Today Samsung revealed their Galaxy SmartTag series, with Bluetooth for the standard version and UWB tracking with the Galaxy SmartTag+. Each Samsung Galaxy SmartTag will be able to be viewed in an app on your smartphone, tracked in real time, and pinged at a moment's notice with UWB (with the SmartTag+) or with the last known location using Bluetooth (with the standard SmartTag).
Apple's launch of the AirPods Max is basically a challenge to headphone makers, especially premium ones that rely on brand recognition to justify exorbitant prices. Just as the original AirPods ushered in a flood of TWS earbuds, the AirPods Max might inspire the next generation of over-ear cups that promise quality audio experience and stylish designs. Case in point is the new Urbanista Miami from the Swedish manufacturer that tries to deliver exactly that at a third of the price of Apple's new pro headphones.
The first Apple products of the year were predicted and listed in an email sent to investors this week. Collected by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the list appears to include AirTags first. Those are the tiny button-like devices that'd be Apple's answer to the many different iterations of this idea launched by other companies over the past decade, like Tile, Cube, and the Tzumi Tag It.
Samsung has confirmed that it will hold its Galaxy Unpacked early in less than two weeks and, if rumors are correct, it won't just be about the Galaxy S21 only. Granted, new earbuds might not exactly be an exciting new venture but Samsung is also expected to reveal a relatively new accessory line as well. The Galaxy Smart Tag, or "SmartTag" as this sighting calls it, has been leaked before and now we're seeing what could be the first real-world photos of the tracker and its design might disappoint some.
In just a few weeks, Samsung will be unveiling yet another one of its worst-kept secrets, the Galaxy S21 series. It won't be alone, though, if rumors are correct, and the Galaxy S21 will be joined by a few accessories. Although not exactly as big as the Galaxy Buds Pro, the Galaxy Smart Tag tracker is still an interesting addition to Samsung's ecosystem. That is provided it can actually make a good case for these against something more established like pioneer Tile's more time-tested options.
A new set of AirPods leaked this week with reports converging on a lower price point. Lower than the standard AirPods Pro, that is, and far lower than AirPods Max. The price of this new set of AirPods would be higher than that of the AirPods with wired charging case, and likely on-par with the AirPods with wireless charging case.
Apple may have long been rumored to be working on smart object trackers of its own to rival Tile but, presuming it coincides with the Galaxy S21 debut, Samsung might try to beat it to the punch, unsurprisingly. Rumors about its Galaxy Smart Tag only started swirling earlier this month but we may now have a more complete picture of it, almost literally. Unfortunately, it might not all be good news and the Galaxy Smart Tag might end up simply being a Samsung-branded Tile alternative and not much more.
Over the past couple of years, we've seen basically every major smart device brand in the world release a pair of earbuds. We know exactly where that trend originated - and we know that we're at the point at which we're finally starting to reach the point at which we can access high quality earbuds with top-notch features for relatively low prices. At the same time, we've gotten to the point at which a company like RedMagic can produce a pair of gaming earbuds with LED lights for a cool $50 USD.
People lose things, that's pretty much a fact of life. It doesn't exactly have to be as painful as in the old days when technology wasn't around to assist us. While technology still can't give us foolproof memory, things like object trackers can at least help in recovering those lost or forgotten property. Tile popularized the idea of such Bluetooth-enabled item trackers and it will soon be getting some big rivals as Apple and Samsung seem to be preparing to launch their own take.
With all the news floating around the M1 Mac minis and MacBooks, you'd think that these products are perfect. Of course, nothing comes out perfect the first time, even for Apple, and there are some problems that may have been buried under the ton of good news. There is, for example, the serious macOS restore issue that practically bricked some of these new Macs or missing compatibility with some iOS and x86 software. While the latter will probably be fixed over time, one problem that deserves immediate attention is the case of randomly disconnecting Bluetooth peripherals that are giving owners of these new Macs a lot of headaches.
Today the folks at OnePlus are making what appears to be a very, very limited number of their wireless earbuds available for one dollar. That's $1 instead of $79 for the OnePlus Buds, $1 instead of $50 for the Bullets Wireless Z, and "free shipping" for the OnePlus Buds Z throughout the day. Based on what we've experienced with these earbuds, there's almost certainly no way a $1 cost is higher than the value they present.
The next significant Apple product may be released by the end of the year, just in time for the holidays. The product called AirTag, designed by Apple with Bluetooth LE and Ultra-Wide band radio for item location and retrieval. The AirTag system's been rumored for some time - now might be the perfect time to turn this Find My app into a "Find My everything" type situation.