Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics

LG just announced a new lineup of OLED TVs just days before CES 2024 kicks off in Las Vegas next week. The LG Signature OLED M4 and OLED G4 TVs are, surprise, packed with an updated AI processor that offers four times the performance of last year's models. The Alpha 11 AI processor works to enhance picture and audio quality, offering a 70 percent improvement of visual performance when gaming compared to its predecessor.The AI chip upscales objects and backgrounds to reduce blur and allegedly analyzes and adjusts colors to best convey the mood and emotional elements intended by filmmakers." LG also promises a more three-dimensional" image, thanks to its proprietary Dynamic Tone Mapping Pro technology that fine-tunes brightness and contrast on the fly. The AI chip also allows for virtual surround sound and even separates vocals from soundtracks to enhance the dialogue.The resolution remains 4K but the refresh rates have gotten a glow up. Last year's models capped out at 120Hz, but the M4 and G4 now offer a refresh rate of 144Hz. Obviously, high refresh rates are great for watching action-packed content and for gaming. To that end, each TV offers access to LG's webOS platform for viewing streaming content and playing games via the cloud.LGThe M4 ships with LG's proprietary Zero Connect Box that streams audio and video wirelessly, eliminating the need for connected cables. The tech provides real-time video and audio transmission up to 4K with a 120Hz refresh rate. This is for people absolutely committed to a clean living room aesthetic.Each of LG's new OLED TVs offers support for both NVIDIA G-Sync and AMD FreeSync, which is great for gamers. The panels also come with LG's Game Optimizer selection screen, allowing users to instantly switch between display presets designed for different gaming genres.Pricing and availability are both still up in the air. Maybe we'll get more information at CES 2024 next week. In addition to this reveal, LG also announced an absolutely massive 97-inch M3 OLED display and a 98-inch QNED model.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lg-reveals-new-oled-tvs-with-high-144hz-refresh-rates-ahead-of-ces-2024-164550931.html?src=rss

Roku is stepping into premium TV territory at CES 2024 with its new Pro Series sets, which feature Mini LED backlighting for better brightness and contrast, as well as enhanced audio. The company announced its first self-made TVs at CES last year - a surprising move, since it has also partnered with TCL and others for years to build "Roku TVs" powered by the Roku OS. Roku's first batch of TV sets, the Select and Plus models, were clearly value-oriented, with prices ranging from $149 to $999. The Pro Series - which includes 55-inch, 65-inch and 75-inch models - tops out at $1,500. We expect to see them in person in Las Vegas next week once CES kicks off.Calling these "high-end" TVs is relative, of course. You can easily spend thousands more for QLED sets from Samsung, Sony and LG, and the prices only get higher once you're looking at OLED TVs. Rather than gunning for the top of the heap, Roku still appears to be targeting value-oriented shoppers who would normally consider TCL's cheaper TVs. (Roku told us last year it wasn't planning to compete with partners like TCL, but that seems harder to believe now.)While Roku's earlier mid-range Plus TVs included some notable features, like QLED displays and support for Dolby Vision and Atmos, the Mini LED backlighting in the Pro Series TVs will be a noticeable upgrade. Most mid-range TVs feature a small amount of local dimming backlight zones, which can increase the brightness and contrast in specific areas of the screen. Mini LED backlights offer higher brightness, and since they're so small, they allow for hundreds (and potentially thousands) of dimming zones.At this point, Mini LEDs are the closest you'll get to the power of OLEDs - which can turn individual pixels on and off to achieve perfect blacks and extreme levels of contrast - on a standard LED screen.RokuOn top of a new family of TVs, Roku also announced that it will be tapping into AI and machine learning for its new Roku Smart Picture features, which can automatically adjust Roku TVs for specific types of content. The company says most consumers don't typically adjust their TV settings, which means they're likely stuck viewing content in sub-optimal ways. We won't see Smart Picture in action until Spring 2024, but it could potentially help to tone down motion smoothing during films and bump it up for sports, where you want footage to look more realistic. (And of course, image purists can always turn it off.)Roku says its new Pro Series TVs will arrive in the US in Spring 2024. The company will also expand retail availability for its Select and Plus series sets, but we don't have specifics on where they'll show up yet.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/roku-high-end-pro-series-tvs-feature-mini-led-screens-164354589.html?src=rss

If you're looking to buy a fitness tracker for the new year, a sale on Fitbit devices that kicked off earlier this week may be of interest. Chief among the discounts is the Fitbit Inspire 3, the top budget pick in our fitness tracker buying guide, down to $70 in multiple colors. That matches the lowest price we've tracked. Fitbit normally sells the device for $100, though we've seen it fall $80 at several points in the past year. The sale is available at multiple retailers, including Amazon, Walmart and Fitbit's online store.The Inspire 3 is an entry-level fitness band with a simple interface and no built-in GPS, so it's not ideal for dedicated runners or cyclists. (Instead, you'll need to bring your phone with you to map runs and bike rides.) For more casual users who just want a dedicated device to log their everyday activity, however, it should be enough. It's slim, light and easy to wear, and navigating its color OLED display is straightforward. Its step, sleep and heart rate tracking is relatively accurate, and it can detect various workouts automatically. Fitbit rates its battery life at 10 days per charge - you may not always reach that, but it'll last longer than most smartwatches either way. The design is also water-resistant up to 50 meters, so it'll be safe in the pool. And while there's no support for contactless payments or digital assistants, it can still display basic smartphone notifications.Fitbit's app remains an uncomplicated way to view all your metrics after a recent makeover, though it did lose some longtime social features last year. New users will also need to log in with an account from Fitbit's parent company Google. We wouldn't be surprised to see more Google-related tweaks going forward, but for now, the Inspire 3 is still a good buy at this price for those who only need the essentials.If you do have a little bit more to spend and want a Fitbit smartwatch, however, the Fitbit Versa 4 is also worth a look at $150. That one is bigger and gets less battery life but has built-in GPS and more of the smart features the Inspire 3 lacks. We've seen this price for much of the last few months, but it's only $10 above the best deal we've tracked.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/fitbits-inspire-3-fitness-tracker-drops-back-to-an-all-time-low-of-70-162153884.html?src=rss

After an Indiegogo campaign that amassed over $800,000 in funding, GE Appliances is bringing its indoor smoker to consumers nationwide in the US ahead of CES 2024. Originally dubbed the Arden as a project of GE Appliance's "maker space and micro factory" FirstBuild, the appliance is now known as the GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker. While the design has been updated to a degree, The basic idea remains the same: a larger countertop device that brings the ability to smoke foods inside the kitchen without setting off the fire alarm in your house or apartment.With an appliance the size of a compact mini fridge, the GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker uses so-called Active Smoke Filtration technology that employs a "catalyst system" to create wood smoke from pellets and combine it with an electric heating element. The airflow setup is designed to impart "maximum flavor" into a variety of foods while tight gaskets keep the smoke inside. GE Appliances says the unit is suitable for all skill levels thanks to five smoke presets. There are also six food-specific settings for popular smoked foods like brisket, ribs, pork butt, chicken wings, chicken breast and salmon. The company says the customization available on the smoker also allows users to prepare side dishes and desserts with the device.GE AppliancesWhat's more, there are some conveniences that outdoor smokers don't offer. A Smoke and Hold feature prepares foods and then keeps them at food-safe temperatures for up to 24 hours. GE Appliances says the smoker also uses a fraction of the wood pellets as outdoor grills, thanks in part to the additional heating element, and that a pellet capture system extinguishes used pellets in a water tank. Lastly, all of the racks and drip trays are dishwasher safe where those components are typically so large on outdoor smokers they need to be washed by hand.As the name implies, there's a connected aspect to the GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker. With GE Profile Connect+ app, you can adjust smoke levels and monitor the cooking process as the unit includes a food probe. The company says feature updates like guided recipes will be available in the future. This is an indoor device, but you don't have to sacrifice capacity. GE Appliances says there's enough room for three racks of baby back ribs, a brisket, up to 40 wings or a 14-pounds pork butt. Since most pork butts you'll find at grocery stores are around eight pounds or less, there's ample room for pulled pork.The GE Profile Smart Indoor Smoker will be available from retailers this month for $1,000. The unit will be on display at CES next week, so hopefully we'll get an early look and taste of what it can do. If you're already convinced, you can order one now.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ge-profile-smart-indoor-smoker-150044423.html?src=rss

Samsung threw a dart at the year's calendar and chose January 17. Yes, its next Unpacked event is coming earlier this year and will be held at the SAP Center in San Jose. The event, usually held in February, is typically when Samsung reveals its latest array of flagship smartphones. At this point we'll see the Galaxy S24 - unless the company shakes up the numbering - and I remember the S8!*This is all broadly unofficial, though. Samsung typically isn't explicit about what it'll reveal (unless it's bantering about foldables unfolding"). If you're feeling risky, the company has already started a pre-reserve" program where you can register your email address to pre-order... something Galaxy flavored.- Mat Smith*Yes, I know Samsung changed its naming nomenclature to S20 back in 2020, but let me have my fun.You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedSquare Enix plans 'aggressive' use of AI to create new forms of contentApple's AirPods Pro with USB-C are back down to $190 right nowA jarring Tekken 8 colorblind filter is concerning accessibility expertsThe best VPN service for 2024LG made a jukebox with a transparent OLED and vacuum tubesBecause it could.LGLG has teased another reveal for CES: its DukeBox by LG Labs. The audio device combines vacuum tube audio with a transparent OLED panel to control it. Vacuum tubes have been around since 1906, while transparent OLEDs appeared around 2015. Why not put them together? Functionality-wise, it's a smart speaker with glamor. LG appears to be pitching it at older rich men who stack their books so you can't see the spines. What a power move.Continue reading.Pornhub blocks Montana and North Carolina as their age verification laws take effectThe website says the states' ID requirement would put users' privacy at risk.Montana and North Carolina have been leading the list of US states with the highest number of searches for "VPN" over the past few days. Why's that? New age verification laws were enacted on January 1, and adult websites now either require a copy of visitors' government IDs or have blocked access in the regions altogether.Pornhub has decided to block users in both states from accessing its website, instead of asking for verification. The other websites owned by its parent company Aylo (formerly MindGeek), including Brazzers, Redtube and YouPorn, are also no longer accessible.Continue reading.Tesla says it delivered a record 1.8 million EVs in 2023China's BYD was close behind with sales of 1.6 million fully electric cars.Tesla has unveiled its EV delivery and production figures for 2023, and the company had another banner year. It produced 1.846 million EVs last year and delivered 1.809 million, besting 2022 deliveries by 38 percent. That said, Tesla originally projected it would sell 2 million vehicles in 2023, but revised that figure downward in its October 2023 earnings call. Its EV sales also benefited from several price drops over the last year, with the Model 3 and Model Y most recently dropping to $38,990 and $45,990, respectively.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-samsung-schedules-its-galaxy-s24-event-for-january-17-121624331.html?src=rss

Tesla has unveiled its EV delivery and production figures for 2023, and the company had another banner year - but it has Chinese rival BYD close behind. Elon Musk's company produced 1.846 million EVs last year and delivered 1.809 million, besting 2022 deliveries by a wide 38 percent. Those figures include 494,989 EVs produced last quarter and 484,507 delivered.Tesla's originally projected it would sell 2 million vehicles in 2023, but revised that figure downward in its October 2023 earnings call. It did exceed analyst expectations for Q4 2023, though, according to CNBC.Tesla built 476,777 Model 3 and Model Y EVs last quarter and delivered 461,538 of them. Those include sales of the refreshed "Highland" Model 3. While Elon Musk predicted last quarter that the Model Y would become "the bestselling car on Earth," the company didn't break down sales between its two most popular models. The company sold 18,212 "other models" consisting of Model S and Model X EVs. There are no sales figures yet for the Cybertruck.Tesla has battled some negative press with its EV lineup, particularly around its Autopilot system, which has seen regulatory scrutiny in the US and other countries. EV sales no doubt received a boost from several price drops over the last year as well, with the Model 3 and Model Y most recently dropping to $38,990 and $45,990, respectively. Tesla chalked up the price drops to "economic uncertainty, higher interest rates, and shifting consumer sentiment" in its October earnings call.One of Tesla's biggest markets is China, but the company is facing stiff competition there from another EV giant, BYD. That company announced sales of 3.02 million electrified vehicles in 2023, including 1.6 million were fully electric cars and 1.4 million hybrids. Most of BYD's EVs sell at significantly lower price points that Tesla's cars, however.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tesla-says-it-delivered-a-record-18-million-evs-in-2023-082906995.html?src=rss

In the US, Montana and North Carolina have been leading the list of states with the highest number of searches for "VPN" over the past few days. That's most likely because their new age verification laws have gone into effect on January 1, and adult websites are now either requiring a copy of visitors' government IDs or have blocked access in the regions altogether. As 404Media reports, Pornhub has chosen to block people in both states from accessing its website instead of asking for verification. The other websites owned by its parent company Aylo (formerly MindGeek), including Brazzers, Redtube and YouPorn, are also no longer accessible.If anybody in Montana and North Carolina tries to access an Aylo website, they'll see a video message from performer Cherie DeVille, explaining that giving a copy of their ID to adult platforms puts their children and their privacy at risk. "We believe that the best and most effective solution for protecting children and adults alike is to identify users by their device and allow access to age-restricted materials and websites based on that identification," DeVille added.That's the same video message users from other states with similar age verification laws see when they visit Pornhub. Montana and North Carolina are but the latest states to require adult platforms to verify visitors' ages: Louisiana started the trend in early 2023, and since then, Utah, Arkansas, Mississippi, Virginia and Texas have passed their own versions. In North Carolina's case, the rule was approved as part of legislation that requires high school students to take computer science classes.Other adult websites not owned by Aylo are using third-party providers to authenticate users' ages in lieu of blocking whole regions altogether. Pornhub uses Louisiana's digital driver's license wallet app to verify local users' identities, but not all states have ID apps that work with its system. The website told us that its traffic in Louisiana dropped by 80 percent when the state started enforcing its age verification law. That makes this new development another potential blow to Aylo after it was slapped with a $1.8 million fine in December for hosting and profiting from pornographic content that featured sex trafficking victims.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/pornhub-blocks-montana-and-north-carolina-as-their-age-verification-laws-take-effect-033830719.html?src=rss

