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

Google takes a step back in smartphones as it announces the Pixel 3a and 3a XL-- a pair of handsets aimed squarely at the mid-tier market featuring lower-end specs and an appropriately cheaper pricetag.

The two Pixel smartphones still appear to be fairly nice, with OLED displays (5.6-inch for the 3a, 6-inch for the 3a XL) for crisp blacks and bright colours and the same rear-facing camera setup as the higher-end Pixel 3. The camera offers features such as Night Sight, Photobooth mode, AR stickers and a Geo AR functionality using Street View images to show walking directions in major cities. However the front-facing camera is an 8MP wide-angle number, and lacks the group selfie mode the dual-camera Pixel 3.

Microsoft looks to further improve on the sensation of manipulating virtual objects in VR spaces through what it calls TORC (TOuch Rigid Controller), a compact haptic controller promising "high levels of dexterity and compliance perception."

The result of work at Microsoft Research Redmond, the TORC controller is a rigid shell with no visible moving parts. It is designed to simulate the sensation of holding an object using the thumb and two fingers, and allows users to freely move the thumb on the surface parallel to the plane of the two to rotate the virtual object. In addition, it vibrates to let the fingers feel the texture and "pseudo-compliance" of the object.

Denon announces three additions to the S-Series AV receivers-- the AVR-S950H, AVR-S750H and AVR-S650H, all featuring Dolby Atmos Height Virtualisation technology and built-in HEOS wireless multi-room streaming.

The three AVRs also feature multi-assistant voice control, support for eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel), ALLM ((Auto Low Latency Mode for gaming) and all other HDMI 2.1 specification features, and what Denon calls a better setup experience.

The AVR-S950H is a 7.2-channel home theatre receiver with discrete high-current power amplifiers on all 7 channels. It offers 185W peak per channel (6 Ohm, 1kHz, 1ch driven, 10 percent THD), with low impedance driver capability providing operational stability with a wide range of speakers. Designed to accept most sources, the AVR-S950H has an MM phono stage for compatibility with higher-end turntables, as well as built-in HEOS and Bluetooth for stream music service access. It supports the playback of most file formats, including MP3, AAC, WAV, FLAC, ALAC and DSD (2.8/5.8MHz) via front panel USB and networked NAS, Macs and PCs.

Voice controlled-assistant Josh.ai gets compatibility with devices from another vendor-- Sony, specifically through integration with network-enabled TVs, projectors and receivers.

Device compatibility not only allows for voice controls, but also for a seamless setup process. After connection to the network, Josh auto-populates Sony devices, accelerating the deployment process. Making setup even easier is the fact the Josh portal visibly diagrams the configuration of HDMI inputs and AV outputs.