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Every fall, dozens of maple and oak trees in my neighborhood shed their leaves. Thus begins the constant drone of gas-powered leaf blowers every day through early December. The noise is by far the most annoying thing about these yard tools, but I can appreciate it's a necessary evil - unless you prefer to pick up a blister-inducing rake.Whisper Aero argues there's a better way. The company is using aerospace tech to quiet the noisy devices, introducing the T1 leaf blower at CES 2026 under its sub-brand Tone Outdoors. The company promises the T1 is 80 percent quieter and 60 percent more powerful than leading" handheld gas leaf blowers. More specifically, the T1 has 880 CFM of air flow, which easily surpasses my battery-powered EGO. And at 52 decibels of average noise at peak volume, his model is drastically quieter than any leaf blower I've used. I was able to confirm its lower roar on the CES show floor.Tone says the T1 also offers extended run time of up to 50 minutes on a charge in Eco mode. That too is greater than what I get on my mid-grade EGO. What's more, the company plans to sell a battery backpack that will extend any clean-up sessions for several hours. The T1 also has a built-in LED nightlight" so you can still use it after dark. And since it's quieter than what you have now, you can do so without annoying your neighbors. Tone Outdoors T1 Billy Steele for Engadget So, how does Whisper Aero achieve this? The company originally set out to devise a quieter solution for electric aerospace motors. Its engineers discovered that they could dramatically reduce noise and increase overall efficiency by redesigning the fan and motor. They're still pursuing that, but the company discovered its technology had other uses too.The T1 is already available for preorder for $599 and it's scheduled to ship in September. If you don't care for the standard green color, you can spend another $100 for limited edition Silence Is Golden" version. The battery backpack won't arrive until Q1 2027 though (price TBD). Tone also says it has additional models in the works and it has a partnership with Stanley Black and Decker that will likely produce additional products with this tech on board.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/ces-2026-the-tone-outdoors-t1-solved-the-biggest-problem-with-leaf-blowers-234309500.html?src=rss

Apple announced today JPMorgan Chase will be the new issuer for the Apple Card. The official news arrived shortly after The Wall Street Journal reported that the two businesses had reached a deal regarding Apple's credit card service. According to the tech company, the transition to the new provider should take about two years to complete, but customers can continue to use their Apple Cards as usual during the interim.Apple has already published an FAQ about the change, but the main takeaway is that the status quo is currently continuing and customers will receive information at a later date if any action is required. Mastercard will remain the Apple Card payment network under the new partnership.Goldman Sachs was Apple's collaborator when it launched the Apple Card in 2019. We've seen signs for a few years, though, that Goldman Sachs had been looking for a way out of its arrangement. Apple didn't disclose many details around either the current or future deals for its credit card, however the WSJ report claims the negotiations with JPMorgan Chase have been underway for more than a year. Sources told the publication that Goldman Sachs is offloading about $20 billion in outstanding customer balances at a discount of more than $1 billion.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/jpmorgan-chase-is-taking-over-the-apple-card-232711979.html?src=rss

If you're off-roading, it's a neat idea to use your engine to top up your battery, which prompted Bluetti to launch the Charger. You could hook it to your alternator and draw off energy as you drove to make sure you turned up to your campsite with full batteries. But if you're also toting around solar panels on your roof, then it's a shame you can't also use that power to top up. This omission is what prompted Bluetti to turn up to CES 2026 with the Charger 2, which will take power from your engine and your solar panels at the same time.Bluetti says the Charger 2's dual-input architecture will accept 600W from the panels, 800W from the engine. All of that power will charge your batteries significantly faster than the first model, claiming it's 13 times faster than a standard car charger. In addition, Charger 2 can manage more than one Bluetti power station and expansion batteries, should your power needs stretch. And the system is smart enough to know where the energy is coming from, managing the sources based on their availability. Plus, you can use it to jump start your engine should you need the help.If you're a Charger 1 owner and want to upgrade, it's fairly painless to drop the old unit out in favor of its replacement. It uses the same cabling, so you can just hook the new model to your existing wires without having to get your fingers greasy. To reward that loyalty, the company will sell you an upgrade for $99, at least through February 7.As for everyone else, you'll be able to pick up the Charger 2 for $349 through February 7, at which point the price leaps to $499.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/bluettis-charger-2-uses-solar-and-engine-power-to-charge-your-portable-battery-230000270.html?src=rss

CES 2026: A rocky year ahead of the PC industryWe're halfway through CES 2026, and it's clear that it's going to be a rough year for the PC industry. In this episode, Devindra chats with Engadget's Dan Cooper about Intel, AMD, NVIDIA and the sad state of the PC industry. We've got some new CPUs, but the volatile RAM market will likely make everything expensive this year. Also, they dive into Dell's revival of the XPS brand, as well as iPolish's smart nails and Subtle's AI-powered VoiceBuds.Subscribe!

Samsung Display is the part of its giant parent company that makes OLEDs, LCDs and other screens for both Samsung devices and anyone else that can afford them. This year, it's going all-in on OLEDs of the future. And that meant things like foldable displays with invisible creases, robots hurling basketballs at supertough OLED panels, and OLED screens packed into baffling form factors for no good reason.CreasesSamsung DisplayThe seamless" foldable display that might be a part of a future foldable iPhone disappeared from the booth during our tour, reappearing when it was time to leave. (This is an image provided by Samsung Display.) The device was labelled as an R&D concept, but it somehow disguised the crease in the center of the main display, making the (unlabelled) Galaxy Z Fold on the left look like a messy first-iteration foldable. There's still a crease there Will it actually form part of Apple's foray into foldables, or just part of the Z Fold 8?Why not both?Put an OLED on itMat Smith for EngadgetThis isn't a record player you'll ever buy. You don't need an OLED display on the side of your wireless headphones, but you could have them. I liked the cute OLED pendants; a customizable near-future button badge, but a lot of this is just devices for the sake of making them.The booth tour had a small segment dedicated to portable gaming OLED, adding more possibilities whether that's an eye-sight for FPS games or extra HUD for the most important info.The world's brightest OLED TVMat Smith for EngadgetReaching 4,500-nit brightness, I had to squint when sat in front of this beastly OLED. For reference, consumer-level TVs typically peak at around 2,700 nits. Compared to other display technologies, OLED can achieve deeper contrast and more accurate color reproduction, but it often lacks the brightness of rival TV technologies. Not for this prototype. Let me get my sunglasses.Kobe!Mat Smith for EngadgetI didn't consider OLED displays to be more fragile than other display technology, but that didn't stop Samsung Display from installing a robot arm that throws a basketball at a hoop with a backboard made of 18 foldable OLEDs. With a bang, making Samsung Display execs and engineers nearby increasingly anxious as the days of CES go on.Foldables have come a long wayMat Smith for EngadgetAfter Samsung finally solved the problem of weight and thickness with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, it made life hard for itself again with the TriFold, with 50 percent more foldable screen. But it's worth seeing how Samsung's foldables have evolved over the past few years. A solid reminder that the first Galaxy Fold (2019) was beefy.The next big thing in gaming displaysMat Smith for EngadgetSamsung Display has begun mass production of its 360Hz QD-OLED panel, with new V-Stripe" RGB pixel structures. Inside each pixel, subpixels are vertically aligned, which appears to improve the clarity of text edges and other small contrast objects. While it was framed at the booth as a boon for office workers, a corner was dedicated to gaming applications.Screens across your sedanMat Smith for EngadgetDigital cockpits are the lifeblood of a CES showfloor, and Samsung Display's version is predictably loaded with yet more OLEDs. The centerpiece is a Flexible L" display that flows into the dashboard. A dedicated 13.8-inch display on the passenger side also slides out of the dash.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/samsung-display-ces-2026-playful-demos-and-mysterious-prototypes-220407696.html?src=rss

It's only been a few months since Meta announced that it would open its smart glasses platform to third-party developers. But one startup at CES is already showing off how the glasses can help power an intriguing set of accessibility features.Hapware has created Aleye, a haptic wristband that, when paired with Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, can help people understand the facial expressions and other nonverbal cues of the people they are talking to. The company says the device could help people who are blind, low vision or neurodivergent unlock a type of communication that otherwise wouldn't be available.Aleye is a somewhat chunky wristband that can vibrate in specific patterns on your wrist to correspond to the facial expressions and gestures of the person you're talking to. It uses the Meta Ray-Ban glasses's computer vision abilities to stream video of your conversation to the accompanying app, which uses an algorithm to detect facial expressions and gestures.The bumps on the underside of the Aleye vibrate to form unique patterns.Karissa Bell for EngadgetUsers can customize which expressions and gestures they want to detect in the app, which also provides a way for people to learn to distinguish between the different patterns. Hapware CEO Jack Walters said in their early testing people have been able to learn a handful of patterns within a few minutes. The company has also tried to make them intuitive. "Jaw drop might feel like a jaw drop, a wave feels more like a side to side haptics," he explains.The app is also able to use Meta AI to give vocal cues about people's expressions, though Hapware's CTO Dr. Bryan Duarte told me it can get a bit distracting to talk to people while the assistant is babbling in your ear. Duarte, who has been blind since a motorcycle accident atthe age of 18, told me he prefers Aleye to Meta AI's other accessibility features like Live AI. "It will only tell me there's a person in front of me," he explains. "It won't tell me if you're smiling. You have to prompt it every time, it won't just tell you stuff."Hapware has started taking pre-orders for the Aleye, which starts at $359 for the wristband or $637 for the wristband plus a year subscription to the app (a subscription is required and otherwise will cost $29 a month). A pair of Ray-Ban Meta glasses is also not included, though Meta has also been building a number of its own accessibility features for the device.

OpenAI is launching a new facet for its AI chatbot called ChatGPT Health. This new feature will allow users to connect medical records and wellness apps to ChatGPT in order to get more tailored responses to queries about their health. The company noted that there will be additional privacy safeguards for this separate space within ChatGPT, and said that it will not use conversations held in Health for training foundational models. ChatGPT Health is currently in a testing stage, and there are some regional restrictions on which health apps can be connected to the AI company's platform.The announcement from OpenAI acknowledges that this new development "is not intended for diagnosis or treatment," but it's worth repeating. No part of ChatGPT, or any other artificial intelligence chatbot, is qualified to provide any kind of medial advice. Not only are these platforms capable of making dangerously incorrect statements, but feeding such personal and private information into a chatbot is generally not a recommended practice. It seems especially unwise to share with a company that only bothered paying even cursory lip service to the psychological impacts of its product after at least one teenager used the chatbot to plan suicide.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/chatgpt-is-launching-a-new-dedicated-health-portal-210150083.html?src=rss

It's a new year, and a great time to fulfill your resolution to practice better cybersecurity. The early days of January are a great time to grab a last-minute subscription for yourself or a loved one. With access to a virtual private network (VPN), you can stream TV shows and events from all over the world, protect your information from hackers and thwart online trackers.Although we strongly recommend using a VPN, jumping on the first deal that comes along might get you stuck with a substandard app. Beyond that, even otherwise respectable VPNs sometimes frame their prices in misleading ways, with advertised deals not always as available as they seem to be.Even so, there are some great bargains on the table. Plenty of the best VPNs - including our top pick, Proton VPN - are still running end-of-year deals that can save you anywhere from 67 to 88 percent on annual subscriptions. Most of these discounts only apply if you sign up for a year or more, but as long as you're comfortable with a service before you take the plunge, committing actually makes sense. You pay more at the start, but if you divide the cost by the months of subscription, it's much cheaper over time.Best VPN dealsExpressVPN Basic - $78.18 for a two-year subscription with four months free (78 percent off): This is one of the best VPNs, especially for new users, who will find its apps and website headache-free on all platforms. In tests for my ExpressVPN review, it dropped my download speeds by less than 7 percent and successfully changed my virtual location 14 out of 15 times. In short, it's an all-around excellent service that only suffers from being a little overpriced - which is why I'm so excited whenever I find it offering a decent deal. This discount, which gets you 28 months of ExpressVPN service, represents a 78 percent savings. Be aware, though, that it'll renew at the $99.95 per year price.ExpressVPN Advanced - $100.58 for a two-year subscription with four months free (74 percent off): ExpressVPN recently split its pricing into multiple tiers, but they all still come with similar discounts for going long. In addition to top-tier VPN service, advanced users get two additional simultaneous connections (for a total of 12), the ExpressVPN Keys password manager, advanced ad and tracker blocking, ID protection features and a 50 percent discount on an AirCove router. As above, note that it renews at $119.95 annually.NordVPN Basic - $81.36 for a two-year subscription (70 percent off): NordVPN gets the most important parts of a VPN right. It's fast, it doesn't leak any of your data and it's great at changing your virtual location. I noted in my NordVPN review that it always connects quickly and includes a support page that makes it easy to get live help. NordVPN includes a lot of cool features, like servers that instantly connect you to Tor. This deal gives you 70 percent off the two-year plan.NordVPN Plus - $105.36 for a two-year subscription (70 percent off): NordVPN has also taken 70 percent off its Plus subscription. For only a little more, you get a powerful ad and tracker blocker that can also catch malware downloads, plus access to the NordPass password manager. A Plus plan also adds a data breach scanner that checks the dark web for your sensitive information.Surfshark Starter - $53.73 for a two-year subscription with three months free (87 percent off): This is the "basic" level of Surfshark, but it includes the entire VPN; everything on Surfshark One is an extra perk. With this subscription, you'll get some of the most envelope-pushing features in the VPN world right now. Surfshark can rotate your IP constantly to help you evade detection - it even lets you choose your own entry and exit nodes for a double-hop connection. That all comes with a near-invisible impact on download speeds. With this year-round deal, you can save 87 percent on 27 months of Surfshark.Surfshark One - $67.23 for a two-year subscription with three months free (87 percent off): A VPN is great, but it's not enough to protect your data all on its own. Surfshark One adds several apps that boost your security beyond just VPN service, including Surfshark Antivirus (scans devices and downloads for malware) and Surfshark Alert (alerts you whenever your sensitive information shows up in a data breach), plus Surfshark Search and Alternative ID from the tier below. This extra-low deal gives you 88 percent off all those features. If you bump up to Surfshark One+, you'll also get data removal through Incogni, but the price jumps enough that it's not quite worthwhile in my eyes.CyberGhost - $56.94 for a two-year subscription with four months free (84 percent off): CyberGhost has some of the best automation you'll see on any VPN. With its Smart Rules system, you can determine how its apps respond to different types of Wi-Fi networks, with exceptions for specific networks you know by name. Typically, you can set it to auto-connect, disconnect or send you a message asking what to do. CyberGhost's other best feature is its streaming servers - I've found both better video quality and more consistent unblocking when I use them on streaming sites. Currently, you can get 28 months of CyberGhost for 84 percent off the usual price, but it'll renew at $56.94 per year.hide.me - $69.95 for a two-year subscription with four months free (75 percent off): Hide.me is an excellent free VPN - in fact, it's my favorite on the market, even with EventVPN and the free version of Proton VPN as competition. If you do want to upgrade to its paid plan, though, the two-year subscription offers great savings. Hide.me works well as a no-frills beginner VPN, with apps and a server network it should frankly be charging more for.Private Internet Access - $79 for a three-year subscription with four months free (83 percent off): With this deal, you can get 40 months of Private Internet Access (PIA) for a little bit under $2 per month - an 83 percent discount on its monthly price. Despite being so cheap, PIA has plenty of features, coming with its own DNS servers, a built-in ad blocker and automation powers to rival CyberGhost. However, internet speeds can fluctuate while you're connected.What makes a good VPN dealPractically every VPN heavily discounts its long-term subscriptions year-round, with even sharper discounts around occasions like the holidays. The only noteworthy exception is Mullvad, the Costco hot dog of VPNs (that's a compliment, to be clear). When there's constantly a huge discount going on, it can be hard to tell when you're actually getting a good deal. The best way to squeeze out more savings is to look for seasonal deals, student discounts or exclusive sales like Proton VPN's coupon for Engadget readers.One trick VPNs often use is to add extra months onto an introductory deal, pushing the average monthly price even lower. When it comes time to renew, you usually can't get these extra months again. You often can't even renew for the same basic period of time - for example, you may only be able to renew a two-year subscription for one year. If you're planning to hold onto a VPN indefinitely, check the fine print to see how much it will cost per month after the first renewal, and ensure that fits into your budget.Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-vpn-deals-up-to-88-percent-off-protonvpn-surfshark-expressvpn-nordvpn-and-more-120056445.html?src=rss

Samsung and Google have new competition in the foldable space. At CES 2026, Motorola unveiled its first side-foldable smartphone: the Razr Fold. The handheld sports an impressive 6.6-inch external screen and an 8.1-inch flexible main display. Motorola hasn't provided dimensions yet, so we don't know how thick it is yet or how it compares to other foldables in that respect.We do know, however, that it'll include support for the Moto Pen Ultra stylus. This is actually a fairly big deal, as Samsung dropped the feature for the Z Fold 7. Modern foldables basically double as tablets, so a stylus is always appreciated.A phone.Motorola There's a robust camera system here, with a 50MP Sony sensor, a 50MP ultra-wide/macro, a 50MP telephoto, a 32MP external selfie lens and a 20MP internal camera. It also offers the ability to record in Dolby Vision.The Razr Fold will be available in blue and white. We don't have any information regarding internal specs, pricing or availability. Motorola says that "more specifications will be shared in the coming months."It's worth noting that while this is the company's first side-folding camera, Motorola has always made top-folding phones. After all, that's what a flip phone is. The company continues to refine this basic idea with its standard Razr line of midrange top-folding smartphones.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/motorola-just-announced-a-foldable-phone-to-rival-samsung-and-google-at-ces-010015323.html?src=rss

