Grab this pocket-sized 5000mAh power bank for just $6

For a limited time, you can pick up Kmashi’s pocket-sized 5000mAh power bank for just $6 with coupon code S6Y8AMQO, a savings of $5. Being 5000mAh you’ll be able to charge just about any phone or tablet that you are carrying around fully from the pack while out and about without needing to strap yourself to a wall. It outputs at a maximum of 5V/2A so it will deliver a quicker charge to your phone, and the bank itself recharges fully in around three hours.

If you find yourself running low on battery during the day, you should grab one of these for your pocket, purse, desk, bag, or anywhere else you can think to store one. Remember, you need coupon code S6Y8AMQO for the discount here.

See at Amazon

Google Home vs Amazon Echo: The battle to control your home

Which talking speaker do you want controlling your home?

For over a year now, a lot of people have wanted Google to launch a product that competed directly with Amazon’s Echo speaker. Something that you could call out to from across the room that connected to all of your Google services and gave commands to your other connected home accessories on your behalf. We finally got Google’s answer to Echo, and it’s called Home. Instead of being a feature for feature competitor with Amazon Echo, Google Home focuses on delivering Google Assistant in a convenient package. It seems like a smart product with some serious growth potential, but Amazon’s two year lead means it has a lot of data Google doesn’t have about how these connected speakers get used.

Setting aside whether you’d prefer to call out for Google or Alexa when you want something done in the house, the battle for control of your connected tech is on. Which of these chatty cylinders is going to do what you want?

Speak softly, and carry lots of cool tricks

The most important part of Amazon Echo and Google Home is what happens when you speak at one of these systems. Both are designed with high quality microphone arrays to hear you from a distance and respond when you call their hotword, but what happens next is more interesting.

Amazon has been working for almost two years to constantly add features to Echo. Some of these updates are new music and radio sources and new ways to gather answers to search questions, but a significant amount of those updates add services from partner apps and platforms. You can add items to a To-Do list with your voice, adjust your thermostat, control lights in your home, and get a quick unit conversion from cups to ounces if you need it. There’s more here already than any one person will ever fully use, but the full list of available features is long and robust.

It’s clear Amazon Echo is better positioned to offer something for everyone and Google Home is better positioned to be more in tune with your wants and needs over time.

Google is operating at a disadvantage at launch, with not nearly as many software and platform partners out of the box. Of course, Google makes up for this by tying the best of their own services into the mix. Control over Google Cast targets with your voice, access to your personal calendar and details about your daily commute are all things Alexa just plain can’t do well by comparison. Google will need to rapidly add partners to Home after launch in order to appear competitive, but it’s also important to see Google’s objective is much larger than just a connected home accessory. Google Assistant is designed to go with you everywhere, which means Assistant will quickly have more details about your preferences and be able to adjust suggestions based on that information.

Keeping in mind the significant time gap between these two products, it’s clear Amazon Echo is better positioned to offer something for everyone and Google Home is better positioned to be more in tune with your wants and needs over time. The big question to ask yourself is whether you want something like Assistant always listening, or if you just want a hub at home to obey your commands.

Conversations with depth and purpose

Being able to hear a single command and react with an acceptable result is the bare minimum right now. Alexa can hear you from across the room and has a fairly low failure rate. Google Home is similarly equipped out of the box with decent microphones and software that handles thick accents surprisingly well. In order to one-up Alexa, Google is using their knowledge graph to make sure conversations are not just one line long.

You can ask Google Home about the weather in Chicago, and then ask “What about Toronto?” and get the weather in Toronto. You can ask to have that weather report emailed or texted to someone immediately after, without needing to repeat any parts of the previous query. These are the building blocks of conversational interaction, which is something Google has promised is a big part of Home. Our early demonstrations revealed this feature to be functional, but a little limited right now. If Assistant isn’t sure about an answer, you get search results spoken back at you, which is less than ideal.

Some extra steps are unnecessary, and quickly remind the user that they are speaking at a machine instead of with one.

Perhaps more important that the conversation format itself is not needing to go out of your way to use a particular service through your connected speaker. Requiring that the user specify Spotify in the command in order to get a song played through that service is tedious, especially if it’s possible to establish favorites. Google Home is built to allow for default apps that are not Google based, where Amazon will choose its own services any time it is able. It’s an extra step that is largely unnecessary, and quickly reminds the user that they are speaking at a machine instead of with one.

Controlling your home is about to get interesting

A big part of what slowed Amazon and Google in building these platforms over the last year has been the sudden and infuriating realization that so many connected home accessories weren’t being particularly safe with your data. It has taken time for manufacturers to catch up and make encryption a priority, but that dry period has been slowly dealt with. This means the number of affordable connected home products that are also safe to use is on the rise, and all of them will be controllable through either an Amazon Echo or Google Home.

