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Last year, Apple introduced Emergency SOS, which allows the iPhone 14 to connect to satellites to send emergency calls and texts. Now, Qualcomm has unveiled its own satellite messaging features for Android phones. It’s called Snapdragon Satellite, and it will allow devices equipped with the company’s X70 modems to connect to satellites in order to send messages when no cellular signal is available.The feature, which is expected to be available on phones beginning in the second half of 2023, is the result of a partnership with longtime satellite phone maker Iridium. Thanks to the partnership, Android phones equipped with the X70 modem and Qualcomm’s SOC will be able to connect to Iridium's satellite network for off-grid texting in both emergency and non-emergency situations.As with much of Qualcomm’s tech, exactly how these features will look and feel will largely be determined by the individual phone makers. Device makers will have considerable flexibility in terms of how they implement satellite messaging, particularly for person-to-person texts. But while we don’t know exactly how it will look when it launches, Qualcomm offered an early look at the technology at CES, which provided a pretty good idea of what to expect in terms of functionality.Karissa Bell / EngadgetAs with Apple’s Emergency SOS, you’ll need to be outside with a clear view of the sky in order to use satellite messaging. When enabled, an on-screen message will offer guidance for where to point your device in order to connect to a satellite.The demo we saw wasn’t exactly an off-grid location. The desert campground about 30 minutes away from the Las Vegas Strip may have looked the part, but it had full 5G service during our visit. However, Qualcomm reps demonstrated the process for connecting to satellites and it only took a few seconds to move the phone into position. And they claimed connecting in a true off-grid environment should be nearly as seamless.Once connected to a satellite, the demo devices were able to send text messages to a preset whitelist of contacts. Qualcomm says that feature will remain in place to ensure spam texts won't clog up the satellite networks. However, the company noted that OEMs could make the messaging feel more like a traditional messaging app than the demo interface we previewed.There are a few other limitations compared with standard messaging apps. Satellite messages are limited to 140 bytes or about 160 characters, making them more like an old-school SMS than what you’d expect with modern apps. And you can’t send photos or videos via satellite.Karissa Bell / EngadgetIt’s also worth noting that unlike Apple’s Emergency SOS, Qualcomm intends Snapdragon Satellite to be used for non-emergency messaging as well. That could make the Android version a little more useful as you could use satellite messaging to stay in touch with family and friends in areas where you’d normally be out of reach. However, there will likely be additional charges associated with non-emergency texts so you’ll probably still want to moderate your usage of the feature. (Qualcomm declined to speculate on how much these messages might cost, but it seems safe to assume these messages will be costlier than a typical SMS.)Also, unlike Apple’s satellite communication features, which also allows people to make emergency voice calls, Snapdragon Satellite only allows for emergency texts, not calls. For truly urgent situations, the company has partnered with Garmin, which makes a satellite-based emergency communication device of its own called inReach. That means emergency texts will be routed to the same team that handles SOS calls from inReach devices.Unfortunately, we didn’t get a lot of specifics about when we’ll see phones with Snapdragon Satellite hit shelves, or how many devices could have these capabilities. For now, Samsung says it expects to see satellite-ready phones from “multiple” OEMs starting in the second half of 2023. At the same time, that doesn’t mean the features are guaranteed for all Android phones with an X70 modem and Qualcomm SOC. According to Qualcomm, that’s because X70-equipped phones launching before the second half of the year don’t have all the necessary hardware to support Snapdragon Satellite connectivity.But, now that we know the hardware requirements, in the coming months we should begin to get a better idea of which devices will have the satellite messaging capabilities.

We’re back in Vegas for CES, and while the show doesn’t officially open until tomorrow, many exhibitors have already unveiled their new products at various press conferences and media events. Today, we’re starting to see some of the early car news that frequently dominates CES, as well as more from TV makers, gaming laptop brands, smart home companies and more. If you haven’t fully caught up yet, here’s a recap of the biggest news from Day 1 of CES 2023.From last nightBut first, even though we already recapped most of yesterday’s launches in another video, there was still more stuff unveiled last night that was announced after we had shot that. For example, Withings showed off the U-Scan, a $500 toilet computer that will… scan your pee.It’s a 90mm block that you place inside your toilet bowl like a deodorizer, and uses a litmus-test-like microfluidic system to detect what substances are in your urine. You’ll have to choose which specific tests you want to be running in your module, though Withings is making a consumer-centric version that will analyze your nutrition and hydration levels, while also predicting your ovulation and period cycles. It’s still waiting on US regulatory approval before bringing this stateside, and will launch first in Europe.In less… icky news, we also saw the Fufuly pulsating cushion by Yukai Engineering. A vibrating cushion might sound straight out of an anime, but the idea is really that hugging something that can mimic lifelike pulsing could have calming effects. Something else that could relieve anxiety? Watching a video of birds being cute! Bird Buddy also launched a new smart feeder that comes with a camera so you can spy on your feathery friends while they nest up. The latest model is designed for hummingbirds and uses AI to understand what breeds are within view and, together with a motion sensor, determines when they’re ready for a snack.Speaking of snacks, there was plenty of food-related tech news last night, including GE Profile’s $1,000 stand mixer that has a digital scale and voice controls built in. We also saw OneThird's freshness scanners that use near infrared lasers and proprietary algorithms to tell if produce is fresh. It can even calculate an avocado’s shelf life in real time, and help reduce food waste!We also saw Loreal’s robotic lipstick applicator for those with limited hand or arm mobility, Valencell’s blood pressure monitor that clips onto your finger and Wisear’s neural earbuds that let you control playback by clenching your jaw. There were smart lights, smart speakers, smart pressure cookers, smart VR gloves and more. Make sure to go to Engadget.com to get all the details!Now, onto the news that came out today. We had a small trickle of car news ahead of the outpouring is likely to come tomorrow. Volkswagen unveiled its upcoming ID.7 EV sedan, teasing us with a general body shape and the name, but not much else. BMW, meanwhile, shared more about its futuristic i Vision concept vehicle program by revealing the i Vision Dee, or “Digital Emotional Experience.” It’s a pared-down concept featuring a heads up display running the full width of the front windshield. Many of the Dee’s features are also expected to make their way into production models, specifically BMW’s new NEUE KLASSE (new class) EV platform, starting in 2025. The Dee will also feature BMW’s Mixed Reality slider to control how much digital content appears on the display.Cherlynn Low / EngadgetTVsSamsung also waited till the evening to reveal its premium 2023 TVs, focusing on MiniLED and 8K technologies for this year’s series. It also brought more sizes to its portfolio and introduced new soundbars that offer Dolby Atmos support on both the entry level and the highest end. Meanwhile, rival LG showed off a 97-inch M3 TV that can wirelessly receive 4K 120Hz video so you can deal with fewer wires in your living room, as well as… more soundbars. Leave it to LG and Samsung to basically do the same things as each other.Relatively smaller TV competitor Hisense today unveiled its UX Mini LED TV, an 85-inch set that can hit 2,500 nits at peak brightness and features more than 5,000 local dimming zones. Meanwhile, startup Displace showed us a new wireless 55-inch OLED TV that attaches to any surface via vacuum suction, eliminating the need for a wall mount or stand altogether. Plus, thanks to its four onboard batteries, you can do without a power cord, too. This is essentially a complete, standalone portable TV.LaptopsWe also saw more laptops from ASUS, MSI and HP. ASUS made a laptop with glasses-free 3D, a large Zenbook Pro 16X with plenty of room for thermal dissipation, as well as a Zenbook 14X with a ceramic build. Both the latter Zenbooks also come with OLED screens. Meanwhile, HP launched a new series of Dragonfly Pro laptops that are supposed to make the shopping process easier for consumers by eliminating most configuration options. The Dragonfly Pro Chromebook has an RGB keyboard and Android-like Material You theming features, while the Windows version exclusively uses an AMD chip and has a column of hotkeys on the right of the keyboard that offer shortcuts to camera settings, a control center and 24/7 tech support. The last of these buttons is programmable, so you can map it to launch your favorite app, file or website.Finally, we’re seeing the first of some audio news, starting from JBL. The company unveiled its 2023 soundbar lineup, all five models of which will support Dolby Atmos. It also launched new true wireless earbuds with a “smart” case that has a 1.45-inch touchscreen on it that offers controls for volume, playback, ANC and EQ presets. Almost coincidentally, HP also showed off the Poly Voyager earbuds that also have a touchscreen on the carrying case and offers similar controls to the JBL. But the Voyager also has a Broadcast mode that lets you use the included 3.5mm to USB-C cable to connect the case to an older device with a headphone jack (like when you’re on an airplane), so you can watch movies during a flight without needing to carry a second set of headphones around.There’s plenty more news coming out of CES not just today but the rest of the week. I didn’t even get to tell you about Samsung’s new budget-friendly Galaxy A14 smartphone, or Citizen’s new smartwatch. For all the details on anything you might have missed today, check out our comprehensive coverage on Engadget.com or our YouTube channel. And stay tuned for all of the news from CES 2023.

Razer has shown off its first slate of products for 2023 at CES. Along with new gaming laptops, the company revealed the Razer Leviathan V2 Pro beamforming PC soundbar. The company says it has an infra-red camera that can detect where the user is. Razer claims the soundbar can adjust the 3D audio beams in real-time based on your position to make sure optimal audio is reaching your ears.There are two modes for the 3D audio: THX Spatial Audio Virtual Headset and THX Spatial Audio Virtual Speakers. Razer promises to deliver "crisp, clear treble and deep, punchy bass" with the help of multiple drivers and an included subwoofer. There's Razer Chroma RGB support too. You'll be able to pick up a Leviathan V2 Pro for $400 later this month.Next up is the Kiyo Pro Ultra. Razer claims it has the biggest sensor ever used in a webcam. It has a Sony 1/1.2″ STARVIS 2 sensor with a 2.9 μm pixel size. According to Razer, that helps the USB 3.0 plug-and-play webcam to offer DSLR-level detail. It should perform well in low light too. There's an F/1.7 aperture lens that Razer says can capture nearly four times more light than other webcams.RazerIn addition, the company claims the Kiyo Pro Ultra offers face tracking, auto-focus and background blur features without the need for additional hardware or software. However, you'll be able to adjust the settings to your liking in Razer Synapse. The webcam, which arrives almost two years after the Kiyo Pro, is available starting today for $300.By the end of March, Meta Quest 2 users in the US will be able to get their hands on Razer-made peripherals. The company designed the Adjustable Head Strap System and Razer Facial Interface to make it more comfortable to use the headset. Razer says the latter has medical-grade hypoallergenic materials to help reduce skin irritation. It's said to offer ventilation while blocking out external light.Razer also revealed Project Carol, a head cushion with near-field 7.1 surround sound and HyperSense haptic feedback. Razer says the cushion can fit on any gaming chair and convert game audio into haptic feedback in real-time. It's a concept design for now, but if and when Project Carol comes to market, it could offer a deeper level of immersion when you're playing games.Elsewhere, Razer confirmed the release date for its cloud gaming device, the Razer Edge. We had the chance to try out the new, high-performance Blade 16 and Blade 18 gaming laptops too. Take a gander at our hands-on coverage for more details.

Iran blocked Instagram and WhatsApp access last year to subdue protests following 22-year-old Mahsa Amini’s death at local authorities’ hands. When authoritarian governments crack down on online communications — which often includes blocking VPNs — it helps to have a backup plan. So WhatsApp is adding proxy support to help those living under oppressive regimes keep using the service.The company explained today in a blog post, “Choosing a proxy enables you to connect to WhatsApp through servers set up by volunteers and organizations around the world dedicated to helping people communicate freely.” To use a proxy, make sure WhatsApp is updated to the latest version, and follow these instructions. (Note that the setting is found in slightly different places on Android and iOS.)As part of the setup, you’ll need to enter a proxy server address, which you’ll need to track down through friends or by scouring social media once news of the feature spreads. WhatsApp also points anyone interested in hosting a proxy server toward these steps.WhatsApp says all proxied messages will still be protected with end-to-end encryption. That allegedly means neither WhatsApp, its parent company Meta, nor proxy-server owners can read your content.“Our wish for 2023 is that these internet shutdowns never occur,” the company said. “Disruptions like we’ve seen in Iran for months on end deny people’s human rights and cut people off from receiving urgent help. Though in case these shutdowns continue, we hope this solution helps people wherever there is a need for secure and reliable communication.”

