Day: January 9, 2018

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Qualcomm Claims Its New Chip Will Triple Battery Life on Wireless Headphones

A render of what your next earbuds could look like. Image: Qualcomm

There are currently two major annoyances with wireless headphones: the Bluetooth can cut out in areas with a lot of signal noise, and battery life is mostly terrible. Qualcomm thinks it’s packed a better solution to both of those issues into a new chip.

“It’s a big step forward in the hearable category,” Anthony Murray, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Qualcomm’s Voice & Music business unit, told Gizmodo.

According to Murray, the QCC5100 Low Power Bluetooth SoC reduces power consumption by 65 percent. This in turn gives headphones nearly three times the playback time compared to headphones with previous SoCs.

Murray also said the Qcc5100 has significantly better transmit power, which should reduce the number of times headphones cut out when you’re riding a packed subway or moving through a hellishly crowded airport. The chip supports Bluetooth 5, which was only announced in 2016, and just began to appear in devices, like the Samsung Galaxy S8 and Apple iPhone X, last year.

Besides these improvements, the minuscule chip has double the processing capability of Qualcomm’s former solution, which was found in popular headphones like the Jabra Sport Elite and Bose Free Sport.

This means that the chip can provide much more robust active noise cancelling and hearing assistance. For example, it would allow for some conditional sound changes like making sound softer when your headphones detect that an announcement is being made on a train. “We see this as becoming a general requirement,” Murray said. And if you look at the wide range of earbuds in the marketplace right now, and their multitude of auditory bionic features, you might be compelled to agree.

Currently there are no earbud makers who have declared they’re using the new QCC5100, but Qualcomm says it is working with a number of major manufacturers, and as its previous SoC was featured in the best earbuds of 2017, there’s a good reason to get excited for what the future of bionic buds holds.

We’re live on the ground in Las Vegas at CES 2018! Click here to read our complete coverage.

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This Bluetooth Air Filter Will Tell You Just How Filthy Your Air Is

If you’ve reached the stage of life where you’re a responsible homeowner, you know there’s an endless list of maintenance projects you need to stay on top of. But remembering to check the air filters on your home’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system is no longer one of them, because 3M’s new filters will automatically alert your phone when they need to be replaced.

The Filtrete Smart Air Filters install and work exactly like 3M’s previous offerings do, trapping particles like pet hairs, dust, smoke, and other unwanted airborne particles as air is circulated through your home. The only difference is the addition of a small yellow disc that contains a Bluetooth-connected pressure sensor to measure and monitor the flow of air through the filter. When the detected pressure drops, it means less air is able to move through the dirty filter, and it’s time to be disposed of and replaced.

To make it even easier to know when it’s time to swap filters, the new sensor-enhanced versions connect to an accompanying Filtrete Smart app, available for iOS and Android mobile devices, that provides more info than you’ve probably ever wanted to know about the air quality in your home. More importantly, the app will also notify you of exactly when it’s time to swap in a new filter so you don’t replace a clean filter too soon, and don’t leave a filthy one installed too long.

When available sometime this Spring, 3M’s new Filtrete Smart Air Filters will sell for somewhere between $22 to $30 depending on the size and filter type you need, which is almost exactly what the same sensorless filters will cost you today. So unless you refuse to have a smartphone or tablet in your home, there seems to be little reason not to choose the smart option, and scratch at least one thing off your to-do list.

[3M]

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Qualcomm’s New Bluetooth Audio SoC Likely to Power Your Next Wireless Earbuds, Include an Assistant

qualcomm bluetooth soc

Alongside its Smart Audio Platform announcement, Qualcomm unveiled a Bluetooth audio SoC that it thinks will get the industry ready for wireless earbuds that don’t suck. And when I say “don’t suck,” we’re talking about buds that not only feature an assistant, but could last hours and hours longer on a charge.

