Dolby’s Atmos home theater audio standard debuted back in 2014, and brought with the biggest change since the creation of surround sound itself: height. Dedicated drivers fire toward the ceiling, creating an even more immersive feel for TV shows and movies. You can find Atmos soundtracks on Blu-ray discs and streaming services like Netflix and iTunes via …
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Google’s rolling out the ability to play podcasts from our search results just days after announcing it during the I/O developer conference. Searching for a podcast brings up the latest trio of episodes and lets you play them instantly from the Google Podcasts web player on desktop or mobile. It uses the same mechanics as the Android app that came …
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This story is part of Mother’s Day Gift Guide. CNET editors round up the hottest gadgets for Mom this year. OK, it’s crunch time: Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 12, which means your online-gift-ordering window is closing rapidly. Indeed, if Mom lives far away and you’re hoping to have something delivered, it’s time to act. Fortunately, at least a …
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Your next pair of earbuds may be a lot smarter — and cheaper — thanks to efforts by Qualcomm and Google. Qualcomm on Thursday said it has created a smart headset platform that works with the Google Assistant and Google Fast Pair. The company’s reference design, which uses Qualcomm’s low-power Bluetooth audio chips, is meant to make it fast and …
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This story is part of Mother’s Day Gift Guide. CNET editors round up the hottest gadgets for Mom this year. Tick tock, time is running out on your chance to line up a Mother’s Day gift. If you plan to skip the flowers this year and go the tech route, splurging on the latest Apple Watch for dear ol’ Mom …
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While the Sonos One is great for people who want a kitchen speaker, there are plenty of higher-end options for people looking to replace a stereo or AV system. Naim’s Mu-so was a beautifully designed and loud(!) all-in-one speaker, and it’s been completely redesigned to be even better. Though it may look like the old model, Naim says 95 per …
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Google’s Pixel 3A has a lot going for it. It has an excellent rear camera similar to the one found on the Pixel 3, strong battery life and an OLED display. And at $399 for the 3A ($479 for the larger 3A XL) there is already plenty to love about Google’s latest for those looking for a new phone but …
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After being a dedicated Fitbit wearer, I decided to switch to an Apple Watch for its prettier display, superior design and extra features to continue my step-counting ways. But after spending so much time with a Fitbit, I was disappointed to discover that the Activity app deemphasizes step counts. I quickly grew accustomed to checking my current step count with …
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If you’re feeling like Google’s data centers are holding back your AI abilities, the company now lets you gang together lots of its tensor processing unit (TPU) chips for better performance. The Google Cloud service now offers TPUs linked together into “pods,” the company announced at its Google I/O conference Tuesday. The resulting speedup is chiefly of interest to the …
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Google has been prototyping technology for foldable phones, but don’t expect a folding version of the search giant’s flagship Pixel phone or its cheaper Pixel 3A anytime soon. Phones with screens that bend and hinge have been touted as the future of smartphones, generating tons of hype and excitement with their ability to transform from a phone into a tablet. Some of …
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