What's a new year without new tech? Gadgets and gizmos 2019 has in store

Here is a range of gadgets that people can expect in the coming year

Amazon Fire TV Cube

 

This cube fires up your TV without the wires. Locked in a tech duel with Google’s Chromecast, Amazon’s new accessory wants you to drop your remote control and go hands-free with Alexa. It can connect your TV to computers, speakers, DVD players and gaming consoles wirelessly, and also operate them through voice commands. Already out in the US (for $117) and eagerly awaited in India.

GoSun Go solar cooker 
 

 

When camping in the woods, you can’t carry the world in your rucksack. But if eating off the ground and drinking fresh, unfiltered water is not part of your adventure, you might want to consider taking a solar cooker along. The GoSun Go weighs less than a kilogram and costs $139. The US-based company accepts payments through Amazon Pay and has started shipping to India.

LG Cinebeam  

 

Will projectors replace TVs, or will it be the other way around? Samsung has Onyx screens for theatres and LG has Cinebeam projectors for homes. The Korean rivals just keep us guessing. The second-generation LG Cinebeam launching soon can display a big picture kept two inches away from the wall — they are calling it “Ultra Short Throw” technology. We could be staring at the next screen revolution here.

Litter Robot 3 
 

 

Just as slyly those feline fur balls sneak in and out of rooms, they also drop pearls on the floor for the guests to find later. Disgusted yet? This is why this lavatory for cats that cleans itself automatically is such a hit. Excuse me for not getting into details. Oh, and you can check waste levels on your phone. Priced at $449, it is expected to start shipping in India soon.

 

5G phones  

 

India may or may not be prepared for it, but 5G is coming. A lot of tech in the future depends on the internet speeds it will offer. OnePlus 7 will support it (maybe a new version of 6T will, too), and so will the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 (pictured), Samsung Galaxy S10 and Huawei Mate 30. The CES 2019 will have many of these phones on display.

Samsung Galaxy X 
 

 

Apple has an X. In fact, it has four of them. But it doesn’t own the alphabet (for the nth time, it’s Roman for 10) or the market. Samsung, the slipping leader of smartphones, plans to bring out an X of its own (the letter?), but not a full-screen phone with the tiniest possible notch. Samsung, like LG, has its eyes set on the world’s first foldable phone. This could well be the biggest phone launch of the year.

LG retractable TV 

 

LG gave a sneak peak of its retractable TV at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) last year: a thin 4K screen that rolls up to a full 65 inches or vanishes into a box with the touch of a button. It could be portable, come with Crystal (on-screen) Sound and have a built-in voice assistant. We are just days away from finding out. The CES 2019 starts from January 8 in Las Vegas.

LARQ bottles  
 

 

These good-looking bottles in pink, grey, black and two shades of blue do more than just carry water. They purify it using a UV-C LED and also clean themselves. They are chemical- and ozone-free, and do not have a filter that needs replacement. Only available in the US at the moment for $95, this portable water-purifying tech should soon arrive in India, even if through another competitive brand.

Lifefuel 

 

You need vitamins during a run and BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids) during a heavy-lifting workout. While a single drink that packs all good things has not been invented yet, LifeFuels, a bottle, lets you carry up to three “fuel pods” — ranging from Daily Essentials to Pre-Workout —at a time. It has a button to dispense the shot and an app to adjust its strength. Not sure when the company will start selling them, but it makes the list for being plain cool.

Samsung 8K QLED  
 

 

Samsung makes a strong case for its 8K QLED, even though it will take around two years for content shot in 8K to arrive in living rooms. The company claims its new AI tech can upscale any content to 8K. And since screens on all devices are only getting bigger — Samsung’s latest is 85 inches — which spaces out pixels, 8K is the best picture quality money can buy. Delivery starts in February 2019.

QUS Body Connected   

 

Sportswear has not graduated since dri-fit. It has just gotten more expensive. And looking at the popularity of fitness bands, it doesn’t take a genius to know that we are obsessed with tracking our performance. QUS Body Connected integrates technology with clothing. Not just to track distance, speed and calories, but also altitude and even step length. It goes on sale in April 2019.

Smacircle S1
 

 

E-cycles aren’t new. Neither is the Smacircle S1. It first featured at the CES 2018 where it was among the honorees in the “Tech for a Better World” category. But its mass production and (free) shipping around the world has just begun. It’s a carbon frame, lithium ion battery-powered foldable e-cycle that fits in a backpack. It weighs 7 kg, runs for 20 km on a single charge at a max speed of 20 kmph and is priced around $1,000.

Nike Hyper Adapt 2.0

 

Nike EARL (Electrical Adaptable Reaction Lacing), or HyperAdapt 1.0 (pictured), aren’t what people expected. The pair, which lights up and tightens according to the contours of your feet, is exorbitantly priced (around Rs 40,000) and is not nearly as futuristic as Marty McFly’s Nike Air Mag in Back to the Future Part II. The 2.0 is in the works and is expected to be cheaper. It could just be what sneakerheads ordered.

Nota Nota perfume maker
 

 

Do you have an everlasting collection of perfumes at home? Good for you. I don’t. But I would certainly like one. Better yet, I’ll make my own perfume. No, not in a lab, at home with this modern juicer-like thing. You can command this machine to mix different ingredients — four drops of this, two drops of that — through an app and create your signature fragrance. Selling in UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait for 4,000 SAR (Rs 70,000), along with its 12 ingredients, it’s yet to arrive in India.