A new challenger could be approaching Apple's iconic AirPods (pictured above). Microsoft is developing a pair of Surface-branded wireless earbuds, according to Brad Sams' oft-reliable sources at Thurrott.com. Microsoft surprised the world by releasing the surprisingly good Surface Headphones last October. The sleek, premium-priced $350 headset features an intuitive control scheme and some wickedly good noise cancellation chops, courtesy of four active mics that keep tabs on the sounds around you. "Spin the noise cancellation dial on Microsoft's new cans, and the world fades away," we wrote at the time. Of course, you could also use the Surface Headphones to converse with Microsoft's Cortana digital assistant via its mobile app.

Spotify is working on a line of "category defining" hardware products and is ready to start setting up the manufacturing process. The streaming music company intends to create a hardware category "akin to Pebble Watch, Amazon Echo, and Snap Spectacles", according to job adverts posted over the past year. One ad for a senior product manager, posted last April, called for an expert to "define the product requirements for internet connected hardware [and] the software that powers it". Today, a trio of job adverts (spotted by industry site MusicAlly) have been posted, seeking an "operations manager", "senior project manager: hardware production", and "project manager: hardware production and engineering" for the hardware. The first of those adverts states that "Spotify is on its way [to] creating its first physical products and set-up an operational organisation for manufacturing, supply chain, sales and marketing." The new hire would manage the supply chain for the new product, suggesting the company is ready to begin the manufacturing process shortly.

At the beginning of the year, a mysterious Go player (the famous Chinese board game) appeared on 2 of the biggest online gaming platforms, Tygem and FoxGo, under the name of "Master". Over the last two days, "Master" has crushed 50 players, including world ranked players from Japan (5th in the world ranking by Go Ratings), South Korean (3rd) and Chinese (1st). This has provoked more than 27,000 discussions, 160 million media impressions and a lot of speculation around the identity of the "Master". Many observers immediately suspected a robot controlled by artificial intelligence but no one knows who would be able to develop it. After the 59th victory against Nie Weiping, a 60-year-old Chinese champion, the "Master" account revealed that he was in fact a researcher of the AlphaGo team.

Samsung's Galaxy S8 is expected to include the debut of its new voice-based digital assistant. Following on from the South Korean company's acquisition of Viv Labs, the technology from this artificial intelligence platform will be baked into Samsung's software on the upcoming flagship. Previous Galaxy handsets have supported voice interaction using its S Voice application, but the inclusion of a new voice-powered digital assistant (that many are calling'Bixby') should give Samsung an AI presence in all of the Galaxy S8's own applications (reports SamMobile). It also gives Samsung a stronger foothold into the world of digital AI alongside the likes of Microsoft's Cortana, Apple's Siri, and Google's imaginatively named Google Assistant. And it is the latter which could raise some eyebrows in Mountain View.

Samsung's Galaxy S8 is expected to include the debut of a new voice-based digital assistant. Following on from the South Korean company's acquisition of Viv Labs, the technology from this artificial intelligence platform will be baked into Samsung's software on the upcoming flagship. Previous Galaxy handsets have supported voice interaction using its S Voice application, but the inclusion of a new voice-powered digital assistant (that many are calling'Bixby') should give Samsung an AI presence in all of the Galaxy S8's own applications (reports SamMobile). It also gives Samsung a stronger foothold into the world of digital AI alongside the likes of Microsoft's Cortana, Apple's Siri, and Google's imaginatively named Google Assistant. And it is the latter which could raise some eyebrows in Mountain View.

SAN FRANCISCO – Alphabet Inc.'s Google on Tuesday announced a new Pixel smartphone and a virtual reality headset, making a concerted move into home electronics and challenging Apple Inc.'s iPhone at the high end of the more than 400 billion global smartphone market. The string of announcements, including the 649 Pixel, a new Wi-Fi router and its voice-activated digital assistant for the living room, Home, is the clearest sign yet that Google intends to compete directly with Apple, Amazon.com and even its own Android mobile operating system customers to create a world of integrated devices and services that meet every digital need. The moves also show Google is taking tighter control of its products. Google lets Android device makers modify software almost without limit, which has helped make Android the most-used mobile operating system in the world. But company executives boasted that the Pixel was developed in-house from start to finish and gives it a direct hand on a platform for the distribution of its internet-based services.