Samsung's Unpacked event is coming early this year, so set your calendar for January 17 at 1PM ET. Typically, these events drop the first week of February, so this is an interesting switch-up, given the proximity to CES 2024. This will be an in-person event, at the SAP Center in San Jose, but will also be live streamed across Samsung's various channels, including YouTube.This is Samsung, so it's not advertising any details regarding this year's Unpacked. We do, however, have some ideas. It's highly likely the company will not only announce the arrival of the Galaxy S24 flagship smartphone series, but will open up pre-orders immediately following the event. To that end, the company has already started a pre-reserve" program in which you plop down your name and email address to pre-order, well, something.You won't know what you've pre-ordered until January 17. Thankfully, there's no commitment here and you even get a $50 credit toward whatever devices Samsung has got cooking up. The company made a similar offer last year, so it must have worked out.Speaking of last year, we got the Galaxy S23 line in all of its glory. The Galaxy S23 and S23+ were minor refreshes, so perhaps the S24 will up the ante a bit. In 2022, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S22 smartphone line. Are you seeing a pattern? Just like Apple tends to use September for new iPhone announcements, Samsung drops new Galaxy smartphones at Unpacked.That doesn't mean, however, that the presentation will just be Galaxy S24 smartphones. Samsung tends to also announce new laptop iterations at the first Unpacked each year, so we could get the Galaxy Book4 or something similar.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsungs-first-unpacked-event-of-2024-will-take-place-on-january-17-230040664.html?src=rss

Samsung has released some details regarding a trio of forthcoming Odyssey gaming monitors, just ahead of CES 2024. These are all OLED displays with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400. Each monitor also features the company's proprietary anti-glare technology that minimizes daylight and ambient light reflections.First up, there's the 49-inch Samsung Odyssey OLED G95SD curved ultra-wide monitor. The screen offers DQHD (5120x1440) resolution, a 0.03ms response time, a 240Hz refresh rate, a 32:9 aspect ratio and access to both Samsung's smart TV platform and the company's cloud-based Gaming Hub. The aesthetics are on point, with a slim form factor and a slightly smaller size than the mammoth Odyssey Ark.SamsungThe Odyssey G80SD is the first flat 32-inch OLED gaming monitor in Samsung's lineup. It features 4K UHD (3840x2160) resolution, a 16:9 aspect ratio, a 0.03ms response time and a snappy 240Hz refresh rate This ultra-thin monitor is made for cramped desks, with a width of just under four millimeters. The peak brightness is 450 nits and the monitor ships with CoreLighting+ technology for unique ambient lighting schemes.Samsung The relatively diminutive 27-inch OLED G60SD boasts a 360Hz refresh rate and a QHD (2560x1440) resolution. This monitor also ships with Samsung's CoreLighting+ tech, for ambient tomfoolery, and a slim, metal form factor. The display can be adjusted for comfort via tilt, pivot and swivel.There's no pricing yet, though that could come when CES 2024 actually starts next week. Samsung has promised that each will release sometime this year. For reference, the company announced a slew of Odyssey gaming monitors at CES 2023, and they were all out in the wild by the middle of the year.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-reveals-three-anti-glare-odyssey-oled-gaming-monitors-ahead-of-ces-2024-230028536.html?src=rss

If you've got some gift card money to spend after the holidays and are looking to grab a new pair of wireless earphones, here's a deal worth noting: Apple's AirPods Pro are back down to an all-time low of $189 at Amazon and Walmart. If stock runs dry there, other retailers like Target and Best Buy have them for a dollar more. This offer applies to latest version of the earphones, which comes with a USB-C charging case as standard. For reference, Apple normally sells the pair for $249, though it's almost always gone for less at third-party retailers since arriving last September.The second-gen AirPods Pro are the "best for iOS" pick in our guide to the best wireless earbuds, and we gave the Lightning-based model a score of 88 in our review back in September 2022. This USB-C model adds slightly improved dust resistance and lossless audio support with Apple's upcoming Vision Pro headset on top of the new charging port but is effectively identical otherwise. That means it still delivers pleasant and warm sound, effective active noise cancellation (ANC), a superb transparency mode, and a host of features that make life easier for Apple device owners, including faster pairing, hands-free Siri, virtual surround sound (which is personalized to your fit) and Find My tracking.A software update last fall added a few more helpful tricks, including an "Adaptive Audio" mode that automatically adjusts the ANC and transparency modes based on your surroundings and lowers the volume when you start a conversation.You really need to be an iPhone owner to get the most out of the this, though. Even then, the AirPods Pro's call quality and six-hour battery life are just OK, and its sound isn't as customizable as competing models. Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds offer better ANC, the Beats Fit Pro has a better fit for the gym and Sony's WF-1000XM5 is more well-rounded on the whole. Apple may also add ANC to its lower-cost AirPods at some point in 2024, according to a recent Bloomberg report (though new Pros aren't expected until 2025). And if you already own the Lightning-based Pros and just want the USB-C case, you can now buy the latter separately. All that said, at this price, the USB-C AirPods Pro remain a solid value for Apple diehards in search of a new pair of premium wireless earphones.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-airpods-pro-with-usb-c-are-back-down-to-190-right-now-153404826.html?src=rss

Generative AI provoked a lot of discussion last year around images, text and video, but it may soon affect the gaming industry as well. Square Enix said it plans to be "aggressively applying" AI and other cutting-edge tech in 2024 to "create new forms of content," according to president Takashi Kiryu's New Year's letter."Artificial intelligence (AI) and its potential implications had for some time largely been subjects of academic debate," he said. "However, the introduction of ChatGPT, which allows anyone to easily produce writing or translations or to engage in text-based dialogue, sparked the rapid spread of generative AIs. I believe that generative AI has the potential not only to reshape what we create, but also to fundamentally change the processes by which we create, including programming."The company will start by using it to improve productivity in development and assist in marketing. "In the longer term, we hope to leverage those technologies to create new forms of content for consumers, as we believe that technological innovation represents business opportunities," Kiryu added. Square Enix also plans to build more immersive AR and VR experiences, including "new forms of content that fuse the real world and virtual worlds."Kiryu name-checked ChatGPT, despite the fact that its creator OpenAI was recently sued by The New York Times for copyright infringement. In the gaming industry directly, companies including Valve have said they may restrict games that use AI on their platforms over similar concerns.Square Enix didn't specifically state that AI would be used to generate content in the form of characters, voices, environments or anything else, though. Rather, it appears to be more of a broad aspiration than anything specific. The company has made similar proclamations in the past about blockchain, NFTs and Web 3.0, but it only gave those scant mention in this year's letter.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/square-enix-plans-aggressive-use-of-ai-to-create-new-forms-of-content-141602313.html?src=rss

CES 2024 is just around the corner and tech companies are already providing sneak peeks of what we can expect to see on the ground in Las Vegas. LG is bringing a range of wonderful, weird gadgets to the showcase, including the just-announced DukeBox by LG Labs. The audio device marries old and new with vacuum tube audio working alongside transparent OLED panel technology.Vacuum tube audio has been around for over 100 years and is beloved for its ability to produce a warm sound quality that highlights each instrument - almost creating the sense that musicians are playing the music live. The DukeBox utilizes this technology alongside front-facing bottom speakers and 360-degree speakers on top. The vacuum pipes remain visible for an extra retro feel, though the OLED display's transparency is adjustable.The DukeBox is kind of like a smart speaker for people who want a more sleek, retro design. While it's reminiscent of old jukeboxes, this device isn't exclusive to music. It has the option to play content like movies or even create a "fireplace" with the tubes visible along the flames.The company claims its Labs zone at CES 2024 will be twice the size of last year's space. Other LG CES 2024 announcements include a two-legged AI-powered robot; laptops with AI features; and the CineBeam Qube, a 4K projector with 3,840 x 2,160 resolution images measuring up to 120 inches. The three-pound device also has image-mapping and a handle that could pass for a crank. Although LG has a CES 2024 press conference planned, the company has a pattern of announcing many of its products in the days and weeks leading up to CES.Neither the DukeBox or the CineBeam Qube currently have a release date or price. LG will likely release more information on these and other new products during CES. The showcase should also give us a chance to test out the products' quality for ourselves and provide some early hands-on impressions.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lgs-dukebox-puts-vacuum-tube-audio-behind-a-transparent-oled-display-125526158.html?src=rss

New Year's resolutions are usually set with the best intentions - I may have already failed at one of mine already - but the right tools (and resolutions, if I'm honest) can make achieving those goals easier.Naturally, with all the wearables and smartwatches around, there's a fitness theme to half of our guide, but smartwatches can help nudge you into better habits and even remind you to meditate, which is something I've set up on my Apple Watch this week.We've also got to-do list app recommendations, cable organizing advice (that is a weak-ass New Year resolution) and help on how to cultivate a new reading habit in 2024.What are your resolutions for the coming year? And what will you do (or buy) to achieve them?- Mat SmithYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedThe Morning After: The biggest tech stories of 2023The biggest winners in tech in 2023How to find and cancel your unused subscriptionsSome Vizio TV owners can claim a share of a $3 million settlementCES 2024: What we expect to see in Las Vegas this yearWireless TV, plug-and-play solar and next-gen headphones.The Engadget team is prepping itself for another tour (in military terms) of Las Vegas. CES is back again. Alongside the glory of huge TVs in every size, new autonomous car tech and weird robots that will never make it outside of tech trade shows, we've compiled a few predictions for all the tech companies and startups planning to attend. We've got next-gen headphones, new display technology and more.The show officially runs from January 9 to 12, though we'll be on the ground well before that. The first CES-related events will kick off on January 7, so get ready!Continue reading.LG is bringing a 4K projector with a weird handle to CES 2024The CineBeam Qube weighs just 3 pounds.LGLG's latest 4K projector looks a little like, well, I'll say it: an objet d'arte from TJ Maxx. I say that from a place of love: I'd love a projector that looks like this. I mean, it has a handle that looks like a crank! The style does betray the high-tech insides. The CineBeam Qube can blast 4K images that measure up to 120 inches, with an RGB laser light source, a 450,000:1 contrast ratio and 154 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut.Continue reading.Meta's Quest 2 headset is about to get even cheaperThe price has dropped permanently to $249 following the launch of the Quest 3.Meta is permanently cutting the price of its Quest 2 VR headset to $250 following the launch of the Quest 3, according to Meta's official Quest blog. The Quest 2 has been on sale at that price since Black Friday anyway, but a new official retail price might spell even better deals for the previous-gen model in the next few months.Continue reading.Take a look at this dreamy timelapse of MarsFrom NASA's Curiosity rover.NASANASA's robotic Mars explorers were given some time off, as a natural phenomenon would likely interfere with communications. Leading up to the pause, the Curiosity rover was put in park - but its Hazard-Avoidance Cameras (Hazcams) kept snapping away. By the end of the period, Curiosity recorded the passage of a Martian day over 12 hours from its stationary position, as the sun moved from dawn to dusk.Take a look.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-tech-to-help-you-stick-to-your-new-years-resolutions-121518467.html?src=rss

The developers of Tekken 8 are boosting the upcoming game's accessibility with color blind options, but some experts and users say some of the settings may cause more harm than good. One filter in particular that displays horizontal and vertical black and white lines appears to be causing headaches and vertigo, and may even "hospitalize players (or worse), in the same way as the infamous Pokemon episode," said gaming accessibility specialist Ian Hamilton in a post on X. (We have embedded a still from the game at the bottom of the article. Viewer discretion is advised.)The various filters were posted by X user @itwhiffed, who said "why is no one talking about the color blind accessibility of Tekken 8." His post thread shows multiple filters for red, green and blue blindness, with different strength settings for each. However, one set of filters also shows characters as vertical and horizontal lines, with different white or black backgrounds.

It's a new year and you're going to need fresh tools to accomplish all those goals for 2024. A new iPad is a great way to keep track of and produce lots of tasks, especially when touting a 22 percent discount. That's right, the 10th-generation Apple iPad 64GB model is back down to its Black Friday all-time low of $349, dropping from $449. The $100 savings is available in the Silver, Blue and Pink versions, with the Yellow model available for $399.Apple's 10th-gen iPad came on the scene at the end of 2022 with an entire new design - namely removing the home button, a 10.9-inch screen and moving Touch ID to the lock button. We gave it an 85 in our review thanks to those updates and additional features like an A14 Bionic chip. It's an upgrade from the 9th-generation's A13 model but still falls behind the M1 and M2 in the iPad Air and Pro.Notably, the 10th-gen iPad also introduced a landscape edge to its front-facing camera - the first instance of this across any model. This update is a big deal for anyone who uses their iPad to take video calls. The battery is solid as well, lasting 11 hours and 45 minutes while playing a movie from the iTunes store and nearly 10 hours when it (and an attached keyboard) were in work mode all day. Speaking of the keyboard, this model's Magic Keyboard Folio comes in two pieces and is an improvement from the 9th-gen's version. However, it's not very stable for lap use and retails for a steep $250 - though it's on sale right now for $219.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-10th-gen-ipad-falls-back-to-a-low-of-349-102057197.html?src=rss

Meta is permanently cutting the price of its Quest 2 VR headset to $250 following the launch of the Quest 3, according to a Quest Blog update spotted by TechCrunch. The Quest 2 has been on sale at that price since Black Friday anyway, but the new retail price might spell even better deals for the previous-gen model."We knew we could do even more to make VR more affordable and bring even more people into the community... that's why we're permanently lowering prices on Quest 2 and its accessories, effective January 1," the company wrote. To wit, the 128GB Quest 2 is now $250, while the 256GB model is $300. Meta is also dropping the prices for refurbished units to $230 and $270, respectively. Similar pricing can be found on Amazon.Quest 2 accessories are also carrying lower prices, with the Elite Strap with battery receiving the biggest drop from $120 to $90. The regular Elite Strap is now $50, the carrying case has dropped to $45, the Active Pack is now $60 and the Quest 2 Fit Pack falls from $50 to $40.The Quest 2 became one of the more popular VR headsets thanks to the low $300 launch price, but the buzz died down when Meta jacked the price to $400 in mid-2022. The $500 Quest 3 was a big step forward with improved screens and lenses, a more compact design, faster performance, mixed reality cameras and more.With hundreds of VR titles available - including Resident Evil 4, the new Roblox game and ever-popular Beat Saber - the Quest 2 is still a great entry into the world of VR, though. It's now even more attractive at that price, and we might see it drop even lower via sales over the next year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/metas-quest-2-headset-is-about-to-get-even-cheaper-090433083.html?src=rss

NVIDIA may have figured out a way to go around the US export restrictions on China, but apparently ASML, the Dutch firm behind the key chipmaking equipment, isn't having much say on this end. According to Bloomberg, Biden's administration reportedly reached out to ASML "weeks before" the January 1, 2024 export ban deadline, requesting the firm to halt some pre-scheduled shipments of its deep ultraviolet lithography (DUV) machines to its Chinese customers. This came after the revelation that SMIC used ASML tech to manufacture Huawei's latest flagship processor, the 7nm HiSilicon Kirin 9000S.In addition to DUV machines, ASML also manufactures extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines for making more advanced chips - with node processes of 5nm or less - for the likes of Apple and Qualcomm. While ASML was never allowed to sell EUV equipment to China, the Dutch government did grant licenses to the firm for shipping DUV machines to China until the end of 2023.Bloomberg reports that things changed when the US government - National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, specifically - allegedly contacted the Dutch government regarding some of ASML's final shipments to China, to which his team was asked to reach out to ASML directly. "Shipments of a limited number of machines" were affected.While China had been able to source lithography machines from elsewhere, they tended to be off less advanced methods. Not to mention the joint effort between the US, Japan and the Netherlands on limiting China's access to such equipment. That said, China had since been pushed to beef up its own silicon ecosystem, to the point where it surprised the world with its homegrown 7nm mobile 5G chip. It's no wonder the US was desperate to halt ASML's final DUV shipments to China, though doing so before the agreed deadline may be a questionable move.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/us-reportedly-halted-asmls-chipmaking-machine-shipments-to-china-weeks-before-ban-075407978.html?src=rss

