Another Wear OS-powered LG smartwatch shows up at the FCC

It seems LG is gearing up to launch a couple of new smartwatches. The latest one, as seen in FCC documents, is given the model name LM-W319. It’s a Wear OS-based smartwatch with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi support. No mention of cellular connectivity, though. Not much else can be gleaned from the document but last month another LG smartwatch with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi but no cellular connectivity also appeared at the FCC. This was given the model name LM-W315. Both models have been listed on LG’s OpenSource Code Distribution center and are listed as mobile devices that can run Android Oreo and Wear OS.

Android Authority speculates this could be variants of the rumoured LG Watch Timepiece, a smartwatch that has analog watch hands over the digital screen. It will reportedly have a 1.2-inch circular display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 2100 processor, 4GB of storage, IP68 dust and water-resistance rating, and a 240mAh battery. The LG Watch Timepiece is rumoured to be coming to South Korea this month with an international release to follow. We just have to wait and see then.

Is a headphone jack-less Sony Xperia in our future?

Is the Japanese tech company Sony going to be ditching the headphone jack, too? New FCC posted documents show an upcoming handset with a charging mode schematic that shows off a dongle that splits into a USB port and a headphone jack. This seemingly addresses that common complaint about phones without a headphone jack. The adapter measures 20cm and offers USB Type-C port. The device itself measures 152.8 x 72.4mm, which could easily house a 5.7-inch 18:9 screen. We could perhaps see this device debuting at MWC next month.

Source: GSMArena

Apple might launch HomePod soon following FCC approval

Apple initially pushed back the release of the HomePod speaker to “early 2018” to develop the product further. Early might be happening sooner than we think. The company just received official FCC approval for the smart speaker, meaning they can start selling the device at any time. In the US, all devices that make use of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technology need to be submitted to the United States Federal Communications Commission to make sure they meet federal regulations. For comparison’s sake, Apple started selling the iPhone X just under a month after it received FCC approval.

The FCC approval follows rumours that the smart speaker’s supplier Inventec started shipping HomePod units to Apple with the company set to reportedly receive “about 1 million” units, at least according to an industry source that spoke with Taipei Times. But like other Apple products, initial supplies might be limited. Rumour has it Inventec expects revenue from the HomePod to be “limited” in the first quarter because of the low of HomePod devices that are available for shipment.

Source: MacRumors

Lenovo’s standalone Daydream VR headset passes through the FCC

Lenovo is one of two partners Google that’s working with to release standalone headsets that runs on Google’s Daydream virtual reality platform. There weren’t any significant updates on this front, except for the news that HTC (the other partner) dropped out of creating their own VR headset. But now it looks like Lenovo is forging ahead. Their headset, which is called the Mirage Solo, just passed through the FCC. And according to the FCC document, it’ll come with a 4,000mAh battery and Bluetooth 5.0. Not much else is known about the Mirage Solo but speculation is we might expect to see it at CES. Although there is no certainty in that rumour.

Source: 9to5Google