Installing a virtual private network (VPN) on an iPhone or iPad is easy. The days are gone when Apple users had to be content with the leavings from the Windows ecosystem - in 2026, all the best VPN services have secure, user-friendly iOS apps on par with every other platform. If you've decided to add a VPN to your iPhone to stay anonymous online and change your virtual location, you've got plenty of great choices.Since you're here, chances are you're familiar with the benefits of using a VPN, including security on public Wi-Fi and the ability to explore streaming libraries in other countries. But you may still be daunted by the process of actually choosing, installing and configuring a VPN on your iPhone.In this article, I'll walk you through the steps, including how to configure a VPN manually without going through a service. Check out my how to use a VPN piece for more general information.How to choose an iPhone VPNOne of the trickiest parts of installing an iPhone VPN is picking the right service. That brings us to our first pro tip: Don't just go to the App Store and search on VPN." That will simply front-load whichever vendor(s) are paying for top placement (note the little Ad" icon) as well as a laundry list of free services that come with big caveats. There are dozens of mobile VPNs out there, and many of them don't put the user first (for example, I reported last year on popular VPNs that failed to disclose shared security flaws). Choosing hastily can leave you stuck with an iOS VPN that's either mediocre or actively harmful.Before downloading an iPhone VPN, do some research into the provider's background. A dependable VPN should have a well-written customer support page, a clear timeline of its history and a way to tell at a glance who actually owns and operates it. Check the reviews on the app store - it should have at least several hundred, almost all 4s and 5s.iPhone users have a particular advantage here: several VPNs let you download their iOS app and start using it without paying. You can use this free trial period to put the VPN through its paces. Start by testing its speed using Ookla speedtest or a similar app. You should also use an IP address checker to make sure it isn't leaking; to confirm this, just check your phone's IP address before and after connecting to the VPN and make sure it's different the second time.To keep things simple, my top recommendation for all platforms is Proton VPN. Out of all VPNs, it strikes the best balance of solid security, fast performance, useful features and a commitment to user privacy. Other iPhone VPNs I love include ExpressVPN, Surfshark and NordVPN.How to install a VPN on your iPhoneInstalling an iPhone VPN is like installing any other app. Just go to the App Store, find the VPN you've chosen and download it onto your phone. When it finishes downloading, open the app to grant permissions and finish setup. However, since there are a couple of potential sticking points, I'll run through the steps in more detail.Proton VPN on the iOS app store.Sam Chapman for Engadget

Character.AI and Google have reportedly agreed to settle multiple lawsuits regarding teen suicide and self-harm. According to The Wall Street Journal, the victims' families and the companies are working to finalize the settlement terms.The families of several teens sued the companies in Florida, Colorado, Texas and New York. The Orlando, FL, lawsuit was filed by the mother of 14-year-old Sewell Setzer III, who used a Character.AI chatbot tailored after Game of Thrones' Daenerys Targaryen. The teen reportedly exchanged sexualized messages with the chatbot and occasionally referred to it as "his baby sister." He eventually talked about joining "Daenerys" in a deeper way before taking his own life.The Texas suit accused a Character.AI model of encouraging a teen to cut his arms. It also allegedly suggested that murdering his parents was a reasonable option. After the lawsuits were filed, the startup changed its policies and banned users under 18.Character.AI is a role-playing chatbot platform that allows you to create custom characters and share them with other users. Many are based on celebrities or fictional pop culture figures. The company was founded in 2021 by two Google engineers, Noam Shazeer and Daniel de Freitas. In 2024, Google rehired the co-founders and struck a $2.7 billion deal to license the startup's technology.On one hand, the settlements will likely compensate the victims' families handsomely. On the other hand, not going to trial means key details of the cases may never be made public. It's easy to imagine other AI companies facing similar suits, including OpenAI and Meta, viewing the settlements as a welcome development.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/characterai-and-google-settle-with-families-in-teen-suicide-and-self-harm-lawsuits-201059912.html?src=rss

Fujifilm just revealed the Instax mini Evo Cinema camera, which looks suspiciously like a vintage Super 8. More specifically, it was designed to mimic the Single-8 from 1965, which was a rival unit to the Super 8. Fujifilm's latest device captures video, just like its retro inspiration.

A keyboard computer has always been on my wishlist - that is, a computer where the entire machine was stuffed into a keyboard. Perhaps I caught a glimpse of the Commodore 64 at an impressionable age, but regardless, the idea has always been intriguing to me. At CES 2026, HP is bringing that concept back with the new EliteBoard G1a, which is dubbed a Next Gen AI PC."It's an IT administrator's dream: It looks a typical desktop keyboard, but it has the full power of a Copilot+ AI PC inside. You can equip it with Ryzen 5 or 7 CPUs and their embedded Radeon 800 GPUs, up to 64GB of RAM and as much as 2TB of NVMe SSD storage. All you need to do is add a monitor and a mouse, and you've got a full-fledged desktop setup.HP EliteBoard keyboard PC.Devindra Hardawar for EngadgetThe more I think about it, the more sad I am that the arc of the computing industry trended towards standardized desktops and laptops. There was a brief spark of interest with the UMPC (ultra mobile PC) trend in the 2000's, which Engadget covered extensively as a young blog, as well as ASUS's Eee keyboard. But they couldn't survive the rise of the smartphone and tablet. It turns out putting an entire computer behind a screen was more compelling than stuffing them into a keyboard.I was able to test out an early EliteBoard prototype, and while the experience wasn't perfect, it's still an intriguing computing option. I had trouble setting it up initially because it only had two USB-C ports on its rear, which meant I had to find a way to power it through one port and pass a video signal through the other. Thankfully, my Anker USB-C charging hub was able to juice it up, and I also had a USB-C hub with an HDMI port, which allowed me to connect to my monitor.Sadly, the overall setup was a jumble of wires, and not the clean layout I expected from a keyboard PC. Once I was able to start up Windows though, I was less annoyed and more amazed that the keyboard contained an entire computer. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised, as Intel's Compute Stick placed a functional PC in a much smaller case, but unlike the failed product, the EliteBoard actually felt usable. I was able to load up several browser windows with tabs, edit a few photos and even play a few light games, like Vampire Survivors. And yes, typing on it felt pretty great too.HP EliteBoard keyboard PC.Devindra Hardawar for EngadgetSince I was testing out prototype hardware, I agreed not to benchmark the EliteBoard. But from the performance I saw, it felt about the same an entry-level laptop. Basically, it's perfectly suited to its main task: Being a boring office computer. Back in my IT days, I certainly would have preferred deploying a few light keyboards instead of the tank-like Dell desktops we typically ordered.While the EliteBoard is targeted at commercial users, HP is considering it an experiment to see how people respond to a keyboard PC. There's a chance we could see one that's eventually meant for mainstream consumers. I'm not sure if that's exactly, necessary, though. The whole concept of a desktop PC mainly appeals to tinkerers and IT folks. And for anyone who wants to get their hands on an EliteBoard soon, there's really nothing stopping you.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/hps-new-eliteboard-made-me-believe-in-keyboard-computers-again-033000022.html?src=rss

As power gets more dicey, personal energy generation only gets more appealing. Shine's compact turbine isn't going to power your house any time soon (though the company's co-founder told me they have plans in that direction) but it can suck up the energy required to refill a smartphone in as little as 17 minutes. Of course, what it can generate depends on wind speed. That same charge could take as long as 11 hours if there's only a slight breeze.That power curve, and its ability to operate at night, sets the turbine apart from solar panels. Of course, on a completely still day, the Shine as inert as a becalmed sailing ship but if the wind picks up even as little as a breeze, it gets to work making power. The turbine even automatically pivots on the included stand to face into the wind. Shine turbine 2.0 Shine The Shine 2.0 looks like a thin space football and has a screw-off cap that reveals a hollow compartment for the stand and tie downs. The cap then doubles as a key to unlock the blades. It all weighs just three pounds, which is impressively light considering it also houses a 50W, 12,000mAh battery. This is the second version of the turbine and updates include a USB-C port instead of USB-A, as well as app connectivity.The company claims you can set the entire thing up in around two minutes. I watched the co-founder take the turbine from fully closed to unfurled and ready for the stand in about that long. Unfortunately, there was no wind rushing through the CES show floor so I couldn't see it spin, but the rep was kind enough to spin it for me. Spinning the Shine Turbine 2.0 Amy Skorheim for Engadget Possibly the most exciting part is Shine's plan for more expansive power generation. Shine 3.0, which the company is working on now, will be a 100 to 300 watt system and grid-tied turbines are on the wish list.Pre orders are now open for the Shine 2.0 through Indiegogo for $399 and units should begin shipping this spring.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/the-shine-20-is-a-compact-wind-turbine-for-your-next-camping-trip-191000940.html?src=rss

The latest generation of smartglasses can create huge virtual screens without the need to lug around giant monitors are a real boon to frequent travelers. However, their specs aren't often tailored to the needs of gamers, so at CES 2026, ASUS and XREAL partnered to make a pair with two very important features you don't normally get from rivals.The new ROG XREAL R1 AR glasses are based on the existing XREAL One Pro, so naturally they share a lot of the same components and specs including dual micro-OLED displays with a per-eye resolution of 1,920 x 1,080, three degrees of freedom (natively), 700-nit peak brightness, 57-degree FOV and built-in speakers tuned by Bose. However, the big difference on the R1s is that instead of maxing out with a 120Hz refresh rate, ASUS and XREAL's collab goes all the way up to 240Hz. That's a pretty nice bump, especially for people with older hardware or anyone who might not have access to a high refresh rate display or just doesn't want to lower their standards while traveling.The ROG XREAL R1 AR smartglasses deliver 1,920 x 1,080 resolution to each eye with a 240Hz refresh rate and 57-degree FOV. Sam Rutherford for EngadgetThe other big addition is the R1's included ROG Control Dock, which from what I've seen is slightly better suited for home use. It's designed to be a simple hub with two HDMI 2.0 jacks,one DisplayPort 1.4 connector and a couple of USB-C slots (one is for power), so you can quickly switch between multiple systems like your desktop and console with a single touch. That said, depending on the situation you might not even need the dock at all because the R1s can also be connected to compatible PCs or gaming handhelds like the ROG Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally X (see the synergy there?) directly via USB-C.When I got to try them out at CES, the R1s delivered a very easy to use and relatively streamlined kit. At 91 grams, they are barely heavier than the original XREAL One Pro (87g) so they don't feel too weighty or cumbersome. I also really like the inclusion of electrochromic lenses, which allow you to change the tint of the glasses with the touch of a button. This lets you adjust how much or little light you want to come in through the front to best suit your environment. And thanks to support for three DOF, you have the ability to pin your virtual screen in one location or let it follow you around.Of course, ASUS and XREAL couldn't resist putting RGB lighting on the ROG XREAL R1 AR smartglasses. Sam Rutherford for EngadgetNow it is important to remember that in order to get 240Hz on the smartglasses, you need hardware capable of pushing the kind of performance. So depending on the title, when the R1s are connected to something like a gaming handheld, you might not be able to get there. Luckily, I had the chance to use the specs when connected to a PC as well, which let me really appreciate the smoothness you get from faster refresh rates. General image quality was also quite good thanks to the glasses' 1080p resolution, so I had no trouble reading text or discerning small UI elements.The ROG Control dock makes it easy to connect multiple devices to the ROG XREAL R1 AR smartglasses, but it may be a bit too bulky to pull out in tight situations like on a plane. Sam Rutherford for EngadgetMy one small gripe is that I kind of wish its 57-degree FOV was a tiny bit bigger, but that's more of a limitation of current optical technology as there aren't a ton of similarly sized specs that can go much higher (at least not yet). That said, even with its current FOV, you can still create up to a 171-inch virtual screen at four meters away, which is massively bigger than any portable screen you might entertain carrying around.Unfortunately, ASUS and XREAL haven't announced official pricing or a release date for the R1s yet, but hopefully they won't cost too much more than the XREAL One Pro, which are currently going for $649.

If you've never docked a boat before, consider yourself lucky. There are plenty of popular TikTok channels devoted to shaming those who bring their craft back home clumsily or berth them with something less than finesse. Tricky crosswinds, unpredictable surf and even the jeers of passersby can make it a stressful experience at the best of times.Brunswick, which owns more than 50 water-borne brands like Sea Ray, Bayliner and Mercury Marine, has a solution. It's demonstrating some self-docking tech called AutoCaptain at CES 2026 that makes this process a cinch, plus a fleet of other innovations that, in some cases, leave some of the smart cars on the show floor looking a bit remedial.One of those technologies is edge AI. While in-car AI is an increasingly common feature, those agents are exclusively running remotely, relying on cellular connections to offload all the processing power required to drive a large language model.Sadly, that won't always work on a boat.One of Brunswick's tech-equipped boatsBrunswick"One of the things about AI for boats is you don't have connectivity, so there is some edge compute required," David M. Foulkes told me. He's chairman and CEO of Brunswick.Many of the company's boats do have active cellular connectivity, but head far enough offshore, and you're on your own unless you're packing Starlink or the like.To solve that, Brunswick is running advanced SoCs from NVIDIA and other providers that enable running a limited agent offline - on the edge, as it were. When offline, Misty, as the on-boat AI assistant is called, won't be able to make dinner reservations or craft a 3,000-word treatise on the history of America's relationship with Greenland. It can, however, help with navigation or boat settings."It'll help answer the kind of questions that you might need to take out a manual to understand and maybe act as an assistant to make your boating a bit smoother," Foulkes said.When the company's smart boats are connected, they offer some degree of remote control. No, you can't drive it around the docks and freak out your pier-mates, but you can check on the boat remotely to make sure nobody's trying to stow away. You can even precondition it to get the cuddy cabin nice and cool before you come aboard.Navan C30Power for that, and a variety of other onboard systems, can come from an integrated power system called Fathom, which has a lot in common with modern smart home tech. Solar panels on the roof (nicely disguised beneath a black mesh) collect power to recharge an onboard battery, with various sizes upwards of 30 kWh depending on the boat's size. That battery can also be recharged by the onboard motors, like the three 425-horsepower V10s the Sea Ray SLX 360 drydocked at the Brunswick booth at CES 2026.The juice in that battery can then be used to power a variety of onboard systems, even charging a pair of electric hydrofoils, which another of the company's boats, called the Navan C30, had strapped on the roof.You'll also find cameras on the roof of these boats. That's how the AutoCaptain feature works, numerous fisheye lenses scanning the water in every direction. Approach a pier and the AI assistant asks if you'd like some help docking. Just tap the button on the touchscreen, then kick back and let Misty do the driving.Between automated docking, the in-cabin AI assistant and the smart power distribution system, Brunswick's boats offered some impressive tech. But then they'd have to, given the cost. The Sea Ray SLX 360 Outboard has a starting price of $586,000. The smaller Navan C30 is a rather more attainable, but still extreme, at $227,500. That's still probably cheaper than hiring a real captain, though.

A startup called ReviMo has developed a robotic system that provides a way for people with limited mobility to lift and transfer themselves - like from a bed to a wheelchair, or to the toilet - without the assistance of a caregiver. ReviMo's Niko has two sets of arms: one that forms a "scooping seat" that slides underneath the person to lift them up, and the other encircling their torso and providing a backrest. It can be operated both by remote and using the controls on its dashboard. Niko in its current iteration can carry up to 250 pounds, but the team says it's working on a version that can support up to 400 pounds.In addition to aiding in transfers, Niko can lift the rider to a standing level and offers retractable handlebars for support. It also has the potential to be a big help to caregivers, who in many cases assist with multiple transfers every day. Even in a situation where a person isn't able to operate it by themselves, Niko facilitates a transfer that requires much less physical exertion than today's common methods, like sling-based mechanical lift systems. At CES, founder Aleksandr Malaschenko gave a demonstration of its lifting capabilities, using it to scoop him up from a chair and bring him out into the aisle.Niko is designed to work with most wheelchairs and be compact enough to navigate small bathrooms. It can position a person right above a toilet, and there are disposable seat covers. The goal is to help people with limited ability achieve more independence.It is the kind of device that, if it delivers on its promises, could be a game-changer for people with limited mobility and paralysis, and their loved ones. My dad was diagnosed with ALS when I was a kid, and I learned how to operate a Hoyer lift by the time I was in middle school. This strikes me as something we would have really appreciated having around. Malaschenko has said the inspiration for the robotic system came from being a caregiver for his grandfather following a stroke.Niko is expected to be available before the end of this year. The system will cost about $15,000, though the team said it's working to get Niko covered by insurance. The company is also offering lower prices for customers who sign up for one of its premium waitlists, and there are options to rent it, for those who would only need a lift and transfer system temporarily.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/niko-is-a-robotic-lift-for-people-with-limited-mobility-that-doesnt-require-a-caregivers-help-184500703.html?src=rss

Ubisoft is closing a Canadian studio just over two weeks after it unionized. In a dizzying claim, the company told GamesIndustry.biz that the closure of Ubisoft Halifax was part of "company-wide actions to streamline operations" and unrelated to the unionization.On December 22, Ubisoft Halifax announced that 61 of its workers had joined the Game & Media Workers Guild of Canada. At the time, the studio's lead programmer, Jon Huffman, told CTV News that 73.8 percent of employees voted in favor of unionizing. Ominously in hindsight, he had described the decision as a "huge relief." The studio was working on mobile titles within the Rainbow Six and Assassin's Creed franchises.Ubisoft's official statement framed the shutdown as part of a broader pattern of financial belt-tightening. "Over the past 24 months, Ubisoft has undertaken company-wide actions to streamline operations, improve efficiency, and reduce costs," the company said. "As part of this, Ubisoft has made the difficult decision to close its Halifax studio. 71 positions will be affected. We are committed to supporting all impacted team members during this transition with resources, including comprehensive severance packages and additional career assistance."In October, Ubisoft announced that Massive Entertainment, developer of The Division series, Star Wars Outlaws and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, was offering buyouts to some employees. The company framed that move as a "voluntary career transition program." Over the past few years, Ubisoft has closed offices and laid off workers in San Francisco, London and Leamington. In 2024, the company's headcount dropped by eight percent.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/ubisoft-is-shutting-down-a-studio-16-days-after-it-unionized-183000983.html?src=rss

When LG announced that it would demo a laundry-folding, chore-doing robot at CES 2026, I was immediately intrigued. For years, I've wandered the Las Vegas Convention Center halls and wondered when someone might create a robot that can tackle the mundane but useful tasks I despise like folding laundry. With CLOiD (pronounced like "Floyd"), LG has proven that this is theoretically possible, but probably not likely to happen any time soon.I went to the company's CES booth to watch its demonstration of CLOiD's abilities, which also include serving food, fetching objects and fitness coaching. During a very carefully choreographed 15-minute presentation, I watched CLOiD grab a carton of milk out of the fridge, put a croissant in an oven, sort and fold some laundry and grab a set of keys off a couch and hand them to the human presenter.Throughout the demonstration, LG showed off how its own appliances can play along with the robot. When it rolled over to the fridge, the door automatically opened, as did the oven. When the LG-branded robot vacuum needed to move around a hamper, CLOiD helpfully cleared the path. But the robot also moved very slowly, which you can see in the highlight video below.The appliance maker is selling the setup as a part of its vision for a "zero labor home" where its appliances and, I guess, robotics technology can come together to take care of all your chores and household upkeep. Maybe I'm jaded from a decade of watching CES vaporware, but I left the slick demo thinking the concept is unlikely to amount to much anytime soon.On one hand, it is exciting to see robots competently performing tasks that would actually be useful to most people. But this technology is still far from accessible. Even LG isn't making any firm commitments about CLOiD's future as anything more than a CES demo. The company has instead said that CLOiD is a signal of its interest in creating "home robots with practical functions" and "robotized appliances," like fridges with doors that can open automatically.That may be a more reasonable target for the company (and yet another way for LG to sell us more appliance upgrades). But it's still pretty far from anything approaching the fantasy of a "zero labor home."

