ASUS’ new Lyra routers are seriously unconventional

ASUS has developed an interesting habit. Forget routers with subtle designs that blend into your living room — the company has started making routers that look straight up wack. Case in point: the Blue Cave router that launched at Computex last year. At CES 2018, ASUS unveiled the Lyra Trio, a triangular mesh router that looks like a wonky iron, and the Lyra Voice. The latter is a mesh router that doubles as a stereo speaker with Alexa built in. Both will be available by the first half of 2018, but ASUS hasn’t announced pricing yet.

Let’s start with the Trio. The pyramid-like router features 3X3 MIMO and dual-band technology, with what ASUS is calling “unique antenna placement… to (banish) WiFi dead zones.” It’s not clear from what we know what this placement is, so we can’t judge how different this is just yet. It might be similar to that of the EA-N66 range extender, which has basically the same shape as the Lyra Trio.

The more interesting product is the Voice, which is a tri-band 802.11ac mesh router system with Alexa built in. Its grey rectangular body looks a lot less conspicuous than the Trio, and houses stereo speakers and a microphone to let you interact with Amazon’s digital assistant.

Both these routers can be configured with the new Lyra app for setup so you can monitor network information from your phone. The app will also notify you if problems arise, which should hopefully mean you won’t have to go all the way to the router to hit a reset button if your network drops out.

ASUS also unveiled a new system last week that creates a mesh network with routers you already own, along with the first AX router and a slew of laptops and gaming hardware. Stay tuned to check out our first impressions of all these devices from CES 2018.

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ASUS’ Tinker Board S is a powerful platform for DIY types

Last year ASUS tried to win over DIYers with the Tinker Board. It tried to elbow in on Raspberry Pi’s territory. And even made an attempt to upstage it by making the Tinkerboard incredibly powerful. It was capable of pushing out 4K video and 24-bit/192kHz audio. The pile of HDMI, gigabit Ethernet, quad core processor and 2GB of RAM made it better suited to build a media center around than turning into some sort of art project or prototype.

The Tinker Board S is more of the same. It’s powerful board for hacker types with a pile of maker-friendly features like 40 GPIO pins and robust Linux support. The S also has 16GB of eMMC storage and the same pile of USB ports. But its the same size and, most importantly for the DIY crowd, it has the same layout. So you don’t have to tear your whole project apart just to upgrade its guts. The Tinker Board S will ship sometime in the first half of 2018, but ASUS is talking price just yet. But, considering the original Tinker Board cost a hefty $60, don’t expect its sequel to compete with the Raspberry Pi on price.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.

Here wants to help ride-hailing services find new passengers

Ride-hailing services are big business, and Here wants a piece of the action. The company — created by Nokia and sold to a consortium of German car manufacturers in 2015 — has announced a new division called Here Mobility today. Its purpose is to develop an platform, or marketplace where businesses can request and sell ride-hailing services. A hotel, for instance, might want to offer one or two options through its website. In theory, it would connect to the Mobility Marketplace and select the services that best suit its needs and those of its customers. It’s also possible that the end-customer would be able to compare and choose the supplier themselves.

Here describes it as a “unifying abstraction layer.” In short, it wants to be the middle-person between ride-hailing services and commercial businesses (which, by extension, includes everyday customers like you and me). Its clientele could include airline companies that want to help customers grab a lift from the airport, businesses that own self-service kiosks in public spaces, and event venue owners that want to help attendees find their way back home. Ride-hailing companies should benefit from the extra exposure, while customers gain from having easy access to the cheapest, fastest or most convenient transport options.

At the same time, Here is launching a tool called Mobility Dispatch. It’s a platform that allows ride-hailing companies to effectively manage their fleet of drivers. Most of the major services have their own version of this, however Here’s one also links in to its Mobility Marketplace. In addition, Here is touting advanced algorithms and “unprecedented fleet utilization” which could help companies stay ahead of their usually well-funded competition. “Our solutions democratize a fragmented and siloed industry, opening new channels to access the best mobility tools and services available,” Liad Itzhak, vice president and head of Here Mobility said.

Here is a late entrant into an already crowded space. Its role as a facilitator, rather than a direct competitor to services such as Lyft, Uber and Didi Chuxing could be a smart bet, however. The new business venture follows a dizzying number of automotive projects including a next-gen communications hub for autonomous cars and traffic alerts via crowdsourced car sensor data. No wonder Bosch took a five percent stake in the company recently.

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ASUS rounds out its all-in-one lineup with the Vivo AiO V272 and V222

ASUS laptops might get all the attention, but let’s not forget that the Taiwanese company churns out some solid all-in-one desktops, too. Sadly, despite announcing two new models today — the Vivo AiO V272 and V222 — ASUS has been pretty tight-lipped with respect to specs. Consider the V272: as the model number suggests, it packs a 27-inch multitouch display and it produces 100% of the sRGB color gamut while offering a 178-degree field of view. Fueling the fun is one of Intel’s 8th-generation Core I7 chipsets, and while it’s definitely not meant to be a full-blown gaming machine, the discrete NVIDIA GeForce MX150 graphics should get through you a few rounds in Overwatch without too much trouble.