A few weeks ago, NASA's robotic Mars explorers were given some time off from hard work while the agency waited out Mars solar conjunction, a natural phenomenon that could interfere with their communications. Leading up to the pause, the Curiosity rover was put in park - but its Hazard-Avoidance Cameras (Hazcams) kept snapping away. In a first for the rover, Curiosity recorded the passage of a Martian day over 12 hours from its stationary position, capturing its own shifting shadow on the landscape as the sun moves from dawn to dusk. It held onto the images until after the conjunction ended on November 25.NASA/JPL-CaltechCuriosity was given instructions to record the 12-hour sequences a few days before the conjunction began in mid-November, according to NASA. The idea was to see if it could catch any weather events that might crop up. That didn't end up happening, but the images Curiosity snapped on November 8 are still pretty enchanting. They've been pieced together in two videos showing the view from its front and rear Hazcams.Curiosity's Hazcams are normally used to help drivers avoid terrain that could be dangerous to the rover. But with the rover parked ahead of its pause in duties from November 11 to November 25, the cameras were freed up for a bit of sight-seeing. Curiosity recorded from its position at the base of Mars' Mount Sharp from 5:30AM to 5:30PM. It and the other Mars explorers have since resumed their normal activities.NASA/JPL-CaltechThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nasas-curiosity-rover-snapped-this-dreamy-timelapse-of-a-martian-day-175701537.html?src=rss

Vizio TVs' effective" refresh rates have been confusing customers for years, and the company may now owe payments to some buyers who were misled by the term. As spotted by The Verge, Vizio recently agreed to settle a class action lawsuit in California over what plaintiffs claim is false and misleading" advertising. While some Vizio TVs are marketed as having a 120Hz Effective Refresh Rate" or 240Hz Effective Refresh Rate," that describes a result achieved using motion clarity technology. Their actual, native refresh rate in most cases is 60Hz.Vizio has denied any wrongdoing on its part, but agreed to a $3 million settlement covering all Vizio TVs purchased in California that were advertised with the above descriptions, going back to April 30, 2014 and up until the final court judgment. The final approval hearing is right now set for June 20, 2024. People may be entitled to payments of up to $50, but claims must be in by March 30, 2024. The claim form can be found here. Vizio also agreed to stop marketing its TVs this way and to provide enhanced services and a limited one-year warranty to all Settlement Class Members."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/some-vizio-tv-owners-can-claim-a-share-of-a-3-million-settlement-over-misleading-marketing-220925933.html?src=rss

NASA's campaign to gather names for a sort of message in a bottle" that will fly with its upcoming Europa Clipper mission closes after this weekend, so if you were hoping to participate but haven't yet made your submission, you'd better hurry up and do so. The signatures will accompany a poem written for Europa by US Poet Laureate Ada Limon, which will be engraved in Limon's handwriting on a metal plate attached to the spacecraft. Europa, one of Jupiter's largest moons, is thought to have a deep saltwater ocean beneath its icy crust - and there, the conditions could be suitable for microbial life.To enter the Message in a Bottle campaign, you just need to go to NASA's website and fill out a short signup form. The deadline is tomorrow, December 31. So far, more than 2.4 million people have added their names. According to NASA, the names of everyone who participated will be stenciled in tiny, tiny letters onto microchips using an electron beam that can create lines of text smaller than 1/1000th the width of a human hair. These microchips will be affixed to the plate containing the poem.The Europa Clipper spacecraft is scheduled to launch in October 2024, and it'll be another six years from then before it reaches Jupiter's orbit. Once there, it'll investigate Europa's potential habitability through a series of close flybys. Europa is one of an estimated 95 moons circling Jupiter and among the longest known to humanity.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nows-the-last-chance-to-send-your-name-to-one-of-jupiters-moons-on-nasas-europa-clipper-181639628.html?src=rss

What do you do when the tech world mostly grinds to a halt at the end of December? You reheat your hot takes, force a narrative thread on a company's ups and downs and edit it all up for consumption.Yes, it's a little quiet at the end of the year (barring Apple Watch bans), but that won't stop TMA from finding something for me to talk to himself about. We're looking at a few of the major stories from the last 12 months and .. some other things where I just has to say my piece. And if not on a short YouTube video that's clipped, cropped and pushed into socials, then where? On X? Pschh.This week:How OpenAI's ChatGPT has changed the world in just a yearApple's switch to USB-C on the iPhone 15 brings more cable confusionMicrosoft officially owns Activision BlizzardAnd read this:I couldn't cover all the big things in tech in one tiny video. I'd recommend taking a look at all of the big tech wins in 2023 (and all the big losses), and it's definitely worth reading through our picks of the best games of the year.Like email more than video? Subscribe right here for daily reports, direct to your inbox.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-the-biggest-tech-stories-of-2023-140022006.html?src=rss

A few days ago, Microsoft released a standalone Android app for Microsoft Copilot, giving you a quick way to access the AI assistant. Turns out the iOS and iPad versions weren't far behind, because they're now available from Apple's App Store. Just like in Copilot on desktop and other AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, you can type in your question and wait for responses generated by artificial intelligence. In Copilot's case, you'll get responses spun by OpenAI's GPT-4, the company's latest large language model. The free version of ChatGPT, in comparison, is powered by the older ChatGPT-3.5, and you'll need to pay for ChatGPT Plus to get access to the newer model.In addition, Copilot on iOS has the capability to turn your words into images. That particular feature is powered by OpenAI's DALL-E 3 text-to-image AI system, which the company previously said is "significantly better" at being able to grasp the final product you want to achieve with the text prompt you type in. DALL-E 3 was also designed to be better at rendering the elements its predecessors were having trouble with, such as human hands.This is but the latest Copilot product Microsoft has released since it rebranded Bing Chat. The company also brought Copilot to Windows 10 and then to Windows 11, giving around a billion devices - based on the platforms' user numbers - access to the AI chatbot. With these mobile rollouts, Microsoft is expanding Copilot's reach even more, especially since the apps are free to use.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsofts-copilot-ai-chatbot-app-arrives-on-ios-112559129.html?src=rss

Firefly Green Fuels, a UK-based company, has developed a new form of jet fuel that is entirely fossil-free and made from human waste. The company worked with experts at Cranfield University to confirm that the fuel they developed had a 90 percent lower carbon footprint than what is used in aviation today, according to the BBC. Tests by independent regulators validated that what Firefly Green Fuels has developed is nearly identical to standard A1 jet fuel.In 2021, the company received a 2 million grant from the Department of Transport to continue developing its sustainable aviation fuel. Although it's not yet available commercially, the company says it is on track to bringing its fuel to the global market and it will have its first commercial plant operating within 5 years. The company has already inked a partnership with the budget airline Wizz Air - the name of the company and the source of its potential combustibles could scarcely be a more perfect pairing - to supply it with fuel starting in 2028.It currently sources its waste from water companies in the UK and takes the refined sewage through a process called hydrothermal liquefaction, which converts the liquid waste into a sludge or crude oil. Solid by-products can also be made into crop fertilizer. The company claims that the carbon intensity of the whole process - which measures how much carbon is needed to produce energy - is 7.97 grams of carbon dioxide per megajoule (gCO^2e/MJ). Comparatively, the ICCT says carbon intensity recorded for jet fuel ranges from 85 to 95 gCO^2e/MJ.Organic matter, as the company points out, takes millions of years to develop into the fossil fuels that power cars and planes. Firefly's solution makes it possible to generate fuel in a matter of days - and more importantly, human waste is a widely available resource. It's unclear if sustainable jet fuel will be more or less expensive than what is currently available. The company could not immediately be reached for comment. However, in a statement, the company's CEO James Hygate made mention that using human waste is a cheap and abundant feedstock [that] will never run out."The achievement of carbon neutrality in our airspaces has been a longtime goal for regulators and leaders in Europe and the US. While EVs have made headway in the car industry, it might be a while before we see battery powered commercial jets. So in the meantime, solutions for creating more environmentally-friendly jet fuel are welcome.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/from-toilets-to-the-sky-uk-startup-makes-waste-into-low-carbon-jet-fuel-194003678.html?src=rss

NVIDIA is set to release a low-powered version of the GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card specifically for the Chinese market to comply with US export rules, as reported by The Verge. The RTX 4090D already has a product page on the company's Chinese website and it boasts fewer CUDA cores than its similarly-named cousin. It also features a lower power draw of 425W instead of 450W.Most of the other specs remain the same between the two versions, but the fewer CUDA cores and decreased power draw force a five percent reduction in speed when gaming and using creative applications, according to Reuters. Even with the performance dip, NVIDIA still says the 4090D is a "quantum leap in performance, efficiency and artificial intelligence-driven graphics."This is all due to US export restrictions on high-end computer chips shipped to China and Russia, in an attempt to curb both nations from developing technology that could be used in applications like weapons making and surveillance. These rules were announced back in 2022 but officially put into place this year, leaving manufacturers like NVIDIA scrambling to find a solution that met the needs of both Chinese consumers and US regulators.We knew that the company was going to make new chips specifically for the massive Chinese market, as the restrictions prevented it from selling the original RTX 4090 and a bevy of AI-related GPUs. NVIDIA says the updated GPU has been designed to fully comply with US government export controls" and added that it extensively engaged with the US government" throughout development of the chip.The RTX 4090D will be available throughout China at some point in January, at a price of 12,999 or around $1,836 USD. This should help lessen demand for powerful graphics cards in the country, as the aforementioned restrictions have reportedly led to the repurposing of factories to focus on AI accelerators instead of the banned RTX 4090.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nvidia-nerfed-its-rtx-4090-graphics-card-for-chinese-buyers-thanks-to-us-export-rules-190621145.html?src=rss

Donald Trump's former fixer," Michael Cohen, used Google Bard to cite made-up legal cases that ended up in a federal court. The New York Times reported Friday that Cohen admitted in unsealed court papers that he passed on documents referencing bogus cases to his lawyer, who then relayed them to a federal judge. Cohen reportedly wrote in the sworn declaration he hadn't stayed on top of emerging trends (and related risks) in legal technology."Cohen's legal team filed the paperwork in a motion asking for an early end to court supervision from his 2018 campaign finance case, for which he served three years in prison. After Cohen's attorney, David M. Schwartz, presented the legal documents to the federal court, Judge Jesse M. Furman of the Federal District Court said he was having trouble finding the three decisions cited by Schwartz (via Cohen).Judge Furman told Schwartz that if he couldn't provide documentation of the cases, the attorney needed to provide a thorough explanation of how the motion came to cite cases that do not exist and what role, if any, Mr. Cohen played in drafting or reviewing the motion before it was filed." Schwartz must also explain why he shouldn't be sanctioned for citing nonexistent cases to the court." Cohen is a former lawyer who was disbarred after pleading guilty to multiple felonies.Enter Bard. Cohen said he didn't realize the AI bot was a generative text service that, like ChatGPT, could show citations and descriptions that looked real but actually were not." Cohen also blamed his lawyer, saying he didn't realize Schwartz would drop the cases into his submission wholesale without even confirming that they existed."Although lawyers using AI chatbots to cite hallucinated cases makes for easy comedy, this flub could have profound implications for a critical case with potential political ramifications. Cohen is expected to be the star witness in the Manhattan criminal case against Trump for allegedly falsifying business records. The Bard flub gives Trump's lawyers new ammunition to discredit the onetime fixer.Cohen joins the company of ChatGPT Lawyer Steven Schwartz, who cited made-up cases (sourced through OpenAI's chatbot) in a civil case earlier this year. He was allegedly joined by the attorney for Fugees rapper Pras Michel. In October, the artist accused his lawyer of using an AI program he may have had a financial stake in to produce his closing arguments.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/former-trump-fixer-michael-cohen-admits-using-google-bard-to-cite-bogus-court-cases-184125792.html?src=rss