Qualcomm’s Low Power Bluetooth Audio SoC QCC5100 will likely power the next generation of wireless earbuds. For one, it reduces power consumption by up to 65%, which is kind of insane when you think about it.

Its architecture also supports Bluetooth 5 dual-mode radio, utilizes Qualcomm’s aptX HD audio, has integrated hybrid active noise cancellation, and is ready for third party voice assistants (ex: Google Assistant. Qualcomm tossed in their TrueWireless Stereo technology too, which should eliminate wires (lookin’ at you, Pixel Buds!) between buds and to and from the media source (like a phone).

qualcomm bluetooth buds

Qualcomm TrueWireless Stereo technology is engineered to eliminate the need for wires entirely – not only between the media source and stereo headset, but also between left and right earbuds. The QCC5100 series is designed to deliver improved low power connectivity and enhanced user experiences for truly wireless in-ear applications.

For now, Qualcomm expects to have a couple of example designs made within the first part of 2018. From there, it’ll start working with manufacturers to overcome their own design challenges.

To learn more about this Lower Power Bluetooth Audio SoC, hit up this link.

// Qualcomm

Qualcomm’s New Bluetooth Audio SoC Likely to Power Your Next Wireless Earbuds, Include an Assistant is a post from: Droid Life

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The best laptop of last year adds HDR, facial recognition, and 8th-gen processors

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Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga 3rd generation

I was a huge fan of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga when I reviewed it last year. For me, it was the perfect combination of technology, form factor, and good looks.

This January, the machine is receiving a modest, third-generation refresh that threatens to make the best laptop even better. The basic size and concept remain the same as before—a 14-inch laptop with a 360-degree hinge and integrated stylus. This update is a refresh driven by a generational update of its CPU—the processor is being bumped from 7th-generation Kaby Lake to 8th-generation Kaby Lake-R, giving it four cores and eight threads. But Lenovo has also made a number of small modifications beyond this, addressing perhaps my one quibble from last year’s model, and more.

It's also available in silver.
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It’s also available in silver.

Lenovo

My gripe with Yoga was that the webcam didn’t support infrared and hence didn’t offer Windows Hello facial recognition. I’ve grown to love these features from my time using Surface devices and the Logitech Brio webcam on my desktop PC; the convenience of unlocking simply by sitting at the machine is hard to beat. The new 3rd-generation Yoga addresses this: while it continues to offer fingerprint authentication, it now also has an option of an IR camera for Windows Hello facial recognition. Lenovo has also built a physical shutter for the camera to ensure privacy when you’re not using it.

ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th generation. Notice the blacked-out logo on the lid.
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ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th generation. Notice the blacked-out logo on the lid.

Lenovo

The screen has received a big upgrade, too; it’s now a high-dynamic range 2560×1440 display, supporting 100 percent of the Adobe RGB color space and peak brightness of up to 500 nits. The system’s microphones have also been improved, with a 360-degree far field array microphone. This is useful for audio and video conferencing; it also helps when talking to digital personal assistants. Both Microsoft’s Cortana, built in to Windows 10, and Amazon’s Alexa, coming to PCs later this year, work better with this kind of microphone configuration. The Yoga will also support wake-on-voice.

The logos on the inside are also blacked out. Black out all the things.
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The logos on the inside are also blacked out. Black out all the things.

Lenovo

If you like the X1 Yoga but prefer a conventional laptop hinge, its close sibling, the X1 Carbon, is also being refreshed. The new 6th-generation X1 Carbon sports many of the same improvements as the Yoga—the HDR screen, the IR webcam with physical shutter, the new microphones—packed into what Lenovo claims is the lightest 14-inch business laptop. It will weigh a hair under 2.5lbs.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet 3rd generation
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Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet 3rd generation

Lenovo

And if you’d prefer something a little more tablety, the X1 Tablet has also been refreshed. This is a kickstand tablet with a detachable keyboard cover. While its 13-inch screen is a bit smaller than the 14 inches sported the Yoga and Carbon, it’s higher resolution, at 3000×2000, and Lenovo describes the X1 Tablet as “HDR-ready.” Like its laptop siblings, it’s being updated to Kaby Lake-R, and it now supports Windows Hello facial recognition.