Configuration options and details beyond that — you know, like screen resolution, RAM allotments, port selection and more — haven’t yet been discussed. Ditto for just about everything the AiO V222 has going for it; literally all ASUS has been willing to say so far is that it has a 22-inch, 1080p display, though we’ve also spotted four USB 3.0 ports and an HDMI port around the back. We’d like to think you’ll be able to pick one of these machines up soon but, surprise, surprise, that information hasn’t been announced yet either. ASUS’s generally good track record with these machines means they’re probably perfectly functional options for folks itching to ditch their desktop rigs in favor of something more compact, but for now, you should know two things: these machines exist, and we’ll update this post more details as soon as ASUS decides to start talking.

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The ASUS Chromebox 3 is destined for businesses

The vast majority of machines running Google’s Chrome OS are laptops, but that hasn’t stopped some companies from trying to put the lightweight software into tiny desktop boxes. ASUS has been making a Chromebox since 2014, and they’re announcing a new one at CES 2018. Unfortunately, details are rather limited: we know it’ll run an “8th generation Intel Core processor” with an untold amount of DDR4-2400 RAM. There’s no mention of storage space, either. What we do know is that the Chromebox 3 will include USB 3.1 via a type-C port and Gigatbit ethernet, a logical choice for something you won’t be moving around as much as a laptop (don’t worry, it still has WiFi, too).

The tiny computer might make a decent living room streaming box, too, with DisplayPort and HDMI output — ASUS says it can handle 4K video playback. But let’s be honest, this Chromebox is likely destined for light work computing in corporate settings. Chromebooks may have made big inroads in the consumer market, but we’d be surprised if many people buy one of these for the home. If you’re still curious about it, ASUS says it’ll be on sale sometime in the first half of 2018. In the meantime, we’ll see if this little computer is lurking around the CES show floor this week to pry a few more details loose.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.

ASUS’ latest ZenFone and its big battery will hit the US next month

ASUS’ ZenFone line is still pretty fresh in our minds, but that didn’t stop the company from showing off yet another new smartphone here at CES 2018. The awkwardly named ZenFone Max Plus (M1) — yes, ASUS is insisting on the parentheses — is set to launch in the US next month for $329, and its claim to fame is its 4,130mAh battery. Sure, it might not be quite as capacious as ASUS’ own ZenFone 3 Zoom from last year, but that battery is still bigger than any you’d find in a normal flagship phone. Not bad at all, considering the asking price.

Beyond the battery, the ZenFone Max Plus (M1) also packs a 5.7-inch, 2160×1080 display with an 18:9 aspect ratio, along with an octa-core MediaTek chipset, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. Around back you’ll find a fingerprint sensor and, above that, a dual camera that combines a standard 16-megapixel sensor with a 8-megapixel wide-angle camera with a 120-degree field of view. For those keeping track, that’s very similar to the setup used by the LG G5 a while back. Even better, both the main and front-facing camera (which also shoots 16-megapixel stills) have f/2.0 apertures to help suck up as much light as possible for landscape shots and selfies. Squeeze all of that into a handsome, if slightly generic-looking, metal body and that’s the ZenFone Max Plus (M1).

So far the Max Plus feels like one hell of a value smartphone, but not everything here is ideal. Most notably, it runs an older Android 7.0 Nougat build painted over by ASUS’ hit-or-miss ZenUI. The idea of running software that’s over a year old is pretty problematic, and we’ve reached out to ASUS to see why exactly the ZenFone Max Plus (M1) is stuck in this position. Despite the Nougat situation and the inherent oddness of its name, we’re still glad to see the ZenFone Max Plus (M1) wrapping up a few flagship features into a sleek-looking body. Stick around — we’re going to go track one down for a little hands-on time soon.

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Whirlpool plugs Alexa and Google Assistant into its appliances

Whirlpool’s smart appliances have already had some voice assistant control, but they’re about become particularly AI-savvy. The company has unveiled a 2018 lineup where many appliances support both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, letting you control most of your home using the smart speaker (or mobile app) you prefer. You can check the time left on the washing machine, start the dishwasher or change the temperature of your fridge without lifting a finger.

Certain appliances have extra perks. The Smart Front Control Range and Smart Over the Range Microwave tie into Yummly’s recipe app to help you cook — you can send instructions directly to the appliance, complete with images and video. You can scan UPC barcodes on some frozen food to get directions as well. Amazon Virtual Dash can restock connected refrigerators, while the Smart All-in-One Washer and Dryer can send laundry alerts to your Apple Watch. Even the Smart Energy Star Certified Dishwasher can talk to your Nest devices and hold the washing cycle until you’ve left for work.

Whirlpool hasn’t discussed pricing, but you should see its 2018 roster arrive sometime in the spring. However, this clearly reflects how pervasive smart home tech has become — you can now buy most vital appliances and assume you’ll get smart controls that adapt to whichever devices you have in your home.

