MacRumors

Xiaomi today unveiled a new version of its AirDots wireless headphones, and it's safe to say that the average consumer on the street would be hard pressed to distinguish the look from Apple's own AirPods.

The Chinese mobile maker first appeared to take a leaf out of Apple's playbook back in November with the launch of its original AirDots, which were more akin to classic earbuds in design but offered much of the same functionality as AirPods, including gestural controls and a compact charging case.

Xiaomi's newly announced AirDots Pro (aka "Mi Bluetooth Headset Air") buds however look like a straight-up clone of Apple's best-selling wireless headphones, complete with the signature "arm" that houses the Bluetooth receiver and beamforming microphone.

Like AirPods, the earpieces feature touch controls for music playback and invoking personal assistants, and they're able to function independently of each other thanks to adaptive pairing. They also offer water resistance and a four-hour battery life, while the charging case offers an additional 10 hours of charge and can recharge the buds fully in one hour.

To their credit, the AirDots Pro have silicone tips for improved sound isolation and additional active noise cancelation. A black pair is also reportedly in the works. Still, the biggest difference is probably the price – Xiaomi's buds cost 399 Yuan (around $60), whereas Apple's come in at $159. How that saving impacts on sound quality and general performance remains to be seen.

Xiaomi devices, ranging from smartphones to tablets, have been criticized in the past for heavily borrowing design elements from Apple's iPhones and iPads and adopting marketing materials tactics similar to Apple's.

In 2017, Apple won the right to prevent Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi from registering its "Mi Pad" mobile tablet device as an EU trademark because the name was deemed too similar to Apple's iPad.

(Via gizchina.com.)

Apple-certified accessory maker Anker today at CES 2019 announced that its PowerPort Atom PD 1 power adapter, which it calls "the world's smallest Power Delivery wall charger," will be available to order later this month.

The PowerPort Atom PD 1 is about the size of the five-watt charger that comes in the box with every iPhone thanks to the use of gallium nitride components. Nonetheless, it has a max output of 30W, enough to charge not only smartphones but larger devices such as a 12-inch MacBook, Chromebook, or a Nintendo Switch.

The Atom series will be Anker's new line of slim, lightweight Power Delivery wall chargers, with a 60-watt dual USB-C port Atom PD 2 charger and a 100-watt dual USB-C, dual USB-A port Atom PD 4 charger also planned for release.

Anker first unveiled the Atom PD 1 at an event in New York City in October, but failed to meet its promised November release date at the time. The charger will be available exclusively on Amazon for $29.99 in the United States, according to the accessory maker, with a revised release date of January 2019.

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