Over the past few years, we've seen Amazon's Alexa voice assistant expand to a wide array of electronics. This includes robots, appliances, and even bathroom mirrors. But there is one product category that Alexa hasn't yet made an appearance in - soundbars. While you could already connect an Echo Dot to a soundbar, there hasn't been one with Alexa already integrated. That is, until now.
Read More[Update: Now up for pre-order, ships May 28] Polk Audio announces the first soundbar with Alexa, goes on sale in April
[Update: Pricing for more models] Sony announces new 4K HDR Android TVs with Google Assistant built in
Sony's been busy with announcements so far at CES 2018 in Las Vegas, debuting new headphones and speakers, an Android Auto audio system, and some new phones (trademark bezels still intact). There are surely many more new Sony things being launched at the show, but not all of them are relevant to us here. New Android TV sets with the Google Assistant built in? Yep, that's relevant enough.
Read MoreAndroid Police's Best of CES 2018
CES 2018 is over, and with another year of the world's largest electronics show wrapped, we've compiled a list of the best Android-related stuff we saw in Vegas this year. While CES has veered away from being a smartphone show - now left largely to MWC - there's still a fair bit of news from the connected tech and peripheral world that comes out of the event. This year was no different, and the field of products we felt deserved special recognition is predictably diverse. Everything from laptops and lapdocks, to phones, to TVs, to a smart speaker display thing - so without further delay, here's what we've got.
Read MoreCES 2018 wrap-up: Alexa continues its smart home dominance
Every year at CES, there is always a dominating theme showcased by electronics manufacturers. 3D TVs, wearables, health, crazy smartphones, and connected appliances are just a few examples. CES 2018 saw the continuing domination of Amazon's Alexa voice assistant, though Google Assistant put up a fair fight.
Alexa isn't confined to audio products either - we've seen her on appliances, robots, and other tech. There were so many products announced at CES with Alexa that it was impossible to give all of them separate posts (and if we're being honest, some of them don't really deserve one). Now that the show is over, here's a summary of all the new devices with Alexa or Alexa integration from CES 2018.
Read MoreOpinion: In-screen fingerprint scanners are cool, but may be too late to matter
Here at CES 2018, I had a chance to look at what some of us probably considered mere fantasy a few short years ago: a fingerprint scanner that can see through a smartphone display. It sounds like something that must be so complex it would be beyond explanation, but really, the basic principles aren't terribly difficult to grasp.
The short of it is this: smartphone screens are light-permeable, because they are porous. The thinner the display, the more light-permeable it probably is, and OLED screens are the thinnest currently being manufactured. By shining a bright enough light through the porous display, a sensor can observe the reflection of your fingerprint against the display components and use that to create a computer-readable image.
Read More"iota" is an all-in-one home security system with Google Assistant and Alexa integration
Smart home setups can become complicated very quickly. Most connected devices need a hub, which then is controlled by an app or a smart speaker (like the Google Home or Amazon Echo). To make matters more complicated, not all of them use the same kind of hub, and home security systems usually use entirely different equipment.
Read MoreGoogle and Lenovo announce first standalone Daydream headset and new VR180 consumer cameras
Last summer, Google announced a new video format to simplify the creation of virtual reality content, VR180. Now at CES, they've partnered with Lenovo and Yi Technology to bring VR180 to consumer hardware in the form of a new Daydream headset and two VR cameras.
Read MoreQualcomm and Rockchip announce new platforms for Android Things OS
Android Things is the name of Google's edition of Android specifically designed for Internet-of-Things devices (IoT). The first version was made available at the end of 2016, and the first long-term support version is expected to be released sometime this year. Back in May, MediaTek announced that it was making hardware specifically for Android Things, and now two other companies are following suit.
Read MoreThe Best Of AP
Blocks modular smartwatch has started shipping to backers after official launch at CES
Remember when dreaming about modular electronics was all the rage? Even Google got caught up in the fantasy for a little while. Project Ara's notion of a modular smartphone might be dead for now, but there's still a smartwatch with interchangeable components to capture our attention in 2018. Blocks raised $1.6M in a Kickstarter campaign that ended way back in 2015, and there must have been concerns that the product would never make it into production. Some of its backers are thankfully starting to receive their watches now, as the company announces the official launch at CES.
Read MoreTCL previews the new Alcatel series 1, 3, and 5
TCL briefly showed off its new line of Alcatel devices at CES. Simply named the 1-, 3-, and 5-series, each product line constitutes a portfolio that brings fingerprint sensors, 18:9 displays, and "flagship design" to devices that hit three distinct price points.
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