Author: Stuff writer

We’ve been drooling over Motorola’s circular Moto 360 smartwatch since we first caught a glimpse of it earlier this year. And now it looks like it’s got another rival before it’s even launched. OnePlus – the Chinese manufacturer behind the excellent OnePlus One – is reportedly working on a circular smartwatch called the OneWatch. According to BGR’s source, the OneWatch will land with a circular sapphire glass display. If true, we expect its visibility to hold up well in sunlight, and take every beating that life throws its way, thanks to sapphire’s incredible toughness. Wireless charging and a curved battery…

Apple, it seems, is finally showing some attention to its desktop range with a revamp of its iMac and Mac Mini products – at least if you believe an Apple support page for installing Microsoft Windows using Boot Camp. According to the source, Apple might launch a “mid 2014 Mac Mini” and a “mid 2014 27-inch iMac”, though word of their arrival hasn’t been officially confirmed. Almost as soon as the listings were put up they were pulled down, but that didn’t stop sources such as 9to5Mac and other Apple blogs catching wind of it. Well, we think it’s about…

In a world of shrinking desktop PC margins, you can’t blame manufacturers from trying to mix things up a little. And that’s exactly what Silent Power has done with its tiny new computer, which looks like a weird marriage between a sponge and a dying garden hedge. The funny reddish growth on top of the metal box isn’t for show, however: it’s a heat sink, allowing the PC to eschew the use of fans, which take up space and whirr distractingly. The copper “foam” keeps the computer’s innards cool and doesn’t make any noise while it does so. Its bad-1970s-haircut…

Samsung has two high-end smartphones due for release in the next six months. At least, that’s what Samsung Mobile’s senior vice-president, Kim Hyun-Joon, told investors on an earnings call. Kim said the launch of these units would be an attempt at regaining Samsung’s falling earnings and securing its lead as one of the top mobile phone manufacturers. It’s a tough spot to be in, especially since competition’s gotten tougher with Chinese rivals like Xiaomi entering the market. The South Korean company didn’t reveal too much on what these two new mobile phones will be or look like, instead providing investors…

Not content to have both the Gear Live and Gear 2 smartwatches on the market, Samsung may be pursuing a couple of models with rounded screens, as well, if uncovered patent filings bear fruit. Multiple designs are shown, including one with a perfectly circular face and another with a slightly more square-like shape, but both depict a camera and charging pins on the wristband. Because Android Wear doesn’t support watch camera use (at least thus far), it’s likely that these designs aren’t meant for Google’s operating system, but rather Samsung’s own Tizen, which powers the Gear 2 but is still…

If everything is going according to plan over at the Googleplex, app developers should soon be able to get their hands on the first tablets with Google’s Project Tango tech inside. Tango allows a device to build up an accurate 3D model of its immediate surroundings, which Google says will be useful for everything from AR gaming to navigating large shopping centres. We imagine you’ve got a few questions about that – so let us attempt to answer them for you. 1. WHAT IS PROJECT TANGO? Google isn’t content with making software for phones that can merely capture 2D photos…

It’s not often we see a robot, even a concept, as cool as the BugJuggler. Seemingly inspired by the robots from Pacific Rim, it’s a 70 foot-tall giant capable of picking up, tossing and catching cars with its hydraulic arms. A “pilot” climbs a ladder into the BugJuggler’s head and controls its arms through motion-sensing controls. Essentially, when the pilot moves, the robot tries to match his or her movements. Sadly, BugJuggler’s Berkeley, California-based inventors are some way from making the full-size robot, but with the help of Kickstarter they’re hoping to build a human-sized prototype arm capable of juggling…

Scientists have collaborated to build a robot that could adapt to a broken leg and learn to keep walking. The robot was built by Antoine Cully and Jean-Baptiste Mouret of Paris’s Sorbonne and Jeff Clune of the University of Wyoming, whose names will echo the hall of history as some of the many fathers of the Terminator. Possibly. The scientists’ aim was to create a more robust, adaptive and autonomous robot. Adaptive robotics are said to be the cutting edge of the field. Robots, generally, are not particularly versatile machines – they simply perform a very specific task. The challenge…

According to a couple of reports, both HTC and Microsoft have intriguing plans for their Windows Phone handset efforts – particularly the former, which may be bringing its flagship Android phone (pictured) to the platform. Engadget’s sources have revealed that the HTC One (M8) for Windows (also known by its codename, W8) is expected to launch by the end of September – at least in the United States, where it will be available on Verizon and potentially other carriers. The fantastic design and display of our #2 current smartphone in the world paired with the alluring interface of Windows Phone?…

Apple has quietly updated its Retina display-equipped MacBook Pro laptops. All 13in and 15in models have had some kind of upgrade, with the base 13in model now offering a 2.6GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of flash storage and a nine-hour battery. The next model up boasts the same specs bar twice as much storage space, while the top-level 13in has 512GB of storage and a 2.8GHz Core i5 CPU (it can be upgraded pre-purchase, of course, with up to 1TB of storage and 16GB of RAM). There are two new 15in MacBook Pros with Retina display,…