Western Digital unveils its first portable SSD

Western Digital only just started accepting that SSDs are ready for the mainstream, but it’s making up for that lost time by launching its first portable SSD just months after unveiling a desktop drive. The simply-named My Passport SSD gives you 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of flash storage in a pocketable and ever-so-slightly fashionable design. While it’s not the absolute fastest drive we’ve seen with a peak 515MB/s sequential read speed (it’s a bit faster than Samsung’s T3), the new drive is definitely keeping up with the Joneses. It’s designed for USB-C (there’s a USB-A adapter in the box), touts 256-bit hardware encryption and is tough enough to survive a 6.5ft drop.

If you’re expecting a pricing revolution, you’ll have to look elsewhere. The My Passport SSD starts at a fairly commonplace $100 for the 256GB model, and you’re looking at a respective $200 and $400 for its 512GB and 1TB siblings. Really, Western Digital is selling based on its familiar brand name as much as anything else. Not that this is necessarily a problem — WD’s ubiquity means that it should be relatively easy to find the My Passport where you might have to hunt around for some of its lesser-known rivals.

Source: WD

Pacemaker+ makes your mixes better and easier to share

In news that’ll please budding mix-meisters (you’re not actually a DJ, sorry), popular iOS mixing app Pacemaker has just received a hefty paid update. Pacemaker+ doubles down on its existing social features, allowing users to seamlessly create and share their mixtapes using their Spotify Premium library. With over 30 million tracks at their fingertips, owners of the premium in-app upgrade will also have access to new mixing tools courtesy of Pacemaker+’s Studio features.

Building on the app’s bare-bones mixing options, new Studio features like phrase, bar and beat matching allow maestros to meld together tracks that more accurately match, creating smoother-sounding mixes. Once your mixtape is ready to drop, users can either unleash it on other Pacemaker users in the app’s public feed, or for the first time, export it to social media and confuse a few relatives.

Although Pacemaker+ is a premium feature, users who don’t want to cough up the cash can test out the new tools with a few free “Studio sessions”. With most other DJ apps lacking Spotify integration, the vast majority of mixes and mixtapes floating around online use tracks that fail to pay the artists. Thankfully for ethically minded mix heads, the Spotify integration makes Pacemaker+ the first DJ app that actually sees artists make money from amateur mixtapes. Unfortunately for taste-makers on Android devices, there’s still no word on Pacemaker coming to the platform. Still, there’s always the old tapedeck.

ESPN’s Drone Racing League returns with faster, bigger races

Last year, I asked a simple question: Can drone racing become as big as eSports? While we wait to find out, one of the leading race organizers — the Drone Racing League — is making all the right moves this year to make that answer yes. One of the keys to achieving that, the DRL hopes, is the introduction of the Racer3 drone, which will be the standard craft all pilots in the DRL race with. Unsurprisingly, it’s more powerful and agile than its predecessor (the Racer2, obviously) and could be the shot in the arm the sport needs to go mainstream. The Racer3 should make races — which air on ESPN starting June 20th — even more thrilling, luring more fans (and, by association, lucre) to the game.

Most hobby pilots will tell you that half of the fun is building your own quadcopter and improving it over time. In DRL races, there’s one standardized drone. “We want DRL to be the ultimate competition of piloting skill,” the DRL’s CEO, Nicholas Horbaczewski, told Engadget. But there are other benefits to a level technical playing field. “It allows us to do things that we couldn’t with homebuilt rigs — that’s everything from the way we cover the drone in bright, color-differentiating LEDs to tell them apart, to some of the engineering innovations that we can bring into it.”

The innovations Horbaczewski is referring to include doubling the thrust to 16 pounds in the Racer 3, which makes it much more agile than its predecessor, allowing for tighter turns and more demanding, three-dimensional race courses. There are also more practical elements, like a polycarbonate canopy that makes the Racer3 more rugged.

Sometimes one bad crash is all it takes to end a pilot’s race. With the new polycarbonate hood, Horbaczewski says the Racer 3 can take more hits, and pilots can actually get right back up and keep racing, in the same way a Moto GP rider might hop back on his bike after a fall and doggedly cross the finish line. Ryan Gury, the DRL’s head of product, adds, “It also makes it a much more sexy and attractive drone,” which might help undo the “hobby electronics” vibe that some outsiders associate with the sport.

