This week, we're hosting our very own Smart Home Week to celebrate the latest and greatest technology in the smart home sector and give you tips on how to use your devices more effectively.
We also saw the arrival of some shiny new Bluetooth speakers, a Surface Pro that finally gives the iPad Pro a run for its money, and several event date announcements from Prime Day to the Pixel 9 launch event.
So, in case you missed it, here are the seven biggest tech news stories of the last seven days.
7. We organize Smart Home Week 2024
We're launching our new Smart Home Week for 2024, where we bring you the best tips and tricks for setting up and making the most of your smart home. This includes guides on how to set up and use Alexa Sound Detection and our thoughts on new products like this Bird Buddy smart bird feeder.
We also asked experts to give us their opinion on how secure smart home security cameras really are and challenged both Google and Apple to step up with new hardware before Amazon gets even further ahead in the race to dominate the smart home market.
6. We review the Surface Pro 11 and rate it as the best Surface ever
Thanks to its “fast performance, excellent battery life, improved compatibility, and new AI-powered apps that will get better over time,” we've already called the new Microsoft Surface Pro 11 the best Surface ever.
Starting at $999.99 / £1,049.99 / AU$1,899.99, this is no ordinary tablet – it’s a proper Windows 11 machine with a 10-core Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus chip, 2.8K LCD, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB SSD, though you can upgrade to a model with a 12-core Snapdragon X Elite chip, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB SSD starting at $1,499.99 / £1,549 / AU$2,699.
This is the first real competition the iPad Pro has had, and as we say in our review, “Apple should absolutely be worried.”
5. Prime Day 2024 dates revealed
After accidentally leaking the dates for Prime Day 2024, Amazon has officially confirmed that Amazon Prime Day will take place on July 16-17 in the US and UK.
As part of the offer, Prime members can expect to see literally thousands of deals on a wide range of popular tech brands, including Sony, Samsung, Ninja, GHD, Fitbit, Oral-B, Bose and Shark, to name just a few. .
If you're not already a Prime member (and haven't subscribed to Prime before), you can sign up for a free 30-day trial below to take advantage of some of the early deals that have appeared and be ready for the biggest sale when it goes live in a few weeks.
4. Google and Samsung set dates for their next phone launch events
Both Google and Samsung have announced dates for their upcoming tech events, with Galaxy Unpacked coming early on July 10, 2024, with an event kicking off at 9am ET / 6am PT / 2pm BST.
We're looking forward to seeing the arrival of their new foldable phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6, a successor to the Galaxy Watch 6 of some sort (maybe even a Galaxy Watch Ultra), and the long-awaited Galaxy Ring.
Google’s announcement is all the more surprising in that instead of October, its Pixel phone launch event is now scheduled for Tuesday, August 13. We know it’s also a Pixel phone event (rather than other hardware) since a promotional clip shows us a look at the Pixel 9 Pro and is titled “AI… meet IX” (IX is nine in Roman numerals).
3. Ultimate Ears and Beats gave us great new speakers
As we head into the warmer months of summer (at least here in the UK, where this writer is based), that means one thing: outdoor parties. Whether on the beach, by the pool, in the garden or in a park, there's nothing better than being outside soaking up the sun and enjoying a barbecue. And if you want to keep everyone entertained with music, there are two new contenders on the scene.
The new Beats Pill is now available and, although it looks similar to the last generation model, its creators promise great things. Apparently, it's louder, features IP67 water and dust resistance, has Bluetooth 5.3, supports USB-C for both audio streaming and charging, and costs just $149.99 / £149.99 / AU$249. 95.
Then there's the new Everboom from Ultimate Ears. This 360-degree speaker can get really loud and still offers solid sound performance with only some distortion at its maximum volume of 89 decibels. At a more moderate volume (which is where you'll be listening anyway), it sounds fantastic. Plus, it features IP67 water and dust resistance and floats, making it perfect for any gathering where you might take a dip.
2. The leaks showed us a fantastic character from the Superman movie.
It is a bird? It is a plane? No! That's a couple of big new updates on James Gunn. Superman The next DC movie is currently filming on the streets of Cleveland, Ohio and as many of us expected, some major leaks have emerged as filming on the DC Universe Chapter One movie progresses.
And when we say big, we mean big. Not only did a new Superman The movie leak reveals a new look at the Man of Steel's costume, but gave us our first look at one of his fellow heroes in Mr. Terrific. A few days later, the same character was seen meeting Clark's most loyal friend Ken in a Superman The video of the film was also leaked. We hope that… some Surprises are in store for the Kryptonian's return to the big screen.
1. UploadVR Summer Showcase 2024 was all about VR gaming
Meta may not have held its summer Quest Gaming Showcase this year, but the UplaodVR Summer Showcase 2024 did introduce us to games and apps coming to the best VR headsets in the coming months.
The hour-long event had a lot to show off, but some of the highlights for us included Lovesick, a punk-themed VR escape room, Pencil!, a mixed reality drawing teacher and assistive tool; and Cold VR – a reverse Superhot where time speeds up when you slow down.
