Hardware

Lumus brought a massively wider FOV to smartglasses at CES 2026

Lumus got a major boost in brand recognition when one of its waveguides was selected for use in the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses . But that already feels like old tech now because at CES 2026, the company brought some of its latest components to the show and based on what I saw, they seem poised to seriously elevate the optical quality of the next wave of high-end smartglasses. When the Meta Ray-Ban Displays glasses came out, they wowed users as they were (and still are) one of a handful of smartglassess to feature a full-color in-lens display with at least a 20-degree field of view. But going by the specs on Lumus newest waveguides, were set for a major upgrade in terms of future capabilities. If you look closely, you can see where light from the waveguide propagates into the one of the smartglasses' lenses. Sam Rutherford for Engadget The first model I tried featured Lumus optimized Z-30 waveguides, which not only offer a much wider 30-degree FOV, they are also 30 percent lighter and 40 percent thinner than previous generations. On top of that, Lumus says they are also more power efficient with the waveguides capable of hitting more than 8,000 nits per watt. This is a big deal because smartglasses are currently quite limited by the size of batteries they can use, especially if you want to make them small and light enough to wear all day. When I tried them on, I was dazzled by both the brightness and sharpness I saw from the Z-30s despite them being limited to 720 x 720 resolution. Not only did the increase in FOV feel much larger than 10 degrees, colors were very rich, including white, which is often one of the most difficult shades to properly reproduce. I had to take a photo of one of Lumus' non-functioning smartglasses with the company's 70-degree FOV waveguide, because two out of three of the working ones had already broke and the last one that I used was being held together by tape. Sam Rutherford for Engadget However, even after seeing how good that first model was, I was totally not prepared for Lumus 70-degree FOV waveguides. I was able to view some videos and a handful of test images and I was completely blown away with how much area they covered. It was basically the entire center portion of the lens, with only small unused areas around the corners. And while I did notice some pincushion distortion along the sides of the waveguides display, a Lumus representative told me that it will be possible to correct for that in final retail units. But make no mistake, these waveguides undoubtedly produced some of the sharpest, brightest and best-looking optics Ive seen from any smartglasses, from either retail models or prototypes or. It almost made me question how much wider FOV these types of gadgets really need, though to be clear, I dont think weve hit the point of diminishing returns yet. This is one of Lumus' thinnest waveguides measuring in at just 0.8mm. Sam Rutherford for Engadget Other advantages of Lumus geometric reflective waveguides include better overall efficiency than their refractive counterparts along with the ability to optically bond the displays to smartglasses lenses. That means unlike a lot of rivals, Lumus waveguides can be paired with transitions lenses instead of needing to resort to clip-on sunglass attachments when you go outside. Lumus also claims its designs also simplifies the manufacturing process, resulting in thinner waveguides (as small as 0.8mm) and generally higher yields. Unfortunately, taking high-quality photos of content from smartglasses displays is incredibly challenging, especially when youre using extremely delicate prototypes, so youll just have to take my word for now. But with Lumus in the process of ramping up production of its new waveguides with help from partners including Quanta and SCHOTT, it feels like there will be a ton of smartglasses makers clamoring for these components as momentum continues to build around the industrys pick for the next big thing. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/lumus-brought-a-massively-wider-fov-to-smartglasses-at-ces-2026-233245949.html?src=rss

Handwriting is my new favorite way to text with the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses

When Meta first announced its display-enabled smart glasses last year, it teased a handwriting feature that allows users to send messages by tracing letters with their hands. Now, the company is starting to roll it out , with people enrolled in its early access program getting it first, I got a chance to try the feature at CES and it made me want to start wearing my Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses more often. When I reviewed the glasses last year, I wrote about how one of my favorite tings about the neural band is that it reduced my reliance on voice commands. I've always felt a bit self conscious at speaking to my glasses in public. Up to now, replying to messages on the display glasses has still generally required voice dictation or generic preset replies. But handwriting means that you can finally send custom messages and replies somewhat discreetly. Sitting at a table wearing the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses and neural band, I was able to quickly write a message just by drawing the letters on the table in front of me. It wasn't perfect it misread a capital I as an H but it was surprsingly intuitive. I was able to quickly trace out a short sentence and even correct a typo (a swipe from left to right will let you add a space, while a swipe from right to left deletes the last character). Alongside handwriting, Meta also announced a new teleprompter feature. Copy and paste a bunch of text it supports up to 16,000 characters (roughly a half-hour's worth of speech) and you can beam your text into the glasses' display. If you've ever used a teleprompter, Meta's version works a bit differently in that the text doesn't automatically scroll while you speak. Instead, the text is displayed on individual cards you manually swipe through. The company told me it originally tested a scrolling version, but that in early tests, people said they preferred to be in control of when the words appeared in front of them. Teleprompter is starting to roll out now, though Meta says it could take some time before everyone is able to access. The updates are the among the first major additions Meta has made to its display glasses since launching them late last year and a sign that, like its other smart glasses, the company plans to keep them fresh with new features. Elsewhere at CES, the company announced some interesting new plans for the device's neural band and that it was delaying a planned international rollout of the device. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/handwriting-is-my-new-favorite-way-to-text-with-the-meta-ray-ban-display-glasses-213744708.html?src=rss

