Do smartwatches need upgrades every few years like PCs? It's not clear yet, but Intel's powerful chip in the Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45, a US $1,600 luxury smartwatch, will ensure the wearable isn't outdated anytime soon. The smartwatch, which runs Android Wear 2.0, uses Intel's Atom Z34XX, a smartphone chip. The Atom processor seems like overkill but extends the wearable's shelf life and adds processing power for artificial intelligence, a feature Google is building in Android Wear.

Two women who alleged an Internet-connected vibrator from an Ottawa sex toy company was able to spy on them have reached a US$3.75-million settlement with the firm. Under the terms of the settlement, Standard Innovation Corp. has agreed to destroy the personal information it collected from users of the vibrator and stop collecting such information from now on. In September, a lawsuit was filed in an Illinois court against Standard Innovation, which manufactures the popular We-Vibe sex aid, because newer versions of the device share “highly intimate” data over the web.

For all the talk surrounding autonomous vehicles, little has been said about the technology’s roots in entertainment. Sci-fi movies have showcased the potential of self-driving cars for several years but they haven’t provided any practical solutions. Elements of autonomous driving actually came from another source: video games. “Some of the earliest games out there were simulators of vehicles and they always had a cause and effect,” said Sanford Russell, senior director of autonomous driving ecosystem in North America for gaming and visual computer specialist NVIDIA. “If I hit the vehicle next to me, it has to go do something or …

Birmingham Airport has implemented BlipTrack queue management technology from BLIP Systems. The sensor-based system helps the airport to improve resource planning and to manage people flows. Operationally, the airport uses, among other things, the data to monitor line density in real-time, which allows management to respond to irregular operations and disruptions, such as opening additional lines. In addition, the live wait time information is shared with passengers on screens, to improve the travel experience. 

Thousands of new “smart” streetlights to be rolled out across the city of San Diego will be connected to a city-wide network, allowing officials to adjust their brightness and detect outages from afar. But in addition to giving off light, they will also be pulling in information about what’s going on around them. Last month, San Diego announced it would install a 3,200-node sensor platform in soon-to-be-upgraded streetlights across the city this summer, in what officials say will be the world’s largest smart-city Internet of Things (IoT) network. The $30 million program is part of a deal with …

Self-driving cars with no human behind the wheel — or, for that matter, any steering wheel at all — may soon appear on California’s public roads, under regulations state officials proposed Friday. The rules represent a delicate balance, trying to ensure the safety of a new technology many people don’t trust while avoiding tough restrictions that could send car companies fleeing to other states.

Uber Technologies Inc can legally put its self-driving cars back on California streets after securing the necessary permit from state regulators, the company said on Wednesday, although passengers will not immediately be allowed in the backseat. The permit allows Uber back into its home state and the chief testing ground for self-driving cars, where 26 other companies, including Alphabet Inc, Tesla Motors and Ford Motor Co, are competing for a piece of the autonomous vehicle market and have obtained state permits. Obtaining the permit also marks a concession for Uber, which had fought California regulators over the requirement and initially …

JD.com, Alibaba competitor and one of China’s pre-eminent online retailers, has partnered with hardware company Zebra to create the IoT + E-commerce Logistics Lab, which will work on applications of the Internet of Things in online retail. The partnership also involves Digital China, an IT company focused on providing digital solutions for a range of businesses, and one of China’s largest IT solutions providers. The collaboration between the heavy hitters in tech and ecommerce will look to streamline JD.com’s back-end and supply chain processes with technology generally considered crafted in service to consumers.

Alphabet Inc.'s Nest, seeking a bigger share of the connected home market, is developing a cheaper version of its flagship thermostat and new home security products, according to a person familiar with the matter.  The company is working on a version of its "learning thermostat," which adjusts the temperature based on usage patterns, that would sell for under $200, the person said. The current version sells for $249. The cheaper model would include less expensive components and at least one internal prototype lacks the flagship model's metal edges, the person said. 

The iPhone 7 is nearly six months old, which means the time is ripe for speculating about the next iPhone. After all, 2017 marks the iPhone’s 10th birthday, so Apple is reportedly gearing up to make its anniversary edition extra special. We’ll keep track of the latest rumors and how plausible they are, and we’ll put them in one spot (this one!) so you can pop on over whenever you want to read the latest. If you passed on the iPhone 7 to wait for the iPhone 8—or the iPhone 7s or whatever name Apple decides to use—it sounds like the next phone could …