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

Jony Ive, the longtime Apple product designer behind the iconic aesthetic of what we think of as an "iDevice," announces his shock departure from the company after 30 years to start his own design firm.

The announcement comes through an interview with the Financial Times. Ive says that while he is transitioning to a new creative venture, a design firm dubbed LoveFrom, he will still be very much involved with Apple business, both before and after LoveFrom launches fully in 2020. In fact, Apple will be the very first client of the design company.

"While I will not be an [Apple] employee, I will still be very involved-- I hope for many, many years to come,” Ive tells the FT. “This just seems like a natural and gentle time to make this change.”

In turn, Apple CEO Tim Cook says “Apple will continue to benefit from Jony’s talents by working directly with him on exclusive projects, and through the ongoing work of the brilliant and passionate design team he has built. After so many years working closely together, I’m happy that our relationship continues to evolve and I look forward to working with Jony long into the future.”

Select Sony Android smart TVs are getting an Alexa app adding a number of features from the Amazon smart assistant, including the ability to control Ring smart cameras and finding music using voice.

The Sony TVs getting such functionalities are all 2019 models, most 2018 models,  2017 mid-range models (A1E, X940E, X930E, X900E, X850E, X800E) and a number of 2016 sets (Z9D, X800D, X750D, X700D). Previously Alexa functionality on an Android smart TVs required integration with both an Echo speaker and a Fire TV device, but the app allows voice commands without need for extra hardware.

Polar announces a fitness-focused smartwatch-- the Ignite, a device able to track up to 100 activities (indoor and outdoors) complete with GPS and optical heart rate monitor.

According to the company, the Ignite offers more accurate health data since it factors in rest and sleep as part of the recovery following a workout. The heart rate monitor integrates three types of sensor to track different sleep cycles, namely light, deep and REM. The data brings about the Sleep Score, an overview of the quality of sleep and what can one do to ensure a more restful night.

Another related feature is Nightly Recharge. It measures the beat-to-beat intervals of the heart while the wearer sleeps to determine how they are recovering. In the morning the watch pushes personalised tips to adjust the daily plan, all with the aim to further improve sleep.

The OWC Envoy Pro EX is an external USB-C SSD the company claims is the fastest around, with NVMe-based storage allowing for transfer speeds reaching up to 980MB/s, all within a pocket-sized package.

Such performance, the company adds, allows the drive to handle 4K video editing, all with silent fanless operation. The drive comes in IP67-rated casing able to withstand dust and up to 30 minutes in 1m of water. It is compatible with both Mac and Windows PCs, and also direct-connects to devices such as USB-C Blackmagic cameras.