See Amazon Echo

In many cases, we’ll see support for both platforms for a while. Google and Amazon are about to become fiercely competitive when it comes to controlling your home, but Google’s desire to have that helpful AI with you everywhere is going to be a considerable advantage. Not only is there currently no mechanism for bringing Alexa with you everywhere, Amazon doesn’t currently have a list of services that justify such an experience. As we move into the next year, everyone interested in these platforms are going to be overwhelmed with constant updates as the two continue to grown and improve. That’s a great thing for users, but it also means it’ll be a while before we see a clear winner in this connected home arms race.

See Google Home

Your next Apple Mac keyboard could look like this, with assignable keys

It has been rumoured for a while that Apple will be unveiling a refreshed MacBook Pro before the end of the year, which will feature an OLED strip that can be assigned tasks and keys as you see fit. However, that might not be the only device on the horizon with customisable functionality.

The company is rumoured to be in talks to acquire startup Sonder Design. And any partnership on that front could result in a dynamic keyboard for all Apple computers.

Australian firm Sonder is backed by Foxconn, one of Apple’s main manufacturing suppliers, and builds keyboards where many of the keys are clear with E Ink screens behind them. That means you can assign whatever you want for each key, be that a letter, symbol or even emoticon.

• New MacBook Pro (2016): What’s the story so far?
• MacBook Pro OLED concept photos will make you want the rumoured feature more than ever

Its current concept keyboard even looks like Apple’s own Bluetooth model that is already available for Mac. The Sonder version is also wireless, so can be used on iPad, Android phones and tablets, PC and other Bluetooth devices too.

It is available for pre-order on Sonder’s website for $199 and this rumour could, of course, simply be a way to direct people to its availability. However, considering Apple’s move towards a similar concept on its next flagship laptop, it seems like a logical next step.

Sony PlayStation VR can play Xbox One games… no, really

The PlayStation VR headset was officially released yesterday, Thursday 13 October, and users are generally very positive about its talents. Not only does it give a full-on virtual reality experience that usually costs much more – with headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive – but it has a healthy launch line-up of games already available.

Remarkably though, there’s one feature even we didn’t realise originally. You can also play Xbox One, Wii U and PC games while wearing the PSVR. Crikey.

As discovered and talked about by Reddit users, PlayStation VR Cinema mode works with any 2D source through HDMI. All you have to do is unplug the HDMI running from the PS4 to the processor unit and plug in another device, such as an Xbox One. You will then get a virtual giant screen showing anything that runs on the rival console.

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• Sony PlayStation VR tips and tricks: How to solve PSVR problems and more

The only drawback is that you still need to attach the processor unit to your PS4 too, in order for headset tracking to work, so you’ll need both consoles switched on at the same time. But should you require isolation for your Gears of War 4 gaming session, it’s an ideal way to get it. Technically, you could even game in the privacy of the PSVR while your family watches TV in the same room.

Of course, you can use PlayStation VR Cinema mode with the PlayStation 4 itself too, and even a Sky satellite box or Virgin Media TiVo. It’s amazing what you can discover with a little bit of fiddling.

ICYMI: Relax while a robot takes care of your yard work

Today on In Case You Missed It: Kobi is a yard work robot that is purportedly able to clean leaves, mow the lawn and shovel snow, though the promo video shows it very briefly moving snow only, so stand by for reviews on that rush purchase. Meanwhile UCSF researchers found that infant brains actually move neurons around up to three months after birth, which is not something we’d known before.

The self-driving car experiment out of the University of Oxford wrapped up with a sweet little send-off video. If you’re interested in the LED suit from Red Bull, that video is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.

Apple Stores Removing Security Tethers From iPhone Display Models

Apple revamped its retail stores last year by removing iPad smart signage and demoting iPod display models to side shelves, and now the company has another move up its sleeves in a push towards simplicity.

iPhone display models docked with only Lightning charging cables in Toronto
Over the past few months, Apple has removed security tethers from iPhone display models at some of its retail stores, including its Yorkdale location in Toronto, Canada and redesigned Regent Street store in London, England.

MacRumors has learned of at least two other stores in the United Kingdom where the security tethers, which activate audible alarms when disconnected, have been removed, and it appears likely the change will be phased in at other locations.

The courageous move effectively allows customers to walk into an Apple retail store, pick up an iPhone display model, and walk out with the device without paying, but Apple evidently feels the untethered experience is worth the risk.

iPhone display models with security tethers (Image: Mirror.co.uk)
As CNET explains, Apple wants customers to be able to hold an iPhone properly, try out cases, and even pocket the device:

Apple says this is to allow people to hold them properly, try cases on them and even see how they feel in your pocket. It’s a bold move, especially given the lack of visible security in the building. We couldn’t spot a single CCTV camera, although any phone taken out of the store will set off an alarm. If not returned, the phones will also be rendered unusable.

The customers who do attempt to steal iPhone display models, if not caught by security or CCTV cameras where installed, will walk away with unusable devices, as Apple will place them into Lost Mode remotely using Find My iPhone.

Apple continues to use security tethers on larger products such as MacBook and iPad display models.

(Thanks, Peter!)

Tag: Apple retail
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