Smart displays are great at showing information like the weather, schedules, recipes, or even just the time. Unlike clocks, however, these were primarily designed to be used up close and personal, making it harder to actually make out what's on the screen at a distance. That's no problem for people with better eyesight or more agile limbs but the Google Nest Hub flops in the accessibility department because of this. That's why Google has developed a new system that makes use of ultrasonic sensors to change what's on the screen depending on whether someone's near or far away.

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One of the perks of Nintendo's Switch Online service is access to a roster of classic Nintendo titles that were promised to grow every month. That, however, mysteriously stopped after the introduction of SNES titles back in September. Worry not because Nintendo has finally announced the addition of new games to the Switch Online list and it happily does include four games for the SNES, including a long-lost sequel to a less-known but still beloved franchise.

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When Google Fiber launched in 2010, it was regarded as insane or just another one of Google's short-lived experiments. After all, who needed 1 Gbps Internet anyway? That was, of course, just a little after Netflix launched and before it became the household name that it is today. Fast-forward nine years later, a gigabit Internet service seems almost normal if not barely enough. Which is why Google Fiber will stop offering its 100 Mbps tier that wasn't even cheap in the first place.

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We're near the end of the year so, unsurprisingly, companies and news have started to become more "forward-looking" in preparing for 2020's products. Next year is going to be a busy one for the mobile market not only because of 5G but because of an insistent push by manufacturers to thrust foldable phones into consumers' hands. After an almost catastrophic first attempt, Samsung will seemingly swing the opposite way and make the Galaxy Fold 2 more accessible less conspicuous than its predecessor, starting with the hinge.

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A new case study out of Europe is warning that electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices may cause lung scarring commonly only found in metal workers. The research has been published by the European Lung Foundation, which says hard-metal pneumoconiosis -- a rare lung disease that results from inhaling hard metal particles -- has been identified in a person who used vaping devices.

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If you haven't noticed it yet, the big news this week is the announcement of Qualcomm's premier mobile platforms for 2020 premium and flagship smartphones. To be honest, there is almost no surprise there as the Snapdragon 865 and Snapdragon 765 showcase the natural evolution of their predecessors based on market trends. That said, Qualcomm may have indirectly helped confirm one detail about Samsung's early 2020 flagship, suggesting that the Galaxy S11 may indeed have 8K video recording capabilities.

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Analogue has teamed with electronic music record label Hyperdub to offer music on a unique medium: game cartridges. Specifically, Analogue is producing 1,000 units of music-packed Sega Genesis cartridges that feature a total of 11 songs composed by various Hyperdub artists specifically for the new collaboration. Each cartridge will come with a substantial price tag.

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As anybody who has tried an in-display fingerprint sensor will have discovered, not all biometrics are created equal, and Qualcomm is hoping its new 3D Sonic Max system edges ahead of the pack. Set to debut on smartphones in 2020, the latest generation of the ultrasonic fingerprint biometrics aims to re-right the ship after frustrations around Samsung's Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy S10 security.

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Starting next year, Instagram says that some of its users will start seeing app experiences tailored to their age group, a move that is largely intended to help protect the platform's youngest users. The revelation is part of a larger announcement concerning changes coming to the service, another of which includes the new requirement for users to provide their age when creating an account.

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A collection of cheap imitations of the original Apple Watch are currently posing on Amazon as a perfect alternative to the far more expensive alternative. Brands like YAMAY, Willful, Letsfit, SKYGRAND, and ANBES make little effort to hide the fact that they're not only using lookalike UI - in some cases, they're literally selling the same devices under different brand names. Scratch that - in quite a few cases... in a CONCERNING number of cases, companies appear to be selling the same product with different brand names for different prices.

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The plant-based meat trend has expanded to cover another two popular frozen food brands: Stouffer's and DiGiorno. The launch of new meatless pizza and lasagna products underscores the popularity of this new diet trend, one that has resulted in the rise of companies like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meats, as well as the gradual and increasingly widespread arrival of meat-alternative foods in restaurants.

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A newly published Apple support document acknowledges reports of an issue some owners of the 13-inch 2019 MacBook Pro have experienced: unexpected shutdowns. Apple provides an official troubleshooting method for its customers who may experience this problem, advising them to get in contact with the company if the issue remains after updating the system.

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