Technology

Bloomberg The first augmented-reality glasses with Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant will be shown next week at CES in Las Vegas—manufactured by a 75-employee company rather than the e-commerce giant’s growing devices division. Vuzix Corp. will show off a pair of smart glasses that can talk to Amazon.com Inc.’s voice-activated digital assistant and display information to the wearer’s field of view, …

Bloomberg International Business Machines Corp. and Comcast Corp.’s venture arm will become the largest supporters of an investment fund for startups that help corporations use blockchain, the digital ledger that’s become a hot technology. The startup accelerator, called MState, plans to invest $25,000 to $50,000 apiece in five or six companies over the next six months, co-founder Rob Bailey said. …

Bloomberg In the future of transportation, what would you get if you mixed the business models of Tesla Inc., Google and Samsung Electronics Co. with the budget of the world’s fifth-biggest automaker? Youngcho Chi is about to find out. Hired from Samsung, Chi has assembled a team of 200 strategists and researchers at Hyundai Motor Co., the 50-year-old South Korean …

Bloomberg The world’s biggest carmakers and technology companies are spending billions of dollars to perfect your ability to drive without thinking. Nissan Motor Co. is taking a different direction—trying to “decode” your thinking so hands-on driving is more fun. The Japanese company will unveil and test its “brain-to-vehicle” technology at next week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The “B2V” …

Bloomberg Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPad introduced a novel way of interacting with computers: via easy-to-use applications, accessible in the highly curated App Store. The same approach hasn’t worked nearly as well on Apple’s desktops and laptops. The Mac App Store is a ghost town of limited selection and rarely updated programmes. Now Apple plans to change that by giving …

Bloomberg Apple Inc. is developing an advanced heart-monitoring feature for future versions of its smartwatch, part of a broader push by the company to turn what was once a luxury fashion accessory into a serious medical device, according to people familiar with the plan. A version being tested requires users to squeeze the frame of the Apple Watch with two …

Bloomberg Deliveries by drones took a step closer to being allowed in the US after a federal advisory panel agreed on a framework for allowing law enforcement to routinely track the small devices. The committee’s report to the Federal Aviation Administration is a significant step towards widening drone flights to allow them over people, urban areas and over long distances. …

Bloomberg Facebook Inc. is introducing new facial recognition features that will automatically notify users when their photo is posted on the social network, the company said. The new features are being rolled out in the face of growing pressure on the company from regulators in Europe, the US and elsewhere who have criticised Facebook for spreading fake news, fostering hate …

Bloomberg Apple Inc. is spending $390 million to boost production from a maker of laser technology that’s critical for new iPhone X features such as facial recognition. Apple, whose products can stretch the manufacturing capabilities of suppliers, will invest the money in Finisar Corp. from a $1 billion manufacturing fund announced earlier this year with the aim of creating more …

Bloomberg Samsung Electronics Co. is aiming to introduce a smart speaker in the first half of 2018, entering a crowded field of voice-controlled devices from Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc., people briefed on the plans said. The device by the South Korean technology giant will have a strong focus on audio quality and the management of connected home …