Accessories

Xiaomi announces latest wearables at MWC 2024

The Xiaomi Smart Band 8, Watch S3, and Watch 2

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Xiaomi has released its latest wearable devices at MWC 2024: The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro, Xiaomi Watch S3, and Xiaomi Watch 2.

These AIoT latest offerings complement the launch of the Xiaomi 14 series, letting users enhance their sports, health, and wellness lifestyles.

Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro: Fitness meets fashion

The most affordable among the three, the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 Pro comes with upgrades in customization, tracking, and monitoring.

It has a new rectangular 1.74-inch AMOLED screen with an upgraded 60Hz refresh rate. The smart band is incredibly thin and lightweight at just 9.99mm and 22.5 grams, respectively.

Highly fashionable and easy to wear, the Smart band 8 Pro also has quick-release bands on both sides for easy interchangeability. The straps are available in black and silver, with a wide range of strap materials and colors for personalization.

When it comes to work outs, the device offers more than 150 sports modes. A built-in 3D exercise animation provides visual guidance for users.

For health monitoring, the wearable has an upgraded four-channel heart rate monitoring module. Additionally, the watch supports features like Alexa voice assistant and “find mobile phone.”

Xiaomi Watch S3: Dial into style

Meanwhile, the Xiaomi Watch S3 is a multi-functional smartwatch that sports a classic watch design.

It has a round 1.43-inch AMOLED display, complemented by a light aluminum alloy frame. It also comes with interchangeable bezels and straps.

The Watch S3 can deliver superior performance using the Xiaomi HyperOS system. It boasts a battery life of up to 15 days. Moreover, a quick five-minute charge can extend its life to another two days.

A first on the watch is a feature enabling users to perform personalized operations using various flips of their wrists. By just doing those movements, users will be able to reject calls, check the weather, or even take photos.

Like the Smart Band 8 Pro, the Watch S3 offers professional-level tracking for over 150 sport modes. There are 10 on-wrist running courses that vary in levels for a scientific and intuitive guide throughout workouts.

For the first time, there will be new winter sports modes on the global version of the Watch S3 too. These include skiing, which comes with enhanced antenna reception performance and improved positioning accuracy.

A fun addition on the Watch S3 when it comes to health monitoring is the “Sleep Animal.” When a user wears the watch for seven straight days, a “Sleep Animal” is generated. This best represents the user’s sleep condition based on the week-long sleep pattern.

Xiaomi Watch 2: Smarter every wear

Lastly, the Xiaomi Watch 2 is the most high-end among the three new wearables, giving users comprehensive functionality.

The 37-gram watch flaunts a sleek design bannered by a 1.43-inch AMOLED display. It is equipped with Google Wear OS to provide users with a smooth and stable smartwatch experience. Users will get five of the most commonly used apps and will be able to download from more than 200 third-party apps.

The Watch 2 is powered by a Snapdragon W5+Gen 1 Wearable platform. The device brings up to 65 hours of battery life on typical usage, and a large 32GB storage.

Taking tracking to the next level, the Watch 2 supports over 160 sports modes, including winter sports. Under skiing mode, it can record the distance and average speed of each glide and even map a user’s ski tracks.

Aside from Strava, the Watch 2 also supports Suunto after Xiaomi has expanded its partnership. This allows users to sync their sports and sleep data between Mi Fitness and the two other apps.

Price, availability

All three wearables will be available for sale on Xiaomi’s official channels for the following prices:

  • Xiaomi Smart Band 8: Starts at € 69
  • Xiaomi Watch S3: Starts at € 149
  • Xiaomi Watch 2: Starts at € 199

Accessories

OBSBOT Meet Flip Hands-on

It’s tinier and folds this time

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Phones flip and fold. Now webcams do too.

Foldable screens have found their way into phones, tablets, and laptops in recent years. Now, OBSBOT is taking that idea in a considerably smaller direction: the webcam.

OBSBOT Meet Flip

The OBSBOT Meet Flip is the company’s first foldable 4K webcam packing:

  • 1/2-inch stacked CMOS sensor
  • intelligent audio
  • a collection of AI-powered meeting tools

All of these inside a body weighing just 37.7 grams.

A fold that does something, not just a gimmick

The OBSBOT Meet Flip isn’t foldable just to make it easier to throw into a bag.

Closing the webcam physically blocks the lens and puts the device into sleep mode. Open it when you want to be seen, flip it shut when you don’t.

A physical privacy cover isn’t novel in itself. What’s clever here is how it’s part of the folding design.

As someone with a love-hate relationship with data privacy, I almost always keep some physical barrier over my laptop webcam. And if I can avoid having a webcam there entirely, even better.

Serious camera hardware in a pocket-sized webcam

Despite its size, OBSBOT hasn’t treated the Meet Flip like a basic laptop-camera replacement.

Inside is a 1/2-inch Exmor RS stacked CMOS sensor with Quad Bayer technology, capable of recording 4K UHD at 30 fps or 1080p at 60 fps. It also packs an f/1.8 aperture, HDR, PDAF autofocus, ISO 100–6400, and up to 4x digital zoom.

