s Birdwatch initiative to allow users to root out misinformation on its service, and she also spotted Twitter’s overhaul of its verification system prior to its official announcement.
Apple’s Find My app might get a new safety feature to help prevent someone from using the kinds of devices tracked in the app to stalk you instead. “Item Safety Alerts”, spotted in the iOS 14.5 beta, will notify you if an unknown device being tracked on Find My is “moving with you” so you can remove it or disable it, 9to5Mac reports.
The feature seems designed to counteract a scenario where a Find My-compatible device is hidden in a pocket or bag and then used to track someone’s movements. The Item Safety Alerts setting was found in early versions of iOS 14.3, according to AppleInsider, but was removed until its reappearance in iOS 14.5. The setting is enabled by default in the beta and Apple seems to want it to stay on. If you turn off the setting off, the system will warn you that unknown devices can see your location without you being notified, Apple blogger Benjamin Mayo shared on Twitter.
Something I hadn’t considered before: new beta includes a Item Safety setting in Find My. This is how Apple is trying to prevent ‘stalking’ with AirTags. If someone secretly hides a tag in your possessions, your phone will notice and warn you about it. pic.twitter.com/NVJyAZlthw
— Benjamin Mayo (@bzamayo) March 4, 2021
Addressing the risk of stalking in Find My is newly important because of Apple’s plans to open up the app to third-party accessories. Hiding an iPhone, iPad, or MacBook in someone’s bag to track them is difficult, but a small keychain-sized device like Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag or Tile’s upcoming ultra wideband (UWB) tracker could be a lot easier. Apple’s rumored AirTags could also be a candidate for misuse, and reintroducing this feature into iOS might mean they’re on their way to release.
Find My settings screen with ‘Item Safety Alerts’ turned on.Image: 9to5Mac
While it’s not necessarily as powerful as a GPS beacon with a cellular radio, Apple’s Find My network may have more reach than you’d think. If an Apple device comes near one of these supported trackers, it can update its location, even if the tracker doesn’t have its own connection to the internet. Tile’s “Community Find” feature works similarly. AirTags could theoretically expand the reach and precision even more, with an added UWB signal in the tag that can make items easier to find behind walls and in other rooms.
There are at least a few examples where gadgets like this have been abused: In 2018, a woman in Texas noticed her ex-partner kept showing up at restaurants, other people’s houses, and even an out-of-town trip, without a clear way of knowing where she was, ABC 13 reported. She’d later learn her ex had stashed a Tile tracker in the front console of her car, and was using it to find her. A Texas beauty queen shared a similar stalking story in 2016.
iOS 14.5 is in beta right now, and the first beta appeared to have a long-awaited feature: it seemed you would be able to set Spotify and other music services as the default for Siri requests. But Apple has clarified with TechCrunchthat the feature doesn’t actually work that way. Instead, selecting a music service for Siri requests is apparently intended to improve Siri’s smarts so that it can better know your audio-listening preferences.
In our testing of the first iOS 14.5 beta, when you would ask Siri to play a song, it would show a list of music services to play a song from. After you made your choice, Siri song requests would then play from the service you selected without requiring you to pick again. But you’re not actually picking a default service, TechCrunch reports.
“The feature is an attempt to help Siri to learn the listening apps you want to use for different types of audio content — not just music,” according to TechCrunch. “Perhaps you want to use Spotify to listen to music, but prefer to keep up with your podcasts in Apple Podcasts or some other third-party podcasts app. And you may want to listen to audiobooks in yet another app.” Apple’s assistant may even ask your preference again in future.
Apple also noted to TechCrunch that there’s no setting in iOS where you can set your music service default, unlike the options available for setting a default email service or browser. (We also observed this when we tested the feature with the first beta of iOS 14.5.) However, you can still ask that a song play from a specific service as part of your Siri request.
Apple still seems to be tweaking the feature, as it was dropped from the second beta before being reintroduced this week with the third. And because it is still in beta, there’s always the chance the feature could change ahead of the final release, though we’ve asked Apple if it can confirm that it will appear in the public version of iOS 14.5.
Apple has promised to open up its Find My app to third-party accessory makers. But ahead of that, there’s a new tool that will let anybody make their own Bluetooth tracking tag to use with the Find My network so they can track its location. OpenHaystack is a new open-source tool developed by security researchers at the Secure Mobile Networking Lab, who have essentially reverse-engineered the way Apple devices register themselves to the Find My mesh network.