Razer has revealed the release date for its handheld cloud gaming system, the Razer Edge. The device, which runs on the Snapdragon G3x Gen 1 Gaming Platform, will be available on January 26th. The WiFi version costs $400. As for the 5G model, that will be exclusively available from Verizon for $600, but you can snag it for $360 if you add a new line from the provider. Buy a new 5G smartphone at the same time, and you can get the Razer Edge 5G for $180.The Razer Edge is essentially an Android 12 tablet stuffed inside the Razer Kishi V2 Pro controller. The device has a 6.8-inch AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate and a resolution of 2,400 x 1,080. The Razer Edge has 8GB of memory, 128GB of storage (it can run Android games and apps locally), a 5,000mAh battery, HyperSense haptic feedback, a pair of digital mics, a 3.5mm headphone jack and two-way speakers with Verizon Adaptive Sound.On the connectivity front, there's support for Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, as well as Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband if you want to stream games on the go. Launchers for Epic Games, Xbox Cloud Gaming and NVIDIA GeForce Now will be preinstalled. Stadia will be dead by the time the Razer Edge arrives, unfortunately.Meanwhile, Razer has revealed new gaming laptops. You can check out our hands on coverage for more details on the high-end Blade 16 and Blade 18.

You can now save $400 on one of the best premium gaming laptop out there. The configuration of Razer's Blade 15 we recommend in our latest gaming laptop guide combines bleeding-edge performance and speedy graphics, all wrapped up in a sleek and sturdy aluminum chassis. Usually $3,000, both Amazon and Razer are offering our recommended unit for $2,600, or 13 percent off the list price. That's the lowest price this configuration has seen yet, and while it's still not a cheap laptop, we think you get what you pay for, in a laptop that can game with the best of them.The quad-HD display is highly responsive with a 240Hz refresh rate, and NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 3070 Ti graphics card is fast enough to keep up. It runs on a 12th-gen Intel i7-12800H processor, a powerful chip that's focused on performance, and offers 16GB of dual-channel slotted (upgradable) memory. Storage is handled with 1TB of SSD, with an open M.2 slot should you want to add more. Windows 11 Home is loaded onto the unit and it has one of the best glass touchpads we've tried on a Windows laptop. The larger keys make the Blade 15 easier to use for both gaming and general productivity. Overall, this model of the Blade 15 not only excels at gaming, it makes for a worthy desktop replacement too.Other configurations of the Intel 12th-gen Blade 15s are also on sale right now. Razer announced the option to pair up a Blade with the first 240Hz OLED laptop screen earlier last year. If you want that display (with the same RTX 3070 Ti graphics plus a slightly faster Intel i9 processor) it's on sale at both Amazon and Razer for $400 off, bringing the price down to $2,900.The fully loaded unit we tried out in our hands-on review is also $400 off at Razer's site, bringing the $3,700 monster down to $3,300. It's got a 12th-gen Intel i7-12800H processor, a faster RTX 3080 Ti graphics card, and the quad-HD 240Hz display.While none of these are budget options, if you're looking for a big, luxury laptop that's capable of holding its own while playing any of the latest gaming titles, now might be a good time to grab a Blade 15 — while you can keep $400 in your pocket.Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

If augmented reality glasses become a groundbreaking product category, they will need to look similar to regular prescription glasses. TCL is showcasing a pair of frames at CES 2023 that — while inching further in that direction — accentuate how tall of an order that still is. TCL describes its RayNeo X2 AR glasses as having a “subtle and lightweight body for everyday wear,” but their comically oversized nature makes us question whether “subtle” was the best word choice.TCL says the RayNeo X2 “harness pioneering binocular full-color MicroLED optical waveguide displays.” While that’s quite a mouthful of technical jargon, that’s because the company isn’t (yet) aiming these glasses toward consumers. Instead, it’s a developer platform to flesh out over time as AR tech gets smaller and better.TCL’s glasses run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 platform, the same chipset found in the Meta Quest 2 VR headset. Its MicroLED display has an impressive 100,000:1 contrast ratio and can reach a brightness of 1,000 nits, which should help make its visuals readable in bright sunlight. In addition, as reported by CNET, TCL says it will offer prescription inserts that allow you to use them in place of regular glasses — not on top of them.TCLRather than approaching AR like HoloLens or Magic Leap, where 3D-animated virtual characters leap across your furniture, TCL’s glasses are more in the vein of Google Glass. For example, the company says its “smart GPS” navigation system uses simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) to overlay virtual directions while showcasing nearby landmarks. The glasses can also deliver on-screen call and message pop-ups or translate in-person conversations with real-time subtitles. In addition, it can play music quietly so that others around you won’t hear. Finally, it has a built-in camera for capturing first-person videos, stills and time-lapse photos.These are all ways AR glasses could — and likely will —enhance our lives someday. But it’s 2023, and a company well-established in advanced display technology still has trouble shrinking its glasses to a more subtle size. It helps to understand how deeper-pocketed competitors like Apple still haven’t announced consumer AR wearables despite reportedly working on them for the better part of a decade. This category requires advances that have taken loads of time — and will likely take at least a bit more.While we wait for AR glasses to advance to the point where we’ll want to wear them publicly, TCL is recruiting developers to help it prepare for that day. The company will start offering the RayNeo X2 dev kit to software makers “in select regions” by the end of Q1. It says a commercial launch will come later, although we imagine that will fare better with future iterations that don't make you look like 1970s-era Michael Caine.

Apple TV+ has offered a sneak peek at the second season of Foundation and revealed when the sci-fi series will return. More episodes of the show, which is based on Isaac Asimov's series of books of the same name, will premiere this summer and will introduce the second crisis.The clip opens with one of the main characters, Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell), waking up in a stasis chamber that just happens to be in space. It's a compelling start to a teaser that's packed with eye-catching imagery. A terrifying creature pops up at the end, so be mindful of that if you're jumpy.The first season of Foundation arrived in the fall of 2021, so fans have had to wait quite a while for it to come back. Jared Harris and Lee Pace are among the stars who are returning for season two.

Razer is no stranger to making high-performance gaming laptops. But with the arrival of 13th-gen CPUs from Intel and 40-series mobile GPUs from NVIDIA, it really feels like the company is trying to cram as much power as it possibly can in its new Blade 16 and Blade 18 notebooks.Starting with the Blade 16, you get a huge range of beefy components including up to Intel Core-i9 HX chips and NVIDIA’s top-of-the-line RTX 4090 graphics cards. On top of that, while some other laptop makers sometimes try to limit the power consumption of a laptop’s GPU in order to preserve battery life, Razer is throwing caution to the wind and will support a total graphics power (TGP) of 175 watts.Interestingly, despite going big on performance, the Blade 16 isn’t that much larger than the Blade 15, with an increase in thickness of just 5mm (21.99mm for the Blade 16 vs. 16.99 for the Blade 15). The Blade 16 is also almost exactly the same width as its smaller sibling and less than half an inch deeper as well, so there’s not a huge increase in overall size despite the big jump in performance. And weighing 5.4 pounds, the Blade 16 isn’t overly heavy either.That said, my favorite new feature on the Blade 16 (which isn’t available on the larger Blade 18) is a dual-mode 16:10 mini LED display that supports two different native refresh rates and resolutions: 4K at 120Hz or FHD+ at 240Hz. This choice of display modes is really handy because it lets you adjust your screen depending on what you’re doing. If you’re editing photos or videos, you can set the screen to 120Hz at 4K in order to view your content at full resolution, while also boosting peak brightness to a stunning 1000 nits.Sam Rutherford/EngadgetThen, when you feel like winding down with a game or two, you can set the display to operate in FH+/240Hz mode, so you can take full advantage of the laptop’s performance. The downside is that peak brightness at 240Hz drops slightly to 600 nits, though from what I saw that’s still more than enough to support vivid HDR graphics. The other minor annoyance is that when you want to switch between different display modes on the Blade, you will need to fully shut down and restart the system, which just feels clunky.Next, we move onto the Blade 18, which Razer says is simply the most powerful laptop the company has ever made. In addition to top-notch components, the Blade 18 sports a gorgeous 240Hz QHD+ display along with a new 5MP webcam, so you can live stream in high resolution without needing to plug in an external one. Also, as Razer’s biggest and brawniest desktop replacement, the Blade 18 also comes with a booming six-speaker setup that supports THX spatial audio. And just like the Blade 16, this system offers a great selection of ports including multiple USB-C jacks with Thunderbolt 4, a full-size SD card reader, HDMI 2.1 and even an Ethernet jack (which is the one port not available on the Blade 16).Sam Rutherford/EngadgetUnfortunately, the biggest hurdle for anyone considering buying either of these systems is their price: The Blade 16 starts at $2,700 while the cheapest Blade 18 will go for $2,900, with both models quickly moving well above $3,500 when fully maxed out.Personally, as much as I like the idea of a laptop that’s more powerful than my mid-tower at home, the Blade 18 is still a bit too large for my taste. But for those who need high-end systems with sleek aluminum builds and have cash to burn, it really feels like Razer’s latest addition to the Blade family are gaming laptops in a class of their own. Both systems are expected to go on sale some in Q1 2023.

Google could soon give Polestar owners an edge when they're navigating around town. The search giant is debuting "HD" driving maps that will come first to the Polestar 3 SUV. The upgrade will provide current, extra-detailed road info ranging from lanes to road signs. The content will not only help with existing driver aids like Pilot Assist, but should prove vital for eventual self-driving features using the 3's optional, LiDAR-based Pilot Pack.The Polestar 3 is expected to arrive in late 2023 and sell for $85,300 in the US. You should also see the upgraded maps in the Volvo EX90. We've asked Google if and when you'll see HD maps reach other cars, particularly from brands that aren't using Google built-in (aka Android Automotive). We'll let you know if the company can share more. On top of Polestar, companies like GM, Honda, Renault and Volvo (Polestar's sibling brand) have committed to using the Android OS in at least some of their vehicles.The enhancement doesn't come as a shock. Even partial autonomy requires very precise location data to ensure smooth navigation — you don't want your car choosing the wrong lane or missing a turn. Google also has an extensive understanding of driving maps thanks to Waymo's robotaxi efforts, not to mention a strong financial incentive to improve its mapping tech. The more detailed maps could encourage other automakers to adopt Google's apps and services.You won't need to wait for a new EV to use some new Google-powered features. An update rolling out to the Polestar 2 sedan adds Google Assistant-based remote actions. You can precondition the climate control system, unlock doors, check the battery level (including estimated range) and otherwise handle basic tasks without reaching for your phone or walking to the car. The feature is only available in the US at present, but it will eventually reach other countries.