While the appearance of all three machines remains unmistakably ThinkPad, Lenovo has added some refining touches; the devices have a new “blacked out” logo, combined with X1 branding on the lid.

Lenovo ThinkVision X1. It looks like a normal monitor from the front.
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Lenovo ThinkVision X1. It looks like a normal monitor from the front.

Lenovo

All three systems support Thunderbolt 3. Lenovo also has a Thunderbolt 3 monitor with matching styling to go with the portables. The ThinkVision X1 monitor is a 27-inch 4K display that’s just 4.7mm thick with extremely narrow bezels. The display supports 99 percent of the sRGB color space and 10 bits per pixel. It includes an embedded, motorized webcam with dual microphone arrays.

But look at the back! The webcam is on a motorized arm. It'll retract all the way into the bottom half of the monitor when it's not in use.
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But look at the back! The webcam is on a motorized arm. It’ll retract all the way into the bottom half of the monitor when it’s not in use.

Lenovo

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon 6th generation will start at $1,709 while the ThinkPad X1 Yoga 3rd generation starts at $1,889. Both will be available in January. So too will the ThinkVision X1 monitor, priced at $799. The ThinkPad X1 Tablet 3rd generation ships in March and starts at $1,599.

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Lenovo’s new Google Assistant smart display can play YouTube videos

  • The 8-inch Lenovo Smart Display.


    Lenovo

  • Both models can be positioned horizontally or vertically.


    Lenovo

  • The touchscreen shows weather updates, recipes, YouTube videos, and more.


    Lenovo

  • The 10-inch Smart Display has a white and bamboo color scheme.


    Lenovo

  • One side on the back juts out for support.


    Lenovo

Google has its own family of smart speakers with its Assistant built in, but the first Assistant device with a display is apparently coming from Lenovo. At CES, Lenovo announced the Lenovo Smart Display, a slab-like gizmo dominated by a touchscreen that houses the Google Assistant. Much like Amazon’s Echo Show with built-in Alexa, the Smart Display uses Google’s digital assistant to provide weather, traffic, and news updates, connect to smart home devices, and perform screen-dependent tasks like video chats and YouTube streaming.

Lenovo made 8-inch and a 10-inch model of the Smart Display, with the main differences between them being screen resolution and color. The smaller device has an 8-inch, HD touchscreen while the larger device has a 10-inch, FHD touchscreen. The 8-inch Smart Display comes in a light-gray color scheme, while the 10-inch model is mostly white with a bamboo-colored back panel.

The 8-inch model has a slightly smaller speaker than its 10-inch sibling (1.75-inch versus 2-inch), but both are 10W and have a dual passive radiator. On looks alone, the larger Smart Display fits the best into Google’s in-house line of smart speakers. But both devices have a sleeker silhouette than Amazon Echo Show, which may appeal to some customers.

The Smart Display is the first Google Assistant version of Amazon’s Echo Show, allowing users access to all the digital assistant’s features plus new ones thanks to the addition of a touchscreen. In Google’s case, that means video chatting using the company’s Duo chat app, traffic updates with Google Maps images, photo backgrounds using personal images stored in Google Photos, and the most contentious feature of them all: streaming YouTube videos. Also like the Echo Show, the Smart Display has just a few buttons: a mic-disable button, volume adjusters, and a camera shutter (for the 5MP webcam).

Amazon and Google have been feuding over YouTube for months now. Google revoked YouTube access for Amazon’s Echo Show last year, and the following issues between the two companies led to Google removing YouTube from Amazon’s Fire TV devices as well. While Amazon found some work-arounds for users to access YouTube (mostly through experimental browsers), those who use Amazon streaming devices haven’t been able to officially access YouTube for months.

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