It is, in short, a way to create your own DIY AirTags today.
OpenHaystack works via a custom Mac app that can be used to track the location of custom tags that you create. As of right now, the tool has direct support to make a tracking tag using the BBC micro:bit mini computer, though other Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) device support could be added by other developers in the future. Once registered on Apple’s Find My network, the OpenHaystack app will be able to report the tag’s location just like Apple’s Find My app works for iPhones and other Apple devices.
The whole system is a bit of a hack — in the sense that it’s complex, not in the sense that it’s actually hacking anything. It uses a plugin for Apple Mail (which authenticates you as a genuine Apple user) to get the necessary access to Apple’s Find My network to create and locate the keys — so Mail needs to be running for OpenHaystack to work.
There don’t appear to be serious security implications for the Find My network itself, either (though the team has submitted other bug reports to Apple). That doesn’t mean you should just go ahead and start using OpenHaystack, however. There’s an important disclaimer on the project:
OpenHaystack is experimental software. The code is untested and incomplete. For example, OpenHaystack tags using our firmware broadcast a fixed public key and, therefore, are trackable by other devices in proximity (this might change in a future release). OpenHaystack is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple Inc.
A high-level understanding of how the security model for Find My works also helps understand why OpenHaystack is possible.
Find My works by using a combination of public and private keys. Any Apple user can access the public keys for devices in the Find My network, but you need the private key in order to actually access location information. This means not even Apple can access your location information without your private keys. The network is possible because Apple devices communally track the public keys, but only users can get location data from private keys.
How OpenHaystack gets on the Find My network.Image: OpenHaystack
What OpenHaystack does is create one of those public / private key pairs for your own Bluetooth tag and uses Apple Mail to register it in the Find My network. To Apple, it just looks like another iPhone. The Mac app then accesses the public key database, pairs it with the private key you created, and bam: secure location data.
From the way it’s designed, it seems like it might be difficult for Apple to cut off OpenHaystack easily without also cutting off a bunch of older Apple devices. However, it’s also surely true that Apple as a company won’t like the whole thing and may try to find a way to block it. A developer could use the system to create a way to add Android devices to the Find My network.
The team behind OpenHaystack has written a paper detailing its methods and disclosing a now-fixed security flaw. It also released the source code for its firmware, which other developers could use to adapt OpenHaystack to other BLE devices.
Apple’s official support for third-party accessories is still coming. Belkin has already announced a set of earbuds that will support Find My. Given how complex the setup of OpenHaystack is, it probably won’t gain mass adoption. It’s similar in some ways to AirMessage and Beeper, two tools that use Mac utilities to redirect iMessages to Android devices. Apple’s ecosystem is locked down in any number of ways, but the Mac finds a way.
(Pocket-lint) – Redmi is fast becoming a key disruptor in the affordable phones market. The company’s Note 10 Pro, as reviewed here, makes it clear to see why: it’s dripping with specification that puts it a cut above its nearest of competition.
The brand name might not be instantly recognisable to all – Redmi is an offshoot of Xiaomi, hence no surprise the Note 10 Pro is like a watered-down Xiaomi Mi 11 in many respects – but when affordability is your main goal, and it simply functions as well as this, that’s not going to be a major barrier.
So if you’re seeking a phone that costs around a couple of hundred, is the Redmi Note 10 Pro appealing enough to knock the likes of the Motorola G30 out of contention?
Design & Display
6.67-inch AMOLED display, 1080 x 2400 resolution, 120Hz refresh rate
Upon pulling the Redmi Note 10 Pro from its box – here in “Onyx Gray”, which has a soft, almost blue hue about it – it’s comes across as a pretty good-looking slab of glass and plastic. There’s Gorilla Glass 5 to protect the front, and not a mass of bezel cutting into the screen either.
What is cutting into that screen more prominently than most is the punch-hole camera. It’s not even the scale of it – it’s a smaller diameter than you’ll find on recent Motorola handsets, for example – but because it’s got a silvery, shiny ring that can catch light and is a bit distracting. We’d rather it was pushed to the left side, more out of sight, and darkened please.
