maximumpc.com SEP 2019 MAXIMUMPC 13
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HOME AUTOMATION is rapidly becoming
a battleground between the tech giants,
notably Google and Amazon. Smart
speakers are now firmly established as
part of the digital furniture, but Amazon
has plans to go further—its Lab126 is said
to be working on a home robot, code name
Vesta. Prototypes have been described
as waist height, wheeled, and navigating
using an array of cameras. It has been
demonstrated responding to voice control
by being summoned.
What you do with it is another question.
A mobile smart speaker is moderately
useful, but it has to be easier to just buy a
couple more Echo Dots. And if you’ve ever
wondered why the Echo Dot is so cheap,
it’s because people with smart speakers
spend more on Amazon. Researchers
have estimated that regular Amazon
Prime users spend $1,300 a year on
Amazon goods and services, while those
with a smart speaker spend $1,700.
Currently, the best home robots
are either toys or dedicated to a single
task, such as being a vacuum cleaner.
Something that is truly multi-purpose,
and genuinely useful, has evaded us as
yet. The Asus Zenbo is one such attempt—
it isn’t cheap, costing $600-$900, and it
doesn’t do much more than be a smart
speaker and digital camera that can
follow you around (although you’ll have to
open doors for it unless they are “smart,”
too). The Zenbo is licensed for US sale,
but hasn’t made it beyond Taiwan as yet.
Despite early design awards, and the first
batch selling out quickly, interest and
backing has waned. Amazon has made
no public announcements on its robot
project, although something is brewing
at Lab126, because engineers have been
pulled from other projects to work on it.
This could be fun. –CLThe sci-fi trope could be
coming to live with youAMAZON
PLANNING A
HOME ROBOT
Raspberry Pi 4
Practically a PC
The Raspberry Pi has reached its
fourth major incarnation, and has
received a bump in power with
the quad-core Cortex processor
now running at 1.5GHz. There’s
dual-HDMI with support for 4K
at 60Hz. It also gets a pair of USB
3.0 ports, so you can easily attach
some speedy peripherals. The Pi
has now reached the point where
it can be used to build a workable,
if basic, desktop machine for
under $100. Twenty-five million Pi
b o ar d s have b e en s ol d s o f ar. Q uite
a feat for something designed
as a teaching aid for computer
science students. You’ll want the
4GB model if you plan to use it for
streaming video or browsing the
net. Read our review, page 79. –CLDisplayPort
Hits 16K
The Video Standards Authority has
made the biggest update to the
DisplayPort standard since it was
defined in 2007, with version 2.0.
Max resolutions have been pushed
to 16K, and bandwidth has tripled
to 80Gb/s. This equates to running
two 8K 120Hz HDR screens at
once. We have higher refresh
rates, and expanded HDR support
across the board, as well as data
mapping. Everything is backward
compatible. This is just in time:
Monitors are starting to go beyond
4K; Apple has 6K screens, and
others have gone beyond that. TVs
have reached 8K. We can expect
compliant monitors in the next
round of model refreshes, starting
early next year. –CLSwitch Lite This Fall
NINTENDO HAS A NEW VERSION OF ITS SWITCH CONSOLE, and it’s not what pundits
were expecting. The Switch Lite is a smaller, all-in-one handheld version, with built-
in controllers. Gone is the Switch’s innovative two-in-one design, and it’s back to
basics. Nintendo’s two biggest-selling consoles ever, the DS and Game Boy, were
handheld, and only the PS2 has sold more than the DS. The Switch Lite is pitched as
an upgrade for the 150 million people who want their Nintendo gaming handheld.
The Lite is, of course, lighter and smaller: The 720p screen drops from 6.2-inch
to 5.5-inch. It’ll play any Switch game that supports handheld mode. However, you
won’t be able to play games that require motion detectors, although it will sync to
Joy-Con controllers. There’s no TV output, HD rumble, or kickstand. The innards
are as its big brother, though, with 32GB of expandable storage, and custom Nvidia
Tegra silicon. The battery is a bit smaller, and said to be good for three to six hours.
The integrated controller has raised worries about reliability. The Switch’s Joy-
Con controllers had a nasty habit of developing “Joy-Con drift,” where it continuously
registers a movement. Infuriating, but at least you could replace the controller. Let’s
hope the new version has seen a spot of re-engineering, or is at least easy to fix.
Nintendo’s Switch has been a huge hit, selling over 34 million units since its launch
in March 2017. A technically improved Switch 2 has been rumored for some time, but
not this year, it seems. The Switch Lite can be yours for $200 this September. –CLNintendo’s Switch Lite
will cost $100 less
than the original, and
come in yellow, gray,
or turquoise.