Aesthetics count, too. The DRL’s 2016 season was picked up by ESPN (Sky in the UK), broadcasting the season’s races to an audience of nearly 30 million Americans. I asked Horbaczewski if that exposure translated into bigger crowds at the events, but he tells me that that hasn’t been the DRL’s goal. He argues that ESPN affords them an audience that far exceeds what a full stadium would bring. You need only look at any of the race teasers to see that DRL events were almost designed for TV, with flashy neon lights and a deliberate fight-night glitz.

The only problem for those budding pilots that ESPN has lured in? You won’t ever be able to buy the Racer3 — it’s for DRL pilots only. “This is not for sale, this is not a product you can buy,” Horbaczewski told Engadget. “We’re not a consumer products company. We want to be focused on being the most elite drone circuit in the world.” That said, Horbaczewski did say the DRL has partnered with Toy State to make a more mainstream quadcopter, which should be hitting shelves this August. There are plenty of alternatives in the meantime, such as Amimon’s Falcore and UVify’s Draco, that offer a learning curve for beginners and near race-level performance.

If the DRL, and drone racing in general, want to grow, more user-friendly products are essential. One of the sport’s highest-profile pilots goes by the name Ummagawd, and when I asked him about these “ready-to-fly” craft for beginners, he was encouraging about their abilities: “The tech that’s going into these ready-to-fly breeds are definitely not something to take lightly. With the right pilot, they would be just as capable as the home-brewed racers.” This is reassuring for anyone who’s ever searched YouTube for “how to build a race drone.” “There’s currently still a decent barrier to entry into this sport/hobby, and I believe that’s a bottleneck at the moment,” admits Ummagawd.

As for my opening question, drone racing doesn’t yet have the booming revenue streams that eSports does, but that’s changing. Games lend themselves to additional revenue opportunities that drones do not. League of Legends can sell endless digital Championship skins. Drone racers have to rely on contracts and prize money, or maybe put their name on a quadcopter you can buy (such as Ummagawd’s popular Vortex 250). But it’s getting there. Last year, the outright DRL winner — a pilot named Jet — bagged a “six-figure” contract. This year, even armchair pilots can snag $75,000 by winning a digital race in the DRL’s PC-based drone simulator game. The money’s starting to come in, though — the DRL has a sponsorship with Allianz, and rival league DR1 has Mountain Dew. But the job title “Pro drone racer” is a very elite club right now.

Perhaps a better parallel for the sport today is skateboarding in the ’80s and ’90s. The largely underground activity attracts a dedicated following where riches and fame are not realistic goals, meaning that only the hardcore who love it enough persist. Their creativity and enthusiasm spawned an empire. Early skateboarders also earned money primarily through sales of their pro-model boards and competition winnings. Tony Hawk might be a multi-millionaire now, but there was a time when his team manager (and ’70s skate legend) Stacy Peralta cut him a royalties check for 85 cents, so heterodox was the sport at the time. Of course, skateboarding is now fully in the mainstream, and eSports is thriving — no doubt a story arc the DRL is hoping its sport will follow.

The Drone Racing League’s 2017 kicks off on ESPN at 8pm on June 20th.

Apple Signs Two-Year Deal With Samsung For 92 Million OLED iPhone Panels

Apple has reportedly signed a two-year contract with Samsung for the supply up to 92 million curved OLED panels, as it attempts to ramp up capacity for this year’s release of its high-end “iPhone 8”.

Earlier this week supply chain sources claimed Apple had ordered 70 million units of panels from Samsung, its sole OLED supplier for the upcoming phone, which is expected to feature a major design overhaul. However, according to reports on Thursday in Korea-based ET News, Chosun Biz, and other media outlets, Apple has upped its OLED demands in an effort to cater for higher demand later this year and beyond 2017.

“iPhone X” concept via Gabor Balogh

Based on the contract, Samsung Display will ship 70-92 million small-size OLED panels to Apple in 2017, said the reports. This means that about 30% of iPhone devices shipped in 2017 will come with curved OLED panels, given that Apple currently ships about 200 million iPhone devices a year.

Rumors have consistently suggested Apple will offer the OLED iPhone alongside more typical iPhone 7S and 7S Plus models with standard LCD panels when it announces the devices in September. Apart from a 5.2-inch edge-to-edge display, the redesigned “10th anniversary” iPhone is thought to feature a glass body, some form of wireless charging, no Home button, and a premium price tag.