It took several months, but the Android Auto overhaul is here. Google is now rolling out its redesigned in-car experience for Android users. As mentioned at I/O, the redesigned interface streamlines navigation, communication and media playback. Maps is in a more driver-friendly position, while the split-screen view offers quick access to music and texts regardless of your car's screen orientation. There's finally a media progress bar, and conversation shortcuts (shown below) help you make calls and reply to messages.Google is expanding Android Auto's functionality at the same time. Newer Pixel and Samsung phones will "soon" let you place WhatsApp calls, the company says. Assistant now offers smart suggestions for missed calls, arrival time sharing, music and podcasts.GoogleThere are a few vehicular upgrades coming beyond Android Auto. Digital car key sharing is coming to Samsung phones in the near future, while Xiaomi phone owners will have the option later in 2023. The keys themselves will be available for makes other than BMW, although Google didn't say when that might happen. HD maps are coming to the Polestar 3 and Volvo EX90 to boost their autonomous and assistance features. YouTube is also coming to cars with Google built-in, so you'll have more to watch while you're charging or parked.To some extent, the Android Auto upgrade was necessary. Apple has previewed a next-gen CarPlay interface that's not only more useful, but can take over more of a car's infotainment system. Google's revamp isn't directly equivalent, but might give automakers a stronger incentive to support Android Auto in an increasingly competitive market.

Google is working on ways to make it easier for folks to switch audio playback to another device when they listen to music or podcasts via Android. The company says it's collaborating with Spotify to let you swiftly move what you're listening to from one Spotify Connect-supported device to another, all from the Android media player.Android 13 features a redesigned media player with a notification section that enables YouTube and YouTube Music users to quickly change which compatible Bluetooth or Chromecast built-in devices they're playing audio or video on. Spotify integration could make things a bit more straightforward for folks who move audio playback from one speaker or TV to another when they go to a different room, for instance, or if you want to change from single-speaker playback to blasting music throughout your home.In addition, Google says it's working on a related audio handoff feature. When you move from one place to another, you'll see media notifications asking if you'd like to shift the audio to a nearby device. So, when you leave home, your Android phone might ask if you want to transfer your music or podcast from a speaker to your headphones, and then to Android Auto once you're in your car. Google is working with Spotify and YouTube Music teams to add integration for those services. Spotify started testing a similar feature in its own app in 2019.

Years after unofficially exiting the consumer VR space in favor of enterprise products, HTC has returned with its first standalone headset for consumers. The Vive XR Elite is a $1,100 flagship for VR and passthrough mixed reality (MR). Although that pushes it far past the price range of the $400 Meta Quest 2, HTC’s product compares more favorably on paper with the pricey Meta Quest Pro.The Vive XR Elite has a 4K display with a 90Hz refresh rate and a 110-degree field of view (FOV). It includes four wide-FOV cameras, enabling inside-out spatial tracking without external sensors. The product ships with two wireless controllers and supports hand tracking. Additionally, a full-color RGB camera allows passthrough MR that lets you blend virtual experiences with your real-world surroundings.The headset weighs 625g (about 13 percent lighter than the Quest Pro), including its hot-swappable battery on the back. HTC says this placement helps balance the headset’s weight. The battery provides an estimated two hours of use and supports 30-watt fast charging via USB-C. Additionally, the headset has a built-in retractable charging cable on its right side, making it easy to plug into a power bank or airline seat (if you want to be the VR weirdo on your next flight).HTCHTC says the XR Elite has large speakers supporting directional audio. In addition, the headset’s lenses have a dial that adjusts for prescription, allowing visually challenged folks to take off their glasses before playing. Strangely, HTC says you can remove the battery, fit the headset with temple pads and wear it as regular glasses. (That sounds like an odd fashion choice.) The company also says an add-on Face and Eye Tracker accessory will arrive later this year.Although HTC has a solid track record with VR hardware, content and marketing are its biggest challenges. In the nine years since Meta (Facebook at the time) bought Oculus, it has bought VR studios, made exclusive deals with others and sunk countless advertising dollars into its brand. Although there’s plenty to criticize about Meta’s business practices, the company has stockpiled an unmatched library of virtual games and experiences. HTC has tried to compete with its Viveport subscription service, but its headset still launches at a significant content disadvantage.Some of those content gaps can be filled with PC support. The XR Elite connects wirelessly or with a USB-C cable to play PCVR games from Steam and Viveport. You can also stream content from a compatible Android phone to the headset to watch videos on a virtual big screen. (Here's the complete list of supported phones.) The company says you can also connect a Bluetooth controller to play gamepad-friendly smartphone games.HTCHTC says 100 games and experiences will arrive within the headset’s launch window. Listed launch titles include Demeo, Hubris, Yuki, Maestro, Les Mills Body Combat, FigminXR, Unplugged and Finger Gun. The company adds that Everslaught: Invasion and the full MR game Eggscape will arrive later in the year.Engadget’s Sam Rutherford is trying the headset later today and will share his impressions soon. Meanwhile, you can pre-order the Vive XR Elite from the company website starting today. HTC estimates that early purchases will begin shipping in late February.

In July, GM announced that it was partnering with EVGo to establish a "coast-to-coast" charging network for its electric vehicles. On Thursday, Mercedes Benz announced that it will be building a network of its own — at least, in partnership with Chargepoint — that will be accessible no matter what make or model of EV you drive.Mercedes and Chargepoint plan to establish 400 new charging hubs throughout the US and Canada — that's 2,500 new DC fast chargers in all — "in key cities and urban population centers, along major highway corridors and close to convenient retail and service destinations," according to Thursday's announcement. The automaker and MN8 Energy will finance the scheme while Chargepoint will supply the hardware and infrastructure. Chargepoint in 2020 partnered with NATSO for a billion-dollar project to install its chargers along rural highways. Those effort continue.The hubs and DC fast chargers will all be accessible by EV drivers of all stripes, regardless of their vehicle type — the inverse of Tesla's proprietary network. But since Mercedes is pulling the purse strings, its customers can look forward to a few extra perks when they pull into a hub. That includes being able to reserve a space ahead of time and automatic vehicle-station handshake authentication.Each charger can deliver up to 500V of power, allowing 400V-architecture vehicles like the Rivian R1T to take full advantage of the increased power transmission while 800V vehicles like the Audi A6 e-tron, the Porsche Taycan, Hyundai's Ioniq 5 and Kia's EV6 will see improved charge times though not the upper limit of what their electrical systems can handle. The company notes that these chargers are, "designed to easily scale to meet future demand as EV adoption and vehicle capability grows."

Crypto lender Celsius Network is still facing the consequences of its tumultuous 2022 long after it declared bankruptcy. New York State Attorney General Letitia James has sued former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky for allegedly defrauding investors out of "billions of dollars" in cryptocurrency. The executive purportedly misled customers about Celsius' worsening financial health, and didn't register either as a salesperson or as a commodities and securities dealer.The Attorney General's office claims Mashinsky falsely boasted of low-risk investments and reliable lending partners while "routinely" exposing investors to high-risk approaches that resulted in losses the company chief hid from customers. He also made untrue statements about safety, strategies and user numbers, according to the lawsuit. Celsius' ex-chief supposedly deceived hundreds of thousands of investors (over 26,000 in the state), some of which James says suffered "financial ruin."New York hopes to ban Mashinsky from doing business in the state. It also wants him to pay damages and otherwise compensate investors. In a statement to Engadget, Celsius would only reiterate that Mashinsky resigned as CEO in September and is "no longer involved" in managing the firm.Celsius is one of the more prominent casualties of last year's crypto crash. Its token's value plunged from $7 in 2021 to just $3 last spring. That was particularly damaging to a company that offered loans with little collateral and promised yields as high as 18.6 percent — it didn't have the resources needed to endure the crisis. It tried freezing withdrawals last June to stabilize its assets, but opted for bankruptcy the following month to restructure and otherwise give it a better chance to regroup.The lawsuit isn't likely to be the end of the fallout. Several states are investigating Celsius' practices, and the Securities and Exchange Commission has been in touch. Celsius isn't alone in dealing with legal repercussions. Just this week, the crypto exchange Coinbase reached a $100 million settlement with New York over alleged financial rule violations. However, it's notable that the state is going after Mashinsky directly, not just the business he once ran.

At CES, Audio-Technica unveiled new StreamSet wired headsets that it designed with content creators in mind. Based on the popular M50x headphones, the M50xSTS comes in two flavors. One model has 3.5mm aux and XLR connectivity. The other has a USB cable that enables some extra features, but the two versions are otherwise very similar.You'll get the same 45mm large-aperture drivers with rare earth magnets and copper-clad aluminum wire voice coils that are present in the M50x, along with swappable earpads. The M50x earpads are focused on audio quality and sound isolation, while the mesh and leatherette earpads are all about breathability and comfort.As for the microphone, Audio-Technica adopted a cardioid condenser from its 20 Series models. The mic, which is said to offer studio-level audio quality without background noise, is on a boom arm. Handily, when you flip the boom up, the headset will mute the mic. One advantage that the M50xSTS-USB has over the 3.5mm model is that, thanks to the sidetone circuitry, you'll be able to hear your voice through the headset if you wish. You can adjust that volume with an earcup dial.The M50xSTS has a two-meter cable with a 3.5mm headphone input and, for the mic, an XLR output that you can connect to an audio interface or mixer. The M50xSTS-USB version has a two-meter cable as well, but with a USB-A connector (you'll get a USB-C adapter too). The latter model also has an analog-to-digital converter with a sampling rate up to 24 bits or 96 kHz. The M50xSTS costs $199, while the M50xSTS-USB will run you $229.

A few years back Expressive E swung by the Engadget offices to show off its first standalone synthesizer, the Osmose. That was late 2019, and the instrument was originally expected to ship in the Summer of 2020. Well, as we all know, almost nothing has gone as planned since 2020. And it's only now, nearly three years later, that Osmose is actually ready for consumers. Today the first units started shipping those who placed a preorder all those many moons ago. Expressive E is also reopening preorders for the next batch and are expected to start shipping soon.While I can't pass full judgement on the Osmose from my short demo over three years ago, it still is shaping up to be a very unique and exciting instrument. The core synth engine is borrowed from MPE pioneers Haken Audio and delivers a combination of FM, virtual analog and physical modeling. That physical modeling engine is particularly big deal since it really shine's on Expressive E's unique keybed.The 49 full-sized keys don't just move downward, but also side to side. This gives you an additional dimension for exploring sounds, the most obvious case being to add vibrato just by wiggling your fingers back and forth. And since the Osmose is built expressly for MPE, that means each note is controlled individually, so you can play a chord, then bend only the highest note while keeping the bass notes the same. That makes the Osmose the first traditional keyboard (at least that I'm aware of) that supports MPE.While there is a builtin sound engine with 24-notes of polyphony, the 5-pin MIDI dins and USB connection mean you can control any soft or hardware synth with the Osmose too. That includes passing along MPE data to compatible instruments.To the left of the keyboard are an array of controls and a color LCD for navigating the synth's interface. There will also be an app for both Windows and macOS that allows you to create and edit sounds. The Expressive E is available for preorder now at $1,799.

Last fall, turntable Victrola released the $799 Stream Carbon, a record player that could wirelessly connect to Sonos speakers so you can play records all around your house. As a vinyl nerd who also has a bunch of Sonos speakers, this product felt like it was made for me — and while it's undeniably nice, it's also quite expensive. Just a few months later, though, Victrola is making good on its promise to expand its Sonos-compatible lineup with the Stream Onyx. Visually and functionally, it's very similar to the Stream Carbon, but it costs $599, 25 percent less than the Carbon.It seems the main difference between the two turntables are the materials used, though Victrola's spec sheets note that the Stream Onyx is built with a "low-resonance" MDF plinth (or base) combined with metal turntable components. The tonearm here is aluminum, rather than the carbon fiber variety found on the Stream Carbon. The Carbon also has an aluminum headshell for the cartridge, while the Onyx appears to use plastic.The all-black design of the Stream Onyx does away with the striking silver front that made the Stream Carbon a distinctive piece of hardware — but if you're not in it for looks, the Onyx seems like a solid way to get the same streaming experience while saving some cash. The Onyx has the same simple counterweight system for the tonearm that I found extremely easy to set up, and it retains the large and useful volume knob right up front.And naturally, this turntable can connect to basically any Sonos speaker (or group of speakers) that has been released in the last decade. I tested the Stream Carbon with my old Play:1 speakers from 2015, as well as some newer models, and everything worked seamlessly — I expect that'll be the case with the Onyx, as well. If you already have a good set of wired speakers, the Onyx retains the classic RCA output in addition to its wireless capabilities.Somewhat surprisingly, the Stream Onyx will be available very soon. Victrola says that it'll be up for pre-order directly, on Amazon or from a number of audio gear retailers for $599 starting on January 7th. The turntable should ship in February.