This is the last weekly deal roundup we'll do this year, but unlike other end-of-year posts, we won't be looking back wistfully at the 2023 deals that once were - all that matters are the ones you can get right now. This week, we're seeing a few sale prices that are still live from Black Friday; snag those before they inevitably go back up. A few new discounts have popped up that actually beat lows from November's shopping holiday, including a Prime-only deal on Amazon's Echo Show 8, all-time lows on Anker charging accessories, and discounts on Apple AirTags and Tile Pro trackers. Until next year, these are the best tech deals that you can still get today.Anker charging accessories saleAs part of a larger Anker charging accessories sale at Amazon, the Anker 511 Nano 3 wall charger is down to $16 which is a 30 percent discount and close to an all-time low. It's our top pick for a 30-watt option in our fast charger buying guide. And if you want two USB-C ports instead of just one, you can get the 47W Nano 3 for $21, which is within a dollar of its best price so far. Other notable deals include our top pick for a 65 watt charger from the same guide, the Anker GaNPrime 65W, which is 37 percent off putting it at a new all-time low of $38.Amazon Echo Show 8The latest generation of Amazon's Echo Show 8 smart display is now 40 percent off, bringing it to a new all-time low of $90. That's about $15 cheaper than it sold for during Black Friday, but this deal is only for Prime members. The Echo 8 is our favorite Alexa display and Amazon debuted the third-generation of the device at a company event in September. We took time to appreciate the edge-to-edge front glass and new, more refined look - along with the new features. The most notable of the bunch is Adaptive Content, which knows how far you are from the device and displays different content accordingly, such as large format weather when you're across the room and personalized info like calendars and news when you step closer.Amazon EchoIf you have a Prime membership, you can use it to get the company's flagship smart speaker, the 4th generation Echo, for $50, which is half price and matches the lowest it's ever sold for, and comes in a full $10 less than it went for during Cyber Week. The latest Echo is our top pick for a smart speaker under $100 because it churns out a good amount of volume for its size and packs in all of Alexa's helpful smart home management and other skills.ZOIA EuroburoEmpress Effects is selling its two ZOIA modular synthesizers at a discount. The original ZOIA guitar effects pedal typically sells for $549, but is now 20 percent off and down to $439. The modular synth ZOIA Euroburo mini modular synth is 15 percent off, bringing it down to $607 instead of the $714 MSRP.We called the ZOIA "a complex and rewarding modular effects pedal" in our review and gave it a score of 86. While it's likely overkill for someone looking for a standard effects pedal, the ZOIA will give you almost limitless combinations of effects and modules, along with customization capabilities that other models can't match.The ZOIA Euroburo is pretty similar to the original ZOIA, but is instead configured into a Eurorack format which you could easily add to a larger modular synth setup. There's a powerful audio processor inside, plus 80 modules and 20 dedicated effects modules. These can be combined to create anything from basic reverbs to complicated microloopers or even full-fledged synthesizers.Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbudsWe named the Bose QuietComfort Ultra wireless earbuds our top pick for noise cancellation in our updated guide to the best earbuds. Right now Amazon, Walmart and Bose are selling them for $249 or $50 off, which is the sale price the buds hit for Black Friday. The standout feature is the active noise cancellation, but we also appreciated the sound quality bump from the new Immersive Audio tech, which we tested out in our full review.Hatch Restore 2The Hatch Restore 2 is seeing a rare discount at Amazon. It's down to $140 instead of the $200 list price. We recommend the device, which is a combination of a sunrise alarm clock and sleep-sounds speaker, in our guide to sleep gear. The design is attractive and the large, tactile buttons are easy to find and use in the dark or when you're groggy. Hatch offers a vast library of original content with bedtime stories, meditations, music and white noise to help you fall and stay asleep, and a big selection of wake-up pep talks and stretches to get you energized in the AM. Only catch is most of the content isn't free. You'll need to pay $5 per month for full access, the value of which we discuss in our review.iRobot Roomba 694The iRobot Roomba 694 is down to $160 directly from iRobot and at Amazon. That's within a dollar of its Black Friday price and $90 off the $275 list price, though it's been regularly on sale over the past few months. This is our top pick for a budget robot vacuum because it combines an easy-to-use app with good cleaning power. It doesn't have the smart obstacle avoidance or self-emptying features of pricier robot vacs, but at $160, you won't likely get a better deal on a reliable machine.Google Pixel TabletGoogle's Android tablet, the Pixel is still down to $399 - a $100 discount that matches what it sold for on Black Friday. It popped back up to full price after the sale, but then at Amazon and Target, it dropped back down in early December and hasn't gone back up. The version with 256GB of storage is also $100 off. The Google Pixel Tablet gets a mention in our guide to tablets. Though we don't think it's more compelling than the Samsung that nabs the top Android spot, it's a good pick for someone who wants a tablet that can handle casual browsing and streaming, but can also act as a smart home display. The included speaker and charging dock prop it up so you can use Google Home or manufacturer apps to control compatible smart lights, speakers, plugs and cameras.Blink security camera bundleA Blink sale at Amazon includes a number of security camera bundles, with discounts of up to 53 percent off. The company often sells bundles of its home security cameras at deep discounts and the combinations and sale percentages vary. Whether these are compelling deals or not depend on what you need for your home right now. If you're in the market for a Blink Mini camera to keep an eye on your home's interior, and would like to pair that up with the latest generation of Blink Outdoor camera, this bundle will save you $83 over buying the two separately and at full price. Both cameras offer 1080p video, two way audio and allow for local storage of clips with the included Sync Module 2.Apple AirTagA bundle of four Apple AirTags is currently on sale at Amazon for $79, which is a dollar less than it sold for on Black Friday. These Bluetooth trackers are our pick for iPhone users to keep tabs on your stuff. You'll need some sort of accessory to attach them to your stuff as the smooth round discs lack any sort of hole or attachment point. But AirTags tap into the largest finding network of any tracker, calling on the passive locating power of nearby iOS devices to find a lost tag in real time. It's not as loud, nor as quick with the left behind alerts as our overall top pick, the Chipolo One. A four-pack of those tags is currently $60.Tile Pro 1-packA single Tile Pro is down to $22 at Amazon, which is cheaper than it went for on Black Friday and matches the all-time low it hit for July's Prime day. We named it the best Bluetooth tracker for Android users, though it'll work with iPhones too. It's louder than an AirTag, and while the Tile finding network is nowhere near as vast as Apple's it worked well enough in our tests to get us to the approximate location of a misplaced item. The Pro model is also the only Tile with a replaceable battery.KitchenAid stand mixer attachmentsIf you took advantage of KitchenAid mixer sales over Cyber Week or were lucky enough to get one as a gift, you may want to look into snagging a few attachments to make your new kitchen appliance even more versatile. Right now a big assortment of attachments is on sale at Amazon. The pasta roller is down to $75 from $100, the spiralizer is $70 instead of $130, and the ice cream maker set is $70 as opposed to the $100 MSRP. The Classic series stand mixer itself is down to $240, which is about $10 more than it went for on Black Friday.Tribit Stormbox Micro 2The super portable Tribit StormBox Micro 2 puts out decent volume and right now it's down to $46 instead of the full-price $60 after you click the 5 percent coupon. That puts very close to its all-time low and even beats its Black Friday price last month. We named it one of the best small Bluetooth speakers you can buy in our guide to those devices. There's a strap in the back that works well on belts, backpacks - or even bike handlebars, so it's easy to take with you. And on-the-go is where this speaker performs best, as it's more about portable volume than pure fidelity.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/anker-chargers-are-up-to-30-percent-off-plus-the-rest-of-this-weeks-best-tech-deals-173037120.html?src=rss

A federal judge in California has shot down Elon Musk's attempt to invalidate a state social media law, first reported by The Verge. The state's AB 587 requires social companies to publish their content moderation policies, something Musk's X (formerly Twitter) claimed violated the First Amendment. US District Judge William Shubb wrote on Thursday, It does not appear that the requirement is unjustified or unduly burdensome within the context of First Amendment law."X's lawyers had argued the law was unconstitutional and would lead to censorship. AB 587 has both the purpose and likely effect of pressuring companies such as X Corp. to remove, demonetize, or deprioritize constitutionally-protected speech," the company wrote in its lawsuit, filed in September. The company claimed the law's true intent" was to pressure social media platforms to eliminate' certain constitutionally-protected content viewed by the State as problematic."Judge Shubb saw things differently. The reports required by AB 587 are purely factual," he wrote. The reporting requirement merely requires social media companies to identify their existing content moderation policies, if any, related to the specified categories."He continued, The required disclosures are also uncontroversial. The mere fact that the reports may be tied in some way to a controversial issue' does not make the reports themselves controversial."Shubb concluded that California's Attorney General Rob Bonta met the burden of demonstrating the law was reasonably related to a substantial government interest in requiring social media companies to be transparent about their content moderation policies and practices so that consumers can make informed decisions about where they consume and disseminate news and information."It's been a rocky year for X in Musk's first year of ownership. The company changed its name, hired a new CEO, launched a snarky AI chatbot, brought back a notorious conspiracy theorist and bled money as the ad industry got cold feet about brands sitting next to content from Nazi sympathizers. Oh, and the EU has opened formal infringement proceedings against the company formerly known as Twitter.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/federal-judge-rejects-xs-claim-that-californias-content-moderation-law-violates-free-speech-171713008.html?src=rss

The last few years have been, to put it mildly, rough. And 2023 continued to bring sad tidings. Amid the humanitarian crisis that is the Palestine-Israeli conflict, plus increased fears around the credibility and reliability of AI and Elon Musk's ongoing meltdown, tech's biggest players also suffered their fair share of losses. This year, we saw the demise of the E3 gaming convention, the deterioration of popular online forums and the decline of cryptocurrencies, Silicon Valley banks and financial institutions. Not to mention the poor neighbors of the Twitter office in San Francisco who had to endure obnoxious, potentially epilepsy-triggering lights flashing from the building. While we can happily say good riddance" to many of these things, it is with some sadness that we bid farewell and condolences to some of this year's worst developments.The X, Twitter and Elon Musk fiascoNo Losers in 2023" list is complete without mentioning the fiasco that is Elon Musk's Twitter (or X). Last year, shortly after Musk acquired Twitter, some of us were asked to make predictions about how Musk's new venture would fare. I felt that it was a high-risk, high-reward move that might work due to Musk's combination of luck and smarts, based mainly on his previous success heading up Tesla and SpaceX.However, I also said that Twitter might devolve into the most chaotic social media platform around, which is pretty much what happened. In hindsight, what I failed to account for was that unlike Tesla and SpaceX, Musk doesn't seem to give a crap about running X like a business and has treated the company more as an expensive toy meant to call attention to the sins (at least in his mind) of social media. And when you combine his increasingly unhinged personality with shortsighted decisions, what you get is an organization in turmoil. So while not all of these things occurred in 2023, here are just a few of the dumbest things that Musk and X have done in the last 18 months.A little over a year ago, Musk blew up Twitter's verification system, which promptly led to fake accounts sporting seemingly legit handles doing things like posting an image of Mario flipping the bird, the pope spreading conspiracy theories and more. Then earlier this year in June, Musk decided to block users who weren't logged in from seeing tweets, which caused Google and others to remove Twitter content from search results. That's not a very smart move for a company that relies heavily on traffic to generate ad revenue, so it wasn't a big surprise when Musk backtracked a week later.But perhaps Musk's biggest blunder was changing Twitter's name to X in July, a move so silly that most people continue to pretend like the rebranding never happened. Oh and let's not forget that the name change was commemorated with a sign that was mounted on the company's HQ in San Francisco that blinded its neighbors and didn't have proper permits, resulting in an installation that lasted barely more than a weekend. More recently, citing a rise in hate speech, major companies including Apple and Disney decided to pull ads from X, which later prompted Musk to tell Disney CEO Bob Iger to Go fuck yourself." Another clearly wise business move made by a very grounded individual. (That's sarcasm, in case it's not clear.)At this point, it's hard to imagine how much worse X can get, but given everything that's happened in 2023, it's plain that the company formerly known as Twitter hasn't even hit rock bottom yet. - Sam Rutherford, Senior reporterDavid Imel for EngadgetMicrosoft's Surface tabletNo offense to the Surface Laptop Studio 2, which is a mighty powerful and uniquely convertible laptop, but this year felt like a low point for Microsoft's iconic Surface tablets. The Surface Pro 9 hasn't been upgraded at all since last, so it's still running either an older 12th-gen Intel chip. There is a 5G-equipped model with a custom ARM-based Microsoft SQ3 chip, but we recommend staying far far away from that thing. And beyond the Laptop Studio 2, we only got the Surface Laptop Go 3 for consumers(the tiny Surface Go 4 tablet is now firmly targeted as business users, it doesn't even show up on the main Surface site).It almost seems like Microsoft's dream of creating a true tablet/laptop hybrid is dead - or at the very least, it's on pause as the company focuses on shoving its AI Copilot into all of its products. Let's face it: While the Surface business has earned a bit of money for Microsoft, it's a pittance compared to what the company sees from its Azure cloud revenue. Instead, the Surface devices proved that Microsoft could produce high-end Windows hardware that occasionally pushed the PC industry forward.It's been 11 years since Microsoft announced its first Surface devices, but it turns out most consumers didn't want to replace their laptops with tablets. Simpler 2-in-1 convertible devices, like HP's Spectre x360 16, are far less common these days (and notably, they also work best in their notebook modes). And it doesn't help that Windows 11 is still far from tablet friendly. If you really want to get work done on a slate, it simply makes more sense to get an iPad and a keyboard case instead.With Microsoft's Surface visionary, Panos Panay, now at Amazon, there doesn't seem to be much hope left for the company's tablet concept. But who knows, maybe the Surface Neo will finally make a return as a true foldable some day. (Remember the Surface Duo, another failure?) A Windows user can only dream. - Devindra Hardawar, Senior reporterAmazonAmazon's Halo hardware productsSpeaking of dreams, mine were dashed by Amazon in July this year when the company pulled support for its Halo line of health-related hardware products. In fact, my sleep itself might have been affected, since I had just gotten used to checking my Halo app each morning to see the amount of rest I got the night before.Amazon's Halo division has been plagued with controversy since it launched the screenless Halo wearable in 2020. The device was a barebones activity tracker, but stood out for an opt-in feature that used onboard mics to listen to you speaking and tell if you sound stressed, upbeat or emotional. This caught a lot of attention, with people saying this was akin to Amazon trying to police your way of speaking. Many other reviewers, myself included, were more critical of the fact that, though the Tone feature did flag times when wearers sounded happy or sad, it did not present enough information for that data to be useful.The Halo app also offered a way for you to use your phone's camera for a body composition scan. You'd have to enter your height and weight, before stripping down to your underwear and posing for four pictures, showing your front, back and sides. The app would then tell you how much of your body is fat or muscle.If it sounds dubious, it's probably because it is. Though Amazon said its Halo body fat measurement is as accurate as methods a doctor would use-and nearly twice as accurate as leading at-home smart scales." Spoiler: It wasn't. I used the Body feature every few months for about two years, comparing it to the bio-electrical impedance analysis (BIA) sensor on Samsung's Galaxy Watch when that became available. Over time, as my body composition changed, I also got BIA scans at the F45 gym I go to, which uses a more sophisticated machine. Amazon's scans were wildly off, while the Samsung watch came closer to the data gleaned from the machine at my gym.Photo by: Cherlynn Low / EngadgetAll that is to say that Amazon's Halo products haven't been great. But that seemed to start to change when the company launched the Halo Rise bedside sleep tracker this year. I loved it for the way it accurately detected when I fell asleep, calculated the different stages I was in (REM, Deep, Light etc) and more importantly how it did all that without requiring me to wear something to bed or install a new mattress. I finally had a feasible way to track my sleep and use that to figure out how hard or easy I should take each day's workout, along with other activities and stresses.Alas, that joy was short-lived. Despite Amazon acquiring healthcare companies and clearly investing more into becoming a pharmaceutical provider, it gave up on the Halo business this year. Maybe that's not such a bad thing, since one good product doesn't an entire profitable endeavor make. Amazon not having access to my sleep, heart rate, steps and tone is probably for the best, as we contemplate a future where the online shopping giant is also our doctor and pharmacist. - Cherlynn Low, Deputy editorE3For as long as I can remember, I've been reading and talking about games, but the internet expanded my horizons beyond the confines of the UK magazine industry. In the late 90s, at age 13, I started writing (very badly) for a popular game site, covering release dates, special editions and other unimportant things.Within a couple of years I'd lost interest in writing, but I still hung out in the same IRC channels talking about games with likeminded people. IRC started my obsession with E3 and the Tokyo Game Show; weeks where I'd talk about these huge events with a weird milieu of fans and industry professionals.In 2000, the fever around Metal Gear Solid 2's E3 debut was out of this world. The first-person reports from the show were unbelievably positive. When the trailer finally became available to download a few weeks later, it quickly spread across the internet. I can still remember the mix of frustration and excitement as I downloaded it from an IRC bot at 7KB a second to finally get a glimpse of next-gen" gaming.MGS2 was peak E3 for me, and in hindsight it was also the moment E3 began to die: Why did I need to read a 1,000-word breakdown of a trailer when I could just download and watch it myself? Why should Konami spend big money on a booth when it could just release a trailer directly to its potential customers?Back then, I was the only person I knew IRL who was extremely online." Now, everyone is. By the 2010s, when I started to attend E3 myself, the role of press and the show had shifted. Nintendo E3 Directs were in full swing, and the big shows from Sony, Microsoft, Bethesda, Ubisoft and EA were all beamed live to fans. Sure, I got to play some games and interview some developers, but that's something that happens throughout the year now.E3 remained one of the highlights of my calendar, and there were always some memorable moments - the PS4 and Xbox One reveals were probably the highlight of my in-person years - but by 2019, my excitement was more tied to seeing farflung colleagues and old industry friends than it was the event itself. When the pandemic canceled the 2020 event, it was obviously it would never recover. We'd written about how the industry didn't need E3 years before.Summer Game Fest will happen again next year. It will never hit the scale of the show it's replacing, but I hope that it becomes a strong enough brand to keep the idea of E3 going. There's still something exciting for fans, and journalists, about a week of gaming announcements to predict and dissect. If more companies spread their events throughout the year, that last bit of E3 magic will be gone. - Aaron Souppouris, Executive EditorCryptocurrencies and finance in techMuch as we pretend mathematics represents an immutable truth, we must remember it's not without its loopholes. Centuries from now, historians researching crypto may assume humanity forgot that as it decided to substitute math for truth in its entirety. That the prodigies of this world sought to engineer out human fallibility between League of Legends sessions. Uncertain, wooly and hard-to-quantify concepts like truth" and trust" would be tossed out in favor of the certainty of pure math. That's the PR line: The Bitcoin white paper describes the virtual currency as a system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust." It's ironic, then, that so many high-profile people who hitched their mast to crypto are either in prison, or are awaiting trial for fraud.Those same historians may wonder if crypto was merely a vehicle ripe for hijack by unethical types, or if its inherent fraudiness was written into its DNA. 2023 will offer plenty of material to scrub through given the number of figures who wound up face-to-face with law enforcement. Coinbase started the year accused of leaving gaps in its systems big enough to enable fraud, money laundering and drug dealing. Former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky was sued and later arrested - alongside the company's chief revenue officer, Roni Cohen-Pavon. Not long after, Terraform Labs was charged by the SEC for securities fraud after it wiped out $45 billion or so. Bear in mind, this is a year-in-review story, and I've only managed to make it as far as February.Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange by volume, dominated headlines this year much as FTX had in 2022. Regulators accused it, and its founder Changpeng CZ" Zhao of deliberately undermining its own controls and processes to not-so tacitly enable users to break the law. Zhou would plead guilty, step down as CEO and pay a hefty fine which enabled the company to keep running. Oh, and we should mention the Winklevoss Twins, their exchange and its partners, who were accused of defrauding investors to the tune of $1 billion. Ironic then, that Ferrari finally decided to try to appeal to the Lambo-and-Tendies demographic by opening up crypto purchases for its cars just as things started to get tough.Of course, the real loser in all of this has to be Michael Lewis who, with an MA in Economics and experience as a bond trader for Salomon Brothers in one hand, and a ringside seat with Sam Bankman-Fried in the other, managed to miss what was going on at FTX. Lewis has doubled down in support of his latest muse but now that SBF has been found guilty of fraud, it looks like his reputation as the most credible financial journalist of the age is in tatters. - Daniel Cooper, Senior reporterSTRF/STAR MAX/IPxRedditI've been a longtime Reddit lurker, occasional poster and always a first-party app user. But when the drama about the company's decision to start charging for API access started to unfold in April, my eyes were opened to the wonderful world of third-party Reddit clients. Too bad, though, that the company proceeded to then botch it all.Because API access was no longer free, many apps like Apollo, RIF, BaconReader and Narwhal had to reconsider their pricing or shut down altogether. Reddit's policy change didn't just challenge these apps, which mostly offered superior browsing experiences to the company's own. It also created problems for clients that were built for more accessible use, rendering them unusable unless their developers ponied up the fees, which could go up as much as tens of thousands of dollars (or, in Apollo's case, an estimated $20 million a year).While Reddit did eventually seem to concede that the API fees would shut out some users with disabilities and ended up working with some unnamed developers to give them free access, the company dug in its heels in the wake of public outrage and subreddit blackouts. In the second half of the year, subreddits all over the platform either stopped posting, changed their settings to private or NSFW or dedicated themselves to only putting up salacious images of Last Week Tonight host John Oliver.Reddit didn't just ignore the protests and carry on with its planned fees. It went as far as to forcibly take over some communities that went dark, while looking for volunteers to take over certain subreddits that it deemed to have violated its Moderator Code of Conduct.According to internet analytics company Similarweb in June, Reddit saw a 6.6 percent drop in average daily traffic. We don't have the latest statistics on how the company is doing now, but I can tell you from personal experience that the first-party app on iOS is a complete shitshow. Like many other Redditors have pointed out before, videos will autoplay unmuted out of nowhere for no reason, while I've encountered numerous infuriating bugs, including one where a video on a post was repeatedly going on and off mute while I was also trying to stream Spotify to a speaker. It just sucks.After the mass subreddit blackouts spawned a bunch of duplicate communities with different moderators, the quality of posts have noticeably fallen, as well. Not to mention the company got rid of trophies and then attempted to bring them back again in a confusing format. Throw in the fact that the community now seems to be a mix of karma-farming bots and commenters who copy and paste the same jokes over and over again, the days of enjoyable Reddit scrolling seem to have come to an end in 2023. - Cherlynn LowThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/techs-biggest-losers-in-2023-170017317.html?src=rss

