MacRumors

We've seen it in third-party speakers and cars already at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, but Amazon's Alexa is also about to become a smartphone personal assistant. Chinese mobile company Huawei used CES 2017 to announce it will be the first handset maker in the U.S. to pre-load the voice-activated AI into a phone.

Huawei's announcement sets the stage for Alexa to compete directly in a mobile market already busy with AI assistants battling it out for supremacy. Meanwhile, Apple's Siri is still only available on iOS devices and Macs running macOS Sierra, although rumors have persisted that Cupertino is working on its own Siri-powered connected smart speaker, while the AI is likely to feature heavily in any autonomous car system the company may be working on.

Elsewhere, Google recently upgraded its Google Assistant for its own-branded Pixel phones, and last year Samsung acquired Viv – developed by the creators of Siri – for integration in its next round of flagship smartphones.

Ford has announced it is teaming up with Amazon to integrate Alexa virtual assistant into its cars, allowing vehicle owners to access shop, search, and control smart home features on the road.

The partnership means owners of Ford cars equipped with the SYNC 3 AppLink system will be able to access Amazon's Alexa voice-activated virtual assistant from the driver's seat, enabling them to check the weather, add items to shopping lists, play audiobooks, and control Alexa-compatible smart home devices, like lights and thermostats.

"Ford and Amazon are aligned around a vision that your voice should be the primary way to interface with your favorite devices and services," said Don Butler, executive director, Ford Connected Vehicle and Services. "Customers will be able to start their vehicles from home, and manage smart home features while on the road – making life easier."

Ford said that beginning next month, some owners of its vehicles will be able to use Alexa voice commands to access certain car functions and even check the range of their car. Specifically, owners of the Ford Focus Electric, Fusion Energy, and the C-MAX Energy will be able to use their Amazon Echo or Echo Dot smart speaker in the home to lock their car or start the engine remotely. Ford said it plans to offer the Alexa commands in more of its SYNC Connect cars at a later date.

The second phase of the rollout, expected this summer, allows Ford owners to tap into a broad set of Alexa skills using their voice while driving – helping them keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.

"We're excited to work with Ford to enhance the driver experience both inside and outside of the vehicle," said Steve Rabuchin, vice president, Amazon Alexa. "We believe voice is the future, and this is particularly true in cars. The ability to use your voice to control your smart home, access entertainment, manage to-do lists and more makes for an extraordinary driving experience. We can’t wait for Ford customers to try this out."

Amazon's Alexa has been cropping up in a range of upcoming products at CES so far this year, appearing in third-party smart speakers, TVs, lamps, and even refrigerators.

Speck, best known for the cases and accessories it makes for Apple's line of products, is showing off two new protective cases at this year's Consumer Electronics Show. The Presidio Clear is Speck's first drop-resistant laptop case, while the Presidio Show is its latest iPhone case.

The Presidio Clear is made with a dynamic transparent material that Speck is calling "Impactium Clear," and according to the company, it is able to absorb and disperse shock, protecting the MacBook from drops as high as four feet.

It's made from the same material as Speck's Presidio smartphone cases and is entirely transparent, preserving the design of the MacBook. It is UV resistant so it won't yellow over time. The case snaps on to the front and the bottom of the MacBook, and a raised edge around the case offers a no-slip grip that makes it easier to hold on to one of Apple's thin notebooks.

For the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus (and the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus), Speck is debuting new clear Presidio Show cases that are designed to match the colors of Apple's latest devices. The Show was specifically made for the Jet Black iPhone, giving users a way to keep it safe while showing off its glossy finish.

The Show uses Speck's Impactium material, which the company says will protect the iPhone from drops up to 10 feet (this is Speck's only clear case with the superior drop protection). While a black version is available now, gold, rose gold, and silver versions will be available in the near future.

The Presidio Show for the iPhone 6, 6s, 7, 6 Plus, 6s Plus, and 7 Plus is available for $39.95 starting today from the Speck website.

The Presidio Clear, which will be priced at $99.95 and comes in Clear and Onyx Black, will be available for the 13-inch MacBook Pro in February of 2017. Presidio Clear cases for additional MacBook models will be available later in the year.

Western Digital today announced the launch of its latest SanDisk-branded product, a 256GB SanDisk Extreme Pro USB 3.1 Solid State Flash Drive, which it says is the fastest, highest capacity USB flash drive the company has ever made.

