Xiaomi introduces Mi Air Charge technology that can remotely charge devices without cables or wireless charging stands

Xiaomi today introduced self-developed remote charging technology called Mi Air Charge that enables users to charge electronic devices over-the-air without any cables or wireless charging stands. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said that this technology has 17 technical patents.

How does Xiaomi Mi Air Charge work?

• Xiaomi’s remote charging lies in space positioning and energy transmission.
• Xiaomi’s self-developed isolated charging pile has five phase interference antennas built in, which can accurately detect the location of the smartphone.
• A phase control array composed of 144 antennas transmits millimeter-wide waves directly to the phone through beam forming.
• On the smartphone side, Xiaomi’s self-developed miniaturized antenna array with built-in beacon antenna broadcasts position information with low power consumption.
• The receiving antenna array composed of 14 antennas converts the millimeter wave signal emitted by the charging pile into electric energy through the rectifier circuit, to turn the sci-fi charging experience into reality.

Xiaomi’s remote charging technology is currently capable of 5-watt remote charging for a single device within a radius of several meters. Apart from that, multiple devices can also be charged at the same time (each device supports 5 watts), and even physical obstacles do not reduce the charging efficiency.

Xiaomi said that this new charging technology will also be able to work with smartwatches, bracelets and other wearable devices in the near feature. Soon living room devices, including speakers, desk lamps and other small smart home products, will all be built upon a wireless power supply design, completely free of wires, making our living rooms truly wireless, according to Xiaomi. Hope we can see this remote charging technology in commercial devices soon.

Amazon launches the Amazon Echo Show 8 with 8-inch HD screen, stereo sound, camera with a built-in shutter in India.

Amazon has launched Echo Show 8, the company’s latest Echo Show devices in India after it was introduced back in September. It has an 8-inch HD screen, stereo sound and a camera with a built-in shutter. It has tons of Alexa features, over 30,000 skills in English and over 800 skills in Hindi, says Amazon.

Amazon Echo Show 8 features and specifications:

• Alexa can show you more — With an 8″ HD screen and stereo sound, Alexa can help manage your day at a glance.
• See and do more with Alexa — With an 8″ HD screen and stereo sound, Alexa can help manage your day at a glance.
• Ask Alexa to show your favourite TV shows and movies on Amazon Prime Video or Voot, or stream music videos from Hungama Music. Enjoy music from Amazon Prime Music, Saavn, Gaana, Hungama. Keep your kids entertained with skills like Chu Chu TV, Chhota Bheem and more.
• Connect with video calling and messaging – Make video calls to friends and family who have Skype, other Echo devices with screen, or the Alexa app.
• You can also make voice calls, send messages, or instantly connect to other Echo devices in your home to make a quick announcement or check in on the kids.
• Control your smart home — Voice control compatible devices or manage them on the simple interactive display. Ask Alexa to show you security cameras, control lights, and switch on the geyser or AC.
• Made to fit your life — Cook along to step-by-step recipes. Easily update to-do lists and calendars. Glance at weather and traffic on your way out.
• Designed to protect your privacy — Electronically disconnect the microphones and camera with one press of a button. Slide the built-in shutter to cover the camera.

The Amazon Echo Show 8 comes in Black and White colors and is available for pre-order from Amazon.in at ₹8,999 (MRP ₹12,999). It will be available from February 26.

Apple HomePod launched in India for ₹19,900/-

Apple has finally launched HomePod, its Siri-powered smart speaker in India. The company has also pushed iOS and iPadOS 13.3.1 update that brings support for Indian English Siri voices for HomePod.

To remind you, it was introduced at WWDC 2017 and went on sale in Australia, the UK and the US from February 9, 2018 priced at US$349 (Rs. 24,860 approx.), and got a price cut to US$299 (Rs. 21,300 approx.) in April 2019.

It rolled out in Canada, France, and Germany in June 2018 and in Spain and Mexico in October 2018. It went on sale in China and Hong Kong in January 2019 and in August 2019 in Japan and Taiwan

The 7-inch tall Homepod adapts to wherever it’s playing and is controlled through natural voice interaction with Siri like playing music, checking the news and controlling other connected devices in the home. It uses spatial awareness to sense its location in a room and automatically adjust the audio. It has six microphones that enables easier interactions and can learn preferences and also handle advanced searches within the music library.

The Homepod is powered by A8 chip and Apple says all the instructions to the speaker are recognized locally on the device, and they are encrypted. It features a large, Apple-designed woofer for deep, clean bass, a custom array of seven beam-forming tweeters.

The Apple HomePod is priced at ₹19,990, making it the cheapest in the world, and will soon be available from Apple’s Authorized resellers across India.

Google rolls out new “Media View” for Nest Hub smart displays

Google Assistant-powered smart displays are starting to break out in the market, as more and more devices launch with support for the Google Assistant’s ambient mode. Smart Displays provide an easy-to-use interface to control all of the smart devices in your home, whilst simultaneously offering instant access to all of the Google Assistant’s features as well.

Weather updates, to-do lists, calendars, music controls… smart displays can do a whole lot. Google is rolling out a new “Media View” for Nest Hub smart displays, a simple view to make it easier than ever to control whatever is playing on the smart devices on your network

With the new Nest Hub media view, you can easily control playing music across a whole speaker group or on an individual device. If you’d rather just see what’s playing, you can view information about the following:

• Which devices or groups the media is playing
• The room the device is in
• The content provider (e.g. Spotify, YouTube)
• Song/show title
• Artist name

The notification will also include the cover art, basic information, and basic controls to pause, skip, or go back. You can also control the following on each individually playing device from your Nest Hub:

• Play media
• Pause media
• Audio – Tap next track or previous track
• Video – Tap forward 30 seconds or back 10 seconds

Controlling volume is also easier than ever, and you can even set “volume thresholds” on individual devices so that the sound doesn’t get too loud.

The update is beginning to roll out now for Nest Hub devices, though it is likely via staged rollout and may take time to reach your device.

Spotify gets support for Google Assistant in India.

Spotify launched in India earlier this year making it the 79th country in the world to get the music streaming service and the company recently launched Spotify Lite app that is built for low-end Android smartphones. Today, the company has announced support for Google Assistant on Spotify in India.

Spotify users in India can now set up their Spotify account on any Google Assistant device, including Google Home and users can voice control their favourite songs. Google Assistant is available on both Spotify Free version and Spotify Premium and the supported devices include Android smartphones, Google Home, Android TV, Chromecast.

How to set up your Spotify account on a Google Assistant device?

• Open the Google Home app and navigate to ‘Settings’
• Select ‘Accounts’, then ‘Spotify’ and you will be directed to ‘Link Accounts’
• Select Link Accounts, then Log in to Spotify
• Enter your login details and once that is done, your Spotify account will be linked to your Google Home