The Note 10 Pro’s rear is plastic, but not in a budget-looking way. Indeed it catches fingerprints in a similar fashion to glass, but it’s easy enough to wipe clean. And Redmi has chosen some pretty classy colour options too – none of the “Pastel Sky” (read: pink and mud-green) nonsense that Motorola opted for with the G30.
The only bother of the rear is that protruding camera bump. Not only is it large, it’s off-centre and, therefore, the phone wobbles about all over the place when laid upon a desk. Not that the main goal of a phone is to use it flat on a desk – you’ll normally have it in the hand – but it’s still a bugbear. A different camera enclosure would have negated this little aspect of the design.
The Note 10 Pro’s side-mounted fingerprint scanner is very neatly integrated, though, and we’ve found it to function very rapidly for logins. There’s also face unlock by using that front-facing camera, should you prefer. Oh, and if you’re still part of the wired headphones gang then the 3.5mm jack will prove a point of appreciation for you too.
And so to the screen. This is one aspect of the phone that really helps to sell it for a number of reasons. First, it’s large, at 6.67-inches on the diagonal. But, more important than that, it’s got a Full HD+ resolution that puts it a step beyond many of its near competitors. Motorola, for example, has dropped to just HD+ in its lower-end Moto G family (so around 50 per cent fewer pixels).
The Note 10 Pro’s screen is AMOLED based, too, meaning it can have an always-on display activated – which illuminates the edges in a subtle fashion when there’s a notification, as one example – for visuals to be available without actively needing to turn the display on.
That screen tech also means deep blacks, while colour is decent. As the software allows a brightness selection for night use we’ve not found the auto-brightness to be of any bother here either – which is refreshing, as it’s been a pain in basically every other MIUI software-based handset of recent times.
The other big feature of this screen is that it offers a 120Hz refresh rate. The theory here is that it can run at double the rate – 120 refreshes per second – to give a smoother visual experience. That can often be the case, too, just not in every single aspect of use. That’s the oddity of higher refresh rates: if you don’t have the hardware-software combination to handle it, then it’ll come a cropper. Thankfully it’s not too bad here, but there are some moments where the ultra-smooth swiping in, say, the Photos app gets stuttery when moving over to a different app instead.
Faster refresh is one of those nice-to-haves, sure, but 120Hz it’s not on by default – and even when you do go to activate it, MIUI describes it as a “medium” level refresh. It’s “low” for 60Hz, apparently, despite that being perfectly fine. And, um, there is no “high” – so the scale doesn’t make huge amount of sense. But it’s all a distraction really, from what’s an otherwise perfectly decent screen.
Performance & Battery
Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G platform, 6GB RAM
5,020mAh battery, 33W fast-charging
MIUI 12 software (over Android 11)
Even with the 120Hz refresh rate activated, the Redmi Pro doesn’t suffer from limited battery life. We’ve been using the phone for the week prior to the launch event as our own device – and in that time there’s usually 50 per cent battery remaining by bedtime. That’s 16 hours a time, so it’s on the edge of being a two-day laster.
The battery capacity is large, which is part of the reason for this longevity, but there’s also the instance of the processor and software combination. With Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 732G platform under the hood the Redmi hits that sweetspot of reasonable performance, limits overheating, and there’s no 5G possibility to grind it down either.
As chipsets go, the SD732 is capable of handling multiple apps, including games without particular graphical insufficiencies, meaning whether you want to run Zwift on your phone, dabble in a bit of PUBG Mobile, or hit some South Park: Phone Destroyer, it’s all within the Redmi Note 10’s reach.
The only slight stutters – and we mean very slight – tend to appear when jumping between apps. That’s when you can visually see a lowering of the frame-rate, hence the question over whether 120Hz is actually all that important here.
Running everything is Xiaomi’s MIUI 12 software, skinned over the top of Google’s Android 11 operating system. We’ve had very mixed experiences with this software in the recent past – with the Xiaomi Mi 11 it was limiting, in the Poco M3 it was irksome – but, oddly, in the Redmi Note 10 it’s caused us no significant issues. We’ve previously criticised Xiaomi’s software for being wildly inconsistent between devices (sometimes even on the same software version), but at least the Redmi gets the upper hand here.