It's the first week of a new year and there's no time for the tech world to slowly ease back into things following the holidays. That's because CES 2026 is in full swing, with all manner of companies descending on Las Vegas to reveal their latest innovations and what they're planning to bring your way in the near future.Many of the Engadget crew are on the ground to check out as much of the new tech as possible. Of course, we're keeping tabs on all of the major CES press conferences too. Samsung held its First Look presentation, which focuses on home products, while LG has shown off a wide array of TVs and Lego unveiled its new Smart Brick technology. We've heard from the major chipmakers, gone hands-on with Samsung's trifold phone, checked out some funky laptops and seen some cute robots. There's some hot gaming tech at the show too.You can catch up on all of the big CES 2026 announcements (and some of the more offbeat gizmos we've seen) right here. We'll be keeping this story updated throughout the week.We also have CES live updates, with all the latest news from the event.LegoLego introduced the Smart Brick at CES 2026.LegoIn its first CES appearance, Lego announced the Smart Brick, a standard-sized brick with a 4.1mm ASIC chip inside that's designed to respond in different ways depending on what set you're building and how you're building it. Using what Lego calls the Play Engine" and integrated copper coils, each brick can sense things like motion, orientation and magnetic fields, plus its own distance, direction and orientation in relation to other Smart Bricks. Each brick also has a teeny tiny speaker built in that will play audio tied to live play actions" rather than only pre-recorded clips.Accompanying Smart Bricks are Smart Tags and Smart Minifigures, which have their own capabilities - one of which is letting Smart Bricks know what context they are being used in. All of these pieces tie together via a local wireless layer dubbed BrickNet that, in part, lets Smart Bricks know where they are placed in relation to other smart components.The first Smart Play" partner is, unsurprisingly, Star Wars, which will launch three all-in-one" sets using Smart Bricks, Smart Tags and Smart Minifigures. The 473-piece Darth Vader TIE Fighter set will cost $70; the 584-piece Luke's Red Five X-Wing set comes in at $100 and the 962-piece Throne Room Duel & A-wing set will set you back $160. The speakers in these sets can emit lightsaber swooshes, fighter sounds and The Imperial March.Engadget deputy editor Nathan Ingraham got to check out Lego's Smart Play system in person and I've never been more envious of him. One of the Star Wars sets allows you to have an interactive lightsaber duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. Not only does the Vader minifigure have his signature heavy breathing sound, the speaker emits the Sith Lord's nooooo" yell if he loses the duel.All of this seems extremely cool. I'm looking forward to seeing what else Lego and fans can do with the Smart Play tech.LGLG's CLOiD robot.LGLikewise, LG brought other non-TV tech to CES. The company is shining the spotlight on its CLOiD robot. Like the far creepier-looking 1X Neo, the CLOiD is designed to help with household tasks such as starting laundry cycles, folding clothes, unloading the dishwasher and serving food. This appears to be more of a concept than something you'll be able to buy anytime soon, but we should get a closer look at the CLOiD in person this week.The company also debuted the LG Sound Suite, a modular home audio system it developed in conjunction with Dolby to take on the likes of Sonos. Just ahead of CES, LG pulled back the curtain on a new batch of xboom speakers as well as some monitors and ultralight Gram laptops that are made with a material it's calling Aerominum.The chipmakersNVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang presents at CES 2026, wearing a black snakeskin-like jacket.NVIDIAIt's CES, so of course we're going to see a bunch of laptops and desktops, along with announcements about the tech that powers the new models. That means NVIDIA, Intel, AMD and Qualcomm are all in town to talk up their latest chips and other innovations.Given its lofty position in the industry (and the economy) NVIDIA's CES press conference is always one to keep an eye on. This year's edition was laregly a recap of the company's recent moves, but it did have some news to share.NVIDIA announced Alpamayo, which is a group of open-source reasoning models designed to help autonomous vehicles handle difficult driving scenarios. The company also revealed that a super computer built on the Vera Rubin GPU architecture NVIDIA unveiled in 2024 is in production.As Intel wraps up, Johnson is eager to assure the viewers that Intel has ways to make AI profitable. He may have a better case than OpenAI does right now.Sam Chapman for EngadgetThings haven't exactly been going great for Intel for a while, but the company is surely hoping that its Core Ultra Series 3 chips can help it right the ship. These are the first chips to be built using Intel's 18A (18 angstroms, which is just under 2nm) process. The company says they offer improved performance - 60 percent more than the previous-gen Lunar Lake processors - and battery life improvements for laptops.The Ultra Series 3 includes a new Arc B390 integrated GPU, with 50 percent more graphics cores, double the cache and 120 GPU TOPS of performance. Put all that together and these chips should deliver up to 77 percent faster gaming performance than Lunar Lake models, Intel said. To that end, the company teased a Ultra Series 3-powered gaming handheld for later this year.Engadget senior editor Devindra Hardawar played some Battlefield 6 on a Core Ultra Series 3-powered Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5 (an ultraportable) and came away impressed. The game ran at up to 190 fps in 1080p with the graphics settings on high, even without a dedicated GPU. That's a promising sign for the embedded Arcgraphics on Intel's chips, as well as the company's upscaling and frame generation tech.A screenshot from AMD's CES 2026 press conference showing a hellish vision of the future of gaming.AMDOf course, AMD wasn't going to be left out of the CES party. The company announced several CPUs for laptops and desktops, while chillingly declaring that AI is everywhere" and changing the face of gaming." Ick. There was a lot of AI chat during the two-hour(!) keynote, along with a a jet-powered flying robot."Illustration showing the Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Plus on a stylized red circuit board showing the abbreviation "X2."QualcommAnd then there's Qualcomm. The company revealed the Snapdragon X2 Plus chip at the show. It's more of a mid-range chip that isn't quite as powerful as the higher end Snapdragon X2 Elite - it doesn't have as many CPU cores, for one thing. Still, Qualcomm claims the X2 Plus offers as much as 35 percent faster single-core performance over the previous gen. The company also says the Adreno GPU offers a performance boost of up to 29 percent compared with the last generation.Laptops Samsung Galaxy Book 6 series hands-onMat Smith for EngadgetWhat would CES be without some new hardware that makes use of those new chips? As ever, laptop and desktop makers were at the show to offer up their latest models for your consideration. (Be sure to check out our dedicated roundup of all the laptops that grabbed our attention at this year's show.)Samsung's Galaxy Book 6 Ultra, Galaxy Book 6 Pro and Galaxy Book 6 boast Intel's Core Ultra Series 3 chips and revamped designs that are said to improve heat management. You can read our story on the Galaxy Book 6 series for the specs of these laptops, though we don't have pricing or a release window as yet.Dell realized it messed up by killing off the XPS name as part of a broader rebranding effort and we're glad to see that the company is making a U-turn on that front. A full lineup of XPS laptops is coming this year, including an all-new XPS 13 (a long-time Engadget fave on the Windows ultraportable front). Dell also has 14- and 16-inch XPS models in the hopper, along with others it's keeping under wraps for now.On top of having two displays, the Zephyrus Duo's screens also feature excellent brightness at up to 1,100 nits.We love an odd laptop and ASUS didn't disappoint by bringing the ROG Zephyrus Duo to CES. This is a dual-screen gaming laptop with two 16-inch OLED panels, one of Intel's new CPUs and up to an NVIDIA RTX 5090 GPU. The keyboard is detachable and can work wirelessly. A kickstand can help you set up the Zephyrus Duo in all kinds of orientations. You can even position the dual screens in an upside-down V" tent mode. We don't know the price of the Zephyrus Duo as yet, but it surely won't be inexpensive.Marketing photo of a Kojima-inspired ROG Flow Z13 tabletASUSThat's not all ASUS brought to the dance. The company made a special edition of the ROG Flow Z13 some that's styled after the works of the famed game designer Hideo Kojima. The ROG Flow Z13-KJP has visual flair that's draws from the likes of Death Stranding and Metal Gear. Kojima's Ludens mascot is here too. There's no pricing or release date for this variant or its matching accessories just yet.Micro RGB TVsSamsung's 130-inch Micro RGB TV. Devindra Hardawar for EngadgetMicro RGB is a term you can expect to hear about quite a bit in the coming months and years, especially when you're shopping for your next TV. Micro RGB is a new tech that's similar to Mini LED, though it uses red, green and blue LEDs instead of white backlights. Contrast ratios aren't quite as high as those on Micro LED and OLED displays, since the pixels can't be turned on and off individually. However, Micro RGB units are said to be brighter and more color accurate than TVs that use other display tech, in part because the LEDs in these screens offer smaller, more customizable dimming zones.Read reporter Steve Dent's explainer for a deeper dive into how Micro RGB differs from other types of display tech.We're seeing more of these TVs pop up at CES 2026, including a mammoth 130-inch concept model that Samsung brought to Las Vegas. The company unveiled its first Micro RGB TV in August, - that's a 115-inch, $29,999 model. This year, you can expect it to start offering Micro RGB TVs in 55-, 65- and 75-inch sizes. There are also 85-, 100- and 115-inch models on the way.LG revealed its first Micro RGB set at CES as well. The largest variant is 100 inches, but there are 86- and 75-inch models too. Elsewhere, LG showed off its latest Wallpaper TV, which is a 100-inch OLED display. We also got a look at LG's new Gallery TV - The Gallery is the company's take on Samsung's Frame TV format.Other new TVs and OS updatesEmber Artline TV.AmazonWe've got another competitor to The Frame, as Amazon has entered that scene with the Ember Artline TV. The 4K OLED model has Amazon Photos integration and you can choose from 2,000 pieces of free art to show on the screen. The Ember Artline can switch on or off automatically when someone enters or leaves the room.It runs on the Fire TV platform and (of course) there's Alexa+ integration, along with support for Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and Wi-Fi 6. The Ember Artline is expected to start shipping this spring. It starts at $899 for the 55-inch model.The rounder redesigned Fire TV UI.AmazonSpeaking of Fire TV, Amazon has revamped the platform's user interface with rounded corners for show, movie and app tiles; a little more space for said tiles; and typography and color gradient changes. The company has reworked the platform's codebase as well, and it says the Fire TV OS will deliver speed boosts of up to 20 to 30 percent. Amazon will start rolling out the updated UI next month.On the Google side of TV land, you can expect more Gemini-powered features. The company is bringing the ability to search Google Photos for certain moments and people to Google TV, along with the options to remix photos into different styles and create slideshows on the fly. The Veo and Nano Banana AI video and photo generation models are coming to Google TV as well. You can also expect the ability to adjust TV settings using your voice. These Gemini features are coming to Google TV-powered TCL models first, then other devices in the following months. In the meantime, you can check out senior reporter Amy Skorheim's hands-on impressions of the Gemini updates.Also in TV-related news, Peacock and Dolby have expanded their partnership. Currently, Peacock's Sunday Night Football streams have Dolby Atmos support. You'll soon be able to watch more live sports on Peacock with Dolby Vision and Atmos, as support for NBA and MLB events are on the way. Dolby Vision is coming to Sunday Night Football on Peacock too.Monitors and projectorsLet's keep the focus on display tech for a bit with a look at some of the monitors and projectors we've seen at CES this year. Dell revealed a 52-inch ultrawide curved 6K monitor (the first of those on the planet, according to the company). The UltraSharp 52 Thunderbolt Hub Monitor has a nifty feature in that it's possible to hook up four PCs simultaneously and give each a dedicated section of the display - that could make co-op games pretty fun if you're dedicated enough to try that set up. It's possible to control all four connected PCs with a single mouse and keyboard too. This monitor is available now for $2,900 with a stand and $2,800 without.Dell also showed off a new 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitor with Dolby Vision and True Black 500 HDR support. The Dell UltraSharp 32 4K QD-OLED Monitor can be all yours for $2,600 as of February 24.Samsung and LG revealed some new gaming monitors ahead of CES. Samsung's 32-inch Odyssey 3D is a model that offers glasses-free 3D on a 6K display, while LG has a new bunch of 5K monitors. During CES , though, the latter also pulled back the curtain on the 27-inch UltraGear GX7, a $1,000 QHD OLED display with a 540Hz refresh rate.Samsung brought the latest version of its FreeStyle+ projector to the show. Engadget's UK bureau chief Mat Smith checked out the new model in person and reckoned that Samsung has given the projector a serious upgrade over previous iteration. The FreeStyle+ is now much brighter, while the updated keystone correction feature seems very useful.Elsewhere, Anker's Soundcore announced the Nebula P1i, a 1080p portable projector with speakers that you can fold out and tilt. At $369, that seems like a pretty decent option if you're looking for an entry-level projector you can take anywhere. The P1i should arrive in time for camping trips too, since Soundcore says it'll be available in the early part of this year. The brand also said its higher-end Nebula X1 Pro, a version of its 4K Nebula X1 that includes a 160W surround sound system, will be available this month for $4,999.XGIMI was also at CES to show off its latest high-end projector, the Titan Noir Max. There's no word on pricing yet, but this appears to be an upgraded version of the $3,999 Titan model.SamsungSamsung's Music Studio 5 speakers at CES 2026.Billy Steele for EngadgetSamsung being Samsung, the company had a lot more up its sleeve at CES than just TVs. In the leadup to the event, it announced its two new soundbars (we're had some hands-on time with one of those) and the stylish Music Studio speakers (we've got some IRL impressions of those). It also announced plans to bring Google Photos to TVs.At the First Look showcase on Sunday, Samsung talked up "AI experiences everywhere. For everyone" (sigh). Here, we saw more TVs, such as the thin S95H OLED, which has a zero-gap mount that allows you to position the unit flush against a wall.First Look has long been focused on home products. Naturally, Samsung execs discussed some features for the company's fridges, such as recipe selection updates, AI cooling tech and Google Gemini-powered AI Vision that's said to be able to recognize more items and help you figure out what you need to buy without having to manually take inventory. FoodNote, meanwhile, is a weekly summary that breaks down what has gone in and out of your fridge.Moreover, Samsung highlighted the Samsung Bespoke AI Laundry Combo and its new AI wash cycle. With the new Air Dresser - which has an Auto Wrinkle Care feature - Samsung aims to do away with irons (thank you, Samsung). As for the Bespoke AI smart vacuum and mop, that can apparently keep an eye on your pets when you're not home.L'OrealA pair of transparent eye masks with wires and bulbs inside them.L'Oreal L'Oreal often brings some interesting beauty tech to CES and the company did so again this year with a trio of gadgets. The LED Eye Mask uses red light and near-infrared light to address the likes of puffiness, discoloration and fine lines.The LED Face Mask seems to be a more pliable version of masks that we've seen from the likes of Dr. Dennis Gross, Omnilux, Therabody and Shark in recent years. However, it's only in prototype form for now and it isn't expected to hit the market until next year.The Light Straight + Multi-styler uses infrared light to help dry and style hair in similar fashion to L'Oreal's AirLight Pro. It's said to have sensors that employ "built-in proprietary algorithms and machine learning" so they can adapt to your gestures and "maximize individual experience." L'Oreal claims that while traditional straighteners can operate at 400F or higher (temperatures that can damage hair), its latest innovation "effectively straightens hair while never exceeding 320F." You can expect the Light Straight to arrive in 2027 as well.MobileSamsung Galaxy Z TriFold EngadgetAt CES 2026, we had our first chance to go hands on with the Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold, which the company officially announced last month. Senior writer Sam Rutherford had qualms about the price (not confirmed yet for North America, but it costs around $2,500 in Korea) and bulkiness.However, after Sam opened it up, my concerns were quickly pushed aside because suddenly you're greeted with 10 inches of vivid AMOLED goodness." That extra real estate could come in very useful for many folks. Combined with a keyboard and perhaps a mouse, it could well be the laptop/tablet replacement many have been waiting for. Be sure to read Sam's hands-on for his full initial impressions.Almost exactly three decades after releasing its first proper clamshell flip phone, Motorola revealed its very first side-folding phone. The Razr Fold has a 6.6-inch external screen and a 8.1-inch main display, with stylus support on both. The camera array includes a 50MP main sensor from Sony, a 50MP ultra-wide/macro lens and a 50MP telephoto. There's a 32MP external selfie camera and a 20MP internal sensor too. We'll get the full specs, pricing and availability info in the coming months.Back at CES 2024, we got to try out a physical keyboard phone accessory from Clicks. Fast forward two years, and the brand is making its own Blackberry-esque phones, as well as a new physical phone keyboard accessory. The Android 16-based Clicks Communicator has a tactile keyboard with a fingerprint sensor in the spacebar, a 4-inch OLED display, a 3.5mm headphone jack (hooray!) and expandable microSD storage up to 2TB. You can reserve one now for $399 - the price will increase to $499 on February 27.As for the new accessory, Clicks is calling that the Power Keyboard. It connects to an iOS or Android phone via MagSafe or Qi2, and it can operate as a power bank in a pinch thanks to the 2,150 mAh battery. The Power Keyboard has Bluetooth functionality as well, so you can use it with devices like tablets, smart TVs and virtual reality headsets. Pre-orders are open now and the Power Keyboard is expected to ship in the spring. Early adopters can lock in a pre-order for $79 before the retail price jumps to $110.The Punkt MC03 phone.PunktThose who prefer their mobile phones to have fewer bells and whistles might be interested in the latest model from Punkt. The MC03 is a nifty-looking touchscreen model that runs on the privacy- and security-centric AphyOS, which is based on the Android Open Source Project. It has a UI that borrows a page out of the Light Phone's playbook, though you can still install any Android app.The MC03 will hit European markets this month for 699 / CHF699 / 610. There's a mandatory subscription, however. You get a year of access included with a phone purchase, then it's a 10 / CHF10 / 9 monthly fee (paying for a long-term plan up front can reduce the cost by up to 60 percent).Charging techAnker and Belkin feel like CES mainstays at this point. They each had some interesting charging gear to show off this year. Belkin offered up a refreshed Nintendo Switch 2 case that recharges the console via its 10,000mAh power bank (which delivers up to 30W of fast charging). The case has an LCD screen on the outside to show you at a glance how much juice it has left and there's a built-in kickstand for you to prop the console up on.Belkin's new Switch 2 charging case costs $100 and it's available now. The company's new $100 UltraCharge Pro Power Bank can recharge two devices simultaneously. You can get your hands on that next month. There's also a very slim BoostCharge power bank that can fit into your pocket. That will run you $60 and it will ship later this year.Anker Nano Charger (45W, Smart Display, 180 Foldable)AnkerAnker unveiled its neat Nano Charger, which can seemingly identify the iPhone model you hook up to it and provide the appropriate level of charging power. This plug will arrive later this month for $40.The company announced a string of other products that can charge multiple devices at the same time. The $150 foldable Prime Wireless Charging Station can juice up your iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods simultaneously, with up to 25W of Qi2 wireless power. That'll arrive by the end of March.There's also a 10-in-1 Nano Power Strip ($70, late January release) with 70W of output, surge protection and multiple USB-C ports, USB-A ports and AC outlets. Anker also showed off a 13-in-1 Nano Docking Station that you can snag right now for $150. Among other things, this supports up to three 4K displays, as much as 100W of upstream charging and 10 Gbps of data transfer between devices that are hooked up to it. Handy!AIAmazon introduced Alexa.com to Alexa+ Early Access customers.AmazonNo prizes for guessing that there's going to be a ton of AI-related news at CES this year. Amazon, for one, announced that it's rolling out a web-based version of Alexa+. That means you won't necessarily need to have an Amazon device to try out the generative AI-powered assistant. However, Alexa+ Early Access customers are getting first dibs on the web version.Two Sweekar devices are pictured on a table, one wearing a pink and blue snowboarder outfit and the other (behind it) wearing a cowboy hat and outfitKarissa Bell for EngadgetThere are a boatload of AI-powered devices on the CES show floor too. One that we saw early on is a Tamagotchi-style virtual pet from a startup called Takway. The Sweekar will remember your interactions with it (you'll need to feed and play with the pet to keep it healthy and happy). Once it's all grown up, the Sweekar will head off on virtual adventures and tell you about its exploits when it "returns." Takway will soon start a Kickstarter campaign for the Sweekar, which will likely cost between $100 and $150.Ludens AI's Cocomo robot,Cheyenne MacDonald for EngadgetLudens AI, meanwhile, showed off a pair of AI companion robots that are admittedly pretty cute. Cocomo can react to your voice and touch interactions, follow you around your home and learn about you over time. It stays close to human body temps, so it feels cozy if you hug it. Inu, on the other hand, stays on your desktop. It, too, responds to your voice and touch.The Fraimic art display at CESAmy Skorheim for EngadgetWe also saw the Fraimic, an E Ink display that can tap into OpenAI to generate images. There's no subscription for the Fraimic (which costs $399 for the standard size, which has a 13-inch display) and you get 100 AI-generated images per year included with your purchase. Pre-orders are open now and the Fraimic is expected to start shipping in this spring.MindClip held in a hand.Daniel Cooper for EngadgetSome companies are still trying to make wearable AI devices happen. SwitchBot has a wearable mic called the AI MindClip, which can seemingly record and transcribe everything you say (no, thank you!). Anker's Soundcore division got in on the mix too with its Work voice recorder.Plaid, meanwhile, brought its NotePin follow up to the dance. This time around, the NotePin S has a button that you can push to record conversations. You can also press the button to flag key moments for an AI-generated summary to focus on. The NotePin S is available now for $179, should you be enticed to buy such a thing.On a similar note, Bee provided an update on what it's bee-n up to since Amazon bought the company last year. It has developed four features that it's rolling out to its existing AI voice recording wearable devices, including one that draft an email when you say you need to send one, and another that highlights trends in what you say over a period of weeks or months. There's also a voice notes feature, because that's something you can't do with your phone already.RobotsThe product version of Boston Dynamics' Atlas.Boston DynamicsBoston Dynamics' Atlas robot is ready to roll. We've seen a few iterations of this machine over the last few years and now the company's latest model is set to go into production. In addition, Boston Dynamics has teamed up with Google DeepMind to fuse Gemini Robotics AI foundation models into Atlas robots.Per a press release, the partnership "will focus on enabling humanoids to complete a wide variety of industrial tasks and is expected to become a driving force of manufacturing transformation, beginning in the automotive industry." As it happens, Hyundai (Boston Dynamics' majority shareholder) and DeepMind will be among the first to receive Atlas robots.TransportationSony Honda Mobility Afeela Press Conference at CES 2026AfeelaSony and Honda brought the latest revision of their first Afeela EV to CES 2026. We already knew that you'd be able to play your PS5 remotely while the vehicle is parked, though we learned some new details from the companies' presentation. The Afeela 1 will debut with an advanced hands-off, eyes-on driver assistance system. The aim is to eventually offer Level 4 autonomy via over-the-air updates. Sony and Honda to plan to start shipments at the tail end of 2026, first in California, then in Arizona.We also got our first look at a model that's a further down the pike. The Afeela Prototype 2026 is a taller version of the first EV. Just don't expect to be able to try it yourself until at least 2028.MuxiSegwaySegway is expanding its e-bike lineup with two new models that have a heap of smart features, from Apple Find My integration and GPS tracking to remote locking and health app functions. The Muxi (above) looks quite pretty and has a cup holder(!), while the $2,000 Myon has a chunkier frame and features such as electronic gear shifting. Both are cargo-centric step-through models. You can buy the Myon now, and the $1,700 Muxi will be available in March, just in time for spring.Along with those e-bikes, Segway had a new electric dirt bike to tell us about. The Xaber 300 was created with off-roading in mind. There are three power modes, offering the equivalent of 150cc, 200cc and 300cc engines. Segway hasn't revealed pricing for the Xaber 300, which should be available this spring or summer.GamingSlide from NVIDIA's CES 2026 presentation about DLSS 4.5NVIDIANVIDIA announced the latest version of its DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) upscaling tech. DLSS 4.5 is said to offer sharper visuals thanks to the 2nd Generation Super Resolution Transformer, which is available now for all RTX GPUs. NVIDIA says this offers better temporal stability, reduced ghosting and improved anti-aliasing.On GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs, DLSS 4.5 will be able to generate up to five extra frames for each traditionally rendered one and deliver up to 4K 240Hz path traced performance, NVIDIA says. The Dynamic 6x Frame Generation feature will be available for those graphics cards sometime this spring.NVIDIA also detailed a new version of its G-Sync variable refresh rate tech. It says that G-Sync Pulsar can minimize motion blur by effectively quadrupling your refresh rate. So 250 Hz gameplay will seemingly offer up a perceived effective motion clarity of over 1,000 Hz with G-Sync Pulsar enabled.You'll need a G-Sync Pulsar-compatible display to use this feature. Most displays have a backlight that's always on, so images fade from one frame to the next. On G-Sync Pulsar displays, there are several horizontal backlight sections. The backlights pulse from top to bottom. This is said to help the pixels in each frame stabilize before they're backlit, resulting in lower motion blur.It's interesting stuff. Acer, AOC, ASUS and MSI are each releasing a G-Sync Pulsar-compatible 27-inch monitor this week.8BitDo FlipPad8BitDoThe FlipPad is one of my favorite things I've seen coming out of CES this year. It's an 8BitDo mobile game controller that's designed for vertical use. There are a bunch of neat physical controllers for phones that are built for landscape mode. But many mobile games are played with the phone oriented to the vertical position. And that's not to mention emulators that allow you to play the likes of Game Boy titles while your phone stands tall. So it's neat to see 8BitDo offering a physical controller that'll do the trick. The company also unveiled a new Xbox controller with swappable joysticks and button modules.A keyboard thing.CorsairWhy have a numpad on the side of your keyboard when you can have a highly customizable controller instead? Corsair slapped a Stream Deck into a keyboard and it looks absolutely rad. I've yet to take the plunge on a Stream Deck-style controller and since I'd rather not have an extra device on my desk, I'm very tempted to pick up the $350 Galleon 100 SD, which is available now.It has 12 programmable keys that you can use for gaming (give me that Helldivers 2 profile so I don't have to keep punching in stratagem codes) or livestreaming, but there are plenty of other applications too. They can help with video editing, controlling smart home devices or simply adjusting media playback. There's a five-inch screen and two dials for fine control too. Oh, and it's a full-sized mechanical keyboard to boot.GameSir had a couple of interesting controllers to tell us about. The Swift Drive (which seems to be a working name) has a steering wheel with force feedback in the middle of a regular gamepad. It's a cool idea and it seems to work pretty well. The Swift Drive should hit the market later this year.In addition, GameSir teamed up with Hyperkin to make a modular controller that works with phones, tablets and Nintendo Switch consoles. You'll be able to slot those devices into the X5 Alteron's grip (as you might with a Backbone or Razer Kishi controller) though there's a Bluetooth option for PC gaming too. The magnetic modules include ones styled after the GameCube and Nintendo 64, and there'll be one with a trackpad that's made with first-person shooters in mind. There's no pricing or release date for the X5 Alteron yet, but I'm eager to try it.Elsewhere on the gaming front, Lenovo revealed a SteamOS-powered version of the Legion Go 2. That variant of the handheld is heading your way in June for $1,199. Razer had some concept gear to show off, including an AI-driven headset with built-in cameras that can recognize objects and text, and a gaming chair with haptic feedback and spatial audio built in.AudioA speaker and a turntable.Victrola Victrola announced a pretty Bluetooth speaker that sits neatly underneath its turntables. You can use a cable to connect the two as well. Of course, you can play audio from other devices, including phones and tablets. I've had my eye on a Victrola turntable for a while thanks to its Sonos integration, and the Soundstage speaker is tempting too. The Soundstage will be available this summer for $350.The three sizes from the Cambridge Audio L/R speaker series. Green speakers in three sizes.Cambridge AudioSpeaking of pretty speakers, I really like the aesthetic of these three wireless bookshelf options from Cambridge Audio. The classy-lookin' L/R Series speakers start at $549 for a 100W model with a 21mm hard-dome tweeter with a 3-inch long-throw woofer hut no support for Wi-Fi streaming (there is Bluetooth aptX HD, though).At the top end is the $2,299 L/R X, a 800W speaker that has a a 2.5-way acoustic design with a 28mm Torus tweeter and dual five-inch woofers. There's even a touch of LED underlighting on this model and the $1,599 L/R M, which has 300W of power, smaller four-inch dual woofers and the same 28mm tweeter. All three speakers will be available later this year.There's lots more audio gear at CES beyond the Victorla and Cambridge Audio speakers, of course. JBL was at the event to show off a whole bunch of earbuds and gaming headsets. Shure now has a USB-C version of its MV88 condenser microphone, making it compatible with Android devices and recent iPhones. That'll run you $159. The latest version of JLab's teeny JBuds Mini earbuds now have customizable active noise cancellation (ANC) and yet they still cost $40.PartyStudio is a speaker with 128 different instrument sounds that works with any MIDI keyboard.Nathan Ingraham for EngadgetPartyStudio seems like a fun product - it's a MIDI speaker with 128 built-in instrument tones and 50-plus drum machine patterns. There's a companion 36-key MIDI keyboard called PartyKeys as well (the speaker will work with any MIDI keyboard, though). PopuMusic is the company behind both.Anker, meanwhile, has new AeroFit 2 Pro earbuds that are pretty interesting. They're the company's first open-ear earbuds with ANC. You can snap them up in February for $180. There's also a new portable Bluetooth speaker from Anker called the Soundcore Boom Go 3i. It's a 15W unit with (according to Anker) up to 22 hours of battery life, and it should cost between $65 and $80 when it drops in March.Engadget deputy editor Billy Steele has been checking out some of the audio gear at CES, including Shokz' $250 OpenFit Pro earbuds, which have Dolby Atmos support. Billy has also had some hands-on (or heads-on) time with Klipsch's first new headphones in years. There are initially three models in the company's Atlas series, including the Atlas HP-1, a wireless set with ANC that has a lovely wood finish on the exterior of the earcups. Klipsch is only allowing demos with lossless audio over USB-C for now, but the audio quality is excellent," Billy wrote in his hands-on story.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/everything-announced-at-ces-2026-130124802.html?src=rss