We’ve seen a handful of companies attempt to make dual-screen laptops a thing – from Dell’s Concept Duet back in 2020 to more recent systems like ASUS’ line of ZenBook Duo notebooks. But with the YogaBook 9i at CES 2023, Lenovo is pushing the idea of a true two-screen laptop further than ever before.From the outside, the YogaBook 9i doesn’t look much different from a typical laptop. But when you open it up, you’re greeted by two 13.3-inch 2.8K OLED displays that dominates the inside of the device. That means unlike ASUS’ rivals, there’s no room for a physical keyboard – at least not on the body of the device. However, to support all sorts of setups and use cases, Lenovo also provides a range of bundled accessories including a folding kickstand, a detachable Bluetooth keyboard and a stylus. And it’s this combination of peripherals that really elevates the YogaBook 9i into something more than a simple clamshell.When propped up on the kickstand you can position the laptop’s displays in either side-by-side or stacked orientations, which provides tons of vertical screen real estate or more traditional dual displays depending on your needs. Then, all you have to do is slap the BT keyboard down on a table and suddenly you have a device that’s more like a portable all-in-one desktop.Lenovo also has some software tricks to get the most out of the various display modes. For example, when the YogaBook 9i’s screens are stacked on top of each, you can tap five fingers against the screen to span a single window across both displays in what the company calls waterfall mode. Alternatively, when you want to move windows from one screen to another, you can simply flick your finger to send an app up or down. And similar to what we’ve seen on the ThinkPad X1 Fold, Lenovo has a variety of grid options so you can launch into dual, triple or quadruple app layouts to maximize your multitasking.Sam Rutherford/EngadgetIn addition to standard handwriting and stylus support, you can use the YogaBook’s stylus to capture screenshots and then press a button to automatically embed it in a new OneNote file. This makes the process of recording minutes or saving ideas from brainstorming sessions during meetings super simple.And of course, when space is a concern, you can always use the YogaBook 9i in clamshell mode, either by using an on-screen virtual keyboard or simply dropping the BT keyboard on top of the lower display. I also really appreciate some of the small add-ons Lenovo included to support various typing layouts. By pushing the keyboard back towards the screen (both the physical or virtual keyboard via an eight-finger swiping motion), you can activate a virtual touchpad (albeit a somewhat small one). Or if you have an external mouse connected, you can pull the keyboard forward to reveal a row of widgets for stuff like weather, news and more.Sam Rutherford/EngadgetAs for specs, the YogaBook 9i is well equipped with 13th-gen Intel Core i7 CPUs, up to 16GB of DDR5 RAM, 512GB of storage and three USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4. And despite being a relatively sleek system that measures just 0.63-inches thick, Lenovo managed to cram a large 80Whr battery inside. That’s important because those dual OLED displays are pretty power-hungry, with the company claiming the laptop will last around seven hours in dual-screen mode or closer to 14 hours when only using a single display.Sam Rutherford/EngadgetThat said, I do have a few concerns. First, some of the gesture controls and stylus input weren’t particularly responsive. The YogaBook even blue-screened a couple of times over the course of about an hour while I tested it. But that’s sort of to be expected when demoing pre-production devices. The bigger issue for me is that while I’m optimistic about the future of dual-screen laptops, typing on a touchscreen is still a challenge. I found that when I was in a groove, I could type nearly as fast as I can on a traditional physical keyboard. The problem is that when your fingers drift (and they will), typos start piling up in bunches, and there’s no good way of finding the home row again. That means you often have to look down to check the position of your hands, which is annoying for touch typists.Sam Rutherford/EngadgetFinally, while I love that Lenovo puts the YogaBook’s kickstand, BT keyboard and stylus in the box for free, I really think the kickstand should be built-in to the device itself, like it is on convertibles like a Surface Pro. That’s because even though the kickstand turns into a folding cover of sorts, it feels like you spend a bit too much time keeping track of everything and practicing origami when moving between modes.But in many respects, this is what you get when a company explores an untested design. And even with these concerns, I’m still incredibly excited to try out a final retail version of the YogaBook 9i when it comes out sometime in April for around $2,000.

Alongside its regular slate of laptops and other gear, Lenovo has announced an E-Ink notepad at CES. Smart Paper is a 10.3-inch display with an anti-glare screen. The company says it’s a lightweight device with 50GB of storage, enough for 50,000 pages of doodles and scrawls.Smart Paper comes with a battery-less stylus that can be stored in the case. The Smart Paper Pen is designed to minimize lag, with latency as low as 23 milliseconds. There are nine different pen settings (such as pencil, ballpoint and marker), more than 4,000 pressure sensitivity levels and tilt detection. Smart Paper has dozens of notepad templates as well, including a blank slate, lined paper and music manuscript.LenovoThere’s the option to record voice notes, thanks to the dual microphones. Handily, you can take notes while recording a meeting or lecture. They’ll be synced, so you can select some text and hear that portion of the recording.Don’t worry too much about losing a note. Smart Paper can convert your handwriting into text and you can use keyword searches to find what you’re looking for. You can delete and reorganize notes, and place them into folders. You'll be able to access millions of ebooks and search saved books and articles that are on your Smart Paper. If you leave the notepad at home, you’ll still be able to access all your stuff, thanks to the Smart Paper mobile and Windows PC app, which supports cloud sync. The app can translate text and audio recordings onto other languages as well.Smart Paper seems like Lenovo's answer to Amazon's Kindle Scribe, which debuted last year. How they compare against each other in practice remains to be seen, but at $400, Smart Paper will be $60 more expensive. It should ship later this year.Lenovo

Lenovo believes artificial intelligence will help differentiate its 2023 gaming laptops. Four new models at CES 2023 include the Lenovo LA AI chip, which the company says can dynamically adjust frame rates, increase the maximum heat threshold and boost overall performance. Additionally, it’s launching new gaming desktops across different price points.The LA AI chip is in the new Legion Pro 7, 7i, 5 and 5i (the “i” suffix denotes Intel variants) gaming laptops. Lenovo's AI Engine+ software uses the chip to deploy a “machine learning algorithm to tune system performance optimally.” The company says FPS monitoring, higher thermal design power (TDP) and other tweaks boost performance and efficiency over previous generations. Although until we get some hands-on time, it’s unclear how big of a significant difference that will make.The Intel-powered Legion Pro 7i is the highest-end model, starting at $2,000. (Its AMD equivalent, the Legion Pro 7, won’t be available in North America.) The maxed-out versions of the 7i run on the latest 13th Gen Intel Core processors with NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX Next-Gen series Laptop GPUs. The notebook has a 16-inch QHD (2,560 x 1,600) display with a 240Hz refresh rate. NVIDIA versions use Lenovo’s ColdFront 5.0 thermal management system, including an extra-wide vapor chamber covering the processor and graphics card. (Lower-tier models use a dedicated CPU vapor chamber with hybrid heat piping instead.) Lenovo says the more advanced cooling system leads to zero throttling while totaling 235W of thermal design power. Additionally, a tricked-out version uses a 99.99Whr battery, the largest allowed on flights, that also supports quick charging.LenovoThe Legion Pro 5 and 5i are slightly cheaper, starting at $1,460 for the AMD version (with a Risen 7000 Series CPU) and $1,480 for Intel (13th-gen Intel Core). Lenovo pitches this tier as equally suitable for gaming or work, and the machines include the new AI chip and ColdFront 5.0 system. The Pro 5 series also maxes out with the latest NVIDIA laptop cards for graphics, and its display is a 16-inch WQXGA panel with up to a 240Hz refresh rate.Lenovo also updated its gaming desktops. The Legion Tower 7i is the highest-end model, starting at $2,480. The PC uses 13th-gen Intel processors, NVIDIA graphics and up to 64GB of 5600Mhz DDR5 RAM in the top-shelf versions. The company offers plenty of cooling options for the premium machine, including a bigger VRM heatsink, up to six ARGB fans and a liquid cooling system (adding up to a 260W TDP). The Tower 7i comes in configurations of up to 6TB storage (three 2TB SSDs) and 1,200W PSU.Meanwhile, the Tower 5i ($1,200) and Tower 5 ($1,300) are the company’s less expensive desktop machines. The “i” variant runs 13th-gen Intel Core chips and next-gen NVIDIA graphics, while the standard Pro 5 sticks with an AMD Risen 7000 series processor and either NVIDIA or Radeon RX 7000 graphics. Both machines ship with up to 32GB 5600Mhz DDR5 RAM and up to two 1TB SSDs.Lenovo’s new gaming hardware is scheduled to ship around springtime. The Legion Pro 7i laptop kicks things off in March, with the Pro 5i/5 laptops and Tower 7i and 5i desktops following in April. Finally, the Tower 5 desktop will launch slightly later in May.

Lenovo’s been using its ThinkBook line of commercial laptops as a sort of playground for some of its wilder ideas for years. Last CES, for example, it showed off an ultrawide 17-inch ThinkBook Plus that had an 8-inch LCD screen on its keyboard deck in addition to the main 3K display. At CES 2023, Lenovo is not only continuing to try new multi-screen ideas with its latest ThinkBook Plus, but it’s also showcasing a sort of modular concept for accessories with the ThinkBook 16P.The new ThinkBook Plus iterates on the version Lenovo showed us in 2020, which was simply a laptop with an e-ink screen embedded in its lid. This year’s model takes the conventional clamshell hinge and turns it into a swivel that’s mounted in the middle of the hinge. This allows you to turn the screen with one hand and flip between the 13.3-inch 2.8K OLED and the front-lit 12-inch e-ink panel on the top cover. Lenovo updated the color e-ink screen this year too, to hit a 12Hz refresh rate. With this, the ThinkBook Plus Twist can show the Windows interface on either side, and the system will switch screens whenever you twist it. Both panels support pen input, too, so you can take notes with ease.A twisting format isn’t new for Lenovo, since it’s already tried out similar styles with the ThinkPad X41 tablet in 2005, and the ThinkPad Twist in 2012. A dual-screen twisting laptop lid though? Shocking. I’m mildly concerned about the potential for breakage with this format, since you’ll be gripping pretty firmly on the camera module while applying a not-minimal amount of force to turn the display around. While I didn’t feel any damage during my time with the demo units, I don’t know how well this will hold up with repeated use over time.Though it’s slightly less eye-catching, I’m actually more intrigued by the ThinkBook 16P. This is the fourth generation of Lenovo’s larger high-end machine and correspondingly comes with some premium specs. It’ll be powered by up to Intel’s 13th-generation Core i9 processor, NVIDIA’s latest RTX 40 series GPUs. While it only has a single display, the ThinkBook 16P can be configured with an up to 3.2K IPS display that runs at 120Hz. There’s also an updated keyboard here offering travel of 1.5mm, making it one of the deepest in Lenovo’s lineup.What’s most intriguing about the 16P, though, is the new magnetic pogo pin connector at the top of the connector (behind the webcam). With this, you can snap one of the new attachments Lenovo has created for this device and add extra capabilities to the machine. The company is calling this system Magic Bay, and has made three initial Magic Bay accessories: a 4K webcam, an LTE pack and a selfie light. That last one is my favorite, not only because I’m a shameless narcissist, but also because it has a capacitive touch sensor on the right side that lets you toggle brightness levels. Plus, Lenovo is planning on selling this attachment for just $20.Meanwhile, the 4K webcam module sits on a rotating hinge, so you can simultaneously capture both you and the people facing you on the same call. Lenovo also crafted software that can combine the feeds from the attached and onboard webcams and supposedly optimize the way you look on calls via Zoom (and other apps). Finally, the LTE expansion brings — you guessed it — cellular connectivity to your laptop. There’s a USB-C connector at the bottom that lets you use it as a wired hotspot for another device at the same time if you wish.The ThinkBook Plus Twist will be available for $1,650 in June, while the 16P starts at $1,350 and will arrive in May. Watch our video above for a better look at the new machines and make sure to stay tuned for all the news out of CES 2023.