Designed to provide the speed and reliability of a solid state drive in the form factor of a small USB flash drive, the SanDisk Extreme Pro can reach read speeds of up to 420MB/s and write speeds of up to 380MB/s. According to Western Digital, a full-length 4K movie can be transferred to the drive in less than 15 seconds.

"The combination of SSD performance and a compact USB form factor offers the ultimate performance and convenience for moving files easily and quickly," said Sven Rathjen, vice president of marketing, Client Solutions Business Unit, Western Digital. "With its increased capacity and blazing speeds, the SanDisk Extreme PRO USB 3.1 Solid State Flash Drive is our sleekest, most powerful SanDisk USB device yet."

Western Digital plans to begin offering the SanDisk Extreme Pro USB 3.1 Solid State Flash Drive in late January from retailers like Amazon.com and Best Buy. It will be priced at $179.99.

Western Digital is also debuting a new SanDisk-branded A1 microSD card at CES, which offers transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s. With read IOPS (input-output access per second) of 1,500 and write IOPS of 500, it can open apps and process files more quickly. SanDisk's Ultra microSD card with A1 will be available in January of 2017 for $199.99.

Griffin today debuted its latest line of products at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show, introducing a new set of smart home products that include a Connected Toaster, Connected Coffee Maker, Connected Mirror, PowerBlock Beacon, and PowerJolt Beacon.

The Connected Coffeemaker, priced at $99.99, is the first product in the new Griffin Home collection. It is a Bluetooth-enabled smart coffee maker that works with a companion smartphone app to create a brewed-to-order cup of coffee on demand. Available during Q2 2017, the Connected Coffee Maker makes up to 12 cups and has a timer and other smart features.

The Coffee Maker will be accompanied by the Connected Toaster, also priced at $99.99 and set to launch during the second quarter of 2017. The Connected Toaster is a two-slot toaster with digital temperature adjustment settings for bread type and darkness, with an app that remembers individual user preferences.

Griffin's most ambitious product in the Home collection appears to be the Connected Mirror, which will be available in late 2017 for $999.99. The Connected Mirror includes time, weather, and status messages from other Griffin Home products. Information is displayed at the sides of the mirror and can be customized with the companion app.

The PowerBlock Beacon and the PowerJolt Beacon, the final two products in the collection, are smart chargers designed to remind users to plug in and charge before they run out of power. Each charger features Bluetooth that connects to a smartphone or tablet and keeps track of power level. When a certain user-defined power threshold is reached, the charger will remind customers to plug in and charge their devices.

The PowerBlock Beacon, priced at $39.99, and the PowerJolt Beacon, priced at $29.99, will be available during the second quarter of 2017.

Griffin is also introducing a few new products for iOS devices, including a new Survivor Extreme for iPad mini 4 ($69.99), Survivor Journey Folios for the iPad ($39.99 for mini, $49.99 for Pro), and a Survivor Glass screen protector for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus ($39.99).

All of Griffin's new iPhone and iPad products will be available during the first quarter of 2017, with the exception of the Journey Folio, which is available now from the Griffin website.

Following a request from Chinese authorities, Apple in late December removed all apps from The New York Times from the App Store in China, The New York Times shared today.

According to Apple, the company was forced to remove both the English-language and Chinese-language news apps after being informed they were in "violation of local regulations."

"We have been informed that the app is in violation of local regulations," Fred Sainz, an Apple spokesman, said of the Times apps. "As a result, the app must be taken down off the China App Store. When this situation changes, the App Store will once again offer the New York Times app for download in China."

News apps from other publications such as The Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal remain in the Chinese App Store. The New York Times app was likely removed due to a long-standing ban in China - the site has been blocked since 2012.

Apple has not provided specific information on the local regulations the apps violated, and The New York Times has asked Apple to reconsider its decision.

"The request by the Chinese authorities to remove our apps is part of their wider attempt to prevent readers in China from accessing independent news coverage by The New York Times of that country, coverage which is no different from the journalism we do about every other country in the world," Ms. Murphy said in a statement.

The New York Times believes the request may have been made under Provisions on the Administration of Internet Application Informations Services regulations introduced in June of 2016. Those regulations prevent apps from publishing prohibited information and "endangering national security, disrupting social order and violating the legitimate rights and interests of others."

Apple has faced censoring in China multiple times in the past, most notably being forced to shut down iTunes Movies and the iBooks Store following the release of controversial independent movie Ten Years.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, Nanoleaf is showing off its latest product, the Nanoleaf Aurora. The Nanoleaf Aurora is a HomeKit-enabled accent lighting setup that consists of a number of different triangle-shaped panels that can be lit up in different shades to provide ambient mood lighting.