I'll admit that I've always kind of taken walking for granted. Other than a knee injury more than a decade ago, my ability to walk long distances has largely been limited only by my own choices. That's not the case for everyone, though. And robotics company Dephy has created a pair of robotic sneakers, called the Sidekick, that are meant to help people who want to walk more than their bodies might otherwise be capable of.The system consists of two parts: an ankle-worn exoskeleton and a special pair of sneakers that attach to it. The exoskeleton hooks onto the back of the shoe and is secured with a strap around your calf. The battery powered device is equipped with sensors that can detect and adapt to the wearer's gait in order to deliver an extra "boost" with each step.The whole setup is pricey, at $4,500, but Dephy is betting that people who have "personal range anxiety" might be willing to pay for the extra confidence the Sidekick can provide. "This is a device that's kind of like [having] an extra calf muscle," Dephy CEO Luke Mooney told me.The Sidekick.Karissa Bell for EngadgetI was able to take the Sidekick for a spin around the CES showfloor and it was a truly surprising sensation. The best way I can describe walking with the Sidekick powered on is that with every step forward there's a noticeableupward push from under your heel. It wasn't enough to throw me off balance, but it did feel a bit strange.The Sidekick has adjustable power levels based on how much help you might need. At the highest level, it definitely felt unnecessarily pushy. The lower levels were still noticeable but felt less disruptive. I just felt... bouncy. Later, when Mooney turned off the power entirely, I noticed that my feet felt weirdly heavy in a way they hadn't just a few minutes before.Mooney was quick to tell me that I'm not Dephy's target demographic. "A lot of times people who are fit, or like athletes, actually struggle to adopt to the technology because their body's so in tune with how they move," he said. "Whereas folks who are not as physically active and fit, their body's ready to accept help."The company's technology will be used in products more focused on athletic performance, however. Dephy has partnered with Nike on its upcoming robotic sneaker currently known as Project Amplify.Mooney declined to share details on the collaboration, but the shoemaker has claimed that some early testers have been able to improve their mile times by two minutes.I tried the Sidekick early in the day. Several hours later, though, when I was walking between the Las Vegas Conventions Center halls for the third or fourth time, I started thinking about those robotic sneakers again. I was getting close to 10,000 steps and hadn't sat down for hours. My feet were sore. I remembered that strange, bouncy boost and thought it sounded kind of nice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/these-robotic-sneakers-gave-me-a-surprising-boost-at-ces-174500005.html?src=rss