While Lenovo has been a huge force in the enterprise laptop space thanks to its long line of ThinkPads and ThinkBooks, Motorola is now hoping to leverage its parent company’s expertise by bringing some of Lenovo’s best features over to its newest mobile device: the ThinkPhone by Motorola.At first glance, Motorola nailed the ThinkPhone’s basic design. It sports a relatively stealthy appearance featuring aramid fiber in back (and you can still see the weave like on ThinkPads), aircraft-grade aluminum around the sides and a screen made from Gorilla Glass Victus in front. But more importantly, Motorola claims the phone is MIL-STD 810H-certified, which means it’s built to withstand drops of up to 1.25 meters and other environmental stresses. And like all good handsets these days, the ThinkPhone also features an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance including submersions of up to five feet for 30 minutes. So that’s the durability side of things covered relatively thoroughly.To ensure the ThinkPhone delivers top-notch security, Motorola is including its ThinkShield platform which supports a range of threat detection services and IT features such as easy-to-use mobile device management (MDM) and zero-touch enrollment. But for me, after complaining numerous times about lackluster software support on its consumer phones, I really like that Motorola is committing to at least four years of regular security updates and three major OS upgrades for the ThinkPhone (the device will come with Android 13 out of the box). Granted, this is still a bit short of what Samsung and Google offer on Galaxy S and Pixel phones, but it's a nice improvement and anything short of this would probably be a dealbreaker in the enterprise space.However, where things get interesting is the way the ThinkPhone works when paired with one of Lenovo’s business laptops. Using what Motorola is calling Think to Think connectivity, you can sync the handset with a nearby ThinkPad, allowing you to wirelessly share files, mirror your phone’s screen on your notebook, copy-paste text and photos and more. And if you’re the type of person who always wants to look their best during video calls (like my colleague Cherlynn Low), you can even use the ThinkPhone’s camera (both front and back) as a webcam instead of the lower-res sensor that’s probably built into your laptop.Sam Rutherford/EngadgetBecause the ThinkPhone supports Motorola’s Ready For platform, you can also use the handset as a portable desktop in a pinch by connecting it to an external display, keyboard and mouse. All told, it’s a nice bit of synergy between Moto and its parent company, though I do wonder why it took so long for the two to finally work together. Remember, Lenovo bought Motorola from Google way back in 2014.Another nice nod to the ThinkPad line is the red button on the side of the phone, which can be programmed by IT personnel to open a specific piece of company software or to launch a specific app by the user. On top of that, you can double tap the red key to open a menu with shortcuts to features like the advanced webcam function or app streaming. Thanks to a partnership with Microsoft, the ThinkPhone will also come pre-loaded with Office 365 (including a free one-month trial). And in the future, there will even be a push-to-talk feature built directly into Teams, so you can send audio messages with a single tap.Sam Rutherford/EngadgetAs for general specs, the ThinkPhone looks pretty solid, though there isn’t really anything that stands out. It features a 6.6-inch OLED display with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, 8GB or 12GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage. The phone also supports dual sims, but sadly there’s no option for expandable storage via microSD. The front-facing selfie cam uses a high-res 32MP sensor while the dual shooters in back are comprised of a 50MP main cam and a 13MP ultrawide lens. I’m a bit disappointed to see that Motorola didn’t include a zoom lens or even a dedicated macro cam, but considering this phone is meant for business, I can see why those were left off.That said, I do like that Motorola included a sizable 5,000 mAh battery and support for 68-watt fast charging (not to mention an included power brick). Not only does this mean you can add hours worth of juice in just a few minutes, Moto’s power adapter is also beefy enough to charge most ultraportable laptops that support USB-PD, so it can pull double duty in a pinch.Sam Rutherford/EngadgetHowever, the big challenge for the ThinkPhone is that with devices from Samsung and Apple being by far the most popular when it comes to enterprise handsets, it could be difficult for Motorola to break in, even with support from Lenovo. Moto has yet to reveal detailed pricing for the ThinkPhone, though it’s slated to become available in the US, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Australia and parts of Asia sometime in the “coming months.”

Believe it or not, ThinkPad business-oriented laptops have been around for 30 years, and Lenovo is celebrating by adding a new mobile companion: the ThinkPhone. Designed for IT pros to pair seamlessly with ThinkPad PCs, the handset launches “in the coming months.”Accentuating its IT-related security features, the phone has a discrete processor core for isolating sensitive data like PINs, passwords and crypto keys. It supports Lenovo’s ThinkShield security suite, another business-focused carryover from the PC world, and Moto Secure, a hub for security and privacy features. Additionally, IT admins can use tools like Moto OEMConfig or Moto Device Manager to customize lock screen settings, network alerts or pin layout scrambling.The ThinkPhone’s specs are no slouch, running Android 13 with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 system-on-chip. It has a 6.6-inch pOLED display with 2400 x 1080 resolution (394 ppi). The 5G phone also supports WiFi 6E and lasts an estimated 36 hours per charge. It has a 50MP “Ultra Pixel” camera and offers storage tiers in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB (and 8GB or 12GB of RAM). It’s IP68-rated, meaning it can withstand five feet of submersion for 30 minutes.LenovoOn the phone’s side is a customizable button that the company suggests programming to launch business apps or trigger PC/mobile syncing features. In a partnership with Microsoft, Lenovo is also working on adding push-to-talk for Microsoft Teams through the side button. The two partners also collaborated to ship the phone with Microsoft 365, Outlook and Teams apps preinstalled.The phone’s build is military standard (MIL-STD 810H) certified using a “lightweight aramid fiber that’s stronger than steel” and aircraft-grade aluminum. Its front panel is Gorilla Glass Victus.Lenovo hasn’t announced pricing for the handset, which will be available in the US, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Australia and “select countries across Asia.” Instead, it points IT departments to contact their local customer representatives ahead of its launch in early 2023.

Lenovo has a long history of experimenting with its Yoga lineup, and that's not stopping in 2023. The company has unveiled a 2023 roster headlined by the Yoga Book 9i, billed as the first "full-size" dual-screen OLED laptop. The system's twin 13.3-inch 2.8K screens theoretically make it a multitasking champ without significant compromises on size or weight — it's still about 0.63 inches thick, and weighs just over 3lbs. You can use it in different orientations, including a tablet mode and a presentation-friendly tent mode. A detachable Bluetooth keyboard and Smart Pen support make it more useful as a productivity machine.This won't be the most powerful laptop you can buy. The Yoga Book 9i runs on a low-power 13th-gen Core i7-U15 with 16GB of RAM, up to 1TB of SSD storage and an 80WHr battery that offers a claimed 14 hours of video playback on one screen (10 hours with dual screens). You do get three Thunderbolt 4 ports, however, as well as creature comforts like quad-speaker Dolby Atmos audio and Windows Hello support through the 1080p webcam.Expect to wait a while, and to pay a premium while you're at it. The Yoga Book 9i doesn't ship until June, and will start at a hefty $2,100 with 512GB of storage. This is for enthusiasts and pros who'd normally buy an external monitor or large-screened laptop, and aren't fond of bulkier alternatives like ASUS' ZenBook Duo.LenovoThere are more conventional options, including for desktop fans. The Yoga AIO 9i (shown at middle) is an unapologetically style-oriented all-in-one that mates a 31.5-inch 4K, HDR-capable display with a reasonably powerful PC tucked behind it. You can equip the system with up to a Core i9-13900H processor and NVIDIA's next-gen laptop graphics. If you thought the Surface Studio 2+ was behind the times, this might be the machine for you. You won't get more than 1TB of built-in SSD storage, but you will find up to 32GB of RAM and decent expansion that includes one USB 4 port, three USB 3.2 ports (one of them USB-C) and HDMI 2.1 output. The PC arrives in the third quarter of the year, and will start at $1,800 with a Core i7-13700H, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB drive.Other Yoga models play it safe and focus on updates to newer processors, although that's not necessarily a problem if you're looking for the latest specs in a familiar shape. The centerpiece, the new Slim 7 you see below, is a deluxe ultraportable with a 14-inch screen (up to a 1080p OLED or 2.8K touch LCD), an all-metal chassis and a raised camera notch that theoretically makes it easier to open. It runs on 13th-gen Core chips with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI, up to 16GB of RAM and a maximum 1TB SSD. There are also refreshed Yoga Slim 7i Carbon (13-inch) and Yoga 9i (14-inch) variants with 13th-gen Core CPUs, and a 13-inch Yoga 6 update rolls in AMD's Ryzen 7000-series chips as well as upgraded battery life.LenovoThe Slim 7 and Yoga 6 will both start at $730 when they ship in April. The Yoga 9i appears the same month for $1,500. The Yoga Slim 7i Carbon isn't headed to North America, but you still won't be hurting for choice this year.

It took a year, but Lenovo now has an answer to Samsung's gigantic Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra. The company has unveiled a 14.5-inch Tab Extreme that's pitched as much as a laptop replacement as it is an extra-large Android media tablet. The 3,000 x 1,876, 120Hz OLED display theoretically makes it a treat for both movie viewing and productivity, and there's even a Magic Keyboard-style add-on (included as standard in some markets) to convert it into a productivity machine. A bundled stylus tucks into the stand.The Tab Extreme isn't a powerhouse, but you shouldn't be hurting for performance. Lenovo equips the tablet with MediaTek's eight-core Dimensity 9000 chip, 12GB of RAM, 256GB of expandable storage and a pair of USB-C ports (one 3.2, the other 2.0) that support DisplayPort monitor connections and reverse charging. The eight Dolby Atmos-capable JBL speakers and four microphones promise solid audio quality, too. You'll find a 12,300mAh battery good for an estimated 12 hours of video playback, and the cameras are decent between the 13-megapixel front and rear main cameras as well as a secondary 5MP fixed-focus cam on the back.LenovoSoftware plays an important role as well. A Freestyle app lets you mirror or extend your Windows PC's desktop much like Apple's Sidecar. And you might not have to worry as much about OS updates. Lenovo ships the Tab Extreme with Android 13, and is promising both three major version upgrades as well as four years of security patches. While that's not as strong as the update policies from Apple or Samsung, it should keep your tablet reasonably current.The main obstacle may simply be the competition. Lenovo expects the Tab Extreme to arrive at an unspecified point later in 2023 starting at $1,200. While it's potentially a better value than a similarly-configured Tab S8 Ultra, where the keyboard is strictly optional, that rival device is nearly a year old. The Lenovo model might reach stores after Samsung and other competitors have introduced more powerful alternatives.

ASUS' fondness for sticking small screens on devices now extends to gamepads. As part of its many gaming hardware introductions at CES, the company has unveiled a ROG Raikiri Pro controller with a built-in, customizable OLED screen. The 1.3-inch display on the Xbox- and Windows-ready peripheral can show useful information like the charging status, microphone mute and the active profile, but you can also use it for purely cosmetic animations, images and text. No one will forget that it's your controller, then.This is also the first licensed Xbox controller to offer "tri-mode" connections. You can use Bluetooth, RF or USB-C. You'll only get to use the wireless functionality with a PC (ASUS only promises Xbox support through USB), but this is still handy if you'd like flexibility in how you connect to your gaming machines. Even the audio is slightly excessive, as the Raikiri Pro includes an ESS DAC to boost audio from the 3.5mm headset jack.ASUSThe gamepad unsurprisingly offers extensive controls. Beyond the familiar Xbox layout, you can program four rear buttons for hotkeys, sensitivity toggles and similar commands. Top buttons let you switch profiles mid-play, and trigger locks can limit the amount of travel. An app also offers control over dead zones, vibrations and other finer points.ASUS hasn't mentioned pricing, but you can expect the Raikiri Pro to ship sometime in the first quarter of the year. This isn't the first controller with a display (hello, Dreamcast fans) or even the first with OLED (Hyperkin's Xbox "Duke" revival had that). However, the technology might help it stand out in a crowded field where modular designs, wild colors and extra buttons are relatively commonplace.

