THE LATEST IN THE DIGITAL WORLD
NEW GOOGLE NEST HUB
Great news for Google fans – the search giant can now watch you while you sleep. Well, not quite – the Nest Hub still doesn’t feature a camera – but the new version of the smart speaker with screen now features sleep tracking.
And the feature does not require you to wear any additional hardware.
The sleep tracking feature works thanks to a Soli sensor – a miniature radar tracker that can measure movement, right down to breathing pattern.
It’s the same tech Google uses in its Pixel phones to allow you to control the phone with hand gestures without touching it.
In the background, Google combines the info gathered by the Soli system with what it knows about your general daily routines, analyses everything and comes up with a summary of how you’ve slept.
It all works automatically – there’s no need to tell it you’re going to bed or getting up.
Google says all the data captured by the sleep sensors is unidentifiable and processed on the device itself. The Soli sensor is also used by the device to let you control the play and pause of music with hand gestures.
Elsewhere, Google says the speaker on the Hub has been revamped to give 50% better bass performance, and a new dedicated machine learning chip should help the device better understand voice commands.
The new Nest Hub will cost £89.99 and will be available on March 30. Find out more at store. google.com
FITBIT ACE 3
Fitbit has released the third version of its fitness tracker for kids.
The new Ace 3 includes no location tracking, and is focused on sleep and activity. And while it might seem incredible that kids need encouragement to up their activity levels, the Ace offers just that in the form of on-screen animations that change and grow on the journey to reaching activity goals.
The device can last up to eight days on a single charge, and is “swim proof”.
The Ace 3 costs £69.99 and is available now.
See fitbit.com for more.