Spotify is rolling out more social features to keep people on the platform. It's adding a new tool to its messaging platform that lets users see what their friends and family members are listening to in real time.Once activated, a user's listening activity will be displayed at the top of the chat. The other person in the chat can tap the bar to play a particular track, save it or react with an emoji. People can also, of course, comment directly to either praise or rag on the song selection.There's another little addition to Spotify's messaging system. Users will now be able to invite chat participants to start a Jam, which is the app's collaborative listening feature. Premium users will find a "Jam" button in the top right corner, which sends an invite. This lets two people add tracks to a shared queue and listen together. Free users can join one of these sessions, but cannot initiate.It's worth noting that the messaging platform is currently just a one-on-one affair. There's no option for a group chat, so users won't be able to spy on multiple people simultaneously. These tools are rolling out gradually for iOS and Android right now, but won't be broadly available for a few weeks.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/spotify-now-lets-you-share-what-youre-listening-to-in-real-time-via-chat-173749120.html?src=rss

I know IKEA is all about small, efficient spaces, but their meeting room inside the Venetian during the company's first-ever CES was the same size as my (not large) living room. Plenty of people were as excited as I was to see what the Swedish designers brought with them to the show and the room was thick with humans. A bowl full of BELONING bars helped ease my mounting claustrophobia and I was able to check out the new smart home lineup.Like most things IKEA, the 21 Matter-compatible smart home devices are simple, sleek and silly affordable. They include a $6 smart bulb, an $8 smart plug, a $6 smart remote and a slew of home sensors. A slightly pricier ($15) globe bulb is a direct answer to my longstanding wish for more attractive (but affordable) smart bulbs.One of my favorite of the new devices was the BILREA remote control. It's a smooth, riverstone-like object that either comes with two simple buttons or a button and a scroll wheel. It pairs up with and controls IKEA's smart devices and lamps but what I really love is the magnetic mount integrated into its body. You can either attach the remote to any ferrous surface or use the small metal chip and included adhesive to give the remote a home on a wall or elsewhere. Why have so few other companies come up with a way to neatly and simply organize these tiny yet crucial controllers?The whole suite is Matter-compatible and, as such, it needs a hub to function. IKEA has its own, DIRIGERA, but, true to the Matter principles of interoperability, you can also use a Matter hub you already own. The new line of smart home devices should start showing up in IKEA stores and on its website sometime in January.Lamps and speakers from the TEKLAN smart home collection.Amy Skorheim for EngadgetApart from the egalitarian and utilitarian items, the Swedish brand also brought a new collection of products, TEKLAN, designed in collaboration with designer and photographer Tekla Evelina Severin. These include circular Bluetooth speakers in color-saturated patterns and solids ranging from eight to 18 inches. There are also two new speaker lamps, called KULGLASS, that have glass lampshades inspired by soft serve ice cream. Those devices went on sale on January 1 this year.Finally, I made my way (three feet) over to the curious, donut-shaped lamps. This is the smart version of the store's popular VARMBLIXT lamp that debuted three years ago. It's controllable through the app or the remote I mentioned above and gently cycles through a rainbow of color patterns, shifting slowly from shade to shade. I got lost for a while watching it morph from white to pink to red and back again. For a moment I forgot I was wedged into a room too full of people. I figured those around me probably wanted a look at the lamp for themselves, so I took a longing glance back at the BELONING bowl and squeezed out of the room.The popular VARMBLIXT donut lamp is now smart. Amy Skorheim for EngadgetThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/ikeas-first-ces-appearance-included-a-6-matter-smart-bulb-172623474.html?src=rss

Samsung says AI data center-fueled RAM scarcity could raise the company's prices. Wonjin Lee, Samsung's global marketing leader, sounded the alarm in an interview with Bloomberg on Tuesday at CES 2026. As recently as early December, Samsung told Reuters that it was monitoring the market but wouldn't comment on pricing. So, the change of tune can be seen as a deliberate signal to soften the ground ahead of an official announcement."There's going to be issues around semiconductor supplies, and it's going to affect everyone," Samsung's Lee said. "Prices are going up even as we speak. Obviously, we don't want to convey that burden to the consumers, but we're going to be at a point where we have to actually consider repricing our products."Samsung appears to be softening the ground ahead of an official announcement.SamsungThe global RAM shortage is the result of AI data centers gobbling up high-bandwidth memory. Memory manufacturers have shifted their output priorities to meet that demand, leading to a snowball effect where even the low-bandwidth RAM found in automobiles is affected."AI workloads are built around memory," Sanchit Vir Gogia, CEO of Greyhound Research, told NPR in late December. "AI has changed the nature of demand itself. Training and inference systems require large, persistent memory footprints, extreme bandwidth, and tight proximity to compute. You cannot dial this down without breaking performance."It's been more than three years since ChatGPT launched and kicked off the AI craze. During that time, companies have hyped chatbots and other generative AI tools as a technology that will take us to the promised land, making life easier as machine learning automates our daily lives. It isn't yet clear if an AI bubble is set to burst, but some financial forecasters have sounded the alarm. Regardless, it's hard to see how consumers and workers are getting anything but the short end of the stick so far.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/samsung-says-ram-costs-will-likely-lead-to-price-hikes-soon-170653524.html?src=rss

CES 2026 is in full swing, but you don't have to wait months to get your hands on everything announced in Las Vegas this year. A surprising number of products are already up for pre-order, if not outright available to buy today, from new chargers and docks to projectors, keyboards and smart home gear. CES is still a showcase for concepts and big promises, but these are the gadgets that have real pricing and an order button ready right now. Check out all of the CES 2026 gadgets you can buy right now below.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/17-ces-gadgets-you-can-buy-right-now-164325644.html?src=rss

Anker, one of the leaders in third-party chargers, has unveiled a new portfolio of "smart" chargers and docks at CES 2026. The company says the lineup adds improved visual interfaces, faster Qi2 wireless charging and "upgraded ecosystems" for the latest line of iPhone models.First up is the Anker Nano Charger with smart display, which features a tiny screen, 180-degree foldable prongs and provides up to 45W of power. The plug can identify the exact iPhone model connected and then deliver the right amount of power for your phone. Anker says the Nano uses three-stage power delivery and a "Care Mode" that the company claims keeps batteries cooler than some competing 45W chargers. It arrives in late January 2026 and will retail for $40.For fans of wireless charging stations, the Anker Prime Wireless Charging Station offers a 3-in-1 solution for iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods. It uses a "AirCool" system for "faster, safer performance" and offers up to 25W of Qi2 wireless power. The design is also foldable for compact travel. It's set for release in Q1 2026 and will retail for $150.The company debuted a clamp-on 10-in-1 Nano Power Strip with 70W of output and built-in surge protection. It sports two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports and six AC outlets. The Nano Power Strip is getting a late January release, and it will sell for $70.Anker also unveiled a 13-in-1 Nano Docking Station. This serves as an all-in-one hub with support for up to three displays (with 4K resolution supported on a single display), up to 100W of upstream charging and 10 Gbps of data transfer between connected devices. It also features a removable 6-in-1 hub with SD and microSD card readers, a USB-A port and a 5 Gbps USB-C port. The Nano Docking Station is available now and retails for $150.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/anker-unveils-a-new-lineup-of-chargers-docks-and-accessories-at-ces-2026-160021025.html?src=rss

Lego bricks come in a bunch of shapes and sizes, but they're getting a big technical upgrade in 2026 thanks to news announced at CES this year. Meet the Lego Smart Brick, a standard-sized 2 x 4 brick that's packed with modern technology to enable sets that can respond to how they're played with or the sets you build. The company's new initiative, Smart Play, encompasses the Smart Brick as well as Smart Minifigures and Smart Tags. It's remains to be seen how diehard Lego fans will take to this new system, but it's fair to say this is the biggest move Lego has ever made to infuse its products with connected technology.The Smart Brick has a 4.1mm ASIC chip inside of it that Lego says is smaller than a standard Lego stud. It runs something called the Play Engine that can sense things like motion, orientation and magnetic fields. Thanks to this and some integrated copper coils, the Smart Brick can sense distance, direction and orientation of other Smart Bricks near it when you're building. The brick also has a tiny built-in speaker, an accelerometer and an LED array. Lego says the speaker can produce audio that is tied to live play actions" rather than just playing pre-recorded clips.The Smart Tag and Smart Minifigures are a lot simpler. The Tag is a 2 x 2 studless tile with a digital ID embedded in it that the Smart Brick can read via near-field magnetic communication." This obviously sounds a lot like NFC, but we can't be sure that these new Lego pieces will be able to communicate with any other NFC devices. Similarly, the Smart Minifigure also has a digital ID readable by NFC.The purpose of the Smart Tag as well as the similar tech in a Smart Minifigure is to let the Smart Brick know what kind of context it is being used in. As Lego puts it, The role of the Smart Tag is to tell the Smart Brick how it should play back with you." The Tag tells the Brick what kind of object, animal, vehicle and so forth it should become. A Smart Tag in a Lego Star Wars X-Wing set, for example, will contain the unique ID and instructions for how the Smart Brick should behave.If this isn't enough, Lego has also built a local wireless layer that connects this all together called BrickNet. It's based on Bluetooth and uses Lego's proprietary Neighbor Position Measurement" system, which is what lets the Smart Bricks know how close they are to each other and how they're oriented. Lego says that this lets the bricks talk" to each other directly without the need for apps, internet connections or external controls. It sounds like the idea is all three of these new Smart pieces can communicate and interact without any need for setup, which should make it refreshingly like a traditional Lego set.That said, these bricks naturally will need some power. Lego says that their batteries should still perform even after years" of inactivity, and the coils and power system is designed so that multiple bricks can be charged wirelessly on a shared charging pad. Lego Star Wars set with Smart Bricks Lego Speaking of sets, Lego is unsurprisingly launching the Smart Play system with its biggest licensed partner: Star Wars. There will be three all-in-one" Star Wars sets available, all of which are on the smaller side and definitely geared towards kids, rather than the 1,000 piece and up sets that the company has released to get adults (like me) interested.The prices are inflated compared to non-smart sets, but not outrageously so. Darth Vader's TIE Fighter is a 473-piece set with a smart Darth Vader Minifigure, one Smart Brick and one Smart Tag, priced at $70. Luke's Red Five X-Wing is a 584-piece set with two Smart Minifigures, one Smart Brick and five Smart Tags, priced at $100. The Throne Room Duel & A-wing is a 962-piece set with three Smart Minifigures, two Smart Bricks and five Smart Tags, priced at a slightly shocking $160.It's an entirely new direction for Lego, and you won't have to wait long to check it out. The company is putting those three sets up for pre-order on January 9, and they'll launch on March 1. There's obviously a lot of technology here that's entirely new to Lego, and as such it's hard to imagine just how this will all look when it comes together - but we're hoping that Lego will have some sets on hand here at CES so we can get a closer look at how the Smart Play system works.In the meantime, you can find a few videos on how Smart Play works here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/lego-unveils-a-technology-packed-smart-brick-at-ces-2026-190000511.html?src=rss

It's been six years since Sony first rolled out its prototype car at CES 2020. It was called the Vision-S back then, and I remember everyone endlessly debating just how serious the consumer electronics powerhouse was about making a car. Over the subsequent half-decade, Sony has proven it is not only serious, but absolutely hell-bent on making this thing a reality.At CES 2026, we're still somehow about 12 months away from that car hitting the roads. Now called the Afeela 1, instead of being built by Sony proper it will come from the joint venture Sony Honda Mobility. It will start at $89,900, offer around 300 miles of range, and wear an exterior design so sedate that even the 31.5-inch-wide "Media Bar" micro-LED integrated into the nose barely makes an impact.With the Afeela up on stage again this year, what's new in 2026? I'm fresh from getting a closer look at the sedan here in Las Vegas and, sadly, there's little more to see than what so underwhelmed me last year. From the outside, 2026's Afeela looks nigh identical to 2025's, save for one change: I'm happy to report that the unfortunate seam running down the middle of last year's nose-mounted Media Bar has been fixed. It now appears to be a single, contiguous panel.On the inside, the interior seems to have a higher degree of fit and finish than last year's. To get in, you either push on a little button hidden in the trim or pull out the smartphone app and request that the door open automatically. There are no door latches as such, something that might raise a few eyebrows given Tesla's current door handle woes. (I was told there are physical door releases hidden below the car on the outside, and low in the door card on the inside.)Sony Honda Mobility at CES 2026Tim Stevens for EngadgetThe door closes automatically once you're inside, instantly hushing the manic drone of the crowd on the always-packed CES floor. This creates a great soundscape for the whopping 28 speakers Sony is deploying here. The car's interior shape was actually designed to optimize the placement of those speakers, and the few moments of music I heard were impressive.There's Dolby Atmos support, so you can take full advantage of the spatial audio features in the cockpit. You can even toggle the sound on or off for individual seats, perhaps helping a little one stay asleep in the back seat - or simply sparing your kids from the depths of your guilty pleasure playlist.The most noticeable feature inside the car, though, is the sweeping display that runs across the dashboard. There's a 12.3-inch LCD gauge cluster on the left conjoined with a 28.5-inch display that goes all the way to the right. Sony's infotainment software effectively splits that rightmost panel in two, enabling you or the passenger to drag apps left or right as needed.Media or other distracting apps running on the passenger's side of the display will trigger an integrated privacy shield, blacking it out ensuring minimal distraction for the driver. But Sony is still pushing the envelope a bit here in a few other areas. You can dial into Zoom meetings from the driver's seat, for example, and while the Afeela 1 won't be the first car to do this (Mercedes-Benz included the service in the car in its 2024 E-Class), Sony will actually let the driver participate in the video while driving. This seems a little unnecessary to me.Sony Honda Mobility at CES 2026Tim Stevens for EngadgetZoom uses the ceiling-mounted camera, one of 40 sensors in and around the Afeela 1. That includes the pods for a LiDAR sensor and more cameras protruding rather conspicuously from the roof. These sensors will provide Level 2+ driver assistance at launch. Over time, Sony promises to upgrade the car to Level 4, meaning that you, the driver, could theoretically take a nap behind the wheel. The car certainly looks to have enough sensors and processing power to make that work, but as we saw with Tesla's Full Self Driving, these sorts of automotive upgrades have a tendency to take longer than anticipated.Some of that digital processing power comes courtesy of Qualcomm's Snapdragon Digital Chassis, which also powers the infotainment experience. The software that runs the dashboard and rear seat experience looked far more comprehensive than before. That includes a functional AI voice assistant providing advanced routing guidance, like telling you which of the dozen taquerias on your route has the best guac.Personalization is a big part of the sales pitch here, with downloadable packages changing everything from the car's ambient lights to the gauge cluster, engine sound, and even whatever's displayed on the nose-mounted display.The idea here is to give you an emotional connection with the car -- despite its decidedly emotionless exterior design.Sony Honda Mobility at CES 2026Tim Stevens for Engadget"Our brand, Afeela, is built on a vision to redefine the relationship between people and mobility," Izumi Kawanishi, Sony Honda Mobility's president and COO, said. "Being in a car will no longer be about driving. It will be about making the most of your time and space while you move."I got to sample a number of these customizations at the show, including a particularly cool one that replicated the dashboard of Honda's first-ever Grand Prix-winning machine, 1965's RA272. The Afeela even picked up the raspy sound of its 1.5-liter V12.The pre-production car on the Afeela stage had about a dozen such experiences installed, but the plan is for many, many more. Sony Honda Mobility will launch what it's calling the Afeela Co-Creation Program, a set of software developer tools and interfaces enabling third-party developers to not only create their own customizations, but to sell them.Yes, alternate revenue streams are a big part of the equation here, including premium audio and video purchases, but Sony seemingly isn't factoring that in to help make the Afeela 1 more affordable. Again, you're looking at $89,900 to start, a price that hasn't changed from last year.In fact, the biggest change to the Afeela 1 since CES 2025's showing is a delay. The sedan now isn't hitting the road until the very end of 2026, with first, limited deliveries happening in California. Arizona is next in 2027, but it could be years more before it's available anywhere else in the world.Don't call it vaporware, though, because it is coming. Trial production work is already happening at Honda's plant in Ohio. In fact, the Afeela 1 you see here is an early, pre-production machine assembled there.But just because it's going to happen doesn't mean that it will be a compelling product. An EV that costs $20,000 more than a more-powerful, longer-range Lucid Air Touring is a difficult proposition today, never mind 2027 or later, when the Afeela 1 will finally become readily available.Sony Honda Mobility at CES 2026Tim Stevens for EngadgetWith sedans increasingly on the outs in the American market, an SUV shape would make more sense. Sony confirmed that one is coming by rolling out the Afeela 2026 Prototype, but despite its name, it isn't coming until 2028 at the earliest.As much as I respect Sony's stubborn commitment to this project, the numbers are just not working out in the Afeela 1's favor. I asked Sony Honda Mobility America president and CEO Shugo Yamaguchi what would make the car stand out in an EV segment that's increasingly crowded with quality machines, many available for tens of thousands less."We do have that LiDAR, which is expensive, and introduces more safety. We have better entertainment, amazing displays and 800 TOPS of processing power. So, we believe that through our applications and our development, we are going to more than make our customers happy," he said.Will customers pay more for a luxury and safety experience topped off by an expensive sensor that likely won't be fully utilized for years to come? After making a similar pitch in its 2025 EX90, Volvo has decided to delete LiDAR from the 2026 model. I can't say I'm more bullish here.The Afeela 1 was an audacious product when it was announced at CES 2020, but with each subsequent year it feels more and more out of touch. It'll undoubtedly be the ultimate expression of brand loyalty for the true PlayStation fans out there. But with even established luxury brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz shifting their focus to more affordable EVs like the new CLA, a $90,000 sedan with specs that sounded good in 2020 makes it awfully hard to stay excited for this PlayStation on wheels.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/at-ces-2026-sony-honda-mobilitys-latest-afeela-1-still-feels-woefully-out-of-date-163513001.html?src=rss