That said, MIUI 12 does need some ‘training’, if you like. By default it battery limits every app, which you need to dig into in individual settings to rectify and ensure there’s no issue with limiting what an app can do and when, or how much power it can or can’t use in the background. However, even with the default option selected we’ve not had notification delays like we did have with the Xiaomi Mi 11. So there’s greater stability here.
In the past there’s been criticism for targeted ads in Xiaomi software, but that’s no proven a bother in this Redmi setup either. Yes, there’s still a separate Xiaomi store in addition to Google Play – which sometimes means apps will update from one, some from the other – but it’s enough in the background and out of the way that you basically needn’t worry about it.
So while we’d usually be criticising the software experience as the thing to hold a MIUI handset back, the Redmi Note 10 Pro actually fares well. In combination with its hardware loadout that makes for a generally smooth experience, too, plus a long-lasting one. Can’t say much better than that.
In terms of cameras the Redmi Note 10 Pro features what it calls a quad rear setup. That’s a bit of a stretch, really, as the depth sensor isn’t really needed or useful at all. And the ultra-wide angle isn’t the best of quality. But that’s most of the bad news out of the way.
The 5-megapixel macro sensor that’s on board is, just like that of the Mi 11, rather good fun. It’s not wildly accurate with autofocus, but at least it offers some. And sharpness isn’t pristine either – but it’s far better than what we’ve seen from umpteen lower-resolution so-called macro sensors on other phones.
The real take-way of the setup, however, is the 108-megapixel camera. If you can really consider it as that. While most makers use a four-in-one pixel methodology to gather more information and produce an image a quarter the size of the headline resolution, this Redmi goes with a nine-in-one pixel method. That means you’ll get 12-megapixel results as standard instead.
By using these nine pixels – think of it as a three by three row in a square – there’s the prospect of adding lots of comparison, more colour data, all of which can be processed into a sharp looking shot. Even in low-light conditions the Redmi Note 10 Pro’s results hold up well. We’ve been impressed.
There are limits though. As there’s no optical image stabilisation here, you’ll need a steady hand. And the Night Mode – which uses long exposure to combine multiple frames into one ‘brighter’ shot – doesn’t work well as a result. Without the stabilisation here things just don’t line-up well, making for soft, ‘mushy’ results. MIUI
No, there’s no zoom lens, so you don’t get any optical zoom fanciness, and the camera app is a bit compartmentalised in its approach, but the overall take-away from the Redmi Note 10 Pro’s camera is that the main lens delivers a lot from an affordable device. You could do a lot worse elsewhere.
First Impressions
As we said up top, Redmi is becoming a key disruptor in the affordable phone market. The Note 10 Pro makes it clear to see why: this device doesn’t just have a decent specification, it comes good on delivery too.
There’s more resolution here than on close rival Motorola handsets, the software is more stable than we’ve seen from other MIUI 12 handsets (although Motorola’s approach is clearly better), and that main 108-megapixel camera is most capable unit (although it does output at 12MP by default).
The shortcomings are only few and far between – that punch-hole camera is weird, the lack of optical stabilisation is a shame, and the camera bump (which causes ‘desk wobble’) jars somewhat – making the Redmi Note 10 Pro the most accomplished affordable phone we’ve yet seen in 2021.
Also consider
Moto G30
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Motorola always delivers better on software experience – and it’s the same here – but you’ll have to accept a lower-level processor and less attractive overall design as part of this otherwise well-priced budget handset.
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Marshall, the British company best known for its thunderous guitar amps, has also managed to build a solid reputation for headphones and earbuds over the last several years. Though they’re a little overpriced for what you get, I like the Marshall Monitor II ANC headphones for their style and clever mini-joystick for controlling audio playback. But now Marshall is moving into the true wireless earbuds market — and it’s very late to the party.
The new Mode II earbuds are priced at $179, start shipping March 18th, and aim to make up for Marshall’s tardy arrival with “phenomenal” sound, wireless charging, IPX4 water resistance, and a design that feels right at home next to the company’s other products. As a first stab at true wireless, these earbuds get a lot right for the price. But that price is also probably their biggest downside.
These certainly look the part of Marshall earbuds. The case has the same textured, leather-like finish as the Monitor II headphones with the Marshall logo proudly embossed on the top and a USB-C port on the left side. Open it up and you’ll find the earbuds, three LEDs to indicate charging status for the case and each bud, and a round, gold button inside the case for pairing. Marshall claims the case has enough juice to give the earbuds four full recharges. Since the Mode II can last for up to five hours of straight listening time, that puts you at 25 hours total.