Several years ago Amazon unveiled the controversial Sidewalk network, designed to connect outdoor smart home tech beyond your WiFi range using Amazon Ring, Echo and other devices. Now, the company has announced that Sidewalk finally has the needed "coverage and tools" ready to make the service available to third-party developers, and will be showing it offer with a number of products at CES 2023.Sidewalk uses not just your own Ring and Echo devices, but those from your neighbors as well. The devices on display are generally of the outdoor variety that can benefit from Sidewalk as they may not have easy WiFi access. For example, a company called New Cosmos USA will show off a natural gas sensor called DeNova Detect designed to protect homes from undetected leaks. It'll use Sidewalk to "expand coverage for their gas alarms and eliminate network connectivity costs," according to Amazon.Another company called Browan will feature motion detectors, door and windows sensors, a water leak detector and a CO2 detector, all of which can send alerts using Sidewalk. Deviceroy uses Sidewalk to connect solar inverters to the internet, letting customers see how their solar equipment is operating and help them optimize efficiency. And finally, Meshify's leak and freeze detection device can connect to the internet and alert customers of damage using a Sidewalk connection.With its new third-party tools, Amazon is promising quick time to market and "live access to data and analytics," to help developers track performance. However, the technology has provoked security and privacy concerns, as it uses not just your own Amazon equipment but others around you. Another issue is the Echo and Ring devices are automatically enrolled in the program, forcing you to opt out using the Amazon Alexa app.

Back in 2020, Ring announced a security camera for your car that connects to the company’s wider home security ecosystem. Now, slightly after its planned 2021 release date, Ring is opening pre-orders for Car Cam, the newest member of its security family. The unit is pretty small, but projects up and away on a cantilever arm mounted to your dashboard to give it the necessary height.There are two cameras, one to keep an eye on the interior, the other facing out the front window to capture any insurance-worthy incidents. Should the system’s sensors be startled, it’ll trigger a recording, and alert you via the Ring app to show you what’s going on. Like pretty much every other Ring device, there’s a microphone and speaker, allowing you to watch (and communicate) with any unwanted visitors lurking in your vehicle.In addition, Car Cam will automatically begin recording if you say “Alexa, record,” and has been designed to capture footage from traffic stops. (Which, when you think about it, speaks volumes about how little even a company with very close ties to law enforcement thinks about the integrity of what goes on at traffic stops.) The hardware is powered from the car’s battery, connected via the OBD-II port, and will use WiFi to communicate unless you opt for LTE by paying for a Ring Protect Go subscription.Ring has added that, like its other products, you’ll have the option to activate end-to-end encryption, and won’t activate a recording unless triggered. It added that a privacy shutter will enable you to block the internal camera and microphone when closed. It’ll be available to pre-order from today, with shipping expected to begin in February, but there’s a hefty incentive to get your cash on the barrelhead now and not wait for the retail launch. Car Cam will retail for $250, but early pre-order customers can get theirs for $200 —while the Protect Go subscription will set you back $60 a year, or $6 a month.

Dutch solar car startup Lightyear started shipping its first vehicle — dubbed the Lightyear 0 — earlier this year. But while few people have driven this unique take on EV power, the company is already talking up its plans for the successor. At CES, Lightyear has announced that it is opening the waitlist for its second model — Lightyear 2 — which promises an even more radical take on a car powered by sunshine.For the uninitiated, Lightyear makes an EV which was draped in panels, designed to get some of its charge from the sun as it travels. Its spacious-yet-aerodynamic liftback frame has a panel on the bonnet, as well as much of the rear roofline. The 782 solar cells on the body are, Lightyear claims, capable of adding more than 43 miles of extra range on a sunny day. But such cutting-edge tech does not come cheaply, with Lightyear asking for nearly $300,000 for the existing model.The company says, however, that the newer model will be priced for less than $40,000, and is designed to offer an affordable way in for would-be EV buyers. Its super-efficient shape gives it a drag coefficient of around 0.175, slicing through the air far easier than most EVs on the market. That means Lightyear can reduce the size of the heavy (and expensive) battery to help make things more affordable. Although, naturally, it’ll work better in countries blessed with wall-to-wall sunshine for the longest period of time in the year.Lightyear 2 is expected to start production in 2025, giving you plenty of time to look for somewhere warmer and sunnier to move to.

Apple's latest Fitness+ updates are here, and it looks to be one of the biggest January releases for the service since it launched. A key new addition is kickboxing as a total-body cardio workout type, with sessions of 10, 20 and 30 minutes. It'll be led by two Fitness+ trainers, Jamie-Ray Hartshorne and Muay Thai fighter Nez Dally, the first woman to compete in Thailand wearing a hijab.Another key addition is the addition of Beyoncé to the Artist Spotlight series, including songs from her latest album, Renaissance. Starting January 9th, seven new workouts with her music will be available across cycling, dance, HIIT, Pilates, treadmill and yoga, Apple said. Fitness+ is also rolling out Artist Spotlight offerings from Foo Fighters (January 16) and Bad Bunny (January 23rd).AppleAlso on tap are new episodes of Time To Walk, that helps motivate you on walks with stories from noted individuals like Dolly Parton, Shawn Mendes and others. The latest walk features actor Jamie Lee Curtis, as she "reflects on the importance of embracing life’s most unexpected moments, the transformative power of serving others in need," and more, Apple wrote. Other guests arriving soon are Amber Ruffin, Jason Segel, José Andrés, Nina Hoss, Colman Domingo, Nathan Chen and Sheryl Lee Ralph.Fitness+ is also unveiling a new meditation theme, Sleep, joining the existing library that includes Calm, Gratitude, Resilience, and Creativity. Those include a new program called "Introduction to Meditations for Sleep," with four 20-minute meditations that conclude with five minutes of relaxing music.And finally, it's adding two new collections for inspiration and goal-setting. Those are "6 Weeks to Restart Your Fitness," featuring a blend of workouts to help users onramp back into fitness after the holidays, available January 9th. The other is "Level Up Your Core Training," with 10- and 20-minute core workouts using dumbbells, coming on January 23.

When you browse Apple Books for your next audiobook, you might come across a few titles with a note that says they were "Narrated by Apple Books." That's because the tech giant has released a catalogue of titles that make use of its new AI-powered digital narration service. The company said the service uses the advanced speech synthesis technology it developed "to produce high-quality audiobooks from an ebook file."According to The Guardian, Apple approached independent publishers who may be interested in teaming up for the project's launch in recent months. Authors were reportedly told that the company behind the technology would shoulder the costs of turning their books into audiobooks and that they would be earning royalties. Apple, as secretive as ever, apparently remained unnamed at that point of the process and required partners to sign non-disclosure agreements.In its announcement, Apple touched on how commissioning voice actors and producing audiobooks could cost writers and publishers thousands of dollars. For independent authors, especially those just starting out, it's not always possible to spare that much money. But thing is, the audiobook market has grown tremendously in recent years — it earned $1.6 billion in sales in 2021, and experts reportedly believe the market could be worth over $35 billion by 2030. Authors wouldn't only be missing out on potential income by not creating audiobook versions of their titles, but also the opportunity to build their brand and following while the market is still growing.The tech giant said its digital narration technology will make audiobook creation more accessible. There is truth in that, and if the project turns out to be successful, it could change the future of audiobooks. Books narrated by a digital voice aren't exactly new, though, and they're typically hard to listen to due to how robotic they sound. David Caron, a co-producer at a large audiobook publisher in Canada, also raised an important point in his statement to The Guardian: "The narrator brings a whole new range of art in creating audiobook... They're creating something that is different from the print book, but that adds value as an art form."At the moment, Apple offers authors two digital voices to choose from: One soprano and one baritone. They sound pretty human, based on the samples the company shared, but the sound clips were short and might not be a genuine representation of the whole audiobook's quality. Apple is only accepting books in the romance and a limited number of other fiction genres for now. The books must already be available on Apple Books, must be in English and must pass and editorial review. It's working to expand AI narration's availability, however, and will soon offer it to nonfiction and self-development authors. The company will also launch two more digital voices for those genres. For now, you can listen to audiobooks that use Apple's AI by searching for "AI narration" in Apple Books.

One of the fun things about CES is a completely different approach to established tech norms. Displace’s 55-inch OLED TV not only runs on batteries and has a pop-out camera but also attaches itself with a vacuum seal to most walls and windows. There are even handles on the frame. Is this the end of wall mounts? Probably not.It apparently keeps itself in place through multiple vacuum loops on the back. When the display detects a surface, the vacuums kick in, sucking the device to the surface of your choice. Displace TV can also do without a power cord because it doesn't do much image processing onboard. It's basically streaming media from a base station that performs the rendering. So no wires and no ports on the OLED TV itself.There are more quirks. You could watch roughly six hours of content before swapping out batteries, and there’s no remote, so you’ll have to suffer the erratic method of hand gestures – which I don't think anyone truly likes. At $3,000, though, the Displace TV is predictably pricey. Only 100 units are available for pre-order at the moment, and the company said shipping starts in December. And if you get four of them, apparently you can put them together to create a 110-inch 8K TV.– Mat SmithThe Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.The biggest stories you might have missed

Robot delivery firm Ottonomy has unveiled a new Ottobot model called the Yeti with a new automated package delivery mechanism. That could allow it to do last mile drop-offs directly to a locker or remove the need for someone to receive a package, TechCrunch has reported.As shown at the end of Ottonomy's latest video, the Yeti uses a simple tilting mechanism and rollers to dispense the packages. That would allow it to drop packages onto a doorstep or transfer them to a locker, making it fully independent from humans. It may also allow for easy returns, as TechCrunch noted.The Brooklyn-based firm operates in multiple cities including Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Oslo and Madrid, with plans to expand across north America and Asia. It recently unveiled the Ottobot 2.0 with modular delivery bins, a navigation engine that merges data from lidar and cameras, and a new four-wheel drive "crab mode" system for extra maneuverability in tight spaces. The company works in partnership with Verizon in the US.

Amazon is cutting more jobs than it had previously planned, CEO Andy Jassy has admitted in a blog post. Back in November, reports came out that the e-commerce giant was eliminating 10,000 jobs, just as other companies in the tech sector had announced layoffs of their own. Now, the company is expanding its job cuts, and between the employees who'd already lost their jobs and the ones losing theirs in the near future, Amazon will be eliminating over 18,000 roles in the company.Jassy said majority of the upcoming layoffs would be from its retail and recruiting divisions. As The Wall Street Journal notes, Amazon benefited from the COVID lockdowns over the past few years, since people had to shop online more often than before. The company reportedly added hundreds of thousands of employees to keep up with the surge in demand — and then launched cost-cutting reviews to see which units weren't making profit. It then froze hiring, closed brick-and-mortar stores and shut down business units.When news broke that Amazon was planning sweeping layoffs, Meta had also just revealed that it was letting more than 11,000 of its employees go. Like Amazon's executives, Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg significantly increased Meta's investments following a large revenue growth due to the pandemic. However, people's spending habits eventually went back to pre-pandemic trends, leading to a smaller revenue for the company. More recently, Slack owner Salesforce revealed that it's cutting 10 percent of its workforce and closing down offices. The company also grew rapidly during the pandemic and can't sustain its bloated workforce in the current economy.Amazon will be cutting more jobs than Meta did by the time it's done. Jassy said the company will reach out to impacted employees starting on January 18th, so the layoffs will likely take place over the coming weeks. He added that Amazon will offer them packages that include a "separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits and external job placement support."