Roblox Corporation, the company behind the popular online game platform Roblox, announced today that age verification will now be required for any users wishing to use in-game chat in all regions where the feature is available. This comes after mounting pressure to protect underage players and lawsuits from multiple state attorneys general like Louisiana and Texas.Starting January 7, players in the US and abroad will need to submit to facial age estimation via a selfie. Users 13 years of age or older may opt for ID-based checks. These features were given a trial rollout late last year in Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands, where Roblox says half of the daily active users have already completed verification. The company says facial estimation is done via its third-party vendor Persona and that images are deleted immediately after processing. Age verification remains optional to play the game itself and is only required to use chat for now.Once a player's age is verified, they will be placed in one of six age groups, the youngest being under 9, and the oldest being 21+. Players in these groups can only chat with their own group, as well as age groups directly below and above theirs. Roblox says players who are 13 or older can still chat more freely with players beyond their immediate age group by using the "Trusted Connections" feature within Roblox. This feature is intended for friends imported via a user's phone, or contacts added by QR codes shared outside of Roblox. Age verification is still required by both parties to use this feature.Players under 9 years old will have chat turned off by default unless a parent approves its use after age verification. Roblox says it may ask users to resubmit verification if their behavior suggests they are substantially older or younger than they claimed.Roblox has faced repeated accusations that it was not doing enough to protect younger players. In 2024, the company banned players under 13 from accessing certain types of in-game content, as well as restricting their ability to direct message with other players outside of specific games. Last year the company cracked down on user-created content, after a lawsuit from the state of Louisiana alleged some disturbing in-game "experiences" that minors may have been exposed to.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/roblox-now-requires-age-verification-to-use-in-game-chat-163213512.html?src=rss

In the original, and best Total Recall, you may remember a scene in which Rekall's receptionist changes her nail polish by using a digital pen. Now, after only 35 years, a company came to CES 2026 with a vision for such a gadget that actually works outside of that pricey sci-fi movie. The company is iPolish, and it makes press-on acrylic nails that, when you apply an electric charge, change color almost like magic.In order to enjoy kaleidoscopic nails, you'll need to charge the wand, which then connects to your phone. Once you've selected your color of choice, you just put the tip of the nail into the wand, and it'll pass a short charge into the nail to change it. Sadly, the company wouldn't shed too much light on the process it uses to run the nails but, from my guess, it's some sort of electrochemical shenanigans going on behind the scenes.All in all, it took around five seconds to change the color of a single nail, so it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.iPolishDaniel Cooper for EngadgetiPolish says that each nail can display 400 colors, and can be changed as many times as the user would like. So, if you're coordinating your nails with your outfits, you're not bound to a single color palette in the weeks between salon visits. They're also surprisingly affordable, with the starter set costing $95 which contains two sets of nails, one in Ballerina cut, one in Squoval. The Ballerinas are relatively short, while the Sqovals are longer. It's worth noting that you can't shape the nails as you'll break the hardware, so if you don't like those shapes, you can't use em.When it comes time to replace your nails when one breaks or you lose it in some nailbed mishap, you'll be able to pick up spares for $6.50. Given the theoretical cost of getting your nails re-done on a weekly basis, being able to change color on a whim seems like a bargain. Of course, we won't be able to speak to iPolish's quality and reliability until they start shipping, which is presently expected to begin in June 2026.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/ipolish-brings-color-changing-press-on-smart-nails-to-ces-001345407.html?src=rss

WhatsApp just rolled out some upgrades to group chats. Perhaps the most interesting is the addition of member tags, which lets users give themselves a tag that's customized for a specific group.Meta gives examples of a user assigning themself the role of a dad in one chat and a soccer goalkeeper in another. This could actually be pretty useful to people who use WhatsApp group chats to role play as characters, organize fantasy sports leagues and other stuff like that.The platform is also rolling out text stickers to group chats. This lets users turn just about any word into a sticker via an integrated search engine. Folks can gather their most-used stickers together for easy access.Finally, there are event reminders. This is fairly self-explanatory. The tool lets people create early reminders for upcoming events. Meta says that "this helps everyone remember to commute to the party you're hosting or hop on the call at the right time."This is just the latest WhatsApp update. The platform recently rolled out AI-powered chat summaries and re-introduced away messages.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/whatsapp-upgrades-group-chats-with-member-tags-and-text-stickers-161420141.html?src=rss

CES is once again where TV manufacturers lay out their plans for the year ahead, and CES 2026 is shaping up to be a showcase of both familiar rivalries and genuinely new display tech. While OLED and Mini LED remain central to most lineups, Micro RGB has emerged as one of the most talked-about developments at the show so far, especially at the higher end of the market.Below are the TV announcements that stood out most from the pre-show events and early press conferences, with more expected as CES continues.Samsung Micro RGB TVsSamsung's flagship Micro RGB TV Engadget Samsung's Micro RGB push at CES 2026 isn't just about big screens - it's also about how the technology tries to redefine color accuracy and brightness in LCD-based TVs. Unlike traditional Mini LED backlights that rely on white LEDs and filters, Samsung's Micro RGB TVs use microscopic red, green and blue LEDs in the backlight plane, which help deliver a wider color gamut and more precise local luminance control than conventional backlit LCDs.The standout of the lineup so far is the jaw-dropping 130-inch Micro RGB concept, shown suspended on a massive gallery-style stand at Samsung's First Look event. It's powered by Samsung's Micro RGB AI Engine Pro, a processing suite that includes Micro RGB Color Booster Pro and Micro RGB HDR Pro to refine contrast and push color depth and detail frame by frame, with HDR10+ Advanced support built in. Compared with previous Micro RGB models, Samsung says this expanded family will start at more practical sizes - 55- and 65-inch - and go up to sizes as large as 75, 85 and 100 inches, all with next-gen AI-driven picture and sound features baked in.Samsung's Micro RGB sets also carry the company's Glare Free anti-reflection finish and tie into its broader Vision AI platform, which supports things like conversational search and contextual content discovery. While the 130-inch concept may remain more of a statement piece than a consumer product, the move underscores how Samsung continues to push next-gen TV tech forward.Samsung OLED TVsSamsung's new 2026 OLED slate - including the S95H, S90H and S85H models - continues the brand's use of quantum dot-enhanced OLED panels, bringing brighter highlights and richer colors than older WOLED approaches. These TVs also benefit from Samsung's continued refinement of processing and anti-glare screen treatments, which make them more adaptable in bright living rooms than traditional OLEDs.The flagship S95H retains its position as the most premium, using a quantum dot layer to help improve brightness and color purity. Below that, the S90H brings glare-reducing optical layers and robust picture processing to a slightly more affordable price point, while the S85H is designed to offer core OLED benefits, like deep blacks and wide viewing angles, in a more accessible package that now includes a new 48-inch size for smaller spaces or gaming setups.Across the OLED family, Samsung's Vision AI-powered tools such as AI Motion Enhancer Pro and AI Sound Controller (which dynamically adjusts audio based on content) are also part of the story, making these sets not just about panel tech but about richer, more adaptable viewing experiences.LG OLED evo W6 Wallpaper TVLG's 2026 Wallpaper wireless OLED TV Devindra Hardawar for Engadget LG's OLED evo W6 Wallpaper TV makes a striking return at CES 2026, and this year's version manages to blend design flair with high-end performance. The panel itself is an astonishing 9mm thick, designed to sit almost flush against a wall, and pairs with a Zero Connect Box that hosts all inputs and delivers wireless video feeds up to 10 meters away.Under the ultra-thin exterior, the W6 uses LG's Hyper Radiant Color technology coupled with Brightness Booster Ultra to push improved brightness and color saturation compared with previous Wallpaper models. It also received Intertek's Reflection Free with Premium" certification, indicating some of the lowest reflectance levels yet on an OLED TV. Gaming shooters and fast action fans might appreciate support for up to 165Hz refresh rates and both G-SYNC and FreeSync Premium compatibility, making this one of the most technically ambitious Wallpaper designs LG has shown.LG Micro RGB evo TVsLG is also entering the premium RGB-backlit arena at CES with its Micro RGB evo lineup, bringing a similar focus on wider color gamut and intense brightness. Early coverage indicates the Micro RGB evo models will arrive in 75-, 86- and 100-inch sizes, and are built around LG's 11 AI Processor Gen3, which handles advanced upscaling, local dimming and dynamic HDR optimization.LG's Micro RGB evo TVs have been certified for full coverage of BT.2020, DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB color spaces, suggesting an exceptionally wide palette and precise color fidelity. Under the hood, the Micro Dimming Ultra system is said to deliver 1,000+ local dimming zones, which narrows the gap between LCD-based displays and self-emissive technologies like OLED in terms of contrast management.This early positioning of RGB LED tech by LG also highlights a growing industry shift, with multiple brands teasing similar systems designed to improve brightness and color performance on large screen sizes - especially where OLED's peak luminance traditionally struggles.LG OLED TVs (C6 and C6H)OLED remains a core focus for LG, and CES 2026 brought updates to its popular C-series. The LG C6 OLED continues the company's tradition of balancing performance and price, while the C6H OLED steps things up with a new Primary RGB Tandem panel designed to deliver higher brightness and improved color volume.These models are clearly aimed at buyers who want OLED's deep blacks and wide viewing angles without jumping to LG's most expensive designs, making them likely to be among the most popular TVs LG releases this year.TCL X11L SQD-Mini LED TVTCL used CES 2026 to make a strong case for Mini LED's continued relevance with the X11L SQD-Mini LED TV, its new flagship model aimed squarely at large-screen home theater setups. Rather than chasing Micro RGB, TCL is refining its own approach with SQD, or Super Quantum Dot, technology, which combines an enhanced quantum dot layer with a dense Mini LED backlight to improve color purity and brightness.The headline number here is brightness. TCL claims the X11L can hit up to 10,000 nits peak brightness, putting it among the brightest TVs shown at CES this year. That's paired with an extremely dense local dimming system, with up to 20,000 dimming zones, which is designed to improve contrast and keep blooming in check despite the extreme luminance. TCL also says the panel covers 100 percent of the BT.2020 color space, a bold claim that, if it holds up in real-world testing, would put it in rare company.The X11L is a 4K TV available in 75-inch, 85-inch and 98-inch sizes, with the largest models clearly intended to rival premium OLED and Micro RGB sets in dedicated home theaters. It supports a 144Hz refresh rate, making it appealing for gaming as well as fast-moving sports, and includes support for advanced HDR formats, including Dolby Vision, with further enhancements expected via software updates.With CES press day underway and the show floor opening on January 6, more TV announcements are expected from major manufacturers. As additional models are revealed or details are confirmed, we'll continue updating this roundup with the latest information.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/the-biggest-tv-announcements-at-ces-2026-190929976.html?src=rss

CES remains a key stage for laptop makers to lay out their plans for the year ahead. At CES 2026, that meant new flagship productivity machines, reconsidered gaming notebooks and solid incremental updates across several major lineups. While we're still seeing embargoes lift and hands-on time on the show floor, the announcements below reflect the most significant laptops we've seen so far. Plus, the list will grow as more companies reveal details throughout January 6 and beyond.Lenovo Legion Pro RollableLenovo Legion Pro RollableEngadgetLenovo came prepared for CES 2026 with a ton of laptops - concepts, fully-formed designs and everything in betwee. The most striking concept was the Legion Pro Rollable, a gaming laptop built around a flexible OLED panel that expands sideways from a standard 16-inch footprint to 21.5 inches or 23.8 inches, shifting aspect ratios from 16:10 to 21:9 or even 24:9. It's the kind of idea that makes immediate sense for flight sims, racing games and open-world titles that benefit from ultrawide views, even if the mechanics felt a bit prototype-like up close.Lenovo also showed the XD Rollable concept, which takes a more familiar rollable approach, expanding a 13.3-inch OLED screen to 16 inches at the push of a button. The twist is that the extra" display wraps around the back of the lid to create a world-facing surface for mirrored content or a secondary view.Samsung Galaxy Book6 seriesNew Samsung Galaxy Book6 laptops offer NVIDIA RTX 50-series GPUs.Samsung announced the Galaxy Book6 family at CES 2026, introducing three new laptops built around Intel's Panther Lake chips: the Galaxy Book6, Book6 Pro and Book6 Ultra. The focus this year is on slimmer designs, improved thermals and longer battery life, with Samsung claiming up to 30 hours of video playback on the Book6 Ultra and Pro.The 16-inch Galaxy Book6 Ultra sits at the top of the lineup, with configurations offering up to Intel Core Ultra X9 processors, Intel Arc graphics and NVIDIA RTX 50-series GPUs, including RTX 5070 and RTX 5060 options. Samsung says the Ultra delivers up to 1.6x better CPU performance and 1.7x improved graphics compared with the previous Galaxy Book generation, helped by a wider vapor chamber and a new dual-path fan system for GPU cooling.Both the Book6 Ultra and Book6 Pro feature upgraded 2,880 x 1,800 AMOLED 2X displays with touch support, adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz and peak brightness of up to 1,000 nits. The laptops are thinner than their predecessors, with the Ultra measuring 15.4mm thick and the Pro coming in at 11.9mm - and Samsung has added haptic trackpads across the series for the first time. Pricing and release dates have not yet been announced.ASUS ROG Zephyrus DuoOn top of having two displays, the Zephyrus Duo's screens also feature excellent brightness at up to 1,100 nits.ASUS brought its dual-screen design into the gaming space at CES 2026 with the ROG Zephyrus Duo, a laptop that pairs two full-size 16-inch displays with high-end gaming hardware. Unlike productivity-focused dual-screen systems, the Zephyrus Duo is positioned as a hybrid machine designed to handle gaming, content creation and multitasking in a single portable setup.Both 16-inch Nebula OLED panels support HDR with up to 1,100 nits of peak brightness, NVIDIA G-SYNC, stylus input and high color accuracy. Performance comes from Intel's latest Core Ultra processors paired with NVIDIA RTX 50-series GPUs, up to an RTX 5090. While the system's 135W power budget means it won't match the raw performance of some single-screen gaming laptops, ASUS is clearly prioritizing versatility over maximum output.The Zephyrus Duo includes a detachable wireless keyboard, a built-in kickstand and multiple usage modes, including stacked dual-screen layouts and drawing configurations. Despite weighing a whopping 6.28 pounds, ASUS has kept the chassis relatively slim at 0.77 inches and equipped it with a six-speaker system, vapor chamber cooling and a broad selection of ports including Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1 and a full-size SD card slot. Pricing and availability have not yet been announced.MSI Stealth 16 AI+MSI's most powerful gaming laptop.MSIMSI updated its Stealth lineup at CES 2026 with the Stealth 16 AI+, a gaming laptop designed to balance performance and portability. The system measures just 16.6mm thick, weighs under two kilograms and is equipped with NVIDIA RTX 50-series graphics alongside Intel Core Ultra 200HX processors.Despite its slim profile, the Stealth 16 AI+ includes dual memory slots and dual SSD bays, giving it more upgrade flexibility than many thin gaming laptops. MSI is positioning it as a versatile machine for users who want gaming performance without the bulk typically associated with high-end hardware.MSI Crosshair 16 Max HXThe Crosshair 16 Max HX represents MSI's more traditional gaming approach, pairing Intel Core Ultra 200HX processors with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50-series GPUs. It sits below the company's flagship Raider models but still targets players who want strong performance in a relatively streamlined chassis.Buyers can opt for an optional QHD+ OLED display with a 165Hz refresh rate, adding sharper visuals and smoother motion for gaming and media. Alongside the Max HX, MSI also announced a Crosshair 16 HX variant, giving the Crosshair line a broader range of configurations aimed at mid-to-high-end gaming buyers.HP OmniBook Ultra 14HP claims the Omnibook Ultra 14 has passed 20 different MIL-STD 810H tests for things like extreme temperature and shock resistance.HP used CES 2026 to debut its new flagship consumer laptop, the OmniBook Ultra 14. It's a premium ultraportable built around an ultra-thin but durability-focused design. The laptop measures just 0.42 inches thick and weighs 2.8 pounds, yet HP says it passes 20 MIL-STD-810 tests for shock, drops and extreme temperatures. Rather than a traditional unibody chassis, HP uses a forge-stamped aluminum construction designed to improve strength and bend resistance.The OmniBook Ultra 14 features a 3K OLED display and can be configured with up to 64GB of memory and 2TB of storage. Buyers can choose between Intel Core Ultra processors or Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite, with the Snapdragon version offering a more powerful NPU rated at up to 85 TOPS for AI workloads. HP has also added a vapor chamber for the first time in an OmniBook to support sustained performance in such a slim chassis.HP rounds things out with a large touchpad, quad speakers and three USB-C ports supporting Thunderbolt 4, DisplayPort 2.1 and fast charging. The OmniBook Ultra 14 is expected to go on sale later this month starting at $1,550.HP Omen Max 16HP also refreshed its gaming lineup at CES 2026 with the Omen Max 16, which the company describes as its most powerful 16-inch gaming laptop to date. The system is built around Intel Core Ultra 200HX processors and NVIDIA RTX 50-series GPUs, with configurations reaching the high end of HP's mobile performance offerings.Designed for sustained gaming workloads, the Omen Max 16 features expanded thermal headroom and high-refresh-rate displays aimed at competitive players. HP is positioning the laptop as the flagship of its Omen lineup, sitting above refreshed Omen 15 and Omen 16 models that target more mainstream gaming buyers.Pricing and availability for the Omen Max 16 have not yet been announced, with HP expected to share more details later this year.Acer Swift 16 AIPromo photo of the Acer Swift 16 AI laptopAcerAcer expanded its flagship Swift lineup at CES 2026 with the Swift 16 AI, a large-screen ultraportable that leans heavily into input innovation and display quality. The standout feature is what Acer says is the world's largest haptic touchpad, which supports MPP 2.5 stylus input and is designed to improve precision for creative and productivity tasks.The Swift 16 AI features a 16-inch 3K OLED WQXGA+ touchscreen with HDR support, a 120Hz refresh rate and full DCI-P3 color coverage. It can be configured with up to an Intel Core Ultra X9 388H processor and Intel Arc B390 graphics, with up to 32GB of memory and 2TB of storage. Despite the large display, the laptop measures just 14.9mm thick and weighs about 3.4 pounds.Acer says the Swift 16 AI is part of the Copilot+ PC program, positioning it around on-device AI features alongside performance and portability. Pricing and availability have not yet been announced.Dell XPS 13, XPS 14 and XPS 16Dell wouldn't let me take photos of the XPS 13 prototype model, but here's a teaser it provided for CES. DellHaving a bit of deja vu? You're not alone. Dell killed its XPS branding last year only to bring it back this year after admitting it had made a mistake. Instead of simplifying its product offering, the rebranding only bewildered consumers and tech journalists alike, both of which had come to know the XPS lineup to be synonymous with quality. Now, Dell is getting back to its roots and coming out with a whole refreshed lineup of XPS laptops, including new XPS 13, XPS 14 and XPS 16 machines. Specific details for each model still remain under wraps, and there's no word yet on when they will hit the market.Alienware gaming laptopsAlienware used CES 2026 to tease a new ultra-slim gaming laptop designed to sit below the company's Area-51 flagships. The laptop measures roughly 17mm, or about 0.67 inches, thick and will be offered in both 14-inch and 16-inch sizes.According to Alienware, the 16-inch version will feature NVIDIA discrete graphics paired with new, highly efficient CPUs. Rather than positioning it as a pure gaming machine, Alienware says the laptop is intended to balance gaming performance with creative work, productivity and everyday use.Alienware has not shared pricing, availability or full specifications, and it remains unclear how the 14-inch and 16-inch models will differ beyond size.Alienware also previewed a new entry-level gaming laptop aimed at expanding its reach to more budget-conscious players. While specs remain limited, the company says the system will deliver strong gaming performance at its most accessible price point yet.Alienware suggests pricing should come in below the $1,199 starting price of the Alienware 16 Aurora, potentially making it the most affordable gaming laptop the brand currently offers. As with the ultra-slim model, full details are expected later this year.Alienware Area-51 and AuroraAlongside its new teasers, Alienware announced updates to several existing laptops. The Alienware 16X Aurora and Alienware 16 Area-51 are gaining new anti-glare OLED panels with up to 620 nits of peak HDR brightness and a 0.2ms response time, as well as Intel Core Ultra 200HX processors.The Alienware 18 Area-51 is also being refreshed with the same CPUs. Alienware says the updated Alienware 16X Aurora, Alienware 16 Area-51 and Alienware 18 Area-51 laptops will be available in Q1 2026. Pricing has not yet been announced.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/all-the-laptops-that-caught-our-eye-at-ces-2026-160610752.html?src=rss