LG just announced its latest 4K projector, the CineBeam Qube. It'll officially unveil the projector at CES 2024 in early January, but the company's giving curious consumers an early look. The CineBeam Qube has plenty of high-tech bells and whistles, but with a stylish design that LG calls minimalist." There's also a handle that resembles a crank.Yeah this thing has an actual handle. The CineBeam Qube is built for portability. It's lightweight, at around three pounds, and the square form factor makes it easy to place just about anywhere. The 360-degree rotatable handle also helps with placement. LG's calling it one of the smallest projectors available."LGOf course, the most important part of any projector is, well, the projection. The Qube projects 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160) resolution images that measure up to 120 inches. There's an RGB laser light source, a 450,000:1 contrast ratio and 154 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut. With these specs, that episode of Reacher will really pop.Speaking of streaming content, the projector runs on LG webOS 6.0 and offers access to all of the big streaming services, including Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix and YouTube. However, Prime Video is about to force ads on everyone, and nothing ruins a projector-based cinema party more than ads.This projector also includes the company's image-mapping function, which maps your space and displays an image on top of everything. This is for creating a unique ambiance, like blasting the room with an image of the night sky or the deep wilderness. It even includes LG's automatic brightness adjustment algorithm, which is found in many of the company's high-end projectors.The CineBeam Qube has no release date and there's no pricing information available. However, LG's making the projector a big part of its CES showing, so maybe we'll find out more in January.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lg-is-bringing-a-4k-projector-with-a-weird-handle-to-ces-2024-163420538.html?src=rss

Throughout 2023, it felt like the drama never let up. From Elon Musk's nonstop shenanigans to the constant launches in the generative AI race, the last twelve months was packed with news. Thankfully, it wasn't all bad, and this year saw more winners than before. There were clear frontrunners, like Threads and AI, but we also saw surprises like Apple's Vision Pro headset and the iPhone maker finally embracing several open standards. Of all the things that happened this year, here's the Engadget team's list of tech's biggest winners in 2023.ThreadsIf you had told me a year ago that Mark Zuckerberg would use the Elon Musk-induced chaos at Twitter to his and Meta's advantage, I wouldn't have been surprised. If, however, you had told me that Meta's slapdash effort to build a standalone Twitter clone based on Instagram would emerge as the most viable and popular alternative, I probably would have laughed.But, if 2023 taught us anything, it's that Elon Musk was more adept at taking Twitter X to lower lows than we could have possibly imagined. And while we'll likely never see an actual cage match between Zuck and Musk, it's impossible to ignore just how much Threads has benefitted from Musk's self-inflicted wounds.After an initial surge and drop-off in interest, Threads is back at 100 million monthly users. It was the fourth-most downloaded app of the year, according to Apple, despite a mid-year launch and months without any EU availability. The app is also beginning its long-awaited experiment with federation, which will eventually make its content interoperable with Mastodon.Threads has, of course, benefitted from Meta's vast engineering resources, as well as the company's willingness to engage in good old-fashioned growth-hacking. And there are still valid concerns about Meta's content moderation practices and the implications for allowing the Facebook owner to control yet another major social platform.But the fact that Threads was able to grow so quickly despite all that shows just how desperate people were for an alternative. Threads may not have been the most advanced or most interesting of the wave of alternatives, but it's been able to use its ties to Meta and Instagram to attract the most interest. And, right now, it has something X doesn't: a whole lot of momentum. - Karissa Bell, Senior reporterGenerative AIWe capped off 2022 with the rising popularity of ChatGPT, OpenAI's remarkably powerful generative AI chatbot. While the idea of having a conversation with a chatbot wasn't exactly new, ChatGPT leveraged a large language model (LLM) to achieve natural, almost human-like responses, as well as the ability to craft readable text or pull up information on demand. It was a sign that AI was going to be an important topic in 2023 - something Microsoft proved when it launched Bing's AI Chat in February, which was powered by OpenAI's next-generation GPT 4 model. And so the AI wars began.ScreenshotGoogle rushed to announce its Bard chatbot to pre-empt Microsoft's Bing Chat launch, but it demonstrated the limitations of generative AI when it confidently answered a question about the James Webb telescope incorrectly. That led to an immediate 8 percent drop in Google's stock, and it made the company seem like it was just chasing Microsoft's and OpenAI's accomplishments with Bing Chat and ChatGPT. (Bard was originally powered by Google's LaMDA LLM, which had been in development since 2021.)Bing Chat was just the start for Microsoft: It also launched AI integration in Microsoft Edge through a Copilot" sidebar, something that also ended up arriving in Microsoft 365 apps, Windows 11 and Windows 10. Google, meanwhile, announced Bard integration for its Assistant and implemented a slew of AI-powered features into Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Meet, Chat, Slides, as well as the new Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. Heading into 2024, we can look forward to Google's GPT 4 competitor, Gemini, and Microsoft also announced that its Copilots are getting upgraded with GPT-4.Outside of Microsoft and Google, AI ended up being the buzzword adopted by much of the tech world throughout 2023. (How quickly we forgot about Web 3.0, crypto and the metaverse.) But while the relentless hype cycle was inevitable, we also saw text-to-image generation tools like OpenAI's Dall-E 3 become even more powerful, evolving beyond the creepy multi-fingered imagery it was famous for. AI is starting to influence the the world outside of tech as well: It was one of the most prominent concerns for WGA members during their 148-day long strike, and many people were fooled by the famous image of the Pope wearing a puffy Balenciaga coat, which was generated by Midjourney.There's still plenty we don't know about how AI will influence our lives, though researchers like Timnit Gebru, founder of the Distributed AI Research Institute, and Margaret Mitchell are continually raising the alarm about ethical AI concerns. Much of the AI world seems to be following Facebook's former philosophy of move fast and break things" - expect to see more drama around artificial intelligence like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's surprise firing and re-hiring. It normally takes a few years for a founder to get ousted from their company, like Steve Jobs and Twitter's Jack Dorsey. Devindra Hardawar, Senior reporterPhoto by Cherlynn Low / EngadgetApple meets RCS, USB-C and Qi 2In 2023, it almost felt like hell froze over. Apple, notorious for its walled garden, not only introduced new phones with USB-C charging ports this year, but also announced it would support the RCS messaging standard. This happened after months of public badgering from Google (and its execs) and multiple reports calling out the green-bubble stigma. Apple appeared to relent, seemingly having come to terms with previous misgivings.Though Apple's declaration is a step in the right direction and brings better security and multimedia support for those on iPhones texting people on Androids, the bubble-color divide is far from dissolved. When the company does adopt the messaging standard, it may not change the way texts are presented. iMessage still has many features that RCS lacks, particularly those introduced in iOS 17 this year like Voice Memo transcripts and Check Ins.Of course, it's not like Apple is welcoming all these interoperable standards with open arms. Its adoption of USB-C is clearly a reaction to the EU's mandate that all new devices sold next year charge with the same standard. And even after announcing RCS support, the company still worked hard to plug the workarounds that enabled Android platforms like Beeper and Sunbird to bring some semblance of iMessage support to non-iOS devices.But when you consider all the changes made this year, plus the fact that iPhone 15s are among the first devices that work with the new Qi 2 wireless charging protocol, it's hard to ignore the momentum. It doesn't feel quite right to label Apple a winner because of all this, but with the number of people that are now better served and supported by the company's devices, it won't be surprising to see a fair amount of goodwill flow its way. - Cherlynn Low, Deputy editorPhoto by: Sam Rutherford / EngadgetFoldable phonesSince 2019, Samsung has had a virtual monopoly on big fancy foldable phones. But in 2023, we got not one but two new challengers in the Pixel Fold and OnePlus Open. And while neither can claim total superiority, they've brought some interesting innovations to the category.With its super thin design and wider front display, the Pixel Fold makes it easy to use all of your apps without ever needing to open the device. So when do unfold it, you appreciate its 6.7-inch flexible screen even more. And unlike its rivals, Google didn't cut corners with its cameras, as the Pixel Fold offers better image quality than pretty much any other handset (foldable or otherwise) aside from its recent sibling, the Pixel 8 Pro.Meanwhile with the Open, OnePlus created a clever card-based multitasking system that makes it super easy to flip between apps. The Open is also thinner and lighter than Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 5. And while it's still pretty expensive, thanks to a nifty deal that brings its price down to $1,500 with the trade-in of any phone, OnePlus' first foldable is helping lower the barrier to entry for devices even further.So in a year when the pace of Samsung's innovation felt like it was starting to stagnate, two new rivals brought increased competition to the category, which is a win for anyone who's ever thought about buying a big foldable phone. - Sam Rutherford, Senior reporterApple Vision ProApple didn't make the first MP3 player, and it certainly didn't make the first smartphone. But the iPod and iPhone managed to out-innovate existing products and reorient the entire technology world around their existence. The Vision Pro is a similar play, albeit one that isn't immediately meant for everyone. Companies like Oculus (now Meta) and HTC Vive have been pursuing consumer VR for almost a decade, but the Vision Pro takes an even bolder leap forward. Imagine having your apps floating above your desk, or having a video pinned to a wall of your room, or seamlessly reliving your memories captured in 3D spatial videos. And yes, it can also deliver immersive virtual experiences when it needs to.As is true for many VR solutions, it's hard to convey the magnitude of Apple's accomplishment with the Vision Pro in words, screenshots or promo trailers. If you're not terribly excited about spending $3,499 on Apple's unproven goggles, I can't blame you. But after spending some time with the Vision Pro during its launch event, I'm convinced it's something special. Its screens are far sharper than any VR headset I've seen, its onboard cameras deliver a better mixed reality experience and the simple gestures Apple has developed for navigating its interface are wonderfully intuitive.While the Vision Pro has its obvious issues - it's priced for developers and early adopters, not average consumers; it's still a chunky device that many people won't want to wear - it fundamentally reshapes the way we've been thinking of mixed reality. It's not just a gadget for VR games, nor is it something purely geared towards business purposes like the Hololens 2 and Magic Leap 2. It's something truly new, and it could end up paving the way towards our spatial computing future. - Devindra HardawarEngadgetGaming handheldsHandheld gaming PCs combine everything you love about classic portables like the Gameboy Advance or the PSP with big performance (and admittedly much larger builds) plus the freedom to play practically any title you can think of. And in 2023, we saw an explosion of compelling devices with a range of designs: from big chunky units with detachable controllers like Lenovo's Legion Go to a major revamp for the Steam Deck featuring a new OLED display. Meanwhile, systems like the ASUS ROG Ally offer top-notch specs in a sleek design. And this is before you mention smaller manufacturers like Ayaneo, GPD and others that have put their own twist on the category. But the best part is that most of these cost half the price of a typical gaming laptop, so if all you care about is being able to game from... well anywhere, 2023 has given us a wealth of options. - Sam RutherfordNeuralinkElon Musk's Neuralink brain-computer interface startup came into 2023 against the figurative ropes. The FDA had denied its 2022 petition to begin human trials of its implantable prosthetic over concerns that prototypes of the device had killed a slew of porcine test subjects; rival BCI maker Synchron had already beaten it to market (having having successfully installed their device in a human patient that July) and the USDA had launched an investigation into animal cruelty claims against the company. Musk's promise of beginning human trials within six months," made during a November show-and-tell' event appeared increasingly unlikely.Heading into 2024, Neuralink is in a much better place. The USDA conducted a "focused" inspection of the company's facilities but did not find any compliance breaches beyond a single issue in 2019 that Neuralink self-reported, per a report obtained by Reuters. That investigation came in response to a complaint filed by the Physicians Committee of Responsible Medicine, an animal welfare advocacy group, that alleged Neuralink and research partner UC Davis had caused the needless suffering and death of simian test subjects between 2017 and 2020. Neuralink may have placated that investigation, however, the USDA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) has since launched its own independent investigation at the behest of federal prosecutors into the allegations as such actions might violate the Animal Welfare Act. That process remains ongoing.In May, Neuralink received the best news of its year: the FDA had cleared the company to begin early-stage human trials, after it had satisfactorily address the agency's previous issues. "The agency's major safety concerns involved the device's lithium battery; the potential for the implant's tiny wires to migrate to other areas of the brain; and questions over whether and how the device can be removed without damaging brain tissue," current and former Neuralink employees told Reuters in March.In September, nearly a year after Musk's six-month promise, the Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface (PRIME if you really squint) study opened for subject volunteers. The study "aims to evaluate the safety of our implant (N1) and surgical robot (R1) and assess the initial functionality of our BCI for enabling people with paralysis to control external devices with their thoughts." Whether patients turn out to have the devices implanted won't be revealed until the trials are complete but given Musk's increasingly erratic behavior and irrational diatribes, embrace of antisemitism and promotion of far-right hate speech - the fact that he ran Twitter into the ground in barely a year - could make selling people on the finer points of their cranial surgery an impossible task. - Andrew Tarantola, Senior reporterThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-biggest-winners-in-tech-in-2023-143012912.html?src=rss

