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Ultimate Ears Announces UE Boom 2 and MegaBoom Speakers in Limited Edition Colors

Logitech’s Ultimate Ears has updated its popular UE Boom 2 and MegaBoom Bluetooth speakers line-up with a range of new limited edition colors and patterns.

Called Second Street, the new designs were created in conjunction with graffiti duo Bicicleta Sem Freio and will be available to order from the Ultimate Ears website beginning in June.



Ultimate Ears said the new-design Boom 2 will remain at the price of $199.99, with the MegaBoom refresh also remaining at its usual price of $299.99. Color and pattern availability may vary by country.

The Ultimate Ears iOS app includes a feature called Party Up that lets users connect more than 50 of the waterproof Bluetooth speakers at once. And thanks to Siri integration, pushing the Bluetooth button on the UE Boom 2 or the UE Megaboom activates Apple’s virtual assistant, allowing users to request specific songs through Apple Music, place phone calls, and more.

For a full review of the original UE Boom 2, check out the MacRumors verdict here.

Tag: UE Boom 2

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New Twitter Inbox Feature Flags Unsolicited Direct Messages As ‘Requests’

Yesterday, Twitter began rolling out a new feature in the Messages section of its official app that separates out DMs from people you don’t follow in order to make it easier to accept or delete them.

In the Twitter iOS app, regular messages from people you know will appear in the Inbox as normal, while all other DMs will be flagged as Requests. Messages of the latter kind can be previewed without the sender being notified, while options are provided to accept and notify the sender, or delete the message without notifying them.

By default, any media attached to an unsolicited message won’t be revealed until you accept the DM, to protect users from inappropriate content, although this setting can be disabled.



The feature is similar to the system Facebook uses in its own Messenger app, and appears to have been adopted by Twitter to minimize the potential for online abuse. The company is still in the process of rolling out the new inbox function, and it will only show up for users who have turned on the setting that allows messages to be received from people they don’t follow.

The Twitter app is a free download from the App Store for iPhone and iPad. [Direct Link]

Tag: Twitter

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Nest Announces Cam IQ, a $299 4K Smart Home Camera With Facial Recognition

Nest unveiled a new smart security camera today called the Nest Cam IQ, an indoor 4K device capable of increasing footage resolution when it detects unusual or suspicious activity in the home.

Using built-in smart capabilities powered by Google’s AI for facial recognition, the Nest Cam IQ is able to identify a person in its visual range, which automatically triggers a notification alert that includes a zoomed-in photo of the figure.



A variation on the same feature called “Supersight” appears in the mobile app feed, as a zoomed picture-in-picture inset of any figures identified in the camera’s field of view. The Nest Cam IQ also tracks the subject as it moves and provides a close-up of the face to make it easier to spot identifying features.

Additional smart features are in store for Nest owners who sign up to a Nest Aware subscription, such as the ability to identify and remember family members and trusted familiar faces, as well as the ability to recognize specific audio cues like conversations and barking dogs.

Elsewhere, the Nest Cam IQ comes with a weighted base and tilting head, invisible infrared LED emitters, high-powered speakers, and a three-microphone array for improved background noise suppression and echo cancelation.

The Nest Cam IQ costs $299 in the U.S. and can be pre-ordered today on the company’s website, which also sells the Nest Cam and Nest Cam Outdoor. Shipping is expected to start at the end of June.

Tags: Nest, security

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