On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

The launch of the 10th Gen Intel Core S-series desktop processor includes the Core i-10900K-- a flagship chip Chipzilla describes as nothing less than the world's fastest gaming processors, with speeds reaching up to 5.3GHz.

“Intel is committed to enabling the future of powerful desktop gaming by continuously pushing the performance boundary to deliver an amazing PC gaming experience," the company continues. "The 10th Gen Intel Core S-series for desktops, and the Intel Core i9-10900K processor, the world’s fastest gaming processor reinforces our commitment to the gaming and enthusiast communities.”

According to Futuresource Consulting, the current social distancing and lockdown measures are leading to less home renovations, in turn negatively impacting smart home device sales.

The findings come from a research study carried out in the UK, France, Germany and the US involving a nationally representative sample of over 4000 consumers.

“Over half of advanced users-- people with at least five smart home devices-- told us they first began to explore smart home devices during DIY and renovation projects,” the analyst says. “As the home renovation market is impacted by ongoing lockdowns in major markets, we are likely to witness a significant dip in smart home devices sales across all major markets in Q2 2020.”

According to both Zatz Not Funny! and 9to5Mac Sonos plans to launch an update of the Playbar, with the first website claiming to not only have news, but also renders of the upcoming home theatre product from the audio maker.

First released back in 2013, the Playbar is a Sonos product still to receive an update or refresh. Since then, the company launched the Play in 2017 and, a year later, the Beam. The two news websites say the 2020 Playbar will include Dolby Atmos support, with Zatz adding it will even feature Apple AirPlay 2 support.

The Q1 2020 earnings release of Roomba maker iRobot reveals the company has "suspended" launch plans for the Terra, an autonomous lawnmower promising to combine state-of-the-art navigation technologies with high-quality mowing.

The reason behind the indefinite delay, as one might imagine, is the coronavirus (aka Covid-19) outbreak. The pandemic has affected the iRobot supply chain, leading to revenue losses and a shifting of resources to keep the company afloat. As a result iRobot has not only shelved product launches, but has also reduced its workforce by approximately 70 positions (or 5% of the total), mostly in the R&D department, and furloughed 14 sales and marketing employees in European in-store retail operations.