Sony has focused its CES efforts of late on electric cars, now in partnership with Honda, and this year was more of the same. Sony Honda Mobility unveiled its first prototype called Afeela, replacing the previous Vision-S 02. Its laden with sensors (radar, ultrasonic, cameras and more), uses Qualcomm's new automotive chip and promises "interactive communication between mobility and people" via the so-called Media Bar. Pre-orders will start in mid-2025 with deliveries scheduled for spring of 2026.Sony also provided a first look at its Neill Blomkamp-directed Gran Turismo movie, revealed that the Gran Turismo 7 game would be getting PlayStation VR 2 support and announced that Beat Saber was also coming to PSVR 2. The PlayStation 5 console has now passed 30 million units sold, and from now on, anyone who wants a PS5 should be able to get one.Finally, the company revealed Project Leonardo aimed at building controllers that are easier to use for people with limited motor control. Taking a page from Microsoft's gaming accessibility efforts, it uses a set of customizable circular gamepads. There's no release date window or price yet.

The market for percussive massage guns is pretty packed. So is there space for another? Symbodi hopes so. Its Vertigun is a quiet-running massager that locks into a patented suction-cup wall mount. While massage guns might feel great, it’s often hard to get to tricky nooks and tight areas without someone else controlling the device for you. Symbodi even claims that because you’re not reaching or straining to get a massage gun in place (and put pressure on it), your body should be further relaxed when coming into contact with the percussive massage.The Vertigun certainly runs quieter than the competition. Vertigun says it tops out at 48dB, comparing favorably against rivals like the Theragun (75 dB) and Hypervolt (60 dB). In a demo – Engadget was sent an early model – the hardware seemed a little clunky compared to the competition, but the size of the Vertigun’s battery ensures it can last a while between charges. The company claims it should be able to massage away for up to eight hours. It’s roughly the same weight as similar massage guns, too, but what makes it different is that you can use it without holding it.Engadget / Mat SmithThat’s accomplished with the help of a solid, substantial airlock mount. With a sizable rubberized cup, you pull a lever to lock the mount to the wall. I assumed I might need a flat, polished surface, like glass or tile, to mount the Vertigun. However, the airlock mount attached to my apartment’s painted doors and walls pretty easily, without scraping or affecting the surface. Symbodi warns that it won’t stick to textured drywall, brick, concrete or wallpapered surfaces. The massage gun itself slides and locks into the mount, and can be removed by pressing the lever inwards. The mount occasionally fell off the wall, so I eventually got into the habit of removing it after use.The six speeds seem perfectly functional – I’m not sure I need more than three settings – but the inclusion of several different massage attachments is definitely welcome. The Vertigun sample I received ahead of CES included an angled head, which did wonders for the side of my thighs and a pinpoint head for digging into shoulder blades. Three heads will come packaged with the Vertigun.Engadget / Mat SmithThe challenge could be standing out from all the other percussive massage guns, including the aforementioned Therabody and Hypervolt, not to mention cheaper options. It’s probably why the company is launching at CES 2023. Symbodi has also signed several athlete ambassadors, including former professional US soccer player (and two-time Olympic gold medalist) Carli Anne Hollins, Dallas Cowboys’ Ceedee Lamb and Steelers All Pro Minkah Fitzpatrick. The Vertigun will become available online later this month for $400.

Samsung introduced new QD-OLED TVs and a 57-inch 8K gaming display, the 2023 Freestyle projector and new Bespoke smart appliances at this year's CES. During the company's keynote, it also talked about its products' new features and upgrades in detail, including a new wash cycle for washing machines that can reduce microplastic pollution.Presenters talked about SmartThings Workspace, which lets you connect to linked devices remotely, and SmartThings Pet Care, as well. Samsung's pet service can send you alerts when your dogs bark and put on a show or video on a connected display to keep them entertained. Plus, it enables the camera on the brand's robot vacuum to recognize dogs and cats.In addition, Samsung introduced the latest SmartThings hub, which is its smallest yet. The SmartThings Station, as it's called, has a button that you can use to program smart lights, air conditioner or other home devices like smart blinds. It's the first Samsung product to come with built-in Matter support, giving it the capability to connect with Matter-enabled devices from other manufacturers.Any content played on the latest Samsung smart TVs can now sync with Philips Hue Lights for immersive lighting effects. The company also talked about the Knox Matrix, its security solution that acts as your private blockchain system for its smart home devices. Finally, Samsung presented the in-cabin car technology it developed in partnership with Harmon, as well as a new display technology called Relumino mode that can help people with low vision to see images more clearly.You can watch a condensed version of the event to get the gist of Samsung's announcements in the video above.

Fellow is well-known among coffee geeks for its well-designed range of brewing accessories. The company makes everything from kettles and mugs to brewers and grinders. And while Fellow's first grinder, the Ode, is mostly designed for pour overs, the company will debut a more versatile model next month. The Opus is a conical burr grinder than can sort everything from fine espresso to coarse cold brew.Inside, a six-blade 40mm burr set offers consistent grinds across 41 different settings. So whether you're brewing AeroPress or French press, the Opus will cover a lot more styles than the flat burr Ode. Fellow did bring its anti-static tech back for the new model, which the company says will help keep the mess to a minimum. Plus, there's an automatic timed stop, single dose loading, 110-gram capacity hopper and no-tool calibration. The Opus will be available on February 21st for $195, significantly cheaper than the second-gen Ode.

Nothing on the road is more important than the safety of your loved ones but you wouldn't think it from the state of child safety technology these days. "While safety features for adults in vehicles have evolved dramatically over the past 10 years, child passenger safety technology has remained stagnant," notes Babyark founder and CEO Shy Mindel stated in a release Wednesday. Their startup, Babyark, aims to significantly advance the quality of vehicular child protection with the self-referential Babyark car set."I was surprised to learn that the most important people in our lives, our children, sit in safety seats primarily made out of plastic and styrofoam,” Mandel noted. "Babyark is approaching safety through the hardware, the actual seat, and the software, including the safety sensors that communicate with the app. The result is a car seat that takes a holistic approach to safety.”Rather than styrofoam and plastic, the Babyark is constructed of anticrash materials and relies on a novel shock-absorbing SafeCoil that absorbs forward momentum during a crash. Should the worst case occur and the seat is involved in an accident, a set of IoT sensors will record the crash telemetry and relay it to first responders so that they can better and more quickly treat the child.An associated smartphone app for both Android and iOS will remind forgetful parents that happen to leave their children behind. Additionally, the ark itself will not engage with its base unit (which secures using the standard seat anchor points) if it is improperly seated upon it — a handy LED light ring will switch from red to green once everything is correctly set. The seat is rated to accommodate up infants and toddlers from four to a 65 pounds (front facing) and up to 55 pounds for rear facing. The Babyark is currently available for pre-order at $990 and will increase to $1,190 when it is officially released later this summer.

BMW is once again ready to give the world a glimpse of the futuristic tech it has in the works as p[art of its i Vision concept vehicle program. Following 2017's iVision Dynamics, 2018's iNext SAV, and last year's iVision Circular, the German automaker revealed at CES 2023 on Thursday the i Vision Dee ("Digital Emotional Experience"), a pared-down concept vehicle with a HUD running the full width of the front windshield.And like the previous iVision iterations, many features from the Dee are expected to make their way into production models — specifically BMW's new NEUE KLASSE EV platform beginning in 2025. Per the company, the Dee will feature BMW's Mixed Reality Slider which leverages the company's "shy tech" sensors to control how much digital content is displayed on the heads-up display. It will slide from fully analog up four additional steps — driving-related information, to infotainment information, to AR — and (eventually) full VR. Fingers crossed that only happens after BMW masters Level 5 driver assist.ENES KUCEVIC“With BMW i Vision Dee, we are showing how the car can be seamlessly integrated into your digital life and become a trusty companion. The vehicle itself becomes your portal to the digital world – with the driver always in control,” Adrian van Hooydonk, head of BMW Group Design, said in a press release. “Implemented the right way, technology will create worthwhile experiences, make you a better driver and simply bring humans and machines closer together.”The vehicle will also greet their drivers as they approach with a "personalised welcome scenario that combines graphical elements, light and sound effects." You'll even be able to communicate directly with the vehicle through verbal commands while it will respond using its headlights and kidney-shaped grille to "form a common phygital (fusion of physical and digital) icon on a uniform surface, allowing the vehicle to produce different facial expressions," according to Wednesday's release. The Dee will reportedly be capable of conveying joy, astonishment and approval, all visually. There's no word on what happens if you manage to anger it, but it can't be good.

Apple's Find My app alerts iOS and Mac users when they've left an item behind or helps them locate something they've lost. Later this year, you'll be able to do just that with Ember's heated travel mug. A new version, dubbed the Travel Mug 2+, is on the way this spring. Inside, updated firmware enables the cup to show up inside Apple's app. The Travel Mug 2+ is also equipped with a speaker, so if you lose it you can make it play a sound like you would for lost AirPods. Like other products that work with Find My, the new mug will show up in the app on iPhone, iPad or Mac and you can also locate it via the Find Items app on Apple Watch.Ember's current model, the Travel Mug 2, is available for $199.95 and keeps beverages hot for up to three hours with a 12-ounce capacity. It can also keep things warm all day if you keep it on the charging dock. A touch display allows you to adjust temperature right on the cup within a range of 120-145 degrees Fahrenheit. And like other Ember models, you can make that temp change inside the company's app. The company says that despite the added functionality, the Travel Mug 2+ won't cost more and it will eventually replace the Travel Mug 2.

Anyone who knows their tools knows that Makita, which makes drills and saws, also produces its own coffee machine that runs on the same batteries that power its equipment. Not to be outdone, Black + Decker has its own powered cocktail maker, and has now built a cordless model that you can take on the road. The Bev by Black + Decker Cordless Cocktail Maker is a battery powered booze-dispenser that harnesses Bartesian’s capsules to dish out alcoholic goodies.Standing taller than a foot on the tabletop, the portable Bev has space for six liquor bottles with the Bartesian pod up front. Naturally, you can use the controls on the top of the machine to set your dose size, from mocktail all the way through to large. And, because a cocktail dispenser isn’t the conversation starter it once was, the unit has its own “enhanced party mode” with a “rainbow of colors that light under the bottles.”The company says that you’ll be able to get up to 250 drinks on a single charge, assuming you’re rocking a fully-charged 20V MAX battery and don’t want anything too fancy. Naturally, when it’s plugged in, the machine will charge the battery, and run it down when you’re out of the kitchen. In terms of availability, the Bev by Black + Decker Cordless will be available in Spring of 2023, with the price set at $400 when it arrives.

