Apple tries again in the smart speaker market with HomePod mini

After a rather disastrous first salvo into the smart speaker space with the HomePod, Apple is hedging its bets to take on Amazon and Google with its new HomePod mini, a smaller and cheaper Siri-powered smart speaker. When we reviewed the OG HomePod, we were impressed by its audio quality as well as its impressive multi-room functionality. We did lament that Siri was tied to only one account and that the range of content was limited largely to Apple services. We also found HomePod expensive. 

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Apple launches 5G-enabled iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini

Apple held a streaming event today to launch the new iPhones 12. This year brings a refreshed design as well as a smaller variant in the iPhone 12 mini. The big feature is 5G, which has bee available on other devices for over a year. Noteable features for the new iPhones 12 include a squarish design that's reminiscent of the iPhone 5 and the latest iPad Pros and iPad Airs. The notch is still there and doesn's seem to have shrunk much, Apple has also retained the Lightning adapters for power and connectivity, making the iPhone the only product it sells that still does not use the USB-Type C industry standard. Apple is omitting power supplies as well as the EarPods headphones in the new iPhones to ostensibly cut down on e-waste and also to increase their margins.

The new iPhones do feature a new screen technology in the Ceramic Shield front cover. The Apple-designed A14 Bionic, ups performance while the dual-camera system provides new computational photography and video MagSafe, previously a much-missed feature on MacBooks, is now on iPhones  as a high-powered wireless charging and an all-new ecosystem of accessories that easily attach to iPhone. 

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OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei is reportedly no longer with the company

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Reports have surfaced claiming that OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei has left the company. A post on Reddit first broke the news, showing internal memos suggesting Pei's departure. The information comes out after the OnePlus Nord's launch and the upcoming release of the OnePlus 8T.

Pei co-founded the company with Pete Lau in 2013, and he's reportedly left to start a new, unspecified venture. OnePlus has yet to confirm the reports.

Source: Engadget

Google's new Nest Thermostat is its cheapest yet

The new Nest Thermostat's launch isn't a surprise. We've even heard it supports gesture controls. Now, that rumoured smart thermostat is official, and it's Google's most affordable model yet. In Canada, it retails for $179.99, which is well below the Nest Learning Thermostat's $329 price tag or even below the Thermostat E's $229 price.

It looks similar to the previous models' rounded design, but this Nest Thermostat has a mirrored display and updated controls. Instead of gesture control, it has a "swipe and tap" touch interface on the side instead of a thermostat dial. The integrated Soli chip helps detect motion. Soli allows this smart thermostat to automatically switch between settings since it can detect nearby activity.

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