Google's Chrome has long featured the ability to launch the browser in Incognito mode, offering a seemingly blank slate for your internet browsing, away from your usual cookies, forms and web history. But that seemingly didn't mean Google wasn't keeping an eye on where you were browsing.The company faced a lawsuit in 2020 that accused it of tracking Chrome users' activities even when they were using Incognito mode. Google has now agreed to settle the complaint that originally sought $5 billion in damages, after failing to get the suit dismissed.The plaintiffs said Google used tools like its Analytics product, apps and browser plug-ins to monitor users. By tracking someone on Incognito, the company was falsely making people believe that they could control the information that they were willing to share with it.The lawsuit's plaintiffs revealed internal emails that allegedly showed conversations between Google execs proving that the company monitored Incognito browser usage to sell ads and track web traffic. Which does sound like a thing Google would do. According to Reuters and The Washington Post, neither side has made the details of the settlement public.- Mat SmithYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedThis is the future of generative AI, according to generative AIApple reportedly faces pressure in India after sending out warnings of state-sponsored hackingRussia will assist NASA with ISS space flights through 2025The best PS5 accessories for 2024Xiaomi says its EV can outperform Porsche and has more tech than TeslaIt tapped former BMW and Mercedes designers.XiaomiXiaomi, best known for its smartphones, smart home peripherals, and many other things, has made an EV. Unveiled at a Beijing event yesterday, the Xiaomi SU7 - pronounced "soo-chee" in Chinese - is a sedan that will come in two flavors: the dual-motor all-wheel-drive SU7 Max, and the single-motor rear-wheel-drive SU7.Xiaomi claims the SU7 Max has a range of up to 800km and a 0-100km/h acceleration of just 2.78s, both of which apparently beat Tesla's Model S and Porsche's Taycan Turbo. There's also a lot of tech splashed around, with a dedicated in-car entertainment system, ports for your (Xiaomi, of course) tablets and headlamps designed to look like the chinese character for rice - also the mi' in Xiaomi. We've chewed over all the details below.Continue reading.Apple is selling its contested Watch models againBoth the Series 9 or Ultra 2 are available again from the company's website.The Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 are back on sale, after a federal appeals court in Washington D.C. granted a temporary pause on an import and sales ban. However, Apple's wearables aren't out of the woods just yet: the ban could be reinstated on January 10, when the International Trade Commission (ITC) decides on whether to grant Apple a longer pause.The ban could also return on January 13, when the same agency makes a decision regarding Apple's redesign of both smartwatches. The original ban lasted a little more than a day.Continue reading.Look at LG's two-legged robotIt'll feature AI-powered skills and face recognition.LGYes, CES is in a couple of weeks. Why do you ask?Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-google-will-settle-5-billion-lawsuit-over-tracking-incognito-chrome-users-121651324.html?src=rss

LG is trying to one-up its rival Samsung with the launch of the MyView 32-inch 4K monitors with built-in smart TV features. On top of performing regular monitor chores for productivity, content creation and light gaming, they have LG's webOS 23 built-in so that you can stream Netflix and other services - much like Samsung's M8 smart monitors.The three monitors (the 32SR85U, 32SR83U and 32SR70U) have similar specs with minor differences. All come with 31.5-inch 16:9 4K (3,840 x 2,160) IPS displays, 95 percent DCI-P3 coverage and HDR10 support. You also get webOS 23 on all models, with streaming services (Netflix, Disney+ etc.) along with productivity programs including Microsoft 365 and Google Calendar. They also support AirPlay 2 and Miracast for wireless screen mirroring, and have WiFi and Bluetooth built-in.However, the lower-end 32SR70U offers only 350 nits of brightness compared to 400 nits on the other models. And while all three have USB Type-C PD charging, the 32SR85U supports 90W, the 32SR83U supports 65W and the 32SR70U supports just 45 watts. The higher-end 85U and 83U screens also have slim bezels and an adjustable stand, while the 70U has a "low-profile base" that's likely fixed.LGThe 32SR85U can be paired with a "detachable 1080p webcam" for video conferencing, but you have to buy one separately for the other two. Other features include 5W stereo speakers, a voice assistant, two HDMI 2.0 ports and a remote controller.The 95 percent DCI-P3 coverage is impressive, and even though 400/350 nits isn't very bright for HDR content, it's fine given that monitors tend to be just a couple of feet from your eyeballs. In addition, the 60Hz refresh rate won't allow for any high-end gaming.The MyView monitors beg a comparison with Samsung's M8 series, of course. LG is subtly digging its rival by saying they "raise the bar for picture quality in the smart monitor category," and that seems largely true. The IPS displays should offer better viewing angles than the VA panels on Samsung's monitors, along with much better color accuracy (Samsung boasts only 99 percent SRGB coverage).Otherwise, they offer many of the same features, so attractiveness to buyers will depend a lot on the price. LG has yet to announce US pricing, but the 32SR83U will be 699,000 won (around $538) in Korea. Samsung's M8, meanwhile, is often on sale for as little as $400.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lgs-new-myview-4k-monitors-have-webos-smart-features-baked-in-094035996.html?src=rss

In 2020, Google was hit with a lawsuit that accused it of tracking Chrome users' activities even when they were using Incognito mode. Now, after a failed attempt to get it dismissed, the company has agreed to settle the complaint that originally sought $5 billion in damages. According to Reuters and The Washington Post, neither side has made the details of the settlement public, but they've already agreed to the terms that they're presenting to the court for approval in February.When the plaintiffs filed the lawsuit, they said Google used tools like its Analytics product, apps and browser plug-ins to monitor users. They reasoned that by tracking someone on Incognito, the company was falsely making people believe that they could control the information that they were willing to share with it. At the time, a Google spokesperson said that while Incognito mode doesn't save a user's activity on their device, websites could still collect their information during the session.The lawsuit's plaintiffs presented internal emails that allegedly showed conversations between Google execs proving that the company monitored Incognito browser usage to sell ads and track web traffic. Their complaint accused Google of violating federal wire-tapping and California privacy laws and was asking up to $5,000 per affected user. They claimed that millions of people who'd been using Incognito since 2016 had likely been affected, which explains the massive damages they were seeking from the company. Google has likely agreed to settle for an amount lower than $5 billion, but it has yet to reveal details about the agreement and has yet to get back to Engadget with an official statement.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-agrees-to-settle-5-billion-lawsuit-accusing-it-of-tracking-incognito-users-042435935.html?src=rss

The Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 wearables are back on sale via the manufacturer. We knew this was coming yesterday, after a federal appeals court in Washington D.C. granted a temporary pause on an import and sales ban. The ban could be reinstated on January 10, when the International Trade Commission (ITC) decides on whether to grant Apple a longer pause.It could also come back on January 13, which is when the same agency makes a decision regarding Apple's redesign of both smartwatches. All told, the ban lasted little more than a day and really only impacted consumers purchasing directly from Apple, as the devices were readily available from third-party retailers.Apple told Engadget it's pleased the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has stayed the exclusion order while it considers our request to stay the order pending our full appeal." At the heart of the issue is a lawsuit issued by medical technology company Masimo, which alleges that the blood oxygen sensors used in newer Apple Watch devices violate two patents. The company also accused Apple of stealing trade secrets and poaching employees.The ITC agreed with Masimo, which led to Apple scrambling to offer a software fix. However, it was ruled that this was a hardware issue relating to the actual sensor, leading Apple back to the drawing board. It's expected to reveal a redesigned blood oxygen sensor by January 13. The budget-friendly Apple Watch SE was never part of this discussion, as it doesn't have a blood oxygen sensor.Apple has long held that the ban would cause irreparable harm" to the company. To that end, the Watch side of Apple's business generates around $17 billion a year, according to Bloomberg. We'll keep you updated as this case moves forward. In the meantime, snap up the well-reviewed Apple Watch Series 9 while you still can.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-is-selling-its-contested-watch-models-again-after-import-ban-pause-193824245.html?src=rss

LG is going to start selling a compact bipedal robot that can roll around your house freely. The AI-powered robot, which will debut at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, has a wide range of capabilities - from notifying you that you left the AC on while you're away to watching your pet while you're at work. Like stationary smart home aids, like Alexa or Apple HomePod, LG's robot can also tell you the weather and remind you to take your medications on time.The robot is powered by Qualcomm's Robotics RB5 Platform, which entails a mix of hardware and software that run the bot's AI program. Some of these include its ability to recognize faces and voices, process the emotions of those around it and engage in conversation. LG says the bot will be able to greet you at your door, analyze your emotions and play music to either boost your good mood or lull you to sleep. It can even emote" by changing its posture thanks to its articulated leg joints. Although it's a cute feature, it might not have any practical use beyond making it approachable.The robot is also equipped with a camera in its face, a speaker and various sensors throughout that give it the ability to navigate, speak and listen. It can also measure indoor air quality and temperature, however, it's unclear if it can actually be linked to a smart home system and control your thermostat. LG has not yet responded to comment on this and said the price of the robot will be announced at a later time.Because the bot can move around freely, you can program it to look after your pets while you're gone and send your smartphone notifications if any unusual activity is detected." Using the same monitoring tools, the bot can act as a mobile security guard" and send you notifications if there is movement in the house while you're away. Or more likely, just let you know you left the kitchen lights on.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lg-developed-a-two-legged-ai-powered-robot-that-can-watch-your-pets-for-you-192034931.html?src=rss

LG just announced new entries in its gram series of laptops as part of an early CES 2024 reveal. These include two new LG Gram Pro laptops and standard refreshes of the pre-existing gram line.The LG Gram Pro boasts impressive specs, with an Intel Core Ultra processor and a GeForce RTX 3050 GPU. These computers also ship with Intel's AI Boost technology. LG says this upgrade allows the laptop to handle AI workloads even without a network connection."This AI tomfoolery also extends to the company's proprietary Link app, which now automatically shares files and photos between devices. Finally, this is the first gram laptop to feature a dual-fan cooling system. AI tools are notoriously power-hungry and this will help stave off excess heat. You can choose between 16-inch and 17-inch models here.LGThe LG Gram Pro 2-in-1 offers similar specs to the standard Pro, but with a convertible form factor and a one-size-fits-all 16-inch OLED display. There's a touchscreen, a 360-degree adjustable hinge and a super-slim bezel design." This hybrid laptop comes with Intel's AI Boost tech and LG's Link app. It's also lightweight, at around three pounds, with the company boasting that it recently won the Guiness World Record for lightest 16-inch 2-in-1 laptop." Geeze. These records sure are getting highly specific.The standard LG Gram line's also getting a nice refresh, with new iterations of gram 17, 16, 15 and 14 models. Each of these comes with Intel Core Ultra processors and IPS panels with anti-glare coating. The 17 and 16 models boast WQXGA resolution displays, while the smaller SKUs get FHD or WUXGA resolution displays. These laptops are intended for regular business and school use, so they come with FHD webcams and a variety of user-friendly software." They also boast the same Mirametrix privacy tech as previous generations.If you find yourself in Las Vegas in two weeks, all of these laptops will be on display as part of LG's presence at CES 2024. The company hasn't announced pricing or availability yet, but has stated that each will show up on store shelves at some point during 2024.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lgs-latest-gram-laptops-are-predictably-stuffed-with-ai-features-163910204.html?src=rss