Meanwhile, Taiwan-based Yuanta Securities Investment Consulting has estimated that shipments of Apple’s forthcoming iPhones are likely to reach 100 million units in 2017. At least 55 million of the units are expected to feature OLED panels.

Samsung has reportedly converted an LCD factory in Asia into an OLED panel plant to meet Apple’s demands. The South Korean firm’s total investments for OLED production lines could reach 10 trillion won in 2017, according to sources from the supply chain.

(via DigiTimes.)

Related Roundup: iPhone 8 (2017)
Tags: Samsung, OLED
Discuss this article in our forums

Amazon Launches Fire TV Media Streamer With Alexa Remote in the U.K.

Amazon today announced it is launching its Fire TV media streamer stick in the United Kingdom, approximately six months after the device first launched in the U.S.

The redesigned Fire TV stick, which costs £39.99, is the first of Amazon’s media streamers to come with an Alexa-enabled voice remote. It features a new quad-core processor that makes it 30 percent faster than the previous version, according to the company. It also supports the 802.11ac Wi-Fi protocol.

The Fire TV can be used to search for movies and TV shows, launch apps and control media playback. Like Amazon’s Echo smart speakers, the Alexa remote can also be used to enable a number of “skills” such as asking for the weather or controlling smart devices around the home.

In addition, Amazon also announced a free Fire TV software update that will bring Alexa to all Fire TV devices in the UK—including first generations of both Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, as well as the Fire TV with 4K UHD.

The update will make Alexa available to the millions of UK customers with Fire TV devices already in their homes, and upgrades every existing Fire TV Voice Remote to an Alexa Voice Remote. Customers without a voice remote can use the Fire TV app for iOS and Android to access Alexa, in the same way they do today with Voice Search. The same software update also upgrades previous generation Fire TV and Fire TV Stick devices to the new, cinematic UI.

The Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote is available today for £39.99 from Amazon UK and is also on sale in shops including Dixons, John Lewis, Tesco, and Maplin. The update bringing Alexa to existing Fire TV devices will roll out to customers over the coming weeks.

Tag: Amazon
Discuss this article in our forums

F-Secure Acquires Jonathan Zdziarski’s Mac Security App ‘Little Flocker’

Cyber security company F-Secure has acquired Little Flocker, the behavioral analysis-based monitoring app for Macs, developed by iPhone forensics expert and security researcher Jonathan Zdziarski, who joined Apple last month.

The Helsinki-based firm announced the news in a press release posted to its site, where it revealed that Little Flocker would be built into a new security product it’s releasing, called XFENCE.

Little Flocker protects Macs by using advanced behavioral based analysis, and monitors apps that attempt to access confidential files and system resources. It also detects and blocks Mac ransomware. F-Secure will build Little Flocker’s next-generation security engine into its new XFENCE technology. XFENCE will complement F-Secure’s existing endpoint solutions to provide advanced behavioral Mac protection for both corporate and consumer customers.

F-Secure said that the “myth” of Macs not requiring protection against ransomware, backdoors, and other software was fading away, due to “Apple’s popularity among senior-level employees and other high-value targets”. By acquiring Little Flocker, it said it hoped to further enhance its products’ existing cyber security capabilities for the sophisticated detection of zero-day attacks.

For businesses, the core technology is to be combined with F-Secure’s security cloud and packaged into its Protection Service for Business, a security solution with centrally managed computer, mobile and server security with integrated patch management and mobile device management. Consumer customers can make use of the Flocker technology with F-Secure Safe, the company’s multi-device security product.

Little Flocker developer Zdziarski announced in March that he was joining Apple’s Security Engineering and Architecture team. Known as “NerveGas” within the jailbreaking community, Zdziarski had provided input on a number of important iOS-related security matters over the years, including Apple’s high-profile battle with the FBI over unlocking an iPhone used by a shooter in the 2015 San Bernardino attack.

Tags: security, Jonathan Zdziarski
Discuss this article in our forums

New Balance RunIQ review: Runs into some hurdles

There has been something of an interesting shift in the Android Wear watch market over the past year to 18 months. Traditional companies are seemingly approaching the product category with more hesitation, while fashion companies like Tag Heuer, Guess, Montblanc, Casio and Fossil are jumping on board. 

One newcomer in recent times is New Balance, which falls into the fitness-focus category, a company which outed its running-oriented RunIQ watch at the beginning of 2017.

The idea: to offer a watch which can be worn all the time, but that is aimed at runners who want to track their runs without needing their phone. 