IXIs autofocusing lenses are almost ready to replace multifocal glasses

While wave upon wave of smartglasses and face-based wearables crash on the shores of CES, traditional glasses really havent changed much over the hundreds of years weve been using them. The last innovation, arguably, was progressive multifocals that blended near and farsighted lenses and that was back in the 1950s. It makes sense that autofocusing glasses maker IXI thinks its time to modernize glasses. After recently announcing a 22-gram (0.7-ounce) prototype frame, the startup is here in Las Vegas to show off working prototypes of its lenses, a key component of its autofocus glasses, which could be a game-changer. IXIs glasses are designed for age-related farsightedness, a condition that affects many, if not most people over 45. They combine cameraless eye tracking with liquid crystal lenses that automatically activate when the glasses detect the users focus shifting. This means that, instead of having two separate prescriptions, as in multifocal or bifocal lenses, IXIs lenses automatically switch between each prescription. Crucially like most modern smartglasses the frames themselves are lightweight and look like just another pair of normal glasses. Mat Smith for Engadget With a row of prototype frames and lenses laid out in front of him, CEO and co-founder Niko Eiden explained the technology, which can be separated into two parts. First, the IXI glasses track the movement of your eyes using a system of LEDs and photodiodes, dotted around the edges of where the lenses sit. The LEDs bounce invisible infrared light off the eyes and then measure the reflection, detecting the subtle movements of your eye and how both eyes converge when focusing on something close. Using infrared with just a handful of analog channels takes far less power than the millions of pixels and 60-times-per-second processing required by camera-based systems. IXIs system not only tracks eye movements, but also blinking and gaze direction, while consuming only 4 milliwatts of power. Mat Smith for Engadget Most of the technology, including memory, sensors, driving electronics and eye tracker, is in the front frame of the glasses and part of the arms closest to the hinge. The IXI prototype apparently uses batteries similar in size to those found in AirPods, which gives some sense of the size and weight of the tech being used. The charging port is integrated into the glasses left arm hinge. Naturally, this does mean they cant be worn while charging. IXI says that a single charge should cover a whole days usage. The prototype frames I saw this week appeared to be roughly the same weight as my traditional chunky specs. And while these are early iterations, IXIs first frames wouldnt look out of place in a lineup of spectacle options. The team has also refined the nose pieces and glasses arms to accommodate different face shapes. Apparently, when testing expanded from Finland to the UK, British faces were ...different. A little harsh when talking to me, a Brit. Eiden pulled out some prototype lenses, made up of layers of liquid crystal and a transparent ITO (indium tin oxide) conductive layer. This combination is still incredibly thin, and it was amazing to watch the layers switch almost instantly into a prescription lens. It seemed almost magical. As theyre so thin, they can be easily integrated into lenses with existing prescriptions. It can also provide cylindrical correction for astigmatism too. Autofocus lenses could eliminate the need for multiple pairs of glasses, such as bifocals and progressives. Even if the glasses were to run out of power, theyd still function as a pair of traditional specs with your standard prescription, just lacking the near-sighted boost. IXIs sensor sensitivity can also offer insight into other health conditions, detect dry eyes, estimate attentiveness and, by tracking where youre looking, even posture and neck movement. According to Eiden, blink rate changes with focus, daydreaming and anxiety, and all that generates data that can be shown in the companion app. Mat Smith for Engadget Hypothetically, the product could even potentially adapt prescriptions dynamically, going beyond the simple vision correction of Gen 1. For example, it could offer stronger corrections as your eyes get fatigued through the day. IXI appears to be putting the pieces in place to make these glasses a reality. It still needs to obtain the necessary medical certifications in order to sell its glasses and get all the production pieces in place. Its already partnered with Swiss lens-maker Optiswiss for manufacturing. Eiden says the final product will be positioned as a high-end luxury glasses option, selling through existing opticians. The company hopes to finally launch its first pair sometime next year. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/ixis-autofocusing-lenses-multifocal-glasses-ces-2026-212608427.html?src=rss

