FLIR's second-generation thermal camera now works with (almost) any smartphone

When FLIR launched its first smartphone-based thermal camera at last year's CES, the biggest annoyance people had was that the hardware was baked into an iPhone 5 case. Anyone who wasn't toting Apple's newest two smartphones was understandably aggrieved about that decision. That's why, as a do-over, the company has released a second-generation FLIR One that clips onto the bottom of your smartphone over Lightning or micro-USB, letting Android users in on the fun.

We got to see a prototype of the new model here at CES and, aside from the smaller body, the new unit gains an automatic shutter and a better-resolution sensor. Unlike (bitter rival) Seek Thermal, which draws its power from the device itself, FLIR One has a built-in battery, although it's only likely to last for an hour on a charge. The companion app has also been refreshed, and now you can use panorama and time lapse from, in this case, the iPhone's native camera software. The device is expected to arrive in the mid-part of the year, with a price that's probably comparable to the original.