The earbuds have a matte black finish with a very prominent “M” on them; you’re definitely wearing the Marshall brand with these. They’re nicely compact and not as chunky as some competitors like the Jabra Elite 75t. Marshall includes four sizes of silicone ear tips in the box — including an XL option, which is nice to see. Some foam tips would’ve been even nicer.
Marshall’s signature control nub is a little impractical for earbuds, so just like countless others, the Mode II earbuds use tap gestures. The controls aren’t customizable, and unfortunately, you’re left without any way to directly adjust volume:
Left earbud
Tap once for transparency mode or to answer a call Tap twice for voice assistant
Right earbud
Tap once to pause/play or to answer a call Tap twice to skip to next track Tap three times to go back to the last track
It would sometimes take a stronger tap than I expected to register some of these commands, particularly with the right earbud. Those firmer taps pushed the earbud deeper into my ear, which got unpleasant.
I’ve also encountered some odd bugs with the Mode II, like one where the right earbud wouldn’t play any audio until I touched it. There were occasionally some noticeable balance issues with vocals sliding between the left and right earbuds. Those issues both seem to have been mostly resolved with the latest firmware update, but still pop up at times. Marshall tells me another OTA update will be released before the Mode IIs ship to customers to further smoothen out performance.
Bugs aside, these earbuds do sound quite good. I’ve been listening to The Hold Steady’s new album Open Door Policy, and there’s a lot going on in some of those songs. The Mode II earbuds do a good job of keeping everything — guitars, horns, keys, vocals, drums — distinct in the mix. Upper-end frequencies can sound a little boosted on some tracks depending on how they were produced, but it’s nothing piercing. And the Marshall app gives you full EQ control if you’re not happy with the default “Marshall sound” tuning. AAC and SBC codecs are supported.
As always, fit and a good seal are crucial to getting the best sound. And that’s especially true here. Even when I have the XL tips on, these are the sort of earbud that I need to twist into my ear just the right way if I want the most bass and a balanced soundstage. They never feel loose, but something about the fit can be a bit finicky in my experience, whereas I can just plop other earbuds in without giving it much thought.
The Mode II earbuds don’t include any kind of active noise cancellation, but Marshall still added a transparency mode in case you need to more clearly hear what’s happening around you. The best I can say about this feature is that it’s serviceable, but ambient sound comes through far more muffled than the airy, natural transparency modes of other earbuds. Voice call performance is average: people I spoke to could hear me just fine but noted that my voice sounded a bit hollow and trebly — something that was also true when I listened back to voice memo samples.
Rounding out the features, Marshall includes auto-pause when you remove a bud, and they should be suitable for normal workouts thanks to an IPX4 rating. Like the vast majority of true wireless earbuds, these don’t support multipoint for two simultaneous Bluetooth connections. But you can use either one independently.
If the Marshall Mode II buds were priced at $130 or $100, I think I’d come away with a more positive overall take on them. But at $180, they lack any real standout tricks that would make me reach for them over established competitors. The case is sleek, totally pocketable, and includes wireless charging. Sound quality is good, but not to the point where Marshall thrashes competitors in the same price bracket. Plus, you can get a set of true wireless earbuds with proper noise cancellation by spending $30 to $50 more.
Coming into the fold so late, Marshall really needed to turn the knob up to 11. But the Mode II earbuds don’t quite get there, and the style points count for less here than with the company’s wireless headphones, where the cool design is so visible.
Elgato, the Corsair-owned company known for its gaming and creator-focused streaming tech, is expanding into smart lighting. It has introduced the Light Strip, a thin strip packed with 108 dimmable LEDs that can be mounted via sticky adhesive, bent, and trimmed to fit wherever you’d like them to go. These can be controlled over Wi-Fi (2.4GHz only) through a free app on macOS, Windows 10, iOS, or Android, or from Elgato’s Stream Deck hardware, which apparently will offer deeper integration. Elgato is charging $59.99 for two meters (about 79 inches) of lights, including the controller the lights plug into and a power adapter.
