The holidays have come and gone, so now it's time to get back to business for the coming year. Oh, and after two months of being away to experience the joys of motherhood, I have returned! Of course, with a lot less sleep than before, but such is the life of a parent, am I right?
Some CES highlights
The first week of January and the new year has started off with a bang thanks to CES 2022 in Las Vegas. While there's definitely more non-Apple tech at CES, there were still some cool things to look forward to for us Apple fans.
First off, there are plenty of cool, new third-party accessories coming that will feature Apple's Find My baked right in. Chipolo showed off the CARD Spot, Targus revealed its Find My backpack named Cypress Hero, and Belkin is launching the new Soundform Immerse wireless earbuds. All of these products will integrate with Find My right out of the box, without the need for a separate AirTag. I frequently lose things, so AirTags have been a lifesaver, but I don't have enough of them to cover everything I need. It's great to see more products coming with Find My integration, and I think I'm going to need a Chipolo CARD Spot for myself too, as that's most useful. Hopefully more companies choose to add Find My compatibility to products in the future, and if CES is any indication, we're off to a good start.
Another promising product is the Invoxia BioMetric Smart Dog Collar. Even though AirTags exist, Apple told people that it's not recommended to track pets with an AirTag. Thankfully, Invoxia is solving that problem. This Smart Dog Collar will use artificial intelligence to monitor your furry friend's health and well-being, while also tracking their real-time location. The BioMetric Smart Dog Collar will have sensors, accelerometers, and embedded deep neural networking capabilities to track a dog's respiratory and heart vitals. On top of that, the collar will be able to detect anomalies in behavior, which can alert you to possible health issues, and all data gets collected in the companion iPhone app. My husband and I have a Siberian Husky, so I'd be curious to check this one out once it's released, as should any dog owner.
There were also some great CES announcements for HomeKit users. Nanoleaf has opened up Thread capabilities for some of its key products, including Shapes, Elements, and Lines. With Thread, your Nanoleaf products should be able to better communicate with other Thread accessories, as well as the internet, apps, and even more. Aqara is another brand that is launching new Thread devices; while Belkin Wemo is adding HomeKit Secure Video support for its Smart Video Doorbell, and more. So if you are a smart home accessory user, there's plenty to look forward to.
I am also quite excited to check out SCOSCHE's MagSafe wireless speaker, myself. I love MagSafe accessories, and there certainly aren't a lot of compact speakers that attach to your device via magnets, right? It would definitely be great to watch something on my iPhone 13 Pro in the background with this, since it doubles as a kickstand. It could even end up on our list of best MagSafe accessories!
iPhone 14 and AirPods Pro rumors
It's only been a few months since the iPhone 13 series came out, but that doesn't stop the rumors from flowing for the next generation iPhone. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg once again points towards the possibility of a hole-punch screen iPhone 14, which would ditch the notch. This would mean that Face ID would be under the display, which honestly, I would like. I was never a fan of the notch to begin with, and while I've grown used to it at this point, I would like to be able to have more screen estate on my iPhone. And if we could add an under-display Touch ID sensor too, that would be lovely. I suppose we'll find out in several months, right?
And while AirPods 3 just came out, I'm still eagerly waiting for the next generation AirPods Pro. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, AirPods Pro 2 could gain lossless audio support and have a new charging case. Personally, I'm not a huge audiophile like others out there, but I'm curious how good a lossless audio format (ALAC) will sound when it is wireless. The new charging case rumor is also intriguing, as it will have improved Find My support by adding small speakers for audible alerts when locating your earbuds. I much prefer the AirPods Pro over the standard AirPods because they fit better for me and I love ANC, so I'll be eager for this one.
Starting a new year on the right foot
I miss the holidays, and really wish that we were all still off, but all good things must come to an end. Since I've been gone for a while, I hope you all had a great holiday season and fantastic new year. I hope things go well for everyone this year.
Until next time!
- Christine Romero-Chan