As part of our year-end story package, we tasked ChatGPT with writing a guest post about the future of generative AI. The prompt asked for a 1,200 word article (a number it undercut by quite a margin) that explored both the potential negative and positive outcomes of the technology. We then asked it to include real world examples, which is apparently beyond its capabilities. We also asked it to include a section on the recent Sam Altman debacle which, as you will soon read, was also not a topic it was particularly capable at describing. Below is the unedited output with light changes for formatting.Navigating the future of Generative AI: Balancing exciting possibilities and potential pitfallsGenerative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a powerful force, reshaping the technological landscape with its ability to create content autonomously. From language models like GPT-3 to image-generating algorithms, generative AI holds immense promise for the future. However, this promising future is not without its challenges. In this article, we will explore the potential negative outcomes and the most exciting possibilities of generative AI, aiming to strike a balance between optimism and caution. Additionally, we'll address the recent leadership shift involving Sam Altman at OpenAI, shedding light on the ethical considerations associated with AI development.Sam Altman's Leadership Shift: Lessons in ethical AIIn recent months, the AI community witnessed a significant leadership shift at OpenAI involving Sam Altman. The CEO, known for his influential role in steering OpenAI's initiatives, faced a period of controversy surrounding his firing and subsequent re-hiring. This incident underscored the challenges associated with ethical considerations in AI development and management.Addressing ethical concerns: Sam Altman's leadership shift prompted a reevaluation of ethical considerations in AI development and organizational decision-making. The incident raised questions about transparency, accountability, and the need for robust ethical frameworks to guide the development and deployment of AI technologies.Transparency and accountability: The leadership transition emphasized the importance of transparency in organizational decision-making, especially in contexts where AI technologies with widespread implications are involved. It highlighted the necessity of holding leaders and organizations accountable for their actions and ensuring that ethical guidelines are followed.Community involvement: The controversy surrounding Sam Altman's leadership shift also brought to light the significance of involving the wider community in decisions related to AI development. The call for more inclusive decision-making processes gained momentum, reinforcing the idea that diverse perspectives are crucial in navigating the ethical challenges associated with AI technologies.Photoshop (AI prompt: "The future of generative AI in manga style")The potential negative outcomesEthical concerns and biasOne of the primary concerns with generative AI lies in its susceptibility to biases present in training data. If the data used to train these models reflects societal biases, the AI may inadvertently perpetuate and amplify those biases in its generated content. Addressing this issue is crucial to prevent AI systems from unintentionally reinforcing and spreading harmful stereotypes.Security threats and DeepfakesThe ability of generative AI to produce highly realistic and convincing content raises serious security concerns. Deepfakes, for instance, are AI-generated images or videos that manipulate and superimpose content onto real footage. This technology can be exploited for malicious purposes, such as creating fake news, impersonating individuals, or spreading misinformation. As generative AI becomes more sophisticated, the challenge of distinguishing between real and fake content becomes increasingly difficult.Privacy invasionThe advancements in generative AI also raise concerns about privacy invasion. The ability to generate realistic images and videos of individuals who never participated in such content creation poses a risk to personal privacy. Protecting individuals from the unauthorized use of their likeness in AI-generated content will be a pressing issue in the coming years.Unemployment and Economic DisruptionThe automation capabilities of generative AI may lead to workforce displacement in certain industries. Jobs that involve routine and repetitive tasks, such as content creation, could be at risk. Striking a balance between technological advancement and societal well-being will be a challenge to ensure that AI complements human labor rather than replaces it.Moral and Ethical DilemmasAs AI systems become more proficient in generating content that mimics human creativity, ethical questions arise. For instance, who owns the rights to AI-generated art or literature? Determining the legal and moral implications of creations produced by non-human entities challenges our conventional understanding of authorship and intellectual property.Photoshop (AI prompt: "futuristic AI utopia")The Most Exciting PossibilitiesEnhanced Creativity and ProductivityGenerative AI has the potential to amplify human creativity and productivity by automating mundane tasks, allowing individuals to focus on more complex and strategic aspects of their work. In fields like content creation, design, and marketing, AI can assist and inspire, leading to a surge in innovation and efficiency.Revolutionizing HealthcareThe future of generative AI promises breakthroughs in healthcare, from drug discovery to personalized medicine. AI models can analyze vast datasets, identify patterns, and propose novel solutions, significantly accelerating the pace of medical research and improving patient outcomes.Customized User ExperiencesAs generative AI continues to evolve, it can provide highly personalized and tailored experiences for users. From adaptive learning platforms to content recommendations, AI systems can understand individual preferences and behaviors, offering a more seamless and engaging user experience.Human-AI CollaborationInstead of replacing human roles, generative AI is likely to enhance collaboration between humans and machines. AI tools can serve as creative partners, aiding professionals in various fields to achieve outcomes that wouldn't be possible with traditional methods alone. This collaborative approach can lead to unprecedented levels of innovation.Innovations in Art and EntertainmentGenerative AI is already making waves in the art world, creating unique pieces that challenge traditional notions of creativity. In the entertainment industry, AI-driven content creation can open new avenues for storytelling, virtual worlds, and interactive experiences, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in these fields.ConclusionThe future of generative AI is a double-edged sword, offering both exciting possibilities and potential pitfalls. As we navigate this technological landscape, it is crucial to acknowledge and address the ethical concerns and negative outcomes associated with generative AI. Striking a balance between innovation and responsible development is imperative to harness the full potential of AI while mitigating its risks.By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, implementing ethical guidelines, and investing in research to address biases and security threats, we can pave the way for a future where generative AI enhances human creativity, productivity, and well-being. The recent leadership shift involving Sam Altman serves as a reminder of the importance of ethical considerations in AI development, urging the industry to learn from past mistakes and collectively shape a future where AI benefits humanity responsibly.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/this-is-the-future-of-generative-ai-according-to-generative-ai-160010937.html?src=rss

We're just over a year since it burst onto the scene and OpenAI's ChatGPT program is somehow even more everywhere than it was in February. Our capability to regulate generative AI and mitigate its myriad real-world harms, on the other hand, continues to lag far behind the technology's state-of-the-art. That makes 2024 a potentially pivotal year for generative AI in particular and machine learning in genera. ill AI continue to prove itself a fundamental revolution in human-computer communication, on par with the introduction of the mouse in 1963?, Or are we instead heading down yet another overhyped technological dead-end like 3D televisions? Let's take a look at how OpenAI and its chatbot have impacted consumer electronics in 2023 and where they might lead the industry in the new year.OpenAI had a great year, all things consideredMeteoric" doesn't do justice to OpenAI's rise this year. The company released ChatGPT on November 30, 2022. Within five days, the program had passed 1 million users; by January, 100 million people a month were logging on to use it. It took Facebook four and a half years to reach those sorts of engagement numbers. ChatGPT outpaced the launches of both TikTok and Instagram to become the most quickly adopted program in the history of the internet in 2023. Heading into 2024, OpenAI (with billions in financial backing from Microsoft) stands at the forefront of the generative AI industry - whether the company can stay there, while billions more are being poured into its rivals' R&D coffers, remains to be seen.The company's sudden success this year also launched its CEO Sam Altman into the media spotlight, with the 38-year-old former head of Y-Combinator basking in much of the praise formerly heaped upon Elon Musk. For a while, Altman was everywhere, repeatedly making appearances before Congressional committees and attending the Senate's AI Safety Summits. He also conducted a 16-city world tour to Israel, India, Japan, Nigeria, South Korea, across Europe and to the UAE to help promote ChatGPT to developers and policy makers.

LG is best known for its OLED range when it comes to TVs, but it's expanding its 2024 QNED-branded LCD lineup as well. For CES 2024, the company has unveiled a 98-inch QNED LCD TV, while updating the previous models including its 8K lineup with a new version of its webOS smart TV system, built-in Chromecast, AI-enhanced video and more.This year, LG has four QNED ranges (QNED = quantum dot and nanocell): the 8K miniLED QNED99T, 4K miniLED QNED90T, QNED85T LCD, and the QNED80T range at the bottom. The top QNED99T models will use LG's Alpha 9 processor that can enhance video and audio using AI, while the the QNED90T and QNED85T lineup will feature an updated Alpha 8 processor with improved processing, graphics and AI performance. The QNED80T will use LG's lower-end Alpha 5 Gen 7 chip.All models offer LG's webOS 24, with individual profiles that allow for personalized recommendations and voice recognition for each individual user. It also has Chromecast built in, so you'll be able to watch content from Android and iOS devices via AirPlay 2 and Chromecast, respectively. And starting next year, all of LG's QNED TVs will receive 4 years of webOS upgrades. In addition, some of its previous high-end models (namely, the 8K models launched in 2022 and some others yet to be named), will also get webOS updates for free.The 98-inch model is part of the LG QNED85T lineup, which means it's a mid-range 4K LCD set with local dimming but not miniLED tech. That means it's likely to be priced more reasonably than miniLED TVs, but will lack the precise dimming found on those models. It will have the latest webOS 24 smart TV features, but LG didn't reveal any other specs or the price. LG will also offer 50-, 55-, 65-, 75- and 86-inch models in that range.LG will offer two 8K models (QNED99T) in 75- and 86-inch sizes. No specs or prices are available, but the previous models (that are no longer stocked in the US) cost around $4,800 and $6,500 at launch, respectively. You can also expect very high brightness levels up to 3,000 nits, Dolby Vision HDR support, Dolby Atmos and 120Hz or higher refresh rates for gaming. The QNED90T 4K TVs will also use miniLED and come in 65-, 75- and 86-inch sizes.The bottom end of the lineup (QNED80T) will appeal to budget minded buyers, but still offer the latest smart TV features, Dolby Vision, etc. It'll be available in 43-, 50-, 55-, 65-, 75- and 86-inch sizes. Expect more details and pricing for the new lineup sometime next year.We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lgs-2024-tv-lineup-includes-a-giant-98-inch-qned-model-123551975.html?src=rss

It was an amazing year for games. While there were no new consoles,we did get new VR headsets and a wave of new handheld PCs offered even more options for playing games on the go (or at least on the couch). That's reflected in many of our picks for best games of the year, with several PC-only choices.The year kicked off with a fantastic remake of space horror Dead Space and the breakout success, Pizza Tower. But there were so many more. Obvious selections? Yes: the latest Zelda epic is there, as is Baldur's Gate 3. If you've got some time between Christmas and New Year, there may be no better way to spend it than with one of these games. I've got Cocoon waiting for me.- Mat SmithYou can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!The biggest stories you might have missedThe Right to Repair movement won its biggest victories in 2023Deathloop is free on PC for Amazon Prime membersThe first EV with a lithium-free sodium battery hits the road in JanuaryThe Apple Watch import ban is paused - for nowWhat happens next depends on the ITC's response.Urgh, tech news whiplash. A federal appeals court in Washington D.C. has allowed Apple to continue importing the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 models. This was just a day after Apple filed its appeal against the International Trade Commission's decision to ban imports of both models of the Apple Watch due to a patent dispute. But you probably read all about that - multiple times.Continue reading.The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringementThe AI companies used the newspaper's articles for training.The backlash on AI companies and their tools continues to grow - these AI models need information from somewhere. The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for using its news articles to train its artificial intelligence chatbots without an agreement that compensates it for its intellectual property. It alleges more than 66 million records, ranging from breaking news articles to op-eds, published across the NYT websites and other affiliated brands were used to train the AI models. The NYT also says these AI products can generate output that mimics its expressive style." This mirrors complaints from comedians and authors like Sarah Silverman and Julian Sancton.Continue reading.Swedish Researchers develop electronic soil' that speeds up plant growtheSoil' is here.Thor Balkhed/Linkoping UniversityResearchers from Linkoping University in Sweden have developed a bioelectronic soil'. It can apparently speed up the growth of plants in hydroponic spaces, or farms that grow plants in environments made up of mostly water. After integrating the engineered eSoil' into the framework where seedlings grow, researchers discovered that sending electrical signals through the soil made barley plants grow 50 percent more on average.This is done through a conductive polymer within the soil and applying a voltage as small as 0.5V on the eSoil to stimulate the roots electrically.Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-the-best-games-of-2023-121548149.html?src=rss

Russia and the United States have had a strained relationship, at best, in recent years. However, the pair are still working together in one regard: getting crews to the International Space Station (ISS). Roscosmos, Russia's federal space agency, has announced that the two countries will continue partnering on "cross-flights until 2025 inclusive."Cross-flights involve putting crews from multiple countries onto the same spacecraft. Roscosmos intends always to have at least one of its own representatives in the Russia section of the ISS and at least one NASA representative in the US section. The agency added that the decision was made "to maintain the reliability of the ISS as a whole." The ISS, launched in 1998, is a symbol of US-Russia cooperation after the Cold War and the space race ended.The news follows NASA's April 2023 announcement that Russia will remain aboard the ISS until 2028. The Director General of Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, had previously said Russia would pull out of the ISS "after 2024" to focus on creating its own space station. NASA had been preparing for Russia's departure with plans ranging from pulling astronauts from the ISS to figuring out how to control the ISS if Russia took away its thrusters. The US agency has committed to maintaining the ISS until at least 2030.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/russia-will-assist-nasa-with-iss-space-flights-through-2025-115533326.html?src=rss

A bundle of four Apple AirTags is currently on sale at Amazon for a price that's even lower than what it sold for during the website's Black Friday sale. You can get the four-pack right now for only $79, 20 percent lower than its retail price of $99 and just a few bucks more than its all-time low. It's a great buy if you've been looking to grab a few AirTags to keep track of several belongings, such as bags and suitcases that airlines could accidentally leave at your connecting airport, or your wallet and keys that you could misplace.AirTags can link up with your iPhone and iPad in one tap, and you can use it to find the items it's tracking through the Find My app. It can help you find lost items by sending out Bluetooth signals that can be tracked by nearby Apple devices also connected to the Find My network. Since some of the top-selling phones in the world are iPhones, you'll have more than a decent chance of finding any lost belongings.If you think the item you're tracking could be nearby, you can play a sound through the AirTag's built-in speaker so that you could easily locate it. On the latest iPhone models, you can even use the Precision Finding feature to get the direction to and know the distance between you and your AirTag. But if it has truly been lost or misplaced, you can put your AirTag in lost mode so that you can instantly get a notification when it's been detected by devices on the Find My network.At the moment, a single AirTag will set you back $24 at Amazon, where it's also selling for 17 percent less than its retail price. It's a good deal if you really only need one AirTag, but the bundle price is unbeatable if you think you may need a few.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-airtag-4-pack-is-just-79-right-now-111042621.html?src=rss