Throne has rocked up to CES 2026 to show off its forthcoming toilet computer which uses computer vision to study your poop. It hangs from the side of the bowl and has a camera and microphone to track bowel motions and urination and offer feedback. It was co-founded by (activity tracker) Whoop co-founder John Capodilupo, who explained the hardware is designed to understand what your base state is to be able to identify when you fall out of that pattern.Capodilupo explained the hardware will look at how often you go, the texture and size of your motions, as well as the volume. The eventual aim is to be able to analyze your gut health, adding that as a GLP-1 user, that sort of data is vital to manage the symptoms of those drugs. The battery lasts for a month on a single charge but you won't be forced to drag it out of the bathroom to re-juice it. The device ships with a 13 foot long USB-C power cable which should stretch long enough from your nearest outlet to the toilet.At this point, we can't talk to its efficacy but will certainly be looking to test this thing when it arrives at some point in February. Pre-orders are open, and it can currently be picked up for $340, plus a $6 per month membership.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/throne-from-the-co-founder-of-whoop-uses-computer-vision-to-study-your-poop-150000606.html?src=rss

Boston Dynamics' Atlas is finally entering production. After years of testing this humanoid robot (and forcing it to dance), the robotics company announced at CES 2026 that the final version of the machine is being built now. The first companies to receive deployments will be Hyundai, Boston Dynamics' majority shareholder, and Google DeepMind, the firm's new AI partner.This final enterprise version of Atlas "can perform a wide array of industrial tasks," according to Boston Dynamics, and is specifically designed with consistency and reliability in mind. Atlas can work autonomously, via a teleoperator or with "a tablet steering interface," and the robot is both strong and durable. Boston Dynamics says Atlas has a reach of up to 7.5 feet, the ability to lift 110 pounds and can operate at temperatures ranging from minus 4 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. "This is the best robot we have ever built," Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter said in the Atlas announcement. "Atlas is going to revolutionize the way industry works, and it marks the first step toward a long-term goal we have dreamed about since we were children."Boston Dynamics has been publicly demoing its work on humanoid robots since at least 2011, when it first debuted Atlas as a DARPA project. Since then, the robot has gone through multiple prototypes and revisions, most notably switching from a hydraulic design to an all-electric design in 2024. Later that year, Boston Dynamics demonstrated the robot's ability to manipulate car parts, which appears to be one of the first ways Atlas will be put to work.Hyundai plans to use Atlas in its car plants in 2028, focused on tasks like parts sequencing. In 2030, the car maker hopes to have the robot's responsibilities "extend to component assembly, and over time, Atlas will also take on tasks involving repetitive motions, heavy loads, and other complex operations," Hyundai says. Google DeepMind, meanwhile, is receiving Atlas robots so it can work on integrating its Gemini Robotics AI foundation models into Boston Dynamics' system.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/boston-dynamics-unveils-production-ready-version-of-atlas-robot-at-ces-2026-234047882.html?src=rss

One way you can reduce the number of cables you have to deal with on the regular is by investing in a few wireless chargers. Those with iPhones should consider Apple's own MagSafe charger not only because of its sleek and effective design, but also because it's on sale right now at Amazon. The Qi2.2-rated MagSafe charger is down to $30 for the one-meter version, or $40 for the two-meter version. If you have an iPhone 16, iPhone 17 or iPhone Air, this cable can charge your device at 25W as long as it's connected to a 30W power adapter on the other end. While you'll need a more recent iPhone to get the fastest MagSafe charging speeds, the charger can wirelessly top up the battery of any iPhone from the last eight years (iPhone 8 and later). With older iPhones, the charging speed tops out at 15W. The cable works with AirPods wireless charging cases too - it's certified for Qi2.2 and Qi charging. The MagSafe charger is one of our favorite iPhone accessories, and would pair quite nicely with your new iPhone if you're picking up one of the latest models. If you're on the fence about that, be sure to check out our reviews of the iPhone 17, iPhone Pro/Pro Max and iPhone Air. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-latest-25w-magsafe-charger-drops-to-only-30-141707024.html?src=rss

CES 2026's first official show day kept the pace up with a mix of near-term gaming upgrades, ambitious new form factors and a few reminders that not every gadget needs to do everything. NVIDIA announced important gaming news, we caught up with Samsung's tri-fold phone and Lenovo marched out an army of impressive looking gaming laptops and concept tech. Here are the biggest stories from January 6.NVIDIANVIDIA's G-Sync Pulsar is the next evolution of its VRR technology.NVIDIANVIDIA's gaming updates focused on making motion look cleaner and boosting performance without forcing developers to rebuild everything from scratch.The company introduced G-Sync Pulsar, a new display tech designed to reduce monitor-based motion blur by pulsing a screen's backlight in sections rather than leaving it on continuously. NVIDIA says the approach gives pixels time to stabilize before they're illuminated, which should make fast movement easier to track, particularly in esports.The first Pulsar monitors are expected to come out starting January 7 from Acer, AOC, ASUS and MSI, all which are 27-inch 1440p IPS panels with a 360Hz refresh rate and up to 500 nits peak HDR brightness. Pulsar models also support Ambient Adaptive Technology for automatic color temperature and brightness adjustment based on room lighting.On the software side, NVIDIA announced DLSS 4.5, which adds a second-generation Transformer-based Super Resolution model the company says improves temporal stability, reduces ghosting and improves anti-aliasing. DLSS 4.5 also introduces Dynamic Multi Frame Generation, intended to push performance toward your display's refresh rate, with NVIDIA positioning it around high-end targets like 4K 240Hz path tracing. The 2nd Gen Super Resolution Transformer model is available now for RTX GPUs, while Dynamic 6x Frame Generation is expected in spring 2026 for RTX 50-series cards, with support rolling out across hundreds of games via the NVIDIA app.SamsungThe Galaxy Z TriFold is the latest evolution in Samsung's growing lineup of fancy foldable phones.Sam Rutherford for EngadgetSamsung's Galaxy Z TriFold was unveiled in Asia before the show, but this was our first opportunity to see the superphone in person. It looked, at first glance, like the kind of idea that comes with obvious compromises: more weight, more thickness and a bigger price tag. In person, the pitch becomes easier to understand.The main draw is the 10-inch AMOLED display, which is a meaningful leap from the 8-inch inner screen on Samsung's current book-style foldables. That extra real estate makes multitasking feel less cramped, and when paired with DeX, it starts to resemble a travel-friendly laptop alternative if you're comfortable carrying a small keyboard and mouse. The TriFold's 4:3 aspect ratio also helps for video and general productivity, with fewer awkward tradeoffs than the squarer inner screens Samsung has leaned on in recent generations.Samsung appears to have put real effort into the mechanics, too. The device uses two hinges and a magnet system designed to make opening and closing feel intuitive, with built-in warnings if you try to unfold it the wrong way. The obvious downsides are still there, including the bulk and cost, and it's not clear how much thinner future versions can get when the USB-C port is effectively the limiting factor. For now, the TriFold is on sale in South Korea, with US and broader North American availability and pricing still pending.LenovoWhile it normally has a 16-inch display, the Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable concept's screen can expand up to 23.8 inches across.Sam Rutherford for EngadgetLenovo arrived with a stack of concepts and a few more concrete products, making it clear that the company is still treating CES as its main playground for experimental form factors.The most striking concept was the Legion Pro Rollable, a gaming laptop built around a flexible OLED panel that expands sideways from a standard 16-inch footprint to 21.5 inches or 23.8 inches, shifting aspect ratios from 16:10 to 21:9 or even 24:9. It's the kind of idea that makes immediate sense for flight sims, racing games and open-world titles that benefit from ultrawide views, even if the mechanics felt a bit prototype-like up close.Lenovo also showed the XD Rollable concept, which takes a more familiar rollable approach, expanding a 13.3-inch OLED screen to 16 inches at the push of a button. The twist is that the extra" display wraps around the back of the lid to create a world-facing surface for mirrored content or a secondary view. It's a clever way to avoid hiding unused panel real estate, even if the practical use cases still feel limited (maybe point-of-sale terminals?).On the handheld front, Lenovo confirmed the Legion Go 2, which will be powered by SteamOS and will arrive in June starting at $1,199. It keeps the same core hardware, including an 8.8-inch OLED 144Hz VRR display, detachable controllers, a kickstand and two configuration tiers based on Ryzen Z2 chips. The big change is swapping SteamOS in place of Windows, which should appeal to anyone who wants a more console-like experience, even if it remains a large device at 2.2 pounds.For laptops headed to market, Lenovo introduced the ThinkBook Plus Gen 7 Auto Twist, a notebook with a motorized display that can follow you during calls and presentations using a 10MP webcam and onboard AI. It also supports Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors, up to 32GB RAM and 2TB storage, plus a strong port selection, and Lenovo says it starts at $1,649 with availability planned for June.Finally, Lenovo teased an AI smart glasses concept that looks more like normal eyewear than most show-floor prototypes. Lenovo says the glasses are designed for live translation, image recognition and notification summaries, with an eight-hour battery claim. As with many Lenovo concepts, there's no firm timeline for a retail release.PebbleThe Pebble Round 2 reboots a smartwatch classic.Daniel Cooper for EngadgetPebble's presence at CES this year felt like a counterpoint to the more features, more sensors, more subscriptions" direction of other wearables.The Pebble Round 2 aims to revive the brand's original appeal: a lightweight watch that supplements your phone rather than trying to replace it. The new model uses a 1.3-inch color e-paper touchscreen that runs to the edge of the case, with Pebble claiming two weeks of battery life in the 8.1mm-thick watch. It also makes deliberate tradeoffs, skipping GPS, a speaker and an optical heart rate sensor to keep the device thin and focused.Then there's the Pebble Index 01, a simple AI ring built around a physical button you press to activate voice commands that you can use to ask questions, set reminders and the like. The pitch is reducing friction: no wake words, no gestures you have to get right every time. Pebble says the ring is water resistant and not rechargeable, instead using a sealed battery designed to last years depending on usage, with replacement handled when the battery is nearing the end of its life. It's available for pre-order at an early bird price of $75, with shipping planned for May.SegwaySegway expanded its presence well beyond scooters with two very different pitches: smarter yard care and more tech-forward e-bikes.Under its Navimow brand, Segway introduced a new lineup of robotic lawn mowers spanning multiple tiers, including the X4 Series for large yards up to 1.5 acres with AWD and dual cutting motors, plus the more mainstream i2 Series with AWD and LiDAR options. Segway says pre-orders for the i2 AWD and X4 models begin January 16, with pricing ranging from around $1,000 to $3,000 depending on configuration.On the mobility side, Segway announced two new e-bikes, the Myon and Muxi, along with an electric dirt bike called the Xaber 300. The headline is the company's focus on sensor-driven ride smoothing, smart features like Find My integration and app-based controls, and tech meant to make starts, hills and traction feel more predictable. The Myon is available now for $2,000, while the Muxi is expected in March for $1,700.MetaMeta's neural band in Garmin's Unified Cabin at CES 2026.Karissa Bell for EngadgetMeta's EMG wristband (that's short for electromyography," the ability to recognize and translate small finger and wrist gestures) is starting to look like more than a companion accessory for smart glasses. Meta showed how its wrist-based neural controller could be used beyond its own eyewear, including an early demo with Garmin inside a concept car cockpit. The interaction was still basic - swipe and pinch gestures to navigate apps on an infotainment screen - but the larger idea is hands-free control of vehicle functions over time.Meta also highlighted research work exploring how EMG control could help people with conditions that limit hand mobility interact with smart home devices like speakers, blinds and thermostats. If day one of the show had a theme beyond AI, it was that companies are still willing to gamble on new shapes and inputs, and they can work as long as they feel practical and immediately useful.RazerRazer's concept immersive gaming chair with light strips along the head cushions is pictured in front of a desk in a rocky outdoor environment between large puddlesRazerRazer's day-one news was split between a full-blown immersion concept and a more grounded chair refresh.The company's Project Madison concept is a gaming chair designed as a multisensory rig, combining reactive lighting, spatial audio and multi-zone haptics to match on-screen action. It's not a product you can buy, but it's a clear statement about where Razer thinks the setup" category could go.Razer also showed Project Motoko, a concept headset meant to blur the line between gaming gear and an AI wearable. It includes cameras for real-time object and text recognition and is designed to work with multiple AI assistants, with Razer positioning it as a platform that could eventually ship first as a developer kit and later as a retail product.BirdbuddyTwo new Birdbuddy smart bird feeders displayed at CES.Amy Skorheim for EngadgetBirdbuddy added a feature that makes its smart feeders feel closer to a true nature companion: birdsong identification. The Birdbuddy 2 and Birdbuddy 2 Mini both add microphones that help the system identify species by sound, alongside the usual camera-based detection. Birdbuddy also says the new models improve camera wake-up speed, use a more modular design for easier cleaning and protect the lens with Gorilla Glass since birds have a habit of pecking at it.The Birdbuddy 2 is priced at $199 and is expected to ship pre-orders in February, with wider availability mid-2026, while the Birdbuddy 2 Mini costs $129 with pre-orders planned for summer.AgibotHumanoid robots are having another moment at CES this year, and Agibot's demos leaned into movement, personality and practical service roles.The company brought two robots, the larger A2 and smaller X2, both capable of walking around the floor, waving to attendees and dancing with surprising confidence. Agibot described the A2 as a potential hospitality helper for places like museums or conferences, while the X2 is framed more as an educational platform with slightly more human-like movement. Agibot also says its robots can learn actions from video, including training dance routines from TikTok clips, and the company plans to make its robots available in the US this year, though pricing and broader availability details weren't shared.Day one is in the books, but CES 2026 is far from over. With the show floor now fully open, expect more hands-ons, deeper dives and plenty of unexpected demos as the week continues, especially across laptops, wearables, mobility and smart home tech. We'll be updating our CES coverage daily, with liveblogs, reviews and show-floor impressions throughout the week. You can follow along on Engadget for the latest news as it happens.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/ces-2026-day-1-the-biggest-tech-news-and-gadgets-you-missed-from-the-first-official-day-of-the-show-144040174.html?src=rss

