Smart home
Facebook Portal Go, Portal+ Announced: All You Need to Know
Facebook Portal Go, Portal+ price, availability
Facebook said the portable Portal Go will cost $199 (roughly Rs. 14,600) and the large-screen Portal+, the latest generation of the product, will cost $349 (roughly Rs. 25,700). Both will begin shipping on October 19.
Facebook Portal Go, Portal+ features
Portal Go features a 12-megapixel camera and an ultra-wide field-of-view (FoV). To facilitate portability, it comes with a handle for easy carrying and a “long-lasting battery” to enable long video calls while in handheld mode. Facebook said it also “doubles as a portable speaker with room-filling sound to listen to your favorite music throughout your home.”
Portal+ features a 14-inch display with 12-megapixel Smart Camera with an ultra-wide FoV. It comes with stereo speakers that can deliver high-fidelity sound.
Updates in the new models included a “household mode,” allowing users to share a Portal and control others’ access to their contacts and apps, and a way to watch TV through the product with others who are not using a Portal device.
Facebook also said it would start adding support for Microsoft Teams in Portal in December.
Facebook has not provided specific sales numbers on Portal, but a spokeswoman said there had been increased sales and usage during the COVID-19 pandemic, through which many companies shifted to remote working and more people stayed at home under lockdown measures. Facebook makes the vast majority of its money from digital ads.
The company, which is under scrutiny from global regulators and lawmakers over its approach to user safety, privacy and content across its services, launched its first line of Portals in 2018. The smart-display devices, one of Facebook’s forays into selling hardware, let users make video calls, with cameras that automatically follow users around a room.
The company reported $497 million (roughly Rs. 3,660 crores) in non-advertising revenue in the second quarter of 2021, which it attributed mainly to sales of its Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headsets. Facebook last month launched a test of a VR remote work app where Quest 2 users can hold meetings as avatar versions of themselves.
Apple Smart Doorbell
In the latest edition of the Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman detailed Apple’s smart home efforts. The iPhone maker is reported to be working on a smart home doorbell system that will have advanced facial recognition, which wirelessly connects to a deadbolt lock.
Apple already offers several third-party smart home locks on its online store but this is said to be its first-ever proprietary offering. It is speculated to work on the same HomeKit protocol and may support other third-party locks. With this move, the company may surface as a competitor in a space dominated by the likes of Amazon’s Ring and Google Nest.
The product is expected to use Apple’s first-ever proprietary wireless networking chipset dubbed Proxima to protect consumer data. The smart home doorbell system is not expected to hit the market at least until the end of next year. However, there may be a possibility that Apple develops the technology but sells it through a third-party brand. If that is the case, Logitech or Belkin are to be the likely partners, as per Gurman.
Other Smart Home Products
The newsletter also details other endeavours by the iPhone maker in the smart home space. It is said to be developing a smart hub powered by artificial intelligence (AI) which would feature a 6-inch screen, FaceTime support, and a new operating system. Apple is also reported to be roll out upgrades for Apple TV and HomePod mini devices next year — both having the new wireless networking chip.
The company could also delve into the home security space with a purported in-home security camera that would work in tandem with its purported smart hub. Its development is already reported to be underway and may offer competition to the likes of Amazon, Blink, Google, and Logitech.
JioTag Go Price in India, Availability
JioTag Go price is set in India at Rs. 1,499. It is available for purchase in the country via Amazon, JioMart e-store, as well as Reliance Digital and My Jio stores. The tracker is offered in black, orange, white, and yellow colour options.
JioTag Go Features
The JioTag Go is a Bluetooth tracker which is compatible with Google’s Find My Device feature. The tracker connects with the Find My Device application on Android smartphones, which users can access through the Play Store. People can use this to track their belongings worldwide, the company said.
It can be attached to keys, purses, luggage, gadgets, bikes, and more and then be used to locate the items if lost. When within Bluetooth range, users can tap the ‘Play Sound’ option on the Find My Device app, and the concerned JioTag Go will make a beeping noise, which should easily help locate the lost item.
Outside the Bluetooth range, the last location of the tracker can be detected by Google’s Find My Device network. On the app, users can follow the map that appears with the ‘Get Directions’ option, to this location. Once in range, the JioTag Go will automatically connect to the user’s phone and they can use the ‘Play Sound’ feature to find the tracker.
The latest tracker from Reliance Jio is compatible with smartphones running Android 9 and above. It does not connect to iPhones. Notably, the JioTag Air is compatible with iPhone models running iOS 14 or later, as well as Android smartphones on Android 9 and later.
JioTag Go does not require a SIM card to function. It supports Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity and is backed by a CR2032 battery, one of which is said to last up to a year. The Amazon listing reveals that the tracker measures 38.2 x 38.2 x 7.2mm in size and weighs 9g.
Apple AirTag 2 New Ultrawide-Band Chip
The anticipated AirTag 2 will carry a new ultrawide-band chip instead of the one used in the current version of the tracker, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said in his Power On newsletter Sunday. This new chip is said to be “on par with the one introduced in the iPhone 15.”
Gurman claimed that the new ultrawide-band chip is expected to increase the Precision Finding range considerably in the second generation of AirTag. This is said to make it easier to track and find items. Currently, depending on certain conditions an item with an attached AirTag can be located from 10 to 30 meters away. With the rumoured new UB chip, that range is expected to triple, Gurman said.
Apple AirTag 2 Launch Timeline
Previous reports have suggested that Apple could launch the AirTag 2 around the “middle of next year,” that is roughly June-July 2025. The purported smart tracker is said to carry the codename B589. It is expected to sport a similar design as the existing variant but get upgraded privacy features.
Since the launch of the first generation AirTag, it has been misused for stalking. Apple is expected to make privacy-focussed changes for the AirTag 2 “to make the new model more tamper-proof.” The company will reportedly launch a new smart home display alongside the second-generation AirTag.
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