If tapping your cheek to ask Siri a question isn't futuristic enough, Bragi's new "wireless ear computers" might impress you. The headphone maker has announced two new versions of its high-end Dash earbuds, the "Dash Pro" and the "Dash Pro tailored by Starkey" (a hearing-aid manufacturer). These wireless, in-ear devices will also be powered by a new operating system (OS). The Bragi OS3 will bring new features like real-time face-to-face translation, a hands-free gestural menu system, and AI built right into the earpieces. Existing Bragi Dash owners can also upgrade to BOS3 to get these tools.

It seems Apple has a few surprises in-stored for its fans this year – from the iPhone redesign to a new Siri-enabled device and now, the tech giant could update its laptop lineup. People familiar with the matter have revealed that the firm is set to release three new laptops at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose in June. The sources told Bloomberg that Apple the MacBook Pro will get a faster Kaby Lake processor from Intel, the 12-inch MacBook with a faster Intel chip and the 13-inch MacBook Air will be revamped with a new processor. Sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that Apple will unveil three new laptops at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference set to kick off in June. It is believed that the MacBook Pro will get a faster Kaby Lake processor from Intel, the 12-inch MacBook with a faster Intel chip and the 13-inch MacBook Air will be revamped with a new processor.

One of the most repeated phrases I heard at Mobile World Congress 2017 was "reinvention." It didn't matter whether the speaker was a CEO of a bank or a mobile manager of a retail company. All of them had the same view: we need to reinvent our businesses, or we won't survive. The only way to avoid disruption in the fintech industry is to look ahead and innovate faster than the competition. In this way, companies need to embrace rapid prototyping if they are to manage the fast-paced, agile environment in which every business needs to operate.

Amazon has been updating its line of voice-assistant devices to make them more user-friendly for a while. The Tap no longer needs a physical touch to activate it and your Echo devices can make calls and leave messages. Better yet, they'll will soon be able to whisper and have better wake word accuracy. According to a post on Amazon's developer site, Echo devices are getting another upgrade here, too: visual notifications for skills. When one of your notification-enabled skills get new information, you'll get a chime and a pulsing green light on your Echo, Dot, or Show device when there's new information.

You were once atop the smartphone heap, making some of the best-designed and most impressive Android devices on the planet. Then everyone else kept improving, and you didn't. Samsung, and Apple, and Xiaomi, and Oppo, and, well, just about everybody passed you by. You're trying to get back into the game. If you answered "throw a hundred ideas into a single phone and see what happens," congratulations! You just joined HTC's product team.

Rumors regarding Apple's Siri-enabled smart speaker have taken the internet by storm, as leakers have speculated the features that could be included in the design. Now, a new patent may give iOS fans the first look at the highly-anticipated device. The application has illustrated an'Electronic device with radially deployed components' that could boast lamps, displays, speaker, microphones and a range of sensors. The patent's illustrations appear to look like a cylinder-shaped device, which is thicker than Amazon's Echo, with action buttons on the side. News that Apple was designing a Siri-powered smart speaker first surfaced in September 2016, when anonymous sources told Bloomberg that the device had left the researcher and development lab and was being tested as a working prototype.

As a fan of smart home speakers, I can tell you that once you have one device, you start thinking about the best spot for a second one. Right now, Amazon and Best Buy are trying to help make that situation easier by offering a discounted two-pack of the Amazon Echo smart speaker. Both retailers are offering two Echo speakers for $80 off--or $280 total, instead of $360. We haven't looked at the Echo since mid-2015. In the meantime Alexa, the Echo's smart home assistant, has added numerous third-party integrations ("skills").

USA TODAY's Jefferson Graham says Google Home is improved but is still a work in progress with some gaping holes. That's how it was pitched in its sneak peek demo at the Google I/O 2016 developer conference. But when it was released to the public in November, it didn't turn out that way. Many of the features didn't work as promised, and critics were mixed. The $129 speaker had potential, USA TODAY's Edward Baig and others said, though it was clearly playing catch up to Amazon's Alexa and the Echo speaker.

Artificial intelligence companies are sprouting all over the world. With rapid advancements ranging from virtual assistants to fraud detection, AI has come a long way recently. Almost every organization, whether it is fashion, banking or retail, is using AI in a way possible to innovate and make their services better. Technology giants like Apple, Google, Intel, Samsung and Salesforce are competing in the race to acquire private AI companies. More than 200 small companies using AI algorithms across different verticals have been acquired since 2012, with over 30 acquisitions taking place in the first quarter of 2017 alone.

If you've spent any time barking at your virtual assistant, you've no doubt had the conversation run aground a few times. "No, Siri, I said'Play Prince Purple Rain,' not'Belay price Urkle T-pain.'" But while Siri, Alexa, and Google may sometimes have a tough time understanding what you're asking even if you speak in a plain American accent, just imagine what it's like for somebody speaking English with a foreign accent. We put the three top assistants to the test. We asked friends of ours from Italy, Ireland, Scotland, England, Japan, Germany, and Australia to ask an iPhone with Siri, a Google Home, and an Amazon Echo various questions.