The smart home market will account for over 13 percent of 815 million Bluetooth device shipments by 2024, up from 250 million last year, said ABI Research. Growth in smart lighting, voice-enabled front-end products, door locks, smart appliances and sensors was cited by the researcher, including in a Wednesday email. Bluetooth’s low power consumption, audio capabilities, widespread presence in mobile devices, and mesh networking support position it for many device types, said analyst Andrew Zignani: It will benefit from smart home growth along with Wi-Fi, 802.15.4 and Z-Wave.

Worldwide shipments of used smartphones rose 17.6 percent to 206.7 million last year, reported IDC this week. The growth reflects “considerable savings” over new devices, as OEMs "struggled to produce new models that strike a balance” between new features consumers want and reasonable prices, said the researcher. The used market “shows no signs of slowing down,” said analyst Anthony Scarsella, with the transition from 4G to 5G. “The ability for vendors to push more affordable refurbished devices in markets in which they normally would not have a presence is helping these players grow their brand as well as their ecosystem of apps, services, and accessories.” Used smartphones had 22.2 percent share in North America in 2018, expected to grow to 26.2 percent by 2023. Elsewhere, it was 77.8 percent in 2018, forecast to reach 73.8 percent share in three years.

Samsung agreed to buy TeleWorld Solutions, a network services provider of 4G and 5G network design, testing and optimization services to mobile service and cable operators. The acquisition will address the need for accelerated end-to-end support in delivering 5G network solutions, Samsung said. TWS will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary.

CTA, along with Heart Rhythm Society, released Thursday at CES a paper recommending best practices for using wearables to manage personal health, including detecting and monitoring cardiovascular biometrics. The paper includes an overview of the wearables landscape and advice on using devices. A FAQ section covers topics including data management, when to call a doctor, sharing data with a health provider, data privacy and security policies.

Smart speakers will account for more than half of global wireless speaker sales 2019-2023, Futuresource reported. The U.S. market had just under half of smart speaker shipments last year. Renewed interest in music consumption and tech advances are driving increased demand for consumer audio hardware, said Wednesday's report. The market for home audio hardware and headphones grew to $50.8 billion in 2019, up from $47.5 billion the prior year.

Swedish sound company Dirac, known for room correction tuning technology, announced at CES Tuesday a digital audio solution for mobile devices. It’s said to reveal subtle beats, tones and sounds typically lost in headphones and to bring the higher definition content “outside the listener’s head” with a more spacious listening experience. Customized app-based algorithms boost details in music to “unleash the full potential of the headphones,” regardless of the audio codec used, said the company. Dirac is in talks with smartphone and music streaming companies about embedding the digital audio tech in products and platforms with the first partnership expected to be announced this quarter, it said.

TCL made its first U.S. foray into smartphones before CES. The company is launching a trio of phones, with four cameras and NXTVision display technology, executives told reporters Monday in Las Vegas. The wireless phones will be priced under $500 -- including a 5G model -- said Stefan Streit, TCL Mobile general manager-global marketing. The company doesn’t believe 5G smartphones should be reserved only for wealthy consumers, he said. The first U.S. 8K TCL Roku TV will be ready for 8K content as next-generation game consoles and streaming services come to market, said Aaron Dew, TCL North America director-product development. TCL had voice-ready TVs previously but will up the game in 2020 with integrated mics that allow for direct far-field voice control via Roku, Amazon and Google without a smart speaker, he said.

LG will build ATSC 3.0 TV functionality into six of its most premium OLED TV models for 2020, said the company Monday at CES in Las Vegas. “Nextgen TV represents the marriage of broadcast and broadband,” Tim Alessi, head-LG home entertainment product marketing, told a news conference. “We expect local stations in more than 60 markets” serving up to 70 percent of the viewing population “to launch some type of Nextgen TV services in 2020,” he said. LG and Samsung were first to announce 3.0 consumer products for the U.S. market. Both were heavily involved in 3.0 standards-setting and worked aggressively to bring 3.0 TVs to South Korean consumers in time for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Samsung will build 3.0 functionality across its 2020 8K QLED TV line, it said Sunday. Samsung will be “excited to see” how 3.0 “steers our broadcast partners into developing content and experiences for our 8K ecosystem,” it said.

OtterBox and Corning partnered on a smartphone screen protection line, Amplify, with antimicrobial technology that’s said to suppress growth of several common microbe stains and bacteria, they announced Monday at CES. The antimicrobial property of the screen protectors, based on ionic silver, is embedded into the glass so it can maintain damage resistance, optical clarity and touch sensitivity, they said. Amplify Glass’ antimicrobial technology is registered with the EPA, they said.

More details about broadcasters' and consumer electronics' ATSC 3.0 rollout may come this week at CES. Secrecy beforehand shrouded the breadth and form of the first actual 3.0 consumer receivers to be introduced in Las Vegas for retail delivery later in 2020. An ATSC news release Friday heralded “NEXTGEN TV powered by ATSC 3.0" as a CES 2020 hallmark. The first U.S. consumer receivers with “integrated” 3.0 capabilities “are expected to be announced in the coming days,” said ATSC, a first-time CES exhibitor. The introductions will highlight “the key consumer benefits of enhanced audio and video designed to offer an immersive and effortless experience for the early adopters of the new system,” it said. LG, Samsung and Sony, three of the CE brands most active in the development of 3.0 standards, will appear. ATSC President Madeleine Noland will join CTA President Gary Shapiro and NAB President Gordon Smith in the Las Vegas Convention Center’s Grand Lobby in a ceremony Wednesday “to commemorate the official launch” of 3.0 products at CES, said ATSC. Product introductions will support stations' rollout of 3.0 services in “60-plus U.S. markets this year,” it said.