Sphero

Sphero last summer acquired a company called Specdrums, which made finger-worn rings that are designed to turn colors into music. Specdrums are now being sold under the Sphero brand, and are now available in Apple retail stores. Specdrums fit on an index finger and are meant to allow kids and adults alike to play a musical note when tapping one of the rings against a specific color, creating...

Robotics company Sphero skyrocketed to popularity in 2015 with the release of BB-8, a miniature iPhone-controlled toy droid modeled after the BB-8 character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. As the release of the The Last Jedi approaches this December, Sphero has introduced two new Star Wars-themed robotic toys, BB-9E and R2-D2. R2-D2 is a well-known classic droid that's starred in Star...

Sphero's been making iPhone-connected ball-shaped robotic toys since 2011, and while the company has been successful with the original Sphero and the Ollie, it stumbled on a major hit this year with the launch of the BB-8, a Star Wars branded iPhone-controlled droid. BB-8 is based on the droid from the upcoming movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It combines Sphero's existing robotic ball...

Following a successful debut on Kickstarter, Sphero's newest robot, the RVR, is now available for purchase worldwide. The RVR is a fully programmable and customizable RC car that's drivable right out of the box, but also built for customization with a wide range of built-in sensors and support for multiple skill levels. There's a color sensor, a light sensor, infrared, a magnetometer, an...

Sphero today announced the launch of two new versions of its popular Sphero Mini robotic ball, debuting a new soccer-themed Sphero Mini along with an activity kit. The Sphero Mini Activity Kit combines a clear Sphero Mini robotic ball along with several accessories. The Sphero Mini itself is equipped with a gyroscope, accelerometer, LED lights, and a rechargeable battery, and it can be used...

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Sphero to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win Specdrums, a finger-worn ring that's designed to turn colors into sounds and music. Specdrums, priced at $65, fit on your index finger and have an optical sensor built into the front that can recognize colors and translate them into sound using the accompanying Specdrums app. A simple tap...

Sphero today debuted a Kickstarter for its latest robot, the RVR, a fully programmable and customizable RC car that the company says has "endless coding possibilities." The RVR Kickstarter begins its pledge levels at $199 and will have a final MSRP of $249, and marks Sphero's first ever Kickstarter project. The final goal for the project is $150,000. Sphero says that initial shipments will...

Sphero, the company behind the now-discountinued Star Wars droid toys, has launched a device called "Specdrums," a wearable ring that plays different music based on the color you tap it against. The Colorado-based startup Specdrums had previously debuted the music-enabled rings a few years ago, but the rings will now be sold under the Sphero brand following an acquisition by Sphero last summer. ...

Sphero, known for its popular BB-8, BB-9E, and R2-D2 iPhone-controlled droids, today confirmed that it is discontinuing all licensed products. In a statement provided to The Verge, Sphero CEO Paul Berberian confirmed that Sphero is cleaning out its remaining licensed inventory and has no plans to produce more. Sphero will no longer make BB-8, BB-9E, R2-D2, Lightning McQueen cars, or...

Sphero today announced the "Bolt" robotic ball, which is aimed at teaching kids basic programming with its advanced sensors, LED matrix, and infrared communication that lets it interact with other Bolt devices (via Gizmodo). The Bolt is the same size as previous Sphero balls, but has an increased runtime of two full hours thanks to a bigger battery. The device connects to the Sphero Edu app,...

Gamevice, a company that makes a Made for iPhone gaming controller for iOS devices, today announced that it has partnered with Sphero and DJI to allow the Gamevice peripheral to control the Sphero SPRK+ robot and the DJI Spark drone. When the Gamevice for iPhone or iPad is used with the DJI Spark app, the Spark drone can be controlled using the physical buttons of the Gamevice, which the...

Following the launch of BB-8 in 2015, and R2-D2 and BB-9E last month, Sphero has introduced an all-new iPhone-controlled droid ahead of New York Comic-Con, which begins today. This one is R2-Q5 and is the Imperial counterpart to R2-D2, with a glossy black finish and matte gold trimmings. R2-Q5 first appeared in Return of the Jedi. Similar to Sphero's R2-D2 droid, R2-Q5 has functional...

Sphero, known for its line of robotic balls and droids, today launched the $50 Sphero Mini, the company's most affordable toy yet. Sphero Mini measures in at about 1.25 inches, making it similar in size to a ping pong ball. It's essentially a tiny version of the original Sphero robotic ball, and it's controlled the same way -- through an app on your iPhone. The Sphero Mini connects to an...

Sphero today unveiled all-new iPhone-controlled Star Wars toys, including R2-D2 and a new character from Star Wars: The Last Jedi called BB-9E (via TechCrunch). This latter droid is described as originating from the same astromech series as BB-8, but is instead associated with the villainous First Order. Similar to Sphero's BB-8 droid from 2015, BB-9E (priced at $149) comes with a set of...

Continuing its partnership with Disney, Sphero today revealed its newest iPhone-controlled toy, this time themed after the Disney/Pixar Cars character Lightning McQueen. Sphero calls him the "Ultimate Lightning McQueen," letting users drive Lightning remotely via Bluetooth by using an iOS or Android application. Lightning himself has authentic movement and animations which Sphero calls...

Back at CES 2016, Sphero debuted a prototype version of the "Force Band," a wearable that allows users to motion control the iPhone-controlled BB-8. While the Force Band can mostly be used to control BB-8 without an iPhone, it has some select features that need an iPhone and Sphero's Star Wars app (via Engadget). The band comes with five modes, two of them for motion controlling BB-8 and...

Sphero's iPhone-connected robotic BB-8 droid was one of the hottest gifts this holiday season, and Sphero is hoping to maintain that momentum with the introduction of the Force Band, a wearable wristband that will allow BB-8 owners to control the droid using gestures. For those unfamiliar with Sphero's BB-8, it's a small replica of the BB-8 droid that starred in the recently released Star...

Sphero, the company responsible for creating robotic balls that can be controlled by iPhones, today announced a remote-controlled BB-8, a droid from the upcoming film "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." While BB-8 can be controlled with an iPhone, it also comes with a patrol mode that allows the droid to roam around by himself. Users can also design their own routes and have BB-8 follow them....