Huawei goes for a misleading moniker with the AI Cube-- the device is technically a cylinder, but it does make an interesting combination of smart speaker, 4G modem and wifi router.
The result of a Huawei-Amazon collaboration presented at IFA 2018, the AI Cube runs on Alexa and promises a more convenient way to both connect to the internet and control smart devices. A slot for an LTE SIM card makes it a 4G hot spot, while an ethernet port allows use as an 802.11ac wifi router. The router is dual-band, working on the 2.4 and 5GHz bands, and transmits data over LAN at up to 1200Mbps.
The ThinkPad X1 is the Lenovo take on the MacBook Pro-style prosumer notebook. It is the first ThinkPad device in the 15-inch form factor, and carries an 8th gen Intel Core processor (up to i9), Nvidia GeForce 1050Ti discrete graphics, up to 64GB RAM and 2TB storage via dual PCIe SSDs with RAID 0/1 capability. The 15.6-inch display is a 4K panel with 100% Adobe RGB gamut and Dolby Vision HDR, and audio includes Dolby Atmos capability.
The DLA-NX9 combines 8K e-shift pixel shifting with a 100mm diameter 18-element, 16-group all-glass lens to ensure high resolution into the extreme corner of the screen. Five low dispersion lenses suppress chromatic aberration and bleeding, while a variety of techniques reduce light scattering and light diffraction, improving brightness and black levels.
The Cloud Remote for PS4 automatically detects all AV hardware connected to the PS4, including the TV, projector, amplifier or speaker. To do so it uses the cloud, as built into the PDP Cloud Remote app. While not as versatile as anything from the likes of URC or Crestron, it does allow for basic functionality, as well as control of streaming services such as Netflix.
Launched at IFA 2018, the Vivosmart 4 can also track the different stages of sleep (namely light, deep and REM), before pushing collected sleep data to the Garmin Connect smartphone app via Bluetooth. Another interesting feature is what Garmin calls "Body Battery energy," essentially an estimate of energy levels based on stress, heart rate variability, sleep quality and activity.
