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Tag: AirPods

  • Amazon’s Alexa-powered wireless earbuds might feature fitness tracking

    Amazon’s Alexa-powered wireless earbuds might feature fitness tracking

    Reports emerged earlier this year indicating that Amazon is working Alexa-powered wireless earbuds, that’ll compete directly with Apple’s Airpods. Today, a new report from CNBC has shed more light on the matter. Besides, the report also suggests that Amazon plans to launch a new, better sounding Echo speaker

    To begin with, the report suggests that Amazon’s upcoming earbuds will not only feature Alexa but will also include multiple health and fitness features. They will reportedly come equipped with a built-in accelerometer that will be able to track calories burned, distance ran, and the wearer’s pace.

    However, the report also indicates that Amazon’s earbuds might not feature cellular connectivity. Now, this could make Alexa integration a bit of a hassle as they would need to pair with a smartphone to unlock Alexas’s full functionality.

    As far as pricing goes, the report suggests that Amazon’s earbuds will get a price tag of less than $100, which make them more affordable than Apple’s Airpods and other popular wireless earbuds. That said, it remains unclear whether Amazon’s upcoming earbuds will feature true wireless capabilities like Airpods. Today’s report from CNBC, however, states that the Alexa earbuds would be similar to Airpods.

    Elsewhere, the report also suggests that Amazon plans to launch a new Echo speaker with a built-in woofer, which is expected to improve the sound quality significantly, compared to the current Echo lineup, Apple’s HomePod, as well as Google Home. Amazon recently announced a lossless tier for its music streaming service that will offer songs with a bit depth of 16 bits and a sample rate of 44.1 kHz. And it would be a good idea if Amazon launches a new, improved Echo speaker that would allow subscribers to listen to music in high-definition with better sound quality.

    Amazon is expected to announce these new products during its annual launch event in Seattle on Wednesday. We’ll bring you all the live updates from the event. Until then, keep checking back for more.

  • Next-Gen Airpods could feature health tracking capabilities

    Next-Gen Airpods could feature health tracking capabilities

    Apple’s second generation AirPods are expected to be announced this year. And the latest information about the lightning pods suggests they could come with health monitoring capabilities. According to a report by DigiTimes, several Apple suppliers such as Compeq Manufacturing, Flexium Interconnect, and more are working on the development of next-gen AirPods.

    However, the report hasn’t delved into specific details. For instance, there’s no information as to what kind of health monitoring features next AirPods will come with.

    Although, such news shouldn’t come as a surprise as Apple has invested heavily in health monitoring. The latest Apple Watch Series 4 is good example in this context. As it comes with health-focused features such as ECG monitoring and other features such as fall detection.

    The success of the Apple Watch 4 primarily because of its fitness tracking features has reportedly convinced Apple to invest heavily in the fitness tracking market. This essentially implies that Apple is all-in on health tracking Hence, we can expect next-gen Apple products to come with fitness oriented features.

    Elsewhere, the report also suggests that upcoming AirPods might also get a major design overhaul. But then again, no specifcs were added in the report. That said, the report did mention that second generation AirPods could launch in the first half of 2019.