Alphabet’s Google launched a $99 Nest Audio speaker and a new Chromecast TV device, seeking to hold off Amazon and other competitors from grabbing more consumers in the smart home market.
The Nest Audio replaced the mid-tier Google Home speaker and uses a new fabric-heavy design similar to recent updates to Google’s lower-end home speakers. The new device has technology from the higher-end Google Home Max that lets the speaker adapt its sound by understanding its location in the environment.
Google has been locked in back-and-forth lawsuits with Sonos regarding audio technology patents, with Sonos suing the California-based search giant as recently as Tuesday regarding five patents.
The patents at the heart of the lawsuit involve a speaker’s ability to adjust its output based on its location, streaming music from the cloud and interacting with other speakers, all features the new Nest model includes.
Other new features of the Nest speaker include improved bass and clearer sound, Google said on Wednesday during a brief virtual product launch.
Google has about 31% of the smart speaker market, compared with 53% for Amazon and less than 3% for Apple, according to data from Voicebot Research.
The new speaker comes in multiple colors, similar to other smart speakers like Apple’s HomePod. The iPhone maker is working on a smaller and cheaper speaker, while Amazon launched several redesigned Echo speakers earlier this month.
Google announced the Nest Audio along with its new TV device during the product event.
The new TV device, the $49.99 Chromecast with Google TV, has a new oval, versus circular look, includes a Google-branded remote control with voice command, Netflix and YouTube buttons, an updated TV operating system called Google TV, and, like previous models, plugs into a television via an HDMI port.
Google TV is a re-branded version of Android TV with a redesigned user interface and can offer viewing recommendations from across services like YouTube. Google said the operating system will come to several other Android TV devices as well.
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Sonchiriya
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey
Rating: 3/5
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Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