New Balance RunIQ review: Design

• Waterproof to 5ATM
• Simple, black metal case
• Interchangeable 22mm strap lugs

Without meaning to be overly cruel, the best way to describe the RunIQ’s aesthetic is that it’s plain. The round metal casing feels solid; it’s thick and well made, but it doesn’t feature any eye-catching or extravagant trim anywhere. It’s not at all flashy.

There is a bonus to this rather simple design: as it’s not brightly coloured or ostentatious like some other fitness watches, ut means you can wear it with almost anything. It’s not classic enough to wear with a dinner suit, but it’s simple enough to wear with most other dress codes. What’s more, you can swap the 22mm strap for other standard fit ones if you want.

One element we really like about the RunIQ is its strap. Featuring dozens of heart- and diamond-shaped holes means it’s always comfortable to wear. It doesn’t get hot and sweaty, even during long runs, ensuring your arm stays cool underneath the strap. The diamond-shaped holes running down the middle are to fasten the clasp – and as there are so many of them, so close together, it’s easy to find a comfy fit. 

Unlike more Android Wear watches, the RunIQ has three buttons on the right edge. They’re not especially clicky, but they work. It’s here, perhaps, that New Balance could have done more, because with there being three buttons, you’d assume it would add a lot of extra functionality. Realistically, however, they’re limited.

The middle crown acts like the single button on an Android Wear watch normally would. Press it once to go home, press-and-hold it to launch the apps list. The top button is used only for launching an activity, whether that be running or bike riding, while the bottom one is used purely to launch Google Play Music, either on your connected phone or on the watch itself. 

One area that could have done with a little more attention is the underside of the case. This is where you’ll find the heart-rate monitor which – with most watches – is hidden behind dressed-up windows of some kind. Here, you get small windows, exposing the sensors in their entirety. It doesn’t look very refined. But people aren’t going to be staring right at that most of the time.

Also on the back of the watch, nestled near the top edge, are four contact points for charging. It’s similar in design to the Huawei Watch and Tag Heuer Connected in that regard, and clips onto its small, light charging base using strong magnets. Although even with that, we had to ensure the watch base was completely flat in order for the contacts to be secure and charge effectively.

New Balance RunIQ review: Performance and battery

• Intel Atom processor
• 410mAh battery 
• 5 hours GPS/HR use 

Rather than go with the latest Snapdragon wearable chipset, New Balance partnered with Intel to power its first Android Wear watch. In our testing, however, we’ve found the RunIQ to be a little sluggish at times, showing noticeable lag when viewing or dismissing notifications, as well as loading functions and apps.

This lethargy is most noticeable when attempting to track a run. When the top button is pressed it takes a second or two to load up the interface for tracking the activity. Then there’s the waiting time for the watch to lock onto a GPS signal, before a green ring appears to tell you that you can start your run. Except, in all of our runs, it was premature.

After starting a run, we noticed the little icon denoting the GPS signal had a cross through it still. So we had to wait 10-20 seconds more until the watch successfully logged our location. The first time we took it running, we hadn’t realised this and run nearly 500 metres without it logging the route. When all you want to do is click a button, tap the screen and get going, having that delay is a little frustrating.

Once you get used to the waiting at the beginning of a run – throw in a couple of stretches to keep warm – the watch does as good a job of tracking your location as a smartphone would. And it’s this sense of freedom that’s easy to get used to, and helps you forget that 20 second wait at the start of the run.

Not having to carry your phone as well is this watch’s biggest selling point, but it’s one now shared with a number of other smartwatch makers. Brands like Apple, Samsung and Garmin all make GPS-equipped wrist gadgets, and are a tough crowd to compete with, especially with a first watch – and one which needs a little more improvement and refinement.

Battery life is another area that could be improved. The built-in battery performs exactly as New Balance claims it will. That’s to say, it’s a one day battery.

With relatively minimal use, we made it through into the morning of a second day before needing to plug the RunIQ in again. With GPS and heart rate switched on during a run, the watch can last for a claimed five hours (our testing suggested it might go a little longer than five hours).

With Android Wear 2.0 coming to the watch soon, some of the performance issues could be solved. GPS logging, for instance, should be even more accurate and faster because of the new software, which New Balance tells us is arriving some time around 27 March.

