Facebook beefed up features in its Portal video communications device, adding calling via WhatsApp and expanding outside the U.S. It began taking preorders Wednesday for the successor Portal ($179), redesigned with a larger 10-inch HD screen. The Portal ships Oct. 15, along with the $129 Portal Mini, both described as having a picture frame design. Facebook also introduced the Portal TV ($149) set-top box, which brings “smart video-calling” to a TV. It sits above or below a TV, allowing users to move around during calls. Under scrutiny for privacy practices, Facebook highlighted the devices’ privacy features, noting consumers can disable the camera and mic with a single tap or by sliding a switch. A red light next to the lens indicates the camera and mic are off; users can block the camera physically with a cover. “For added security,” said the company, the camera and sound technology in the second-gen Portal use artificial intelligence that runs on the device, “not on Facebook servers.” The company detailed Portal’s process for listening: If “Hey Portal” is enabled, the device listens for the wakeup phrase. If detected, Portal sends a “short audio recording” and transcript of the “Hey Portal” voice interaction to Facebook: “A trained team may review a sample to make our voice services smarter and more accurate for everyone.” Users can view, hear and delete any “Hey Portal” voice interactions, it said, and they can turn off voice storage, meaning, "your voice interactions are not stored or reviewed.” Other features include an adaptive display that adjusts brightness and color to the surroundings. The Portal and Mini have built-in speakers for music.
Apple likely discontinued the Series 4 Apple Watch (see 1909160042) "because it’s too similar to the Series 5 and keeping it on shelves would likely hurt sales for the Series 5,” IDC's Jitesh Ubrani emailed. The Series 4 and 5 have "similar hardware" including screen and processor, along with the ECG heart app, Ubrani noted: "Having the two sit side by side would diminish the innovation and 'newness' of the Series 5." The overall smartwatch market is "quite healthy," said the analyst, reaching 5.1 million units globally in Q2, up from 4.7 million in the year-ago quarter. IDC's forecasting nearly 30 percent growth year on year in 2019 and another 18 percent next year. Meanwhile, deal site Brad’s posted Tuesday what it called the first discount it has seen on the Apple Watch 5 44mm with GPS and cellular: the $699 watch, with a higher end case and black sport band, is selling at B&H Photo at $50 off list price, it said.
Retailers are continuing to sell the Apple Watch 4, though Apple is no longer selling it, we learned. The most recent Apple Watch, prior to release of the 5 this Friday, received no love during the company’s Sept. 10 event where it launched a trio of iPhones, a tablet and the Apple Watch 5 (see report, Sept. 11). Bigger news than the display that doesn’t sleep in the Watch 5 was the price cut from $279 to $199 on the model 3, setting a new entry point for Apple Watch, as the company looks to broaden its customer base. The Watch 4, meanwhile, is no longer featured on the Apple website and quietly took a modest price cut; Best Buy was selling a GPS-only version, with 40mm case and pink band Monday for $349, down from $399, with $50 cuts also applied to other models. The Apple website Monday featured the 5 starting at $399 for a space gray case with sports band going up to $1,399 for a ceramic case with stainless steel band. Deal hunters are likely to check retailers often heading into the holiday season as retailers look to clear Watch 4 inventory.
After Apple’s fall smartphone release Tuesday, ABI Research projected shipments of smartphones with foldable, flexible or rollable displays will begin picking up as early as next year, growing to 228 million units by 2028. New phones' Improved speed and bandwidth aren’t keeping up with annual circulation of updated models, said ABI, and camera image quality “isn't getting much clearer and screen sizes in their current form aren't getting much larger.” Foldable and flexible display screens could be a way to offer larger-screened options “without burdening consumers with bulky, unwieldy devices,” it said. Early attempts at foldable phones, such as the Galaxy Fold and Huawei Mate, showed the difficulty of creating a bendable screen without compromising the form factor, it said. ABI predicts once kinks are worked out, demand for foldable phones will “skyrocket.”
Online and other non-store consumer electronics sales rose 14 percent in August from that month last year, reported the National Retail Federation Friday. Consumer spending stayed “resilient” though grew “somewhat slower” than July, “which could reflect consumers’ concerns about the unpredictability of trade policy,” NRF said.
Infrared wireless charging company Wi-Charge is showing what it calls the first wireless power kit for the Echo Dot and Google Home mini at CEDIA Expo this week. Wi-Charge’s infrared light can power smart home devices across a room, the company emailed. Wi-Charge bills its technology as an alternative to batteries. The company will also show wireless powered lights, it said. Last month, it promoted two use cases for infrared wireless charging: battery and cable replacement and enabling new capabilities for product designers. Wireless power can deliver more power than batteries and without the physical limitations of power cables, it blogged; wireless power enables features that designers wouldn’t consider before because of the associated battery drain.
China’s Xiaomi brand took top global Q2 share in the “wrist-worn” wearables category by way of its 42.2 percent year-on-year growth in shipments, said IDC Thursday. Xiaomi increased share by 1.7 points from a year earlier to 17.3 percent, overtaking Apple’s 14.8 percent, it said. Total shipments in the category, which includes smartwatches and fitness trackers, increased 28.8 percent to 34.2 million units, said IDC. Huawei, Fitbit and Samsung rounded out the top five companies, which collectively captured 65.7 percent share, an 11.7-point increase, it said. Samsung more than doubled its share to 9.4 percent, via its 195.1 percent increase in shipments to 3.2 million units, said IDC. “Health is now at the forefront for these devices since companies have started providing actionable insights and prescriptive measures for end users," it said. “Mobile payment is also starting to become a mainstay.”
Software development, data analytics, engineering and artificial intelligence remain the most “in-demand” tech-job fields of expertise, CTA said Thursday. The association canvassed 252 member-company executives in April and May, find 73 percent deem employee referrals as “the most popular strategy to recruit new talent." Health insurance (91 percent), incentive compensation or bonuses (89 percent), paid time off (88 percent) and flexible work arrangements (85 percent) remain “the most important non-salary benefits to retain employees,” said CTA. Nearly six in 10 don’t expect technological advances “will displace any of their workers in the next five years.” Though 29 percent expect job displacement, 68 percent plan to keep workers by offering “reskilling” programs, a 16-point increase from 2018.
Onkyo USA became an authorized distributor and online retail partner for Sonos, it said Wednesday. A company spokesperson emailed us that nothing has been announced about product compatibility between the two companies since a software update in May 2018 brought Sonos access to Onkyo receivers matched with a Sonos Connect bridge. The Integra brand, meanwhile, announced Works With Sonos compatibility in its latest trio of networked AV receivers.
Global shipments of personal computing devices, including “traditional” PCs and tablets, are expected to decline at a 2.4 percent compound annual growth rate through 2023, said IDC Wednesday. Bucking the trend will be 2-in-1 devices and ultra-slim laptops, collectively expected to rise at a 5 percent CAGR the next five years. Overall device shipments next year are expected to drop below 400 million units for the first time since 2010, when the original iPad launched. IDC’s forecasting a “splintering” of the 2-in-1 category as Apple and Microsoft “continue to push forward the detachable form factor while other PC vendors continue to promote convertible PCs,” it said. The researcher expects iOS detachables “will capture almost one quarter of the 2-in-1 market throughout the forecast.”