Razer put a waifu in a bottle at CES 2026

Last year Razer showed off Project Ava as a digital assistant that lived inside your computer to help adjust settings or provide gaming tips. But now at CES 2026, the companys AI companion platform has gotten a major glow-up while moving into some new digs. Now, in lieu of being constrained entirely to your PCs screen, Razer has given Project Ava a real home in the form of a small tube that can display a 5.5-inch animated hologram of the AIs avatar. Youll still need to connect it to your computer via USB-C to provide Ava with the power and data it needs. However, all of your companions other components are built into its abode, including dual far-field mics so you can talk to it, a down-firing full-range speaker so it can talk and an HD camera with an ambient light sensor so the AI can see and react to its surroundings. View this post on Instagram But perhaps the biggest upgrade to the project is that instead of just Ava, who Razer describes as a calm, reliable source of energy to help you keep things clear, efficient, and always on point, there are three or four new personas (depending on how were counting) joining the roster. Kira looks like a TikTok e-girl decked out in a frilly outfit complete with Razer neon green accents, while Zane is her edgy masculine alternative who kind of reminds me of the Giga Chad meme , but with extra snake tattoos. Then theres Sao, who appears to be directly inspired by iconic Japanese salary woman Saori Araki . Finally, theres an avatar made in the likeness of Faker (Lee Sang-hyeok), the most successful and well-known League of Legends player of all time and one of Razer's sponsored esports athletes. The new peripheral for Project Ava is a cylinder that can display a 5.5-inch hologram of an AI companion. Sam Rutherford for Engadget The idea now is that instead of being trapped inside your computer, Ava or one of Razers other personas can sit on your desk and be your companion for everything. They can remind you of upcoming events, respond to questions or even comment on your outfit using Razers built-in camera. That said, if you need some privacy, the devices mics can be muted and the company says its planning on putting a physical camera shutter on final retail models. Of course, Ava or any of the other avatars can still hang out while you game and give you advice. During my demo, Kira helped pick out a loadout in Battlefield 6 based on user criteria and even provided pros and cons for some of the games other equipment options. Project Ava's expanded roster of AI companions Razer Unfortunately, while I did get to see Kira and Zane talk, dance and sway in their little bottles, Sao and Faker werent quite ready to make their holographic debuts. But according to Razer, thats sort of by design as Project Ava is very much a work in progress. Currently, the avatars responses are generated by X AIs Grok ( yikes! ), but the platform was created as a sort of open-source project that will support other models like Gemini or ChatGPT. Down the line, Razer is hoping to add the ability for users to create their own unique avatars and companions based on their input or inspiration from real-world objects. Meanwhile, for avatars like Faker's because hes also an actual person, Razer wants additional time to make the AI companion helpful with topics like real-time League of Legends coaching. Say hello to Giga Chad, I mean Zane. Sam Rutherford for Engadget That said, while some folks might find Project Ava a bit weird or unnerving, it actually feels pretty tame (almost cute even) in an era where people are already marrying their AI partners . And if youre the kind of person who prefers digital companions over flesh-and-blood alternatives (you know, people), I guess its kind of nice to have a more tangible representation of your electronic waifus and husbandos. Faker's avatar was only viewable in this nearly life-size mock up. Sam Rutherford for Engadget Sadly, Razer has not provided full pricing for Project Avas holographic peripheral, though a representative said that it will be in the same ballpark as the companys other peripherals. Im estimating a final cost of around $200. Reservations for Project Ava are currently live with a $20 deposit before official shipments begin sometime in the second half of 2026. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/razer-put-a-waifu-in-a-bottle-at-ces-2026-205315908.html?src=rss

