With all of the tech we saw last year through five episodes, we’re looking at what we saw, what we missed, and glancing into the year ahead. We’ll cover computers, cameras, and more, all in five.
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It’s the middle of January and you’re listening to The Wrap, Australia’s fastest technology roundup, and while it’s hard to believe we’re in the middle of the first month of the year, that’s exactly where we are.
Two weeks down, a good fifty more to go, but in those two weeks, we’ve already seen so much. CES brought with it a heap of technology news and announcements, and we were there for it all. Or most of it anyway.
A week might seem like a long time, but there are only so many hours, and only so much time to get those stories out. So if it seems like we’ve missed something, we might have, and we’re covering it now.
Starting with cameras. We mentioned Nikon’s Coolpix P950 with its almost telescope like 2000mil lens, but it wasn’t alone. Nikon also has a new digital SLR in the D780 offering improved autofocus, low light 24 megapixel photography, and support for 4K video capture alone.
And Nikon wasn’t alone, as Canon revealed a big monster of a camera in the 1DX Mark III. It’s one of those cameras that’s so big, you’d need to not think about the price tag, but it offers super fast image capture at 20 frames per second, and goes beyond 4K video with support for 5.5K video. This one is more made for pros, but if you’re already part of the Canon system and are a pro, there’s a good chance we don’t need to tell you anything more about the 1DX Mark III, and you’re probably already in line for one.
Headphones were also somewhat varied at the beginning of the year.
While there’s still no news on the follow up to the Sony WH-1000XM3, we tried Sennheiser’s PXC 550 2 while we were at CES, they were pretty impressive, offering a big sound and noise cancellation for not necessarily as much as Sennheiser’s flagship Momentum range.
Zagg also got into the noise cancelling game with a budget pair of noise cancelling headphones for this year. They’ll come in the AirTime Vibe, and for under $200 in the coming weeks, possibly alongside Jabra’s announcements, which had new things made for audio and your ears.
There’s a new variation of the tiny Jabra 75t from last year in the 75t Active, which is basically identical except for more water resistance, plus on-ear wireless headphones without noise cancellation in the Elite 45h. While these are interesting, we’re probably more excited to see Jabra get into custom ear tuning profiles, which will mean if you own a pair of compatible earphones, they’ll adapt to your ears after you’ve tuned them. Jabra isn’t alone in this approach, with both Nuraphone and Audeara doing this, Australian headphone brands with unique approaches to sound.
Computer technology also saw some improvements, too. LG offered up G Sync support in its new OLED TVs, which means a gaming computer should play nicely on those new screens, while Samsung offered a very, very curved monitor for gamers in the Odyssey complete with a light-up colourful back section that looks like it belongs on a space station. Samsung also announced a new external solid state drive, the T7, which includes a fingerprint sensor for extra security, because why not.
And there were new laptops from HP, Lenovo, Asus and Dell, and new chips from Intel and AMD, as well.
TVs were the other big deal, too. Full HD is dead, long live Ultra HD, as 4K and 8K reign supreme from everyone. You’ll be hard pressed to find a bad TV this year, and with technologies ranging from standard LED backlit LCD TV to two layer versions for better contrast, Mini LED, Laser TV, and the supreme excellence that is OLED, TVs this year are bright, vibrant, and easy on the eyes.
Networking gear also changes this year, with more speed and support for 5G, plus that whole smart home thing becoming more and more interesting, even in the appliance world.
And what about phones? Is it time to replace yours yet?
Well while 2020 might be the year you upgrade, there isn’t much in the way of new phones to talk about just yet. Most brands will end up waiting for Mobile World Congress near the end of February, which is where the big mobile announcements typically are. However Telstra was at the show talking about a phone that might be designed for the back to school season, the Tough Max 3.
Built to survive a bit of a beating, it’s a mid-range phone with a water resistant and somewhat durable exterior, plus support for Google Pay mobile payments and two cameras. And unlike most of the CES announcements, it’s actually available this week at just under $500.
As for other phones, it’s likely we’ll see a few other brands pop out with new budget and mid-range phones before February arrives, but the big new and exciting models, that’s for Mobile World Congress. Unless you want an iPhone, in which case you’re waiting until September for whatever Apple has next.
But right now, you’ve been listening to The Wrap, Australia’s fastest technology roundup. A new episode of The Wrap appears regularly every Friday at Podcast One, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, and we’ll be back then with something new. Until then, and we’ll see you next time on The Wrap. Take care.