The Stream Deck isn’t included, for the record.Image: Elgato
These are similar in execution to most connected light strips including Philips Hue’s, which ironically has tight Stream Deck integration via plug-ins. Not to be confused with the capabilities of something like the Philips Hue Play gradient light strip that can sync the light to what’s on your screen (only after purchasing some pricey additional hardware), Elgato’s more affordable solution is just for looks.
If you’re a streamer who appears on-camera, Elgato says the LEDs within the Light Strip are flicker-free. It says some other options appear fine to the naked eye but can create a flickering effect when you’re on-camera. In terms of other specs, these are RGBWW LEDs that offer both cool and warm white support, in addition to millions of colors. These have a 2,000-lumen maximum output.
Coming in multiple colors.Image: Elgato
Elgato, keenly aware of its target audience, is also announcing Wave Panels. These are glorified foam pieces can be mounted (either by adhesive or with a wall anchor) in your space to improve the acoustics. They’ll likely be particularly useful if you’re recording your voice. They have an edgy look, and Elgato is releasing them in multiple colors. No price has been shared at the time of publishing.
Amazon has announced a new feature for its Halo fitness-tracking gadget: Alexa integration. With this new feature, Halo owners will be able to ask Alexa devices for various health stats, such as their sleep score or activity points obtained during the day. The integration will be off by default and owners will need the latest firmware on their Halo bands and the latest version of the iOS or Android app to enable it. Amazon says the feature rollout is starting today, March 4th, and will be continuing over the next week or so.
The Halo band is Amazon’s first fitness-focused product and it’s had a less than stellar reception since it was announced last fall. Aside from the standard fitness things of tracking your movement and sleep patterns, the $99.99 Halo also has the ability to police the tone of your voice and tell you when you’re being dismissive or condescending with your words. The companion Halo app also has a feature to 3D scan your body through your phone’s camera and measure your fat composition. These two unconventional features have been criticized by reviewers at publications like TheNew York Times and Washington Post (which is actually owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos) for both their invasiveness and inconsistency.
Alexa integration options in the Halo app.Image: Amazon
Weirdly, even though the Halo has been available for purchase since the middle of December (it first launched with a limited, invite-only rollout), it is out of stock in all sizes and colors on Amazon right now, with no information on when it might return. I’ve asked Amazon about this and the company declined to comment, though other retailers such as Best Buy appear to have plenty of stock. As of this writing, the Halo has a 3.7-star rating from Amazon customers, compared to the 4.6-star rating the similarly sized and priced Fitbit Inspire 2 holds.
Amazon notes that the Alexa integration only allows for Alexa to provide information related to health data captured by the Halo — Alexa will not be able to do the tone analysis itself. It also will not store the Halo data as part of its responses. There is an option to set a voice PIN to protect access to the Halo data and you’ll be able to opt for a five-minute timeout window after the PIN is entered for easier access to the Halo data in subsequent requests.
Though the Halo integration works with all Alexa-enabled devices, including smart displays, it doesn’t have any special optimization for those that have screens. If you want to see any charts or graphs of your fitness data, you’ll have to go to the Halo smartphone app.
Amazon says Halo owners will be able to disable the integration at any time from the Halo app should they decide they no longer want it, and they can manage and delete voice recordings from their Halo requests in the privacy hub of the Alexa app.
Eve Systems, a maker of smart home products that work with Apple’s HomeKit platform, is announcing an expanded range of devices that support the Thread smart protocol. The news consists of updated versions of its existing smart plug, a forthcoming firmware update for the company’s smart sprinkler, and a new outdoor weather station.
Thread is a wireless communication standard that was developed from the ground up for smart home purposes and is designed to replace legacy technologies such as Z-Wave and Zigbee. Benefits of Thread include more reliable connections between devices, faster response times, and longer battery life.
Though Thread support has existed in a handful of devices for quite some time, Apple’s HomePod mini is the first one to really make Thread a viable option in the smart home. It can act as a bridge between Thread-enabled accessories and connect them to the internet, which they can’t do on their own. Thread is also one of the pillar technologies of the Connected Home over IP (CHIP) project, a cooperation between all the major smart home platform and device providers to standardize around an interoperable wireless protocol.
