Sphero BB-8 is the ideal 'The Force Awakens' viewing buddy

It's April 5, which means you can finally buy Star Wars: The Force Awakens on Blu-Ray. (It came out via digital download on April 1, but trust us: Blu-Ray, with its superior resolution, is the way for true cinephiles to go.) 

But what if you desperately need to watch it immediately, and your significant other/Star Wars buddy isn't available till the weekend? No worries. You can now buy a companion to watch the movie with -- and he just happens to be one of the stars.

Sphero's excellent miniature BB-8 toy, which you control via Bluetooth and iPhone/Android app, just got an update in time for your home viewing session. There's a new "Watch with me" feature -- wherein BB-8 will recognize where you are in the movie, and issue his own reactions in real time.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The recognition appears to come via the microphone, and it doesn't seem to matter which version of the movie you're using or where you start in the movie. A few seconds of sound is all he needs to clue in. 

Here's my initial test of the toy's new feature. BB-8 gets very excited when a certain "garbage" ship enters the story, while the app pops up a picture in recognition:

This is just the beginning of what promises to be a big year of updates for the bestselling BB-8. Sphero has already shown off the Force Band, which allows you to manipulate the droid via the Force -- well, actually by the movement of your wrist, but who cares about the specifics when you get to pretend to be a Jedi?

The Force Band arrives at some point later this year; pricing has not yet been set, but we do know it'll come with a nifty new "battle-scarred" version of everyone's favorite soccer ball droid. 

The "Watch with me" feature, however, is available as soon as your next BB-8 app update arrives. 

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