Apple bolsters smart home initiative with former CEO of failed smart lock startup

Sam Jadallah used to lead Otto, a smart lock company that went belly up. They tried to sell a US$700 smart lock, but that premium device didn't reach the market. Jadallah claims a mystery buyer pulled out of the deal at the last minute. Now, he will be leading what looks like a new smart home initiative at Apple. A rather unexpected move, but it looks like Apple wants to give its smart home segment another try. Apple and Jadallah haven’t commented on the report about his hire, but he has confirmed that he’s joined the team.

Source: The Verge

TCL plans to create foldable devices, one is a phone that bends into a smartwatch

TCL might be known as a TV maker, but the brand has also been making phones through its BlackBerry Mobile and Alcatel phones. And it looks like the company has plans to get into the foldable device game. CNET got access to company renders and patent image filings that show a number of foldable device concepts. These include two tablets with one clamshell-like inward folding display and another that folds outwards; two phones that also have inward and outward folding motion from the center; and one phone that folds into a smartwatch.

According to CNET, these images are still preliminary renders, and these could still change. TCL might not even produce these at all. But an executive from the company has told CNET that it plans to release its first foldable device in 2020. This was said before these images surfaced, so there might be more than one device coming out next year.

Samsung will no longer make 4K Blu-ray players

Samsung has been the first to introduce Blu-ray player in the industry, but now the company is ready to let go of the segment. It has announced that it would no longer release any new Blu-ray hardware. The last time Samsung released a new Blu-ray player was in 2017. There were reportedly plans to release a new model this year, but that isn't going to happen now.

Source: Tech Spot

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