smart speakers
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Amazon's $180 Echo Hub is a smart home control panel for your wall
Wednesday, during a press event at its HQ2 in Arlington, VA, Amazon announced a new way to control smart home devices using the upcoming Echo Hub.
Sonos is raising prices on almost all of its products
Sonos makes some excellent connected speakers and home theater products, but no one ever said they were cheap. As of this Sunday, September 12th, they'll cost even more here in the US. The company just announced it is raising the price of almost all its speakers; most will go up about 10 percent.
Sonos now has a 24-bit music streaming option
Qobuz is the first service to offer that level of audio streaming quality through Sonos speakers.
Sonos is fighting a war to stay relevant
Sonos said this was just a small portion of Google’s overall infractions, noting that both Amazon and Google likely violated about 100 patents each. Amazon and Google’s most popular smart speakers have been the $50 Echo Dot and Nest Mini, respectively.
Apple’s HomePod mini won’t leave marks on your fancy wood furniture
Unlike its predecessor, the HomePod mini won’t leave unsightly white rings on wood surfaces finished with oil or wax.
8410084100Apple HomePod mini review: An acceptable Echo alternative
Apple’s HomePod was a bit of a tough sell when it launched in 2018. The $350 speaker (now selling for $300) was far more expensive than the Amazon Echo or Google Home, and Siri was less capable and intelligent than Alexa or Google Assistant. One thing was undeniable, though: the HomePod sounded excellent.
YouTube Music’s free tier allows personal library casting
Get Premium to play all of YouTube Music.”
Google countersues Sonos for smart speaker patent infringement
In the latest move of a heated smart speaker legal battle, Google has countersued Sonos, claiming the smart speaker company infringed its patents, Bloomberg has reported.
The Sonos Arc is a smart soundbar with Dolby Atmos support
Beyond the Arc’s Atmos support and adaptive audio tricks, it has all the things you’d expect from a modern Sonos speaker.
Sonos is releasing a new OS and controller app for its speakers this June
Back in January, Sonos made the unpopular announcement that it wouldn't be providing new features for its oldest hardware products after May of this year. Since then, the company has sought to clarify that those devices will still work as they do now; the company also promised details on how its legacy devices would work with newer Sonos speakers. Today, Sonos is making things a bit clearer by announcing that a new app and operating system, currently dubbed Sonos S2, will arrive in June of this year. Sonos says that all new products it releases after June will run on S2, as well as everything it currently sells and many of its older speakers as well. The exceptions are those previously-detailed legacy products that the company already announced wouldn't receive new features.
US opens investigation into Google amid Sonos patent suit
It's been about a month since Sonos sued Google for allegedly violating some of its patents behind syncing wireless speakers, and now the US government is getting involved. The US International Trade Commission today announced that it had voted to investigate whether Google and its parent company Alphabet have imported patent-infringing products into the country. To be clear, this doesn't mean the US government has decided that Google has violated Sonos' patents -- but whether or not those patents were violated should fall under the scope of this investigation.
Amazon Echo review (2019): Low-priced, but not low-end
Amazon might be a bit Echo crazy at the moment, judging from the sheer volume of Alexa-powered devices it announced last month. But the company clearly hasn't forgotten about the device that started it all: the Echo smart speaker. It proved that voice commands were more than just a gimmick — they just needed connected devices with a ton of microphones to work well. In its third generation, the $99 Echo sounds better than ever, thanks to new audio hardware lifted from the $150 Echo Plus. In fact, the Echo sounds so good it makes its more expensive sibling practically irrelevant.
Samsung Galaxy Home mini surfaces in FCC filing
The Galaxy Home smart speaker hasn't hit stores yet, but that hasn't stopped Samsung from working on a miniature version of the Bixby-powered device. As spotted by CNET, a smaller version of the Galaxy Home was revealed in an FCC filing released on Tuesday. The "mini" will use Bluetooth 4.2, which may disappoint Samsung Galaxy S8 owners who are used to the newer Bluetooth 5.0 standard on their phones. Also notable is that the smaller Galaxy Home connects by micro USB, instead of the USB-C which has become standard on most new devices.
Smart speakers are being used to help measure inflation in the UK
Smart speakers are so popular the UK is using them to help calculate inflation. Every year, the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) adds top consumer products to its "basket of goods," a collection of goods and services that indicates how people are spending their money. Annually, popular items are added, and passé products tossed. So while smart speakers made the cut, hi-fi speaker systems got the axe.
Sonos adds another hi-fi music streaming option in the US
If you're a Sonos owner in the US who's interested in listening to music in high quality, you might be pleased to learn there's another streaming option available for you through the Sonos app. French streaming service Qobuz, which arrived stateside last month, is now integrated with the Sonos platform.
Sierra Sounds' iN STUDIO 5.0 iPod-friendly speakers
We must admit, it's somewhat refreshing to see a set of Made for iPod speakers hit the marketplace that could potentially sound better than a poorly-amplified glorified tweeter, and Sierra Sounds' iN STUDIO 5.0 set is looking to up the ante by catering to the more discerning set. The pair of monitors are purportedly best matched in one's recording studio, as they feature an integrated 50-watt dynamic amplifier, built-in iPod dock, a pair of auxiliary inputs, S-Video output, and a fully enclosed power supply to boot. Additionally, users can control the action from afar with the wireless infrared remote, and Pod owners should be delighted that they can pick a set up in a black, red, or the oh-so-trendy white color scheme. Set to ship later this month, the iN STUDIO 5.0s will run you just under four Benjamins.[Via iLounge]