YouTube will let you exclude Shorts from search results

YouTube introduced some new filters to its advanced search tools today. Possibly the most exciting change is that Shorts are now listed as a content type, so the three-minute-or-less videos can be excluded as results in your searches. This is a welcome update for any of us who have been on the hunt for a long-form explainer only to wade through dozens of ten-second clips before finding anything close to our goal. Especially with the addition of even more AI slop last year thanks to the Google Veo 3 engine, an option to exclude Shorts may look even more appealing. The other updates include a pair of renamed features within advanced search. The Sort By menu will now be called Prioritize. Likewise, the View Count option has been renamed to Popularity; this will allow YouTube's algorithms to account for other metrics such as watch time to gauge how much other users are engaging with a particular video. A pair of former filter options have also been removed; there will no longer be choices to search for Upload Date - Last Hour and Sort by Rating. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/youtube/youtube-will-let-you-exclude-shorts-from-search-results-204500097.html?src=rss

Hands-on with Fender Audio's headphones and speakers at CES 2026

Fender Audio may have announced its new headphones and speakers right before CES, but Las Vegas afforded us the first opportunity to see the brands new lineup in person. Fender Audio is a Fender-owned brand from Riffsound thats designing and making new devices after licensing the name. Its been a while since the guitar and amplifier company made any general-use speakers of its own, and this new arrangement is similar to what Zound was doing with Marshall for a spell . Logistics out of the way, lets get down to what the Mix and Ellie are like in the flesh. First, the Mix headphones offer a modular construction that allows you to replace nearly every piece as needed. The ear cups detach from the headband and the ear pads are replaceable. You can also swap out the battery, thanks to an easy-to-access slot behind one ear pad. And on the other side, a USB-C dongle for wireless lossless audio is stowed for safe keeping (wired lossless audio over USB-C is also available). Fender Audio Mix headphones Billy Steele for Engadget Fender Audio kept the controls simple on the Mix, opting for a single joystick for volume and playback changes. The joystick also serves as the power and pairing control as the only other button cycles through active noise cancellation (ANC) modes. In terms of sound, the Mix will satisfy listeners who crave deep bass, and vocals cut through clearly. In my brief demo, I wouldve liked more mid-range, but Ill wait until I get a review unit for a full assessment there. I should mention the other standout feature is battery life: the Mix will offer up to 52 hours of use with ANC enabled (up to 100 hours with it off). Then there are the Elie speakers. Both offer a similar set of features, which includes two wireless inputs for microphones (the company is working on its own model) and a combination XLR and 1/4-inch input for instruments. The Elie 06 is the smaller unit, housing a tweeter, full-range driver and subwoofer with 60 watts of output. The larger Elie 12 doubles all of that, serving as a more robust but still very portable option. Fender Audio Ellie speakers Billy Steele for Engadget Both Elie units can be used in a single configuration or as a stereo pair. You can also connect up to 100 of the speakers via a Multi mode. Fender Audio has done a nice job here of checking all of the usual Bluetooth speaker boxes while offering something unique in terms all of those inputs. Its like the company combined regular portable speakers with larger party boxes, offering something for customers who dont want a massive device or any of the flashing lights. Of course, none of these specs matter if the company didnt ace the sound quality. While Ill wait until I can spend several hours with some review units before I make any final judgement on these, I can tell you that both Elie speakers made a great first impression. Theres ample bass in the tuning for both, but obviously the larger Elie 12 offers more thump. Both units also provide excellent vocal clarity and nice details in the highs, as I made sure to select test tracks with lots of subtle sounds like Bela Flecks banjo tunes. The back of Fender Audio Ellie 06 speaker Billy Steele for Engadget Fender Audio says the arrival of the entire new lineup is imminent. Both the headphones and the Elie 6 will cost $299 and the Elie 12 is $399. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/hands-on-with-fender-audios-headphones-and-speakers-at-ces-2026-203104561.html?src=rss