New Balance RunIQ review: Software

• Currently Android Wear 1.5
• Dedicated running app
• Google Play offline

The software experience on the RunIQ is virtually identical to every other Android Wear watch on the market. Like most other manufacturers, New Balance has added a couple of its own fitness-focused watch faces. There’s also a dedicated running app which – as previously mentioned – you launch by pressing the top button. 

This running app ties in with Strava to track your run, so you can link it to your account, and when you’re finished, the route, pace, distance and heart-rate information is all displayed in your Strava feed.

One of its best features is that it auto-pauses when you stop. That means you don’t need to worry about waiting at crossing affecting your overall time or pace.

If you don’t use Strava, however, then the button function is useless because you can’t map anything else to its use. It’s Strava or nada.

Same with music: it’s Google Play Music or go home. You can still use the watch to control music on your smartphone, but you can’t tell the watch to launch Spotify instead of Google Play Music when you press the bottom button.

It does seem like a big oversight on New Balance’s behalf, giving two fixed, physical buttons such specific functions.

New Balance RunIQ review: Display

• 1.39-inch round screen
• 400 x 400 resolution 
• AMOLED panel

There are positives and negatives to the round display on New Balance’s first Android Wear watch. It’s an AMOLED panel, so colours are saturated and high contrast is possible. What’s more, because it’s completely round and “flat-tyre” free (take note Fossil), there’s no slice missing from the bottom portion of the display. 

This means New Balance has been able to add icons near the bottom of the screen for starting and pausing exercise or music, without the fear that they’ll be cut off. 

Despite this, the screen isn’t terribly bright. Comparing it to the original Fossil Q Founder, with both screens set to the same brightness, the RunIQ was noticeably dimmer. In most instances, indoors, this doesn’t pose too much of a problem. Outside, in bright daylight, it’s a different story. It can be hard to see what’s on the screen, especially if it’s reflecting the sun, or you’re looking at it from an angle. 

Verdict

The long and short of the RunIQ is that it’s not a bad bash at a fitness watch, but it’s a bit too plain to be an everyday watch. There’s nothing remarkable or anything that truly stands out about it. We wouldn’t choose it as our go-to fitness watch or our go-to smartwatch, which leaves it in something of a grey area.

Also, Android Wear 2.0 can’t come soon enough. When it does we’re hopeful that the RunIQ can fix its limited button issues, GPS tracking tardiness, and, to some degree, slow operation. Right now this watch feels like an Android Wear device that could have been released a year (or more) ago.

With all of that said, however, the RunIQ delivers roughly the same experience as we’ve had with most other Android Wear watches on a daily basis. The capability is there, it just needs to be eked out of it with various tweaks.

The alternatives to consider…

Samsung Gear S3 Frontier

If you’re after a well-made, attractive sports watch that works well with Android, the Gear S3 is an ideal choice. It runs its own wearable operating system which is so much more intuitive and attractive than Android Wear, and its rotating bezel is a brilliant control option. 

Read the full review: Samsung Gear S3 review: Android Wear, beware, this is the smartwatch to beat

Pocket-lint

Polar M600

Polar’s square Android Wear watch is purpose designed for sport, and costs considerably less than the New Balance Run IQ. It has its own companion running and exercise app, which includes dedicated swimming functions as well as the usual running and cycling options. 

Read the full review: Polar M600 review: Top-notch smartwatch and fitness tracker fusion

Apple iPhone launch may be delayed due to technical issues with OLED panels

Apple may, for the first time, miss its traditional September launch for the iPhone because of supply issues. DigiTimes cites the Chinese-based Economic Daily News claims Apple is having “technical issues related to the lamination process of curved OLED panels, and the adoption of a 3D sensing system, that may cause delay of the new iPhone devices”.

• Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus: What’s the story so far?

Instead of being launched in September, the new iPhone may have to wait until October or November until it hits the shelves.

While the report doesn’t mention it specifically, we expect this is referring to the iPhone 8 that’s expected to launch alongside an iPhone 7s and iPhone 7s Plus. The iPhone 8 is thought to be a more high-end and more expensive model – around $1,000 – to celebrate 10 years of the iPhone. 

The Nikkei Asian Review recently reported that Apple had ordered 70 million OLED panels from rival Samsung, for use in the iPhone 8. It’s also claimed that Samsung is prepared to produce up to 95 million panels overall for Apple, if demand for the iPhone 8 is higher than expected. The OLED panel is thought to be 5.2-inches. 