At its core is a 1/2-inch Exmor RS stacked CMOS sensor with Quad Bayer technology.

It can record:

  • 4K UHD at 30fps
  • 1080p at 60fps

You also get:

  • f/1.8 aperture
  • HDR
  • PDAF autofocus
  • ISO 100–6400
  • up to 4x digital zoom

On paper, that gives the Meet Flip a better shot at handling the situations built-in laptop webcams often struggle with: dim rooms, harsh backlighting, changing lighting conditions, or simply moving around in front of the camera.

HDR helps keep faces visible against bright backgrounds, while PDAF autofocus continuously adjusts focus as you move closer to or farther from the lens.

The wider f/1.8 aperture should also help in less-than-ideal lighting.

The point is that once the Meet Flip is set up, you shouldn’t have to spend much time thinking about the camera itself.

It listens differently depending on the room setup

The Meet Flip also uses an intelligent dual-microphone system combining omnidirectional and directional microphones.

Instead of relying on one pickup pattern for every situation, it offers four audio modes for different setups:

Directional Mode focuses on sound coming from the front, making it the obvious choice for solo calls.

Dual-Directional Mode listens to both the front and rear of the webcam, which could be useful for interviews or conversations between two people sitting across from each other.

Conference Meeting

Smart Omni Mode is designed for group meetings, picking up voices from around the room.

And Pure Audio Mode provides unprocessed left and right stereo channels for users who would rather handle the audio themselves in post-production.

Auto Gain and AI Noise Reduction also work across the first three modes, helping clean up audio without requiring much manual adjustment.

It gives the Meet Flip more flexibility than a typical webcam microphone, especially if you regularly switch between solo calls, interviews, and group meetings.

AI that doesn’t intrude

AI has become an almost obligatory addition to new hardware in 2026, but several of the Meet Flip’s features put it to work on real-world meeting annoyances.

AI Auto Framing keeps you in frame, with options for:

  • Group
  • Single Close-up
  • Upper Body
  • Full Body

Gesture controls can also toggle Auto Framing or adjust the zoom without reaching for a keyboard or mouse.

OBSBOT Meet Flip

More interesting is AI Magic Notes.

Through OBSBOT Center, it provides real-time transcription and can automatically generate meeting summaries with key points, decisions, and action items. It works across Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams.

Although AI Magic Notes is offered as a subscription service, every Meet Flip includes 120 complimentary minutes to get started.

MORE with OBSBOT Center & OBSBOT Live

There are plenty of other software features as well. OBSBOT Center includes:

  • Background Blur and Background Replacement
  • Real-Time Beauty Mode
  • Picture-in-Picture overlays
  • Smart Eye Tracking
  • Teleprompter support
  • Detailed image adjustments

The Meet Flip isn’t limited to laptops or desktops either. Through OBSBOT Live, it can connect directly to smartphones and tablets over USB-C for mobile streaming and content creation.

Flip it open. Fold it away.

None of those features reinvent the webcam on their own.

Taken together, though, they make the Meet Flip a more thoughtful take on a piece of hardware whose basic design and features have barely changed.

The flip may grab your attention first, but it’s how OBSBOT uses that design alongside its camera, audio, and software features that makes the Meet Flip interesting.

The OBSBOT Meet Flip is now available at US$ 119 and is currently available through OBSBOT’s official store, Amazon US, and select retailers.

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Accessories

England, Wales start banning Meta Glasses

The smart glasses are now banned in courtrooms.

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Earlier this year, New York became the first state to issue a blanket ban against smart glasses in courtrooms. The new regulation marks one of the first public spaces to prevent the contentious devices. Now, England and Wales are following suit in their courtrooms by banning Meta glasses inside.

As reported by The Guardian, courtrooms in both countries will confiscate Meta Glasses from those taking them into the building. Owners can retrieve them again upon exit.

Like the decision in New York, the English and Welsh bans are simple enough to follow. As it is everywhere, it’s forbidden to record video inside courtrooms in England and Wales. Because Meta Glasses have cameras (and are primarily used for their video capturing capabilities), they fall under prohibited items.

Notably, smartphones are not included on this list, despite having sizable cameras themselves. Although, to be fair, it’s much more difficult to discreetly record video using a smartphone. Smart glasses pride themselves with the ability to take videos seamlessly.

Meta Glasses are having such a moment today. Though some users, especially creators, are excited for them, a significant chunk of the population is concerned over their ability to take videos without subjects knowing they’re being recorded. Some users have even found ways to disable the built-in LED indicators which should, in theory, warn the public that the glasses are recording. It’s since turned into a privacy nightmare.

SEE ALSO: New York becomes first state to ban smart glasses

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Accessories

Spotlight: MemoMind One AI Smart Glasses

These Smart Glasses Don’t Have a Camera

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What if smart glasses could make you more present instead of recording everything around you? Check out MemoMind or back it up on Kickstarter.

After spending time with the MemoMind One around New York City, THE Michael Josh wanted to answer one question: Do smart glasses actually become more useful when they stop trying to be a camera?

In this video, we take a look at the MemoMind One — a new pair of AI-powered smart glasses that take a very different approach.

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