Emerson Smart brings offline voice control to lamps and fans

Perhaps you like the idea of controlling your home appliances with your voice, but arent super keen on a data center processing recordings of you. Fair enough. The trade-off for most smart home conveniences is relinquishing at least some of your privacy. Today at CES, I saw a line of voice-controlled home appliances from Emerson Smart that adjust power and setting via voice commands. But commands are recognized on the devices themselves, not carried through Wi-Fi and processed elsewhere. The huge array of smart plugs, fans, heaters and even air fryers require no app for setup and dont need access to Wi-Fi. Instead, I said, hey Emerson, lights on or hey fan, turn on low and the devices in the demo space acted accordingly. A few of the devices combine the mic with a speaker and can respond when a command is received. A bit of built-in programing on the air fryers allow them to understand commands for 100 cooking presets, so saying things like, reheat this pizza or cook these frozen french fries will set the correct mode, time and temp. Of course you can also just say, cook at 350 degrees for 10 minutes and itll comply. Most of the commands for the other items are pretty simple but allow you to do things like set a timer, turn on oscillation and set intensity speeds. Selection of available commands for Emerson Smart devices. Amy Skorheim for Engadget Some of the devices allow for a small amount of programmability. Pressing and holding the button on the smart plug, for example, changes the wake word to plug two, doing it again swaps it to plug three, and so on. That way, if you have more than one plug in a room, you can operate them individually. The small demo space in which I talked to the devices (that did its best to shut out the thrumming noise of the CES show floor) had at least six models active and listening for my words. When I said Hey Emerson, both an air fryer and one of the heaters responded. That was one of the limitations that I could see with the devices: If you outfit your entire home in Emerson Smart gear, it might take some time to name and position everything so it works in a coherent way. The lack of an app means that programmability is limited, too. Thats the trade-off the privacy-conscious or app-averse user will have to make if they want to turn their lamp on and fan up when they walk into a room just by talking. As the only offline, non-DIY voice-controlled lineup of appliances out there, youre stuck with whatever design Emerson Smart thinks look good. Thankfully, the overall design is clean and modern, if a little basic. The upcoming models of air purifiers and fans were decidedly more attractive. A new Emerson Smart air purifier and fan combo. Amy Skorheim for Engadget A handful of devices are available for sale now, but new Emerson Smart products will go into production later this year. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/emerson-smart-brings-offline-voice-control-to-lamps-and-fans-201500078.html?src=rss

Engadget's best of CES 2026: All the new tech that caught our eye in Las Vegas

This year, over 4,000 exhibitors descended on Las Vegas, Nevada to showcase their wares at CES, and the Engadget team was out in full force . The week started with press conferences from the biggest companies at the show, which were often a flurry of AI buzzwords, vague promises and very little in the way of hard news. More than one company even decided to forgo announcing things during their conferences to make way for more AI chatter, only to publish press releases later quietly admitting that, yes, actually, they did make some consumer technology. It's appropriate, I guess, that as we're beginning to feel the knock-on cost effects of the AI industry's insatiable appetite for compute resources higher utility bills and device prices companies would rather use their flashy conferences to reinforce AI's supposedly must-have attributes rather than actually inform the public about their new products. We're by no means AI luddites at Engadget, but it's fair to say that our team is more excited by tangible products that enrich our lives than iterative improvements to large language models. So, away from all of the bombast of NVIDIA's marathon keynote and Lenovo's somehow simultaneously gaudy and dull Sphere show, it's been a pleasure to evaluate the crowd of weird new gadgets , appliances, toys and robots vying for our attention. Over the course of several days of exhaustive discussion and impassioned pitching, our CES team has whittled down the hundreds of products we saw to pick our favorites. Starting with an initial shortlist of around 50 candidates across a diverse range of product categories, we eventually landed on 15 winners and our singular best in show. If you've been with us all week, stay tuned for a lot more to come despite publishing almost 200 articles from the show already, there's still plenty we have to tell you about. For now, though, here are our winners, each introduced by the editor most familiar with it. Aaron Souppouris, Editor-in-chief Best robot: Switchbot Onero H1 Onero H1 robot Onero We saw a lot of robots showing off intriguing and useful capabilities at CES 2026. While a lot of robots impressed us, there were fewer companies willing to commit to actually making them available. But Switchbot's Onero H1, which we watched pick up clothes and load a washing machine, is a helper robot the company intends to sell this year. The demo we saw was limited, but Switchbot claims it can help with an array of household chores (even if it might do them more slowly than a human). It's also kind of cute. The company hasn't said how much Onero will cost, though it promises the droid will be less than $10,000. A nearly five-figure price tag is still out of reach for most, but it at least gives us hope we'll see it somewhere outside of the CES showfloor. Karissa Bell, Senior reporter Best accessibility tech: WheelMove WheelMove power assist for manual wheelchairs Cheyenne MacDonald for Engadget WheelMove offers a simple upgrade for manual wheelchairs that could