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Source: Whirlpool

ASUS’ latest laptop embraces eSports with help from a top team

ASUS has partnered with SKT T1, one of the biggest teams in eSports, on its latest iteration of the ROG Strix laptop line. The ROG Strix SKT T1 Hero Edition is a laptop designed to play Multiplayer Online Battle Arena games like League of Legends, featuring an Intel Core i7 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Graphics and a wide display with 100 percent sRGB color gamut. These details have been floating around since November, so here’s the new bit: The ROG Strix SKT T1 Hero Edition costs $1,700 and will be available in Q1 of 2018.

SKT T1 happens to be a big deal in League of Legends — it’s won three of the seven world championships in the franchise’s eSports history and it’s home to the most famous player in the game, Faker. Sang-Hyeok Lee, who plays by the name Faker, is regarded as the most skilled League of Legends player around, and this year he picked up the award for Best eSports Player at The Game Awards.

The ROG Strix SKT T1 Hero Edition features the logos for SKT T1 and ROG on the lid, plus Faker’s signature on the bottom right side of the keyboard palm rest (so players can try to absorb some of his powers, probably). The laptop also comes with a jersey and mousepad branded with SKT T1 and ROG logos, plus posters of Faker and the entire team.

ASUS is also updating its gaming desktop line with the ROG Strix GL12, which includes a factory-overclocked 8th Generation Intel Core processor with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics, plus an expansion bay and easy-swap SSD tray. The front panel features Aura Sync lighting effects, allowing players to customize the tower’s appearance. In fact, from here on out, all ROG desktops and laptops will include Aura Sync support. The ROG Strix GL12 will be available in April for an as-yet-undisclosed price.

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ASUS continues its glorious tradition of spaceship routers with the RT-AX88U

it wouldn’t be CES if we didn’t have some crazy new routers to check out. Enter the ASUS RT-AX88U. Unlike some past ASUS routers, this one is a bit of a sleeker, perhaps more dangerous beast. But let’s get beyond its stealth fighter looks and dig into the specs. As ASUS first announced back at IFA last fall, the RT-AX88U will be its first 802.11ax WiFi router, with wild theoretical speeds of up to 6,000Mbps. Of course, you’ll need a home connection capable of pushing that bandwidth and 801.11ax-compatible hardware, but that’s besides the point. This beast also has eight wired Ethernet ports for your devices that don’t need to be mobile. Sadly, we still don’t have pricing or availability behind “1H 2018.” In the meantime, just enjoy the style.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.

Insta360 Nano S does ‘multi-cam’ video with 4K spherical capture

Before the Pro, One and Air, Insta360 was already known for its relatively affordable 360 camera dongle, Nano, for iOS devices since 2016. For this CES, the Chinese startup brought out a Nano S which makes use of the same form factor (so it’ll work with existing Nano accessories), but with upgraded guts to capture 4K video and 20-megapixel photos — a notable jump from the previous 3K video and 4.6-megapixel stills. There’s also a new matte black option in addition to the original silver offering.

On top of this unsurprising refresh, Insta360 took one step further by adding a couple of practical features: “MultiView Shooting” to output a conventional video clip with two or three camera angels, and 360-degree video chat that gives any recipient — even those without an Insta360 device or app — a live spherical view on the caller’s end. For the latter, the caller just needs to share a link from the app to the recipient. As a bonus, each Nano S comes bundled with a small foldable stand that lets you prop up your iPhone for the occasional 360 video calls, if not selfies.

While Insta360 was still fine-tuning the software ahead of launch, I could already appreciate the vast improvements in image quality between the Nano and the Nano S. Not only does the new device deliver significantly sharper images, but it also has much less noise in darker environments. My only complaint at this stage is that the auto white balance for my indoor shots with the Nano S is biased towards green, but that should be an easy fix in software.

Here’s a shot taken with the Nano S:

And here’s one taken with the original Nano:

As with all Insta360 cameras, the Nano S comes with gyroscope image stabilization, meaning even if the iPhone is slightly tilted or gets a light bump during recording, you’ll still get a “buttery-smooth” capture in the end. Similarly, you can use FreeCapture mode in the app to reframe any 360 video as if you’re holding a conventional camera back then, but with the added ability to zoom in or out for special visual effects in the new clip.

While I have yet to get around to trying 360 video call with the Nano S, I did quickly play with MultiView Shooting with several templates — each with two or three angles — available for both live streaming and post capture. Each angle can be manually adjusted by a simple swipe, and when sharing in post, you can also set your desired aspect ratio.

As for the damage, the Nano S is asking for $239 and is immediately available for purchase on Amazon plus Insta360’s own online store. For comparison’s sake, the original Nano is currently priced at $199 and is being phased out, whereas the more powerful One costs $299. Personally, I’m all for the higher performance on the One, but then again, the Nano S does have its charm with its portability.

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Source: Insta360