It therefore seems strange that there would be issues with Samsung’s OLED panels, since it’s already capable of producing them for its own Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus smartphones. DigiTimes doesn’t have the most perfect track record when it comes to Apple rumours, CNBC says the same site claimed the iPhone 6 would be launched a month early, which was completely wrong. 

It is of course still possible that Apple will unveil the new iPhone 8 in September at its traditional event, but wait until October or November until it’s supply chain is fully ready to meet demand.

It’s still not clear if Apple will follow in the footsteps of LG and Samsung and ditch the home button from the iPhone, leaving just an all-screen front. 

• Apple iPhone 8 with 5.8-inch AMOLED display could debut alongside iPhone 7s models
• Apple iPhone 8 in pictures: Renders and leaked photos
• The Apple iPhone is 10 years old: Look how much the iPhone has changed

With both LG and Samsung releasing what could be seen as their best phones to date, Apple really has its work cut out to produce an equally impressive smartphone, so it’s no surprise that it will want to get it right, even if that means taking more time. 

Twitter Announces ‘Lite’ Mobile Web Service to Minimize Data Usage

Twitter announced a faster version of its mobile service on Wednesday with the launch of “Twitter Lite”, a web-browser based experience that aims to mimic the social media app’s main features while minimizing data usage.

Twitter Lite can be accessed on mobile browsers from mobile.twitter.com and takes up less than a megabyte to load up, according to the company. It also features a further data saving mode that blurs images and video until the user taps on them. Twitter claims the Lite web app loads in under five seconds on most 3G devices and can save up to 70 percent on data.

Today, we are rolling out Twitter Lite, a new mobile web experience which minimizes data usage, loads quickly on slower connections, is resilient on unreliable mobile networks, and takes up less than 1MB on your device. We also optimized it for speed, with up to 30% faster launch times as well as quicker navigation throughout Twitter. Twitter Lite provides the key features of Twitter—your timeline, Tweets, Direct Messages, trends, profiles, media uploads, notifications, and more. With Twitter Lite, we are making Twitter more accessible to millions of people—all you need is a smartphone or tablet with a browser.

The Lite flavor of the social media service rolls out globally from today, but Twitter is mainly targeting markets outside the U.S. and has timed its release with the start of a major cricket event in India, which is home to 1.3 billion people.

Other countries where the company said it expects Twitter Lite to be most useful include Indonesia, the Philippines, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. The hope is that smartphone users will be drawn to follow sports and other major events online in poor coverage areas, without eating up their data allowance. Facebook and YouTube have released similar ‘lite’ versions of their apps in recent months as they attempt to attract users in emerging markets.

Tag: Twitter
Discuss this article in our forums

Sprimo portable air monitor lets you ‘see what you smell’

Why it matters to you

If you’re at all concerned about the air quality in your daily environment, a portable monitor like this will supply you with the data you’re looking for.

Although the idea of an app that lets you “see what you smell” at first sounds borderline unsavory, dig a little deeper and we discover that it could actually turn out to be something really very useful.

Air pollution is a serious problem around the world though it’s often hard to know the true quality of the air we’re breathing at any given time.

That could be about to change thanks to an interesting new device launched this week on Kickstarter that plugs into your phone and provides data to the aforementioned accompanying app.

Developed by a two-person team based out of Silicon Valley, the Sprimo lets you check the quality of the air at any time and in any place, whether you’re indoors or outdoors. All you need to do is whip out your phone, plug in the Sprimo, and fire up the app.

The Sprimo boasts “cutting-edge gas detector technology able to detect thousands of volatile organic compounds.” Within seconds of activating the app, you’ll be offered an assessment of the surrounding air quality according to the level of airborne toxins and chemicals, while temperature and humidity readings are also offered.

A neat touch is that if enough people use Sprimo, the app will also offer interactive mapping of local and regional air quality readings so you can check readings far beyond your immediate vicinity.

Made from durable, high-impact ABS plastic and stainless steel, the diminutive device requires no power source and is cable-free.

More: Know how clean the air is by turning on a Philips Hue smart lightbulb

The first version is for iPhone only, though an Android model is also in development. Early-bird Kickstarter backers can secure a Sprimo with a pledge of just $20, which represents a generous 50 percent saving on the expected retail price. It’ll ship to anywhere in the world from July, 2017.

Sprimo isn’t the first portable air monitor to hit the market, but if it can offer reliable functionality at such an attractive price point, it could become a popular choice for the increasing number of people taking an interest in the air they breathe.