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Tech Feature: Must-Have Gadgets For 2018

Cut through the music landfill with our guide to the newest gadgets that define your musical choices of 2018. Let’s say it’s all about AR and VR.

VIVE Pro brings the next generation of room-scale VR

The new year is here, which can only mean one thing: new gadgets! Cut through the music landfill with our guide to the newest gadgets that define your musical choices of 2018. It may or may not be related to how you would consume better music, but definitely going to make your life much easier to play and work with technology.

Sony Extra-Bass Wireless Speaker
Before you decide that this is just another speaker, stop right there. Sony has always been one of the most dedicated brands when it comes to speakers and we’ve got it tested before it got onto this list. This relatively affordable speaker, priced between €120 – €230 Euros, is a water- and dustproof (with IP rating) party booster that can connect up to 100 speakers with Wireless Party Chain. The “party booster” feature can detect tapping from 5 different directions using its built-in accelerometer with flashing strobe lighting that reacts according to the music – perfect for a night party at the beach. It is specifically designed to enhance the “deep bass” & “punch bass” sound quality and perfectly supports bass-heavy music such as EDM, grime and hip-hop. Some of the models could last up to 24 hours before the next charge.

Sony extra bass wireless speaker

Sony extra bass wireless speaker

BEOPLAY H9i Headphone
Created for avid music lovers, Beoplay’s latest premium headphones set to launch later this year, feature advanced noise cancellation, proximity sensors, and are wireless via Bluetooth. Retailed at $USD499.00 or €499 Euros, this luxurious headphone comes in two colours (black and beige) and claim to have 18 hours of playtime. One of its more prominent features is its innovative aluminium touch panel for controlling your music, and not forgetting, the Bang & Olufsen Signature Sound.

The Beoplay H9i is a flagship model by Bang & Olufsen.

The Beoplay H9i is a flagship model by Bang & Olufsen.

Soundots Speakers
Looking to build your mini-wall-of-sound? These Bluetooth modular speakers is a remedy to problems associated with near-instantaneous pairing, smooth and excellent sound quality. Looking swell in grey aluminum and steel, it comes with a charging port and a combo headphone/optical port – now available at USD$290. The devices can be connected physically as well as digitally at near instantaneous speeds. You can simply “add more sound, reshape your stack by coupling with as many or little speakers with you on the go”, says the company – that means, you get more volume without having to crank the sound up. It also adds that it’s possible to connect 65,000 of the speakers at once.

Soundots speakers come with a anodized-aluminium case wrap and black bar lining customized by LEDs

Soundots speakers come with a anodized-aluminium case wrap and black bar lining customized by LEDs

Vimble S Phone Stabiliser
Looking to capture moments of your idols at concerts and LIVE events? Vimble S is a phone stabiliser that allows you to capture unshaken videos without having to sacrifice the professional standards. The built-in feature keeps an eye on your face and automatically tracks the second person without assistance thanks to its intelligent monopod. It has partnered with Feiyu Tech, a leading gimbal manufacturer, to produce a user-friendly, ergonomic experience. Controls like zoom, expose, white balance and focus are possible with built-in controls in the handle. The motors, assembled in it, are completely silent and so not to disturb the audio of the recording. With over 32 million hours of video uploaded onto the Youtube platform every year and over 880 billion photos taken each year around the world, who doesn’t want one?

ASAP Connect
Put your hands up if you always felt your USB cable connector could have a better design. The future of cable connector is here in the form of the revolutionary 18K gold plated magnetic USB cable that will change the way you connect to your phone forever.ASAP Connect allows you to connect your phone or USB devices to your cable quickly and seamlessly. The magnetic technology coupled with superior materials including rare earth neodymium magnets, 18K gold plated connectors, aluminium shield and nylon braided cables. This specially engineered cable has dual reversible connector, so there’s no need to flip your cables back and forth anymore. Now you can also connect your phone even in the dark! ASAP Connect will change the way you connect your phone forever.

ASAP Connect USB Cable Connector

ASAP Connect USB Cable Connector

HTC VIVE PRO
HTC’s new virtuality reality headset has its highest resolution screen yet. The headset has two OLED displays and has a combined resolution of 2,880 x 1,600. It’s claimed this is a 78 percent increase in resolution on the current Vive headset. A pretty solid kit when it comes to room-scale VR experiences and people have been adding their own comments and feedback since its launch. It’s not quite a Vive 2.0, but rather an improvement that focuses solely on the headset itself. But it’s up to you to decide whether you need an upgrade if you’ve got a perfectly functioning Vive setup. Pricing for the Vive Pro hasn’t yet been announced, nor has the availability. However, HTC did mention that it will be geared towards ‘prosumers’, so it will be more expensive than the previous consumer model. Pricing for the HTC Vive now stands at around USD$599, so it wouldn’t be unrealistic to expect a similar Vive Pro kit to be selling for about USD$799 at least. Wanna bet?

Vuzix Blade Augmented Reality Glasses
Another one of Amazon Alexa’s Internet-connected product, it’s only a matter of time before the digital ‘007’ arrived in smart eye accessorie. This AR glasses allow users to ask for things like the weather and directions. It sits more comfortably in the user’s field of view than Google Glass and presents crisp and colourful images. The music world is waiting to see compelling apps created to enhance the enjoyment of films and music that blend Alexa’s capabilities and augmented reality: these guys could have some amazing users from the music scene ahead.

The Augmented Reality Smart Glasses enable the wearer to see computer-generated information, graphics or images projected into the real world environment

The Augmented Reality Smart Glasses enable the wearer to see computer-generated information, graphics or images projected into the real world environment

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