While the Nanoleaf Aurora has been available for purchase for a few months, Nanoleaf is introducing a new Aurora product at CES, the Aurora Rhythm, an audio visualizer module that connects to the Aurora and allows the lights to fluctuate in time with music beats.

The Aurora Rhythm is a plug-in module that attaches to an existing Aurora display. Its built-in audio sensors pick up on music and transform beats and melodies into color displays. Nanoleaf says it will pair well with all kinds of music and audio, from party tunes to soft romantic music to video games.

"Adding the audio visualizer to the Aurora was the natural next step for Nanoleaf," states Gimmy Chu, CEO and Co-Founder of Nanoleaf. "The most overwhelming piece of feedback we've received since the Aurora launch has been 'does this sync with music?'" Visuals play an incredible part in our experiences, but our senses extend so much further than that. Sound, along with sight, is one of the most interactive senses we have. With the Aurora Rhythm, these two sensory experiences can now come together, harmonizing creativity and inspiring self-expression."

The Nanoleaf app, which works with the Aurora lighting system, is also being updated with "Rhythm Scenes" that will add the ability to better customize lighting scenes.

Nanoleaf plans to debut the Aurora Rhythm in the summer of 2017, and the Rhythm Scenes will be available soon. Pricing for the Aurora Rhythm has not been announced, but the original Aurora Smarter Kit can be purchased from the Nanoleaf website for $199.99.

At this week's Consumer Electronics Show, Withings introduced the next-generation version of its "Home" smart security camera and baby monitor, which adds HomeKit compatibility.

The new "Home Plus" is one of the first security cameras on the market to integrate with HomeKit, allowing it to interface with other HomeKit-enabled products and be accessed through Apple's own Home app.

Like many security cameras on the market, the Home Plus streams HD video to a smartphone or tablet, allowing users to keep an eye on their homes when away, or on their children when in a different room. The Home Plus sends notifications out when there's unusual noise and movement, and it's able to monitor indoor pollution.

Design wise, the Withings Home Plus looks similar to the original Withings Home, introduced in 2015, with a wood enclosure and white accents that house a wide-angle camera. It has the same HD camera with night vision support and the ability to store video for up to 48 hours with no subscription plan needed.

Withings plans to make the Home Plus available for purchase during the first quarter of 2017. It will be priced at $199.

Withings has also begun selling its new Withings Steel HR, an analog fitness tracking watch with a built-in heart rate monitor. First introduced in September, the Withings Steel HR looks like a traditional watch, but features heart rate and activity tracking. The Steel HR is available for $179.95 to $199.95 from the Withings website.

Ring, best known for its popular video doorbells, has added an outdoor Floodlight Cam to its security camera product lineup.

The Floodlight Cam is a motion-activated security camera with built-in 3K lumen LED floodlights, a 270-degree field-of-view, facial recognition, a 110-decibel siren alarm, two-way audio, and infrared for night vision. The hardwired, self-install camera is controlled via Wi-Fi with an iPhone or Android-based smartphone.

When the Floodlight Cam detects movement, homeowners will receive a push notification on their iPhone, while the HD video camera will also begin recording so users can see and speak to whoever is on their property through the free Ring app for iPhone and iPad, Mac, Android, and Windows 10 devices.

If a suspicious person is detected, homeowners can scare them off by turning on the device’s siren, yelling over the loudspeaker and pulsing the light rapidly. Not only will this likely scare off a potential intruder, but it will also get neighbors’ attention so they can assist in calling the authorities. Video recordings can be accessed during and after an event and shared with neighbors and local law enforcement.

With the Ring app, homeowners can manually flash the floodlights, sound the alarm, and zoom in and pan to focus. Users can set customizable motion zones and a schedule for the lights to turn on and off automatically if desired. The camera is weatherproof and designed for temperatures between -5°F (-20°C) and 120°F (48°C).

Ring is accepting pre-orders for the Floodlight Cam for $249 on its website beginning today; orders will begin shipping in early April. Cloud video recording, allowing users to view and download up to six months of previous events, is available for $3 per month or $30 per year if desired.

Update: Ring has since confirmed on Twitter that its Floodlight Cam will support HomeKit. A media representative for the company confirmed HomeKit will be enabled in a future software update, but no timeline was specified.