Google Chromecast revamps dongle to add remote, Google TV UI

We've already seen the redesigned Chromecast in many leaks, but now, the new Chromecast with Google TV is official. It isn't the once barebones TV dongle. Google is keeping up with the rapidly changing, streaming-centric world by coming out with its most radical change since the Chromecast Ultra was introduced four years ago.

The new Chromecast now has a remote control and a new tailor-made user interface called Google TV. The new UI makes it easier to navigate streaming apps and aligns its look with other Google products. But what it does take from the Chromecast Ultra is it still supports 4K resolution and Dolby Vision HDR.

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Google Nest Audio takes on Amazon Echo

Google rebrands the Google Home speaker and makes it part of the Nest line of products as the new Nest Audio. In Canada, its starting price is $129, and it will be available starting October 5, Monday. Its pricing places it up against the new Amazon Echo speaker. And the most significant change is in its upgraded sound. It also comes in five shades, including Chalk, Charcoal, Sage, Sand, and Sky.

It has a 19mm tweeter for high-frequency coverage and clear vocals and a 75mm midwoofer for better bass. Google claims the Nest Audio is 75% louder with a 50% stronger bass than the original Google Home speaker launched in 2016. The Nest Audio also gets the latest Google updates, including real-time, multi-room audio, stream transfer for moving sound from speaker to speaker via voice commands, and voice calling with Google Duo.

The Nest Audio was launched alongside the new Chromecast with Google TV, Pixel 5, and Pixel 4a 5G.

Source: CNET

New Dell XPS 13 series will be available starting Oct. 1

Dell XPS 13 (Source: Dell)

Three Dell XPS 13 laptops—the XPS 13, XPS 13 Developer Edition, and XPS 13 2-in-1—will be available starting October 1, Thursday. This new lineup is part of Intel's EVO program and comes with the new Tiger Lake chipset.

The XPS 13 comes with the 11th-gen processors and Xe graphics, Thunderbolt 4, and a memory update to 4267MHz LPDDR4x (from 3733MHz). It still features that same lightweight, durable, flawless finish, but with a larger 4-sided InfinityEdge display with a 91.5% screen-to-body ratio. Dell promises up to 19 hours of battery life with this laptop. It's starting price is at US$999 (around CA$1,336).

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Sonos files another lawsuit against Google for infringing five more speaker patents

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A day before Google's hardware event where the new Nest Audio might be launched, Sonos has filed another lawsuit against the search giant. The company claims Google infringed on five more patents, including patents that cover technologies some of Sonos' best-known features are based on (including the Trueplay tuning tool). This new lawsuit is more about modern wireless speaker system features, which seem to focus on smart speaker control (like setting the volume on a speaker from your phone). 

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