It’s with that in mind that Eve is updating and expanding its device portfolio. The new Eve Energy, which will be available in either US or UK versions, is an updated version of Eve’s smart plug. It will support both Thread and Bluetooth and will be available in the US starting on April 6th and the UK starting on May 4th. The Energy is unique in that it can act as a repeater for the Thread network, letting it extend the signal to devices even if they are out of reach of a HomePod mini. In the US, the Energy will cost $39.95.
The latest version of the Eve Energy smart plug adds Thread support.Image: Eve
A forthcoming firmware update will add Thread support to the $99.95 Eve Aqua, the company’s smart sprinkler system. Thanks to Thread’s greater range, the updated Aqua can maintain its connection to the network better than it could with just Bluetooth. Eve says support for Thread will be released in April.
Lastly, the all-new Eve Weather is a wireless outdoor weather station that allows you to track the exact outdoor temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure at your home. It is a replacement for the Eve Degree, a similar product that relied solely on Bluetooth for its connectivity. The Eve Weather has a monochrome display that shows the current temperature, humidity, and weather conditions; the Eve app provides access to trends over time and more specific data. The Weather also has Siri integration for voice queries.
Eve claims the Weather is IPX3 water resistant and is specifically designed for outdoor use. It runs on a coin cell battery which should last between six and 12 months before needing to be replaced. The Eve Weather will be available starting March 25th for $69.95.
The Eve Weather shows current temperature, humidity, and weather trends on its monochrome display.Image: Eve
These aren’t the only products in Eve’s portfolio that support Thread. The company has already issued firmware updates with Thread support for its door and window sensors and European-spec Energy smart plug, and it says everything it has released since June 2020 has the hardware necessary to work with Thread. It is one of the first companies to really throw its hat into the Thread ring in a meaningful way.
Eve is a unique company in the smart home market as its products only work with Apple’s HomeKit platform and don’t support Amazon Alexa, Google Home, or any of the other platforms out there. That’s different from most other smart home companies, which try to reach the broadest possible audience by supporting the most popular platforms, which often means Amazon Alexa and Google Home. The HomeKit device ecosystem is much smaller in comparison, largely thanks to an onerous hardware certification that Apple used to require and has since rolled back. HomeKit is also completely inaccessible from outside of Apple’s ecosystem, so if you have an Android phone, you can’t control Eve devices.
Eve System’s CEO Jerome Gackel told me the company’s goal isn’t just to be a HomeKit accessory maker. It’s just that Apple’s platform is the only one that allows Eve to focus its efforts on its devices and apps without having to also maintain a cloud service to allow them to connect to the internet. All of the processing for Eve devices happens locally on your home network or between your own devices, without sending data to the cloud, which helps the company achieve its goal of a privacy-first smart home. (You can still remotely control Eve devices through Apple’s Home app, provided you have a HomeKit hub, such as an Apple TV, HomePod, or iPad running in your home.)
Gackel hopes that support for Thread and its key role in the CHIP project will open the door to working with the other smart home platforms in the future. But Eve won’t work with Alexa or Google Home so long as they continue to require a cloud connection to their platforms.
Eve’s bet on HomeKit has been successful so far — the company already has 18 products in its lineup and claims sales of over 1 million units by 2019, with two-thirds of its customer base in Germany and the rest in the US. Its lineup for 2021 will make it the largest provider of HomeKit accessories, with Thread support being a recurring theme throughout.
Amazon is launching a new Alexa app for Xbox consoles this week. While you’ve been able to control Alexa from an Xbox for a couple of years now, this dedicated app will provide access to more of the visual parts of Amazon’s digital assistant. That includes being able to see your doorbell camera, reading emails and checking your calendar, and even seeing weather forecasts.
It essentially turns your Xbox into more of an Echo Show-like experience for Alexa. All of the usual Xbox controls are still supported with this new app, including the ability to turn on an Xbox console using a compatible Alexa device.
Amazon is gradually rolling out this new Alexa app for Xbox in the coming days, and it will be available across all Xbox One and Xbox Series X / S consoles. You should be able to download the Alexa app from the Microsoft Store right now, but we’ve tried to get it to work with a couple of Xbox consoles and it doesn’t appear to be fully live just yet.
Here are some of the new commands available with the visual version of Alexa on Xbox:
Alexa, play on Xbox
Alexa, show me the front door camera
Alexa, show me my email
Alexa, show me my calendar
Alexa, show me the weather
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