AMD is bringing out some big guns to take on Intel's powerful HX laptop CPUs, and once again, they're also called "HX." The company's new Ryzen 9 7945HX processor is its most premium mobile offering, with 16 cores and 32 threads, as well as speeds between 2.5GHz and 5.4GHz. It's joined by an array of other Ryzen 7000 CPUs unveiled at CES (AMD also announced low-end chipsin September), which will power everything from budget laptops to extreme gaming and creator machines. The big takeaway this year? There will be a Ryzen laptop chip for practically every need.It makes sense for AMD to focus even more on its HX chips this year. Intel unveiled its high-powered lineup last year, and this week it revealed that there will be even more HX processors in 2023, led by the 24-core i9-13980HX. Like its previous chips, Intel is using a hybrid design which combines Performance and Efficient cores. So while Intel's core count is higher, its chips may end up performing similarly to AMD's, which utilize full-speed cores across the board.AMDThe Ryzen HX CPUs will run at 55-watts and above (also like Intel's), meaning they'll focus more on raw power than battery life. AMD claims the 7945HX is 78 percent faster than the previous top-end Ryzen 6900HX in Cinebench's multithreaded benchmark, and 18 percent faster in the single threaded test. Compared to Intel's 12900HX, its high-end chip from last year, the 7945HX is 169 percent faster in Handbrake encoding and 75 percent faster with Blender rendering. You can expect to see the 7945HX in some of the premiere gaming laptops this year, like the Alienware m16 and m18, as well as the latest ASUS ROG Strix.For a better balance between size and power, there's also the new Ryzen 7040 HS series chips, running between 35W and 45W. AMD says these chips are aimed at thin enthusiasts, and you can expect to see them in laptops this March. The Ryzen 9 7940HS is the pinnacle of this lineup, featuring 8 cores, 16 threads and up to 5.2 GHz boost speeds.The 7040 chips will also feature Ryzen AI, an integrated AI engine that can handle tasks like making background blurs during video calls, or sorting through your photo library. AMD says Ryzen AI can multitask up to 4 different AI workloads (or combine those capabilities on one task), and it's reportedly 50 percent more power efficient than Apple's M2. Intel is also planning to introduce a VPU AI accelerator in some of its 13th-gen chips — previously, we've only seen these accelerators on ARM chips, like the Microsoft SQ3 on the Surface Pro 9.When it comes to true ultraportables, AMD has the U-series Ryzen 7030 and 7035 lineups, which range from 15W to 35W chips. Those include the Ryzen 3 7330U at the low end, featuring 6 cores and 12 threads, to the 8 core/16 thread Ryzen 7 7730U. (Curiously, Ryzen 3 7335U is just a quad-core chip, but it can use almost twice as much power as the 7330U.)

With last year's Ryzen 7 5800X3D, AMD turned its long-awaited 3D V-Cache technology into a reality. That innovation allowed the company to stack more cache onto its CPUs, something that's particularly helpful for demanding tasks like games. Unfortunately, AMD wasn't able to reach the same clock speeds as the original 5800X, which made the chip tough for some reviewers to recommend. Now, it appears that AMD has (mostly) solved that problem.Today at CES, AMD unveiled its first Ryzen 7000 CPUs with 3D V-Cache, the 8-core Ryzen 7 7800X3D with 104MB of combined L2 and L3 cache, the 12-core Ryzen 9 7900X3D with 140MB of cache, and the king of them all, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D with a whopping 144MB of cache. What's truly impressive about the 7950X3D and 7900X3D, though, is that they can also reach the full 5.7GHz and 5.6GHz boost speeds of their 2D counterparts. Their base speeds are a bit slower, to be clear, but they shouldn't feel like the step down the 5800X3D was.It remains to be seen how much of an upgrade these chips will be, but cache-hungry gamers will likely be intrigued. AMD says the new V-Cache CPUs will be available in February, but there aren't any pricing details just yet.AMDAMD also rounded out its Ryzen 7000 desktop family, which initially launched last year, with a slew of 65-watt chips coming on January 10th. Those include the 12-core Ryzen 9 7900 ($429), the 8-core Ryzen 7 7700 ($329) and the 6-core Ryzen 5 7600 ($229). Not everyone needs 3D V-Cache, after all.

After taking a big swing at high-end desktop gaming with its RDNA 3 GPUs, AMD is bringing that technology down to laptops. At CES today, the company unveiled an array of Radeon RX 7000 mobile graphics cards. There's the Radeon RX 7600M XT and 7600M, both targeted at high fps 1080p gaming, as well as the RX 7700S and RX 7600S, which are meant for thin and light notebooks. But that's not all! There are also a few more mobile GPUs using AMD's last-gen RDNA 2 technology, which will likely end up in more affordable laptops.Let's start with the RX 7600M XT, though, as it represents the pinnacle of AMD's laptop gaming ambitions. It features 32 compute units, 8GB of GDDR6 memory, and it can use up to 120 watts worth of power. According to AMD, it soundly beats the desktop RTX 3060 GPU, which is notable since that card is faster than NVDIA's laptop models. The 7600M XT can reach up to 184 fps in Hitman 3 with maxed out graphics settings, whereas the 12GB RTX 3060 hits 160fps. It's not faster in every title, though, as AMD notes that the new GPU is 9fps slower than the 3060 in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (145fps vs 154 fps).AMDIt'll be more interesting to see how the RX 7700S and 7600S actually perform in thin and light machines. The 7700S features the same 32 compute units and 8GB of RAM as the 7600M XT, but it maxes out at 100W of power. AMD says the 7700S can reach up to 87fps in Cyberpunk 2077 and 147fps in Death Stranding with maxed out 1080p graphics.Based on my review of AMD's RDNA 3 GPUs, it's clear the company has some powerful architecture. But those cards also lagged far behind NVIDIA's when it came to ray tracing performance, especially once I enabled DLSS 3 upscaling. AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution 3.0 upscaling just couldn't compete. The company says it's developed a new feature, dubbed Smart Shift RSR, which offers upscaling "decoupled from the GPU." Details are a bit fuzzy, but it supposedly adds more performance. AMD says it'll arrive sometime in the first half of 2023.You can expect to see AMD's Radeon RX 7000 GPUs in laptops next month. It'll be featured in AMD Advantage editions of Alienware's M16 and M18, as well as ASUS's TUF Gaming A16. Almost as an afterthought, AMD also briefly noted the launched of several new Radeon 6000 GPUs, including the Radeon RX 6550M, featuring 16 compute units and 4GB of RAM. A wider variety of GPUs is ultimately a good thing for consumers, since it means you're more likely to find a gaming laptop within your budget.

Sony is building a better PlayStation 5 controller with Project Leonardo, a kit that promises to make games easier to play for people with limited motor control. In initial images, Project Leonardo is a set of circular gamepads lined with buttons and directional input methods, all of it customizable. Sony says the system will work "out of the box" with the PS5, allowing players to craft their ideal gamepad by mapping buttons, swapping out hardware bits and creating distinct profiles.Project Leonardo can be used on its own or paired with DualSense controllers — up to two Leonardos and one DualSense can be read as one gamepad by the PS5. This grants players flexibility and also allows other people to help control games.SonyThe hardware includes four 3.5mm AUX ports to accommodate a variety of existing accessibility accessories and switches. The controller itself lies flat on a table or can be mounted on a tripod; it doesn't need to be held. Sony partnered with a handful of organizations, including AbleGamers, SpecialEffect and Stack Up, while designing Project Leonardo.With Project Leonardo, Sony is taking clear cues from Microsoft, which has been a leader in accessibility tech, particularly in the gaming space. Microsoft released the Xbox Adaptive Controller in 2018 and it had many of the same selling points as Sony's new endeavor, but in a longer and flatter package. Microsoft has a new laboratory focused on building inclusive hardware and a five-year plan to improve the technology landscape for people with disabilities.One of the major draws of the Xbox Adaptive Controller is its price, which was also designed to be accessible: $100. There's no word on how much Project Leonardo will cost; there's also no release window.On the PlayStation Blog, Sony designer So Morimoto described Project Leondardo as follows: "Our team tested over a dozen designs with accessibility experts, looking for approaches that would help address key challenges to effective controller use. We finally settled on a ‘split controller’ design that allows near free-form left/right thumbstick repositionability, can be used without needing to be held, and features very flexible button and stick cap swapping."There was more positive news for the PS5 out of Sony's CES press conference today — PlayStation head Jim Ryan declared an official end to the PS5 shortage, saying, "Everyone who wants a PS5 should have a much easier time finding one at retailers globally starting from this point forward." That should is doing a lot of heavy lifting, of course.

In March of 2022, Honda and Sony shocked the world by announcing that not only were the venerable electronics and automotive manufacturers were teaming up, they were doing so to build a battery electric SUV. By June, the project had been spun of into its own company and less than a year after being announced, Sony Honda Mobility took to the CES 2023 stage to officially unveil its first prototype. The Vision-S 02 is now the Afeela.Sony Honda MobilitySony executives shared a few details about the upcoming vehicle including that it has 14 exterior cameras — 45 of them in total! — as well as a grille-mounted “Media Bar” that will display pertinent charging and vehicle information, "which allows intelligent mobility to express itself to surrounding people using light, enabling interactive communication between mobility and people," according to Wednesday's release. SHM also noted that online pre-orders will begin in mid-2025 ahead of deliveries scheduled for spring of 2026. We'll have a hands-on from the show floor on Thursday, stay tuned!

So that's what Gran Turismo is really about. The first Gran Turismo teaser shows off sleek cars and angles ripped straight out of the game franchise, all from the lens of District 9 director Neill Blomkamp. Blomkamp helped introduce the short video during Sony's CES 2023 show, where executives played up their plans to adapt even more game franchises to film and television. Gran Turismo is due to hit theaters on August 11th.The film is based on a true story, apparently — it follows a teenage Gran Turismo player who uses his sweet gaming skills to become a real-world racecar driver. The teenager is played by Archie Madekwe (Simon from Midsommar), and the movie also stars David Harbour (Stranger Things), Orlando Bloom (the early 2000s) and Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice).The Gran Turismo movie has spent some time in development hell — much like the video game series itself, which has a reputation for being delayed. A version of the film was completely scrapped in 2018 after spending five years in development, and Blomkamp is the second director to be attached to a Gran Turismo project. However, things have moved quickly since development on the current movie started in May 2022, with filming wrapped by that December.Gran Turismo isn't the only game-film crossover project in the works at Sony. There's a whole HBO series based on The Last of Us premiering January 15th, a Twisted Metal show heading to Peacock, and a film based on Ghost of Tsushima still to come.

It’s taken longer than we’d hope, but since October, the FDA finally established a framework for new category of hearing aids that don’t need a medical exam, prescription or a fitting by an audiologist. Unsurprisingly we’re seeing the first OTC products being announced at CES. Sennheiser, a mainstay of the consumer audio world, is tossing its proverbial hat into the ring with the Conversation Clear Plus.As the name suggests, the focus appears to be on dialogue (rather than the holistic hearing experience). Sennheiser says the earbuds will make it easier to understand conversations in noisy environments. This, the company claims, is achieved in a number of ways. At the heart of the device is a Sonova chip. Sonova is behind some of the legacy names in hearing aids such as Phonak and Unitron and it also bought Sennheiser's consumer audio business about 18 months ago.The Conversation Clear Plus looks a lot like a pair of regular true wireless headphones which will go a long way to removing any stigma or association with conventional hearing aids. Unsurprisingly, they do share a lot of features with regular headphones too. That includes active noise cancellation, even if the application here is more focused on reducing background noise in relation to dialogue.SennheiserLike most wireless headphones you’ll have the option to adjust the amount of noise reduction and there’s a companion app for further tuning your hearing experience. Sennheiser says there are three main prestets: Relax, Communication and Streaming. Those are all fairly self explanatory, but the last one marks a key difference between this category and legacy hearing aids — the ability to stream music and audio from your phone. Some hearing aids can do this, but it’s often a sub-optimal experience given that it’s not what they were primarily designed for. Given Sennheiser’s credentials in the headphone world, it seems likely streaming will be comparable to its consumer headphones.On a more practical note, the Conversation Clear Plus offers a nine hour battery life per charge, with an additional 27 hours/three charges available via the case.One of the big promises with OTC hearing aids was a significant reduction in cost. Typically a set with a fitting from an audiologist would cost several thousand dollars, the Conversation Clear Plus will retail for $850. The experiences between the two different product categories will obviously be somewhat distinct, given the different form factor, but the modern, gadgety design will appeal to a lot of folks that might otherwise be turned off by the clinical design of classic hearing aids.The Conversation Clear Plus will be available for pre-order starting Jan 5 and will go on general sale Jan 20.