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Monday, 12 August 2019

Unreleased Sonos Portable Bluetooth Speaker Revealed in FCC Filing

Sonos appears to have a portable Bluetooth speaker in the works. After a filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) revealed the existence of the company's first Bluetooth speaker, Zatz Not Funny shared a photo of the device in question (below), which has a more rounded design than the Sonos One.

In the filing for the unreleased product, Sonos calls it "a high-performance wireless speaker and part of the Sonos sound system. The device's primary function will be for streaming with Wi-Fi, but also features Bluetooth audio streaming and Bluetooth Low Energy, used for simplified setup."

Like Apple and its HomePod, Sonos has used Bluetooth Low Energy in its devices before to make setup easier, but support for Bluetooth streaming would be a new thing in the Sonos lineup and allow users to play audio from any Bluetooth-enable device within range.

The addition of Bluetooth support is particularly surprising given that Sonos has belittled Bluetooth audio listening experiences in the past.

After the FCC filing emerged, The Verge had a chance to see more images of the speaker and has spoken to a person familiar with its capabilities.

According to the source, the speaker is both taller and slightly wider than the Sonos One, and it supports hands-free voice commands from Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. The portable speaker charges via a base station, and can also optionally be recharged over USB-C.

There's also an integrated handle on the rear and a button that switches between Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. As with other recent Sonos speakers, the portable one will support Apple's AirPlay 2.

Last week, Sonos sent out media invites for meetings later in August, so there's a good chance that the company will use those to unveil the Bluetooth-supporting portable speaker, along with other products due to be launched in the fall.

Tag: Sonos

This article, "Unreleased Sonos Portable Bluetooth Speaker Revealed in FCC Filing" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Hong Kong Cancels All Flights as Thousands of Pro-Democracy Protesters Occupy Airport

Hong Kong International Airport has cancelled flights for the day after 6 PM local time (6 AM ET) as pro-democracy protests in the city rage on for the tenth consecutive week. Incoming flights will be allowed to land, but outgoing flights for the night have been halted and it’s not clear when air travel might resume.

Telegram Gains Silent Messages, Group Chat 'Slow Mode', Night Themes, and More

Encrypted messaging platform Telegram has received an update that brings a new silent messaging feature to the app, amongst other things.

After applying the update, Telegram lets you send a message to someone and their device won't make an audible notification sound when they receive it, even if they forgot to enable Do Not Disturb mode.

Holding the Send button reveals the new option to have a message or media delivered without sound. Telegram suggests the feature means you can now message friends freely even when you know they are sleeping, studying or attending a meeting.

In the Group Permissions section, users will also find a new Slow Mode switch. With this enabled, members of a group chat are only able to send one message per the interval chosen by the group owner. Optional slow mode intervals span from 30 seconds to one hour.

The idea behind the feature is to make conversations in the group more orderly, while raising the value of each individual message. Admins can keep it on permanently, or toggle as necessary to throttle rush hour traffic.

Elsewhere in this update, group owners can now set custom titles for individual admins, videos now display thumbnail previews as you scrub through, and tapping on a timestamp plays the video from the right spot. There's also new animated emojis and new accent colors for the app's various night themes.

Telegram is a free download for iPhone and iPad from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Tag: Telegram

This article, "Telegram Gains Silent Messages, Group Chat 'Slow Mode', Night Themes, and More" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Triple-Lens Rear Cameras Rumored for Next iPad Pro Range, Dual-Lens for New Entry-Level iPad

Apple's next-generation iPad could gain a dual-lens rear camera while the next iPad Pro range could get a triple-lens array, according to a rumor out of China.

Japanese blog Mac Otakara cited a Chinese supply source over the weekend claiming the fourth-generation 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro devices will get the same multi-sensor array widely rumored to be coming to Apple's next iPhone range this year.

Meanwhile, Apple's rumored new version of its entry-level iPad – a device with a slightly bigger 10.2-inch screen than the existing 9.7-inch model – will inherit the dual lens setup currently seen in the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max.

The new iPads will launch in October, claims Mac Otakara's source, who also said that diagrams of related accessories are "floating around," but they declined to specify whether they are Apple accessories or third-party ones.

Apple hasn't used dual-lens rear camera modules in any iPad, let alone triple-lens arrays, so bringing the multi-sensor systems to two three new models in the same year, would be a first for the company.

In a February research note, respected Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Apple plans to release two new iPad Pro models, a 10.2-inch iPad, and a refreshed iPad mini this year. A month later, Apple released an upgraded iPad mini in March alongside a new 10.5-inch iPad Air.

Apple hasn't updated its third-generation iPad Pro lineup since October 2018 and its 9.7-inch entry-level iPad since March 2018, so we can reliably expect both to get some sort of refresh soon. Whether they will have the sort of multi-sensor cameras that are usually the preserve of smartphones is a different matter.

Rumors suggest Apple's next-generation 6.5-inch and 5.8-inch OLED iPhones will feature triple-lens rear cameras (with wide-angle, super wide-angle, and telephoto lenses), while the successor to the iPhone XR will feature a dual-lens camera with a wide-angle lens and a telephoto lens.

Related Roundups: iPad Pro, iPad

Tag: macotakara.jp

Buyer's Guide: 11" iPad Pro (Neutral), 12.9" iPad Pro (Neutral), iPad (Don't Buy)

This article, "Triple-Lens Rear Cameras Rumored for Next iPad Pro Range, Dual-Lens for New Entry-Level iPad" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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Sunday, 11 August 2019

The Lion King Has Edged Out Frozen As the Highest-Grossing Animated Film of All Time, More Proof That Disney’s Monopoly Is Inescapable and Nothing Matters

This is what entertainment journalism is, in 2019: watching Disney score an unending series of victories over itself as the film industry grows smaller and smaller.