If there’s one area where development is almost outpacing our ability to report on it, it’s the world of mobile accessories.
On the software side, there are too many meaningful apps coming out to count, and that’s in a sea of millions of minor releases. The hardware side is naturally a little slower but still going at breakneck speed, and here are some of the most interesting examples.
Smart Glasses
To be clear here, we aren’t talking about the minor disaster that was the Google Glass project. The newest attempt coming from sunglass giant Ray-Ban and Meta scales this back, while integrating more discreet features like a camera and speakers.
These new versions have the advantage of actually looking like regular glasses, thanks to Ray-Ban styling, and it could be good news for VR fans too. The technology has been growing in various entertainment industries, even in places like the online casino world, where modern games like Gonzo’s Treasure Hunt have integrated live VR features. The main thing stopping casino players and other users from making the most of VR has been accessibility, but stylish, portable VR like these smart glasses could be the way forward.
Portable Satellite Links
Satellite phones have always been something of an oddity, historically used by those who are heading out into the most remote regions of the world.
They tended to be specialist handsets, often quite clunky in nature, and could cost a small fortune due to how technical they were. As a result, they were usually rare to see and almost never advertised in general marketing channels.
Now, smaller gadgets like the Motorola Defy Satellite Link seem ready to make the whole thing more open. A small device akin to a mobile hotspot, it is able to connect to satellites to act as both an emergency alert and, with a service cost, as a messaging system. With the device cost being relatively cheap, it’s an amazing innovation in exploration tech.
Thermal Cameras
Of all our entries here, at first glance, a thermal camera accessory doesn’t seem like the most practical or helpful. We most commonly associate them with spy movies and high-tech espionage, so it doesn’t spring to mind as something useful for the average user.
With that said, the smartphone accessory version from FLIR has been shown to have more applications than first thought.
For example, it could come in handy for home maintenance: it might be able to more easily detect leaks and gaps in insulation through walls. Devices like air conditioners and radiators could also be more accurately managed, and those who work around computers and servers may be able to monitor hardware that is overheating.
In general, technicians and engineers could avoid having to pull out specialist kits each time, due to the stream of endless uses of this device.
These are just a few of the many interesting new mobile accessories and devices out there right now. As one of the biggest growing industries in the world, we’re expecting to see a lot more coming!