TechnikNews Weekly # 015: Huawei Watch 2 (2018), Chromecast vs. Fire TV and more
The next calendar week of 2018 is coming to an end, time all the news from the world of technology in ours TechnikNews Weekly to summarize. This week: Xiaomi's first Austrian store was opened, we covered the topic of “Chromecast vs. Fire TV” and more.
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The first Xiaomi store in Austria has opened
Last week the first official store of the Chinese company Xiaomi opened in Austria. You can now see it in Shopping City Süd near Vienna. In the course of this opening there were numerous promotions and discounts. So you could, for example, in the first ten minutes after opening the doors Proget hold of a product for ten euros. Accordingly, the rush was quite high there that day.
Editor-in-chief David Wurm was able to take a look at the new store in advance. He was particularly impressed by the Provariety of products and the beautiful interior of the shop. Unfortunately, he found that there were only Chinese characters on the packaging and that all the display equipment was set to the Chinese language.
Chromecast vs Fire TV
Many people who don't have a Smart TV at home like to use a streaming stick. So this week we compared the two most popular options, the Chromecasts and the Fire TV. In the end, it became clear to us that two big factors mattered.
The first thing to ask is whether you have a TV that supports 4K and possibly HDR. If this is the case, you should definitely use the Chromecast Ultra or Fire TV with 4K. Otherwise, the Fire TV Stick or the second generation Chromecast will do just fine. Then you should still think about whether you are using Prime Video. If you can answer this with yes, you should look around at Amazon, otherwise Google has the right alternative ready.
- Chromecast vs. Fire TV: What's the Difference?
- Amazon Fire TV Stick with the Alexa voice remote control review
New Proproducts from Xiaomi
This week Xiaomi has some more interesting ones ProProducts presented at a keynote in Shenzhen, including the Xiaomi Mi 8 and the Xiaomi Mi Band 3. The Mi 8 is this year's flagship of the company from China. It looks very similar to the iPhone X, but costs a whopping $600 less than Apple's top-of-the-line device. The smartphone's display is 6,21 inches and has a Full HD resolution. Inside is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 with 6GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. With the 3400mAh large battery you should proeasily get through a whole day. Both lenses of the dual camera have a resolution of 12MP, and the images are post-processed with AI afterwards.
Despite the low price, the Mi Bands were always good fitness trackers, which is why a Mi Band 3 was presented at the keynote. The display has grown by 0,78 inches at 0,38 inches and is still based on OLED. In addition, the device is now waterproof to 50 meters. In addition, you can now take calls directly on the belt or view the current weather. The rest, including the 20 days of battery life, is the same as with the predecessor.
- Xiaomi Mi Band 3 presented: The fitness tracker at a competitive price
- Mi 8: Xiaomi's cheaper iPhone X presented
- Xiaomi Mi Band 2 review: the best of the cheapest
Huawei Watch 2 (2018) official
About a year ago we released the Huawei Watch 2, a smartwatch with Google's Wear OS that can also be used to record workouts. Now its successor is already available in China. What is new is that there are now models with an eSIM chip or nano SIM slot. Of course, there is still a model without LTE. The specs are identical to the Huawei Watch from last year, with 57 grams instead of 40 grams, it is just a little heavier.
The two versions with LTE are available for the equivalent of € 265, for the option without LTE you only have to pay € 215. We tested the Huawei Watch 2 last year - and loved it.
Apple's Homepod is coming to Germany
Finally the time has come. Apple's first smart speaker, the Homepod, is coming to Germany. This was announced via a press release on the release of iOS 11.4. It was also announced that Airplay 2 will be activated for all users when it is released in Germany, which will enable stereo operation of two home pods. The Homepod will be available in Germany in space gray and white at a price of € 349.
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- TechnikNews Weekly # 014: HTC U12 Plus, GDPR, Xiaomi Mi Band 3 and more
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