The new year is almost here, and not many purchases say fresh start more than an upgrade to your smart home tech. Thankfully, getting one of the latest smart home gadgets won't cost too much right now, thanks to a 40 percent discount on Amazon's new third-generation Echo Show 8. The device is down to $90 from $150 - an all-time low.Amazon announced the third-gen Echo Show 8 at an event in September, showing off the device's new edge-to-edge front glass and nice, softer curves. The latest model has quite a few upgrades, but one of the most notable is an Adaptive Content feature. When you're far away from the device - say, sitting across the room - it will display information like the weather and time in a large font. However, the Echo Show 8 will show more personalized content like playlists or news articles when you step closer. Amazon also designed this feature for the second-gen model and other Echo Show devices.As for the third-gen Echo Show 8, it has spatial audio and room calibration, which should be especially obvious through bass and clarity. It also handles Alexa requests on-device with a new processor and should give you a 40 percent faster response time. Amazon also gave the device a 13MP camera and microphones that are more effective at minimizing background noise.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazons-third-generation-echo-show-8-falls-to-a-new-all-time-low-of-90-100547738.html?src=rss

Xiaomi, a Chinese brand once synonymous with affordable smartphones, is now attempting to make an even bigger splash with its first-ever electric car. Unveiled at a Beijing event earlier today, the Xiaomi SU7 - pronounced "soo-chee" in Chinese - is a sedan based on the company's very own Modena Architecture with HyperEngine electric motors of up to 21,000rpm, as well as chassis stamped by its die casting machines with a clamping force of 9,100 tons - beating that of Tesla's apparently. The line will come in two flavors: the dual-motor all-wheel-drive SU7 Max, and the single-motor rear-wheel-drive SU7.It'll be a few more months before Xiaomi announces the prices, but it's already claiming that the SU7 Max has a range of up to 800km (497 miles; according to China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle aka CLTC), as well as a 0-100km/h acceleration of just 2.78s, both of which apparently beating Tesla's Model S and Porsche's Taycan Turbo. This is partly thanks to battery maker CATL's generous 101kWh 800V high-voltage platform, which offers a 220km range with just a 5-minute charge, or 390km in 10 minutes, or 510km in 15 minutes. The base model, however, only supports 400V charging for its smaller 73.6kWh battery, which has a range of up to 668km or 415 miles.XiaomiXiaomi hired talents from the auto industry to realize this project. Most notably, CEO Lei Jun claimed that Tianyuan Li, formerly of BMW's iX series and iVision concepts, offered himself to Xiaomi's auto design team. Li was also joined by James Qiu, who had previously worked on Mercedes-Benz's Vision EQXX design. They later recruited Chris Bangle, a BMW veteran, to be their design consultant.The SU7 is about the same size as the BMW 5 series, coming in at 1,440mm tall, 1,963mm wide and 4,997mm long. You get three color options: the signature "aqua blue," gray or olive green. In his event, Lei highlighted the seemingly generous leg room as well as trunk spaces - 517L in the back and 105L in the front.At the launch event, Lei highlighted details like the "water droplet" head lamps, each of which resembled the Chinese character for "rice" (which is the "mi" in "Xiaomi"), as well as the halo rear brake light consisting of 360 LEDs. The exec also pointed out that his team went with the half-hidden door handles, because the more flush handles are apparently harder to use in cold weather.XiaomiJust as Xiaomi teased earlier, the SU7 offers a HyperOS in-car entertainment system, which is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8295 processor and takes just 1.49 seconds to boot. You can access your media, adjust your seats or even control your Xiaomi appliances via the 16.1-inch 3K central screen, as well as optional Xiaomi Pad tablets which can be mounted on magnetic ports (up to 22.5W output) behind the two front head rests. The UI on the central screen allows for up to three split windows for multitasking, and you can even cast your Xiaomi phone's screen to it for a seamless experience. As for music and video entertainment, it'll be complemented by the 23 internal Dolby Atmos speakers.Lei also mentioned opening up the Xiaomi CarIOT ecosystem to third parties, with one example being a smart booster car seat which can remind you if its seat belt isn't fastened. The exec added that even iPhone users can tap into some of the Xiaomi car features, with support for wireless CarPlay and AirPlay connectivity, as well as iPad-mounting for rear passengers.Much like Volkswagen, Xiaomi already knows that car owners still prefer to have some physical buttons, so it's kept a few for climate control, as well as two extra buttons - one for toggling the spoiler (Lei said this is largely for showing off), and one for adjusting the body height (to avoid scratching the bottom, if needed). You can also get an optional row of buttons mounted beneath the central display.XiaomiThe SU7 will have autonomous driving capabilities, too, thanks to its Xiaomi Pilot platform powered by up to two NVIDIA Drive Orin processors (the base model only has one) and an array of sensors. These include a top-mounted Lidar, with a visual range of up to 200m and pixel accuracy of down to 0.1m - the latter meaning better detection for thinner and smaller obstacles. In a series of video demos, Xiaomi showed how the SU7 could navigate through a busy live street with mixed obstacles, as well as performing valet parking on its own, and even parking itself in a robotic car park with tight spaces. Being a Beijing-based company, Xiaomi claims that the SU7's sensors can cope with snowy and rainy climates, too.Lei added that his company aims to complete autonomous driving tests in 100 cities across China by the end of 2024, though it's unclear how soon the local authorities will open up autonomous driving nationwide.In addition to future software updates, Xiaomi also teased its upcoming HyperEngine V8s with a record-breaking 27,200rpm, all tucked inside a stronger silicon steel housing to keep the motor in check. This is apparently already mass-production-ready, with plans to equip this in cars by 2025. The company then teased further with a next-gen electric motor tech based on carbon fiber, which will apparently be capable of a whopping 35,000rpm, but this won't be ready any time soon, apparently.XiaomiXiaomi has yet to share prices for the SU7 line, though Lei already hinted that they will be expensive - which is subjective, of course. We shall find out in a few months' time, and hopefully by then we'll know about availability outside China as well, but we wouldn't count on a US launch any time soon, if ever. Meanwhile, you can get the Xiaomi 14, 14 Pro smartphones and the Xiaomi Watch S3 eSIM in their limited edition colors - either aqua blue or olive green - to match the upcoming SU7.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/xiaomi-says-its-su7-ev-can-outperform-porsche-and-has-more-tech-than-tesla-095637762.html?src=rss

Indian authorities allied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi have questioned Apple on the accuracy of its internal threat algorithms and are now investigating the security of its devices, according to The Washington Post. Officials apparently targeted the company after it warned journalists and opposition politicians that state-sponsored hackers may have infiltrated their devices back in October. While Apple is under scrutiny for its security measures in the eyes of the public, the Post says government officials were more upfront with what they wanted behind closed doors.They reportedly called up the company's representatives in India to pressure Apple into finding a way to soften the political impact of its hacking warnings. The officials also called in an Apple security expert to conjure alternative explanations for the warnings that they could tell people - most likely one that doesn't point to the government as the possible culprit.The journalists and politicians who posted about Apple's warnings on social media had one thing in common: They were all critical of Modi's government. Amnesty International examined the phone of one particular journalist named Anand Mangnale who was investigating long-time Modi ally Gautam Adani and found that an attacker had planted the Pegasus spyware on his Apple device. While Apple didn't explicitly say that the Indian government is to blame for the attacks, Pegasus, developed by the Israeli company NSO Group, is mostly sold to governments and government agencies.The Post's report said India's ruling political party has never confirmed or denied using Pegasus to spy on journalists and political opponents, but this is far from the first time its critics have been infected with the Pegasus spyware. In 2021, an investigation by several publications that brought the Pegasus project to light found the spyware on the phones of people with a history of opposing and criticizing Modi's government.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-reportedly-faces-pressure-in-india-after-sending-out-warnings-of-state-sponsored-hacking-073036597.html?src=rss

JAC Motors, a Volkswagen-backed Chinese automaker, is set to launch the first mass-produced electric vehicle (EV) with a sodium-ion battery through its new Yiwei brand. Although sodium-ion battery tech has a lower density (and is less mature) than lithium-ion, its lower costs, more abundant supplies and superior cold-weather performance could help accelerate mass EV adoption. CarNewsChina reports that the JAC Yiwei EV hatchback deliveries will begin in January.Yiwei is a new brand in 2023 for JAC. Volkswagen has a 75 percent stake in (and management control of) JAC and owns 50 percent of JAC's parent company, Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Holdings (JAG). The Chinese government owns the other half of JAG, making for one of the auto industry's stranger pairings.The Sehol E10X, which the new Yiwei EV appears to be a rebranded version of.JAC via CarNewsChinaThe Yiwei EV appears to be a rebranded version of the Sehol E10X hatchback (above), announced earlier this year. CarNewsChina describes the Sehol model as having a 252 km (157 miles) range with a 25 kWh capacity, 120 Wh / kg energy density, 3C to 4C charging, and a HiNa NaCR32140 cell. When JAC revealed the Yiwei brand in May, it said it would drop the Sehol label and rebrand all its vehicles to either JAC or Yiwei, leading us to this week's EV reveal. JAC hasn't yet said whether the Yiwei-branded model will keep the E10X moniker.In April, JAC showcased a separate EV called the Yiwei 3 at the Shanghai Auto Show. That model launched in June with an LFP lithium battery, promising the sodium-ion variant would launch later.JAC via CarNewsChinaThe new Yiwei EV reportedly uses cylindrical sodium-ion cells from HiNA Battery. JAC assembles the batteries in the company's modular UE (Unitized Encapsulation) honeycomb structure, similar to CATL's CTP (cell-to-pack) and BYD's Blade. The layout can provide for greater stability and performance.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-first-ev-with-a-lithium-free-sodium-battery-hits-the-road-in-january-214828536.html?src=rss

Researchers from Linkoping University in Sweden developed a bioelectronic soil' that can speed up the growth of plants in hydroponic spaces, or farms that grow plants without soil in environments made up of mostly water and a place for roots to attach. After integrating the engineered eSoil' into the framework where seedlings grow, researchers discovered that sending electrical signals through the soil made plants grow 50 percent more on average.The eSoil is made up of organic substances mixed with a conductive polymer called PEDOT, which can be found in things like sensors and OLED displays. Eleni Stavrinidou, the supervisor of the study, told Engadget that the soil's conductivity was necessary for stimulating the plant roots. In this particular study, the researchers examined the effect of sending signals to barley seedlings over the span of 15 days before harvesting them for analysis. Applying a voltage as small as 0.5V on the eSoil electrically stimulates the roots, Stavrinidou explained. This, in turn, resulted in a recordable increase in the biomass of the electrically stimulated plants when compared to the non-stimulated seedings.The stimulation's effect on the barley seedlings was described as steady" and transient." Stavrinidou told Engadget that nitrogen, one of the main nutrients involved in plant growth, was processed more efficiently through the stimulation. "We found that the stimulated plants could process the nutrients more efficiently however we don't understand how the stimulation is affecting this process," Stavrindou explained, adding that the reason behind the growth process will be a focus of future studies.PNASWhile hydroponic techniques are mainly used to grow leafy greens and some vegetables like cucumbers and tomatoes, the eSoil could offer a solution to create new ways to increase crop yields in commercial settings and especially in places where environmental conditions impact plant growth. The study highlights that this technique could minimize the use of fertilizers in farming.The opportunity for technological innovation in farming is huge considering the number of US farms has steadily declined since 1982, according to the Department of Agriculture. Last year, the number of US farms reached 2 million, down from 2.2 million in 2007. Not only are farms on the decline, but the US is losing acres of land due to a host of reasons that range from climate change to worsening economic outlook for farmers due to inflation, making farming in controlled environments more popular.But beyond improving crop yield, the implementation of eSoil in hydroponic farms could make them more energy-conscious. While traditional hydroponic farms use up less water, they require more energy to run. The eSoil consumes very little power in the microwatt range," Stavrinidou said. Before this technology can be applied to large-scale agriculture and other types of crops, more studies need to be conducted to observe how electrical stimulation can impact the whole growth cycle of a plant throughout its entire lifespan and not just in the early stages of seedling maturation. Stavrinidou also said that her team plans on studying how the technique affects the growth of other plant species.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/swedish-researchers-develop-electronic-soil-that-speeds-up-plant-growth-205630538.html?src=rss

A federal appeals court in Washington D.C. has allowed Apple to continue importing the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 models on Wednesday. The court's decision comes a day after Apple filed an appeal against a decision by the International Trade Commission (ITC) to ban imports of both models of the Apple Watch, which are at the heart of a patent dispute.The court's ruling is temporary. It has given the ITC until January 10 to respond to Apple's motion for a longer-term pause on the ban during the appeals process, Reuters reported. This means that Apple should be able to resume Apple Watch sales on its website and in Apple Stores in the US, something that the company had stopped doing last week.Hours after this story was published, Apple told Engadget that the company would, indeed, start selling the Apple Watch in the US again. We are thrilled to return the full Apple Watch lineup to customers in time for the new year," an Apple spokeswoman said in a statement. "Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, including the blood oxygen feature,will become available for purchase again in the United States at Apple Stores starting today and from apple.com tomorrow by 12pm PT. Apple's teams have worked tirelessly over many years to develop technology that empowers users with industry-leading health, wellness and safety features and we are pleased the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has stayed the exclusion order while it considers our request to stay the order pending our full appeal."The Watch side of Apple's business generates about $17 billion a year, according to Bloomberg. In October, the ITC determined that Apple violated two patents belonging to another California-based company called Masimo. Both patents revolved around the blood-oxygen sensor that Apple has included in most models of the Watch since 2020. The ITC denied Apple's appeal against its decision, sending the case all the way to the White House for a Presidential Review. President Biden, however, did not veto the ITC's decision, which meant that the ban officially went into effect last week.In its appeal filed on Tuesday, Apple claimed that the company will suffer irreparable harm" if the ban continued. The company is currently exploring redesigning the blood oxygen sensors in its smartwatch after both the ITC and Masimo said that a software fix, which the company is scrambling to issue, would be insufficient to resolve the patent dispute.Update, December 27 2023, 5:49PM ET: This story was updated with a statement from Apple.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-apple-watch-import-ban-is-paused--for-now-183332952.html?src=rss

The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for using published news articles to train its artificial intelligence chatbots without an agreement that compensates it for its intellectual property. The lawsuit, which was filed in a Federal District Court in Manhattan, marks the first time a major news organization has pursued the ChatGPT developers for copyright infringement. The NYT did not specify how much it seeks in payout from the companies but that this action seeks to hold them responsible for the billions of dollars in statutory and actual damages."The NYT claims that OpenAI and Microsoft, the makers of Chat GPT and Copilot, seek to free-ride on The Times's massive investment in its journalism" without having any licensing agreements. In one part of the complaint, the NYT highlights that its domain (www.nytimes.com) was the most used proprietary source mined for content to train GPT-3.It alleges more than 66 million records, ranging from breaking news articles to op-eds, published across the NYT websites and other affiliated brands were used to train the AI models. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants in the case have used almost a century's worth of copyrighted content," causing significant harm to the Times' bottom line. The NYT also says that OpenAI and Microsoft's products can generate output that recites Times content verbatim, closely summarizes it, and mimics its expressive style." This mirrors other complaints from comedians and authors like Sarah Silverman and Julian Sancton who claim OpenAI has profited off their works.