10 New Products Worth Knowing About from CES 2018, Part II

The 2018 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is here and, believe it or not, this year is poised to be different. Google has a huge presence at this year’s show, which is rare given that it and Apple usually distance themselves from CES (Apple is still a no-show). There are also rumors floating around that a new flagship smartphone could be announced (stay tuned). Aside from that, expect to see Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant integrated with just about everything. There will be troves of product releases, too, ranging from drones to 4K TVs, autonomous cars and laptops. For the latest CES coverage, follow #CES2018 on Twitter or check in with us each day. We’re here to filter out the best products that you need to know about.

This is Part II of our coverage of CES 2018. To view our other installments in this coverage in the coming days, visit our tech section or Gear Patrol’s home page.

Vuzix Blade

Vuzix is probably best known for its video headsets that give drone pilots a great FPV of their drone. Now the company has announced something altogether different. The Vuzix Blade is an AR smart glasses not dissimilar to the Google Glass. When wearing the Blade smart glasses you’ll see a screen within a screen floating in the top-right corner of your view; this screen can be paired via Bluetooth with your smartphone and show you push notifications, or you can watch videos or view photos. It’s even integrated with Amazon Alexa, so you can ask it questions or tell it to take a picture with the Blade’s eight-megapixel front-facing camera. Essentially it’s a more featured-pack version of the Google Glass. And it almost looks like a normal pair of eyeglasses. The Vuzix Blade is expected to cost approximately $1,000 and it will be available later this year.

Klipsch The Three and The One Speakers

Klipsch’s Heritage Wireless series of powered speakers shares the same look and sound signature as the brand’s coveted Heritage series — wood construction, woven grills, copper switches and knobs — but you can actually stream music over wi-fi on them, just like with Sonos. At CES, Klipsch announced that it added two new speakers to its Heritage Wireless series: The Three and The One. Both are stereo tabletop speakers. The difference is that The Three is larger and has an integrated subwoofer. The One is also portable, coming with a rechargeable battery. The big thing with both is is that they have Bluetooth and Google Assistant built-in. If you want a more elegant and better sounding Google Home, that you can also link to your home’s Play-Fi multi-room system, these will be great options. The Three will cost $499 and you can expect it this fall. The One will cost $349 and will be available in the spring of 2019.

Lenovo Miix 630 2-in-1 Laptop

The Miix 630 is a 2-in-1 laptop with a detachable screen, not too dissimilar to the Microsoft Surface Pro. It’s different, though, because it runs Windows 10 S and has an ARM processor (the same processor that powers many high-end Android smartphones). This allows the Miix 630 to get an impressive 20 hours of battery life on a single charge; it also helps ensure that the Miix 630 is very affordable — it starts at $799 with a keyboard and stylus. Additionally, the Miix 630 has a 12.3-inch and built-in wifi. You can configure it to have 4GB or 8GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of storage. Expect this 2-in-1 to be available later this spring.

B&O Play H8i and H9i Headphones

B&O Play has updated its H8 on-ear and H9 over-ear wireless headphones. The main difference with new models, the H8i on-ear and H9i over-ear, respectively, is that they both have longer battery lives than their predecessors. The H8i has doubled its battery life, for example, and now promises to get up to 30 hours with active noise-canceling and Bluetooth. The H9i doesn’t quite match that, only getting 18 hours on a single charge, but its battery is swappable. Other updates: the new H9i now supports USB-C charging, while the H8i still uses micro USB. Both have improved Transparency modes and touch gestures as well. You can expect both headphones to be available on January 25.

AKG N5005 In-Ear Headphones

The AKG N5005 in-ear studio monitors are fairly expensive, costing $1,000, but they’re meant for serious audiophiles. Each pair comes with two sets of custom detachable twist cables and a number of sound filters so audiophiles can customize the sound signature. (The four sound filters Bass Boost, Reference Sound, Semi-High Boost and High Boost.) The N5005 are also surprisingly adaptable. They come with a 3.5mm and 2.5mm cable, but also a Bluetooth dongle, so you can wireless take calls. They’ll be available this spring.

LaCie DJI Copilot

LaCie’s latest hard drive is a follow up on last year’s DJI Fly Drive, which was specifically designed to backup photos and videos captured on a DJI drone. The new Copilot is very much similar, offering 2TB of storage (or roughly 20,000 RAW photos), but now has a built-in screen so you can easily manage your photos. It also works with a companion app that allows you to review the videos and photos you just took, all straight from your smartphone. No need to bust out your laptop. LaCie’s DJI Copilot will ship this spring and cost $349.

Incase IconConnected Power Sleeve for MacBook Pro

The 2017 MacBook Pro gets about 10 hours, give or take, on a single charge — if you travel a lot, that might not be enough. Incase’s latest sleeve solves by basically being a two-in-one: a protective sleeve and a powerbank. It’s a combination of the brand’s famous ICON sleeve and a 14,000MaH battery, which will charge your portable command center with he included USB-C cable. Launching later this year, the IconConnected will be available for both 13- and 15-inch versions of the laptop for $200. It potentially could be the best travel accessory you purchase all year.

DJI Ronin-S

Meet the DJI Ronin-S. It’s the company’s first stabilizer for DSLR and mirrorless cameras that’s meant to be held with one hand. It has a three-axis gimbal to ensure you won’t take blurry photos, even if you’re aggressively moving around. And, according to the company, the gimbal’s high-torque motors will allow it to work with most major cameras, including Canon 5D, Sony Alpha and Panasonic GH systems. Just how easy the Ronin-S will actually work is still up in the air, but judging by DJI’s past Ronin gimbals, we expect this could be a potential home-run for serious photographers.

Samsung The Wall TV

The 146-inch “The Wall” TV is a heck of a lot bigger than your average “big” TV. It essentially rivals many of the new and ultra-expensive 4K projectors, which can produce a 150-inch picture. But The Wall TV is different for reasons other than its size. It’s not an LCD or OLED TV, but a MicroLED TV, which is a technology found in many large video billboards. Samsung is adamant that this a consumer product, not a prototype, and one that many people will be able to buy. Of course, The Wall TV will likely cost as much as a car. More pricing and availability info is expected to be announced this March.

Nikon Nikkor 180-400mm lens

This is Nikon’s first ever lens to features a built-in teleconverter, allowing it to quickly transition into a 252-560mm lens. Aimed at sports and wildlife photographers, the lens is a master of versatilely. And, according to Digital Trends, you can mount it to a crop sensor DX-format camera and turn into the equivalent of a 270-600mm lens (or 378-840mm lens when the teleconverter switch is flipped). For those intrigued, the lens is expected to cost $12,400, with a March 2018 release date.

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  10 New Products Worth Knowing About from CES 2018, Part I

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