French startup WheelMove demonstrated a compact motorized wheelchair add-on at CES 2026 that not only acts as a power-assist device, but can also lift up a chair's small front wheels so it can ride over rough terrain. The accessory upgrades a manual wheelchair with a 10-inch extra wheel and a 250W motor that can drive at up to six miles per hour (10 kilometers per hour) and handle slopes up to 10 percent, with a range of 15.5 miles (25km). The battery is swappable, too, so a person could pack an extra for a longer outing to avoid having to stop and recharge.As the WheelMove team showed at its booth, the accessory can be attached to a wheelchair in a matter of seconds while seated, and its control panel can be strapped onto an armrest or even a bodypart. There are five speed options, which also work to keep the speed consistent when a person is traveling on a downslope. With the WheelMove attached, its creators say a manual wheelchair user can traverse rough and uneven surfaces - like cobblestones, grass and dirt paths - as well as ramps with far less effort than would normally be required. In some cases, it could open up travel in places that would otherwise be completely inaccessible.The startup says it's worked with wheelchair users who have field tested the device for months ahead of its launch. It weighs less than eight kilograms (17.6 lbs) and packs up in a backpack. Pre-orders for the WheelMove have opened for buyers in France, where it's expected to ship later this year before expanding internationally. It costs roughly $6,000.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/wheelmove-gives-manual-wheelchairs-the-power-and-height-to-handle-rough-terrain-143000560.html?src=rss

Most Apple products are pretty expensive, but some of the most affordable (and useful) ones are AirTags. The Bluetooth trackers are priced pretty reasonably even when not on sale, but they can be a steal if you can get them on a discount - like right now. A four pack of AirTags is on sale for $65 at Amazon, which is only a few dollars more than the record-low price we saw during Black Friday this year. AirTags can be useful for people who travel frequently, helping you to keep track of essentials like your passport as well as a way to keep tabs on luggage while you're on the go. If you do purchase some AirTags, we have some recommendations for useful accessories to go along with them, such as different styles of cases to best attach the trackers to different types of items. These are worth looking over and adding to your shopping cart in order to make the most of the product. AirTags have an IP67 rating for water and dust resistance and their replaceable batteries should last for about a year. They can also support Precision Finding, which gives more exact directions to a lost item, when paired with most models after the iPhone 11. Up to five people can share an AirTag's location, which is helpful for families or large travel groups. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/get-a-four-pack-of-airtags-for-only-65-right-now-202333162.html?src=rss

Klipsch hasn't debuted new headphones in years, but that's going to change in 2026. At CES, Klipsch announced the upcoming Atlas hi-fi series that includes wireless and both closed and semi-open back models. All three are expected to arrive this summer, but the company hasn't announced pricing or many details on any of them just yet. However, I was able to listen to the Atlas HP-1, the wireless model with active noise cancelation (ANC).Without going into specifics, Klipsch says the HP-1 is designed for both daily wear and travel. This is thanks to the combination of light weight, comfort and standout" battery life. Inside, coaxial drivers provide the company's warm signature sound profile. Third-party support for spatial audio and hearing compensation is also in the works. This concludes the info Klipsch announced this week.After seeing the HP-1 in person at CES, I can tell you they look quite similar to Bowers & Wilkins recent headphones designs. Klipsch has opted for wood accents on the outside of the ear cups, likely as a nod to its speaker heritage. But the combination of leather and metal, as well as the headband and ear cups, remind me a lot of B&W's Px7.Klipsch Atlas HP-1Billy Steele for EngadgetDuring my brief time with the HP-1, the excellent sound quality was the thing that stood out most. Klipsch is demoing the headphones with lossless audio over USB-C, so it will be interesting to see what the audio is like in wireless mode. However, the company's trademark warmth and deft tuning is immediately apparent, giving preference to highs and mids without overbearing bass. There's ample low-end tone, but it compliments everything else and didn't overpower in the Rage Against The Machine songs and other tracks I listened to.It's difficult to paint a comprehensive picture here since I wasn't only really able to observe sound quality - and only for a short time. But the HP-1 is certainly a premium set of headphones that are comfy to wear (at least for the few minutes I wore them) and definitely sound good. The biggest downside will likely be price, which I expect to be at least $500.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/klipsch-atlas-hp-1-hands-on-a-return-to-hi-fi-headphones-at-ces-2026-130000415.html?src=rss

Philips Hue has introduced a new software feature called SpatialAware at CES 2026 designed to ensure that all the lights in a space are in harmony with each other. Available exclusively for the Hue Bridge Pro, it takes into account each light point in a room and tailors the colors to ensure a natural representation. "In a sunset scene, for example, the lights on one side of the room emit warm yellow tones to mimic the setting sun, while the ceiling lights on the opposite side reflect darker shades," the company wrote on its blog. The new feature is set to launch in the spring of 2026.To use the feature, you scan a room with your smartphone camera and use augmented reality to determine the positions of individual lights. A smart algorithm then ensures each light point is coordinated. Any lamps added after setup will be taken into account. Then, you use SpatialAware to select a scene like "Lake Mist" and activate the mode.Philips Hue room without SpatialAwarePhilips HueIn the example at top, the company shows how all the lights in a room are "no linger mixed together in a colorful jumble [above] but are perfectly coordinated. The same applies, for example, to the gradient color transitions of corresponding products, where SpatialAware even takes the orientation into account."Philips Hue also introduced a few other features. To start with, the company is adding support for migrating multiple Hue Bridges to a single Bridge Pro during the setup process. In addition, the Hue Secure Camera, Hue Secure video doorbell and Hue contact sensors will soon work with Apple Home. Users will also see live video with picture-in-picture mode on Apple TV and get real-time alerts on the Apple Home app.The Hue AI assistant has been updated so you can now creation automations based on natural language requests - for instance, "wake me up at 6:45 AM every day except on Wednesdays." New AI assistant languages have been added (Dutch, German and Spanish) and the Hue app will start showing automations within the rooms and zones they're set to control, so you won't need to jump around in the app as much. All those new features are set to arrive in Q1 2026.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/philips-hue-spatialaware-feature-harmonizes-all-the-lights-in-a-room-101843600.html?src=rss

As a former Mint user, I had to find a new budgeting app not too long ago. Intuit, parent company of Mint, shut down the service in March 2024, and prompted users to transition to its other financial app, Credit Karma. However, after testing Credit Karma myself, I found it to be a poor Mint replacement - that meant I needed to branch out and look elsewhere for a trusted app to track all of my financial accounts, monitor my credit score, follow a monthly spending plan and set goals like building a rainy-day fund and paying down my mortgage faster.

Not everyone remembers the unique controllers that never quite made it. As third-party peripheral makers attempt to offer gamers something different to the likes of DualSense and Joy-Cons, they often have to go in a different direction. GameSir's Swift Drive (apparently a working product name) is definitely that. And if you remember 1998's JogCon for the PS1, there's definitely some shared DNA.It features a compact steering wheel at the center of an otherwise typical controller design. It's also got force feedback, tech usually found in (full-size!) steering wheel controllers. GameSir says it has a high precision" Hall Effect encoder built in for ultra-accurate" steering.Mat Smith for EngadgetYou will be able to adjust the steering range from 30 to 1080 degrees, but you'd likely want to keep it high - it's the entire point of this controller. GameSir has added Hall-effect sensors to its more typical joysticks and buttons, while each trigger has its own haptic motor to simulate wheel slip and braking. Several RGB lights across the top of the controller will even attempt to replicate your in-game RPMs, which is a cute touch.On the show floor at CES, I drove a big rig in a demonstration area that was stripped down to wireframe ramps and curved surfaces. The force-feedback is powerful and it's a surprisingly satisfying driving experience as I wheeled around, rotating the steering wheel with both thumbs. The steering wheel can also be customized with different plates. It felt like a miniaturized steering-wheel controller and would lock out when I oversteered or stopped. You may be concerned about battery life, but the controller should last 20-30 hours on a single charge.A GameSir spokesperson said the controller is expected to go on sale later this year, but pricing has not yet been confirmed.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/this-game-controller-has-a-force-feedback-steering-wheel-lodged-in-the-middle-034521141.html?src=rss

Robot vacuum companies are once again out in full force at CES 2026, giving their devices a new set of intriguing - and sometimes unsettling - capabilities. This year, Chinese appliance maker Dreame is showing off a vacuum prototype with giant legs that can climb up and down an entire flight of stairs.The concept, called the Cyber X, was previewed last year at IFA in Berlin. The vacuum sports a somewhat terrifying set of legs with rubber treads that allow it to autonomously navigate multi-story environments. While Dreame has previously shown off vacuums that can move up smaller steps, it says the Cyber X can climb stairs up to 25cm (9.8 inches) high and slopes up to 42 degrees. It can manage both straight and curved staircases, and can climb a flight of steps in 27 seconds, according to the company.We got a chance to see the Cyber X and its stair-climbing abilities at Dreame's CES booth, and the device was able to deftly crawl up and down a flight of stairs. The Cyber X didn't use its legs" to walk up the steps, though. Instead, it used the treads horizontally, moving a bit like a miniature, cleaning tank.Interestingly, the actual vacuum is separate from the climbing apparatus. As you can see in the image below, the larger device with legs has an opening where the actual robot vacuum can dock inside and sit while the Cyber X climbs stairs.That likely means the Cyber X isn't able to clean the stairs themselves, though it does cleverly solve the problem of transporting the vacuum throughout multi-story environments.In addition to its legs, the Cyber X's vacuum also has a built-in water tank to support mopping abilities, and a laser-powered navigation system to help it maneuver up stairs and around other obstacles. It also has a braking system that allows it to stay stable on floors and stairs, even if the battery dies.Dreame's Cyber X.Karissa Bell for EngadgetFor now, Dreame says Cyber X is just a research prototype and hasn't indicated if it plans to make it, or a robo vac like it, more widely available at some point in the future. But Dreame has a history of showing off innovative features at CES ahead of an actual release. Last year, the company had a prototype vacuum with a mechanical arm at its CES booth. This year, it announced a new vacuum with very similar abilities.The company also announced the Dreame X60 Max Ultra, its latest flagship robot vacuum that can roll up smaller steps. The X60 Max Ultra, which costs $1,699, can move over stairs up to 8.8cm (about 3.4 inches), a small improvement over last year's X50, which could clear heights of 6cm (about 2.4 inches). That's not enough to manage a full-size stair, which is typically around 7 inches, but it should make the X60 flexible enough to navigate threshold steps and other small obstacles.Update, January 6, 2026, 5:07PM PT: This post was updated with new photos and video and to add additional information about the Cyber X after seeing a live demonstration at Dreame's CES booth.

Lenovo just revealed a new smartglasses concept design at CES 2026. The appropriately-named Lenovo AI Glasses Concept promises to transform "how users interact with their surroundings and unifies their workflow."They look like a standard pair of specs and not all that different from something like Meta's Ray-Ban Display glasses. A pair weighs just 45 grams and the battery lasts eight hours, which is just enough time to get through a standard workday.The glasses are wirelessly tethered to a smart device, which is what does most of the computational heavy lifting. They do include Lenovo and Motorola's proprietary AI platform called Qira, which delivers "sub-millisecond live translation and intelligent image recognition." There's also something called the Catch Me Up feature, which is an AI-generated recap of various notifications from various devices.The hardware allows for touch and voice control and includes teleprompter software. The concept glasses include speakers, as Lenovo is advertising music playback as a feature.We don't know when or if these smart glasses will ever hit store shelves. Lenovo tends to drop several intriguing concept designs each year at CES and not all of them make it to market.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/lenovo-just-revealed-a-concept-for-ai-powered-smartglasses-at-ces-010057822.html?src=rss

Lenovo has brought a slew of updates to its Legion and LOQ line of gaming laptops for CES 2026. The refreshed laptops are all built around Nvidia RTX 50-series GPUs.The new Legion 7a is both thinner and lighter than the previous generation and is aimed at gamers, creators, and working professionals. Lenovo says the new 7a will be powered by AMD Ryzen AI 400 CPUs and RTX 50-series GPUs, delivering up to 125W of total system power.Presumably this means buyers will choose from multiple CPU and GPU configurations, and Lenovo says the 7a will support up to a Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 and up to an RTX 5060 GPU, but precise details on other configurations have not been made available.The laptop sports a 16-inch OLED display and Lenovo says the laptop's "AI-optimized" performance is ready to handle complex coding, simulation, and 3D modeling projects. The 7a runs on Windows 11 Copilot+ and uses on-board software to dynamically tune power use and thermals depending on the workload the laptop is under. The Legion 7a will start at $2,000, with availability "expected" in April.Lenovo is also refreshing the Legion 5 line with the Legion 5i powered by the new Intel Core Ultra Series 3 and Legion 5a with a choice of an AMD Ryzen AI 400 or Ryzen 200. Both will offer RTX 50-series GPUs, OLED displays and the same software-based tuning features as the 7a. Lenovo says the 5i can be figured up to an Intel Ultra 9 386H with an RTX 5060 GPU, and the 5a up to a Ryzen AI 9 465 with RTX 5060. Here again we don't yet have details on alternate configurations.The Legion 5 laptops run on Windows 11 Copilot+, and Lenovo says they are ready for gaming, streaming, building presentations and video editing. Pricing starts at $1,550 for the 5i, $1,500 for the 5a with Ryzen AI 400 and $1,300 for the 5a with Ryzen 200. Lenovo also expects these laptops to be available in April.At the entry level, the LOQ 15AHP11 and LOQ 15IPH11 target students with RTX 50-series graphics and a WQXGA (2560 x 1600) LCD display up to 15.3 inches. The 15AHP11 will start from $1,150 with availability expected in April, while the 15IPH11 will not be sold in the US.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/lenovo-updates-its-legion-and-loq-gaming-laptops-for-ces-010042509.html?src=rss

After kicking off its Moto Things accessory line with wireless earbuds, a Bluetooth tracker and a cheap smartwatch in 2024, Motorola is doubling down. At CES 2026, the company is announcing a sequel to its tracker, the Moto Tag 2, a stylus for its new folding phone, the Moto Pen Ultra and a more premium smartwatch called the Moto Watch.The Moto Watch has a 47mm round face with a stainless steel crown and an aluminum frame. The smartwatch comes with a PANTONE "Volcanic Ash" silicone band, but is designed to support third-party 22mm bands, too, which greatly expands its customization options. Motorola says the watch can get up to 13 days of battery life normally or seven days with its always-on display enabled, and also features a built-in speaker and microphone for hands-free controls and audio notifications. The Moto Watch is meant to be fairly durable, as well, with Gorilla Glass 3 front glass and IP68 water and dust resistance.The actual fitness features of the watch are powered by Motorola's new partner Polar, a company with its own line of fitness trackers and smartwatches. The Moto Watch lets users log their calorie consumption throughout the day, track their workouts and activity levels (with a daily Activity Goal and Activity Score) and monitor their sleep. The watch also has built-in dual-frequency GPS for tracking runs, bike rides and hikes.A hand holding a Moto Pen Ultra writing on a Razr Fold.MotorolaWhile Samsung dropped S Pen stylus support on its latest version of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 (one of many ways the company got the foldable so thin), Motorola is embracing styluses on its new Razr Fold. The Moto Pen Ultra comes with a charging case and supports things like palm rejection and tilt sensitivity for more accurate strokes. The Moto Pen Ultra can also be used with Google's Circle to Search and new AI-powered software features like "Sketch to Image," which converts hand-drawn sketches into detailed images.A bike seat with a Moto Tag 2 attached to it.MotorolaThe Moto Tag 2 builds on the original Moto Tag with a longer battery life and better durability. The Moto Tag 2 is IP68-rated and now gets over 500 days of battery life in comparison to the original Tag's year-long battery. As before, the Bluetooth tracker connects to Google's Find Hub network and Motorola says the tracker's ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna and support for Bluetooth Channel Sounding can help users determine the exact distance they are from their tracked object. You can also press the button on the Moto Tag 2 to ring your phone if it's missing, or customize the Tag to act as a camera shutter button.Motorola hasn't shared pricing details for any of its new Moto Things accessories, though it has provided a release date for at least one. The Moto Watch will be available on January 22 from the company's website. The Moto Tag 2 and Moto Pen Ultra, meanwhile, will both be available in North America "in the coming months."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/motorola-expands-its-moto-things-lineup-with-a-new-bluetooth-tracker-stylus-and-smartwatch-010000669.html?src=rss

If the world didn't already have one too many digital assistants, Lenovo is adding another one to the pile. On Tuesday evening, the company announced Qira, a cross-device AI for both its own computers and Motorola smartphones. Set to arrive later this quarter, it will live at the system level of Lenovo devices. Users won't need to open or switch to the assistant. Instead, "it's always present," says Lenovo.Of course, you can ignore Qira, and it will stay quiet if you don't need the software to do anything for you. Occasionally, Lenovo says Qira will surface proactive suggestions, and for frequent users, the company promises a machine learning system that will develop a "living model" of your world, "understanding context, continuity and personal patterns of over time." In practice, that means Qira can write emails for you, transcribe and translate meetings and provide summaries of things you might have missed. You know, all the usual stuff every company is offering with their on-device assistants.From a privacy standpoint, Lenovo says Qira employs a hybrid architecture that "prioritizes" on-device processing, and won't collect customer data without the user's permission."Every aspect of the Lenovo Qira experience is designed to be secure, ethical, and accountable." I asked Lenovo how Qira would interact with Copilot and Gemini on the company's PCs and Motorola smartphones, and if the new assistant would add to the processing load on those devices, but the company has yet to respond to my email. I'll update this article when I hear back.On paper, creating a dedicated AI assistant for the company's devices is something I'm sure Lenovo executives agreed was a good idea, but when many people aren't even using Copilot, it feels like a misread of what Lenovo users want. In April, reporting from Newcomer suggested Copilot had flatlined at around 20 million weekly users in 2024. By contrast, over that same period, ChatGPT had grown to 400 million weekly users, and as of late 2025, there are 800 million people using OpenAI's chatbot every week.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/lenovo-and-motorola-are-releasing-their-own-on-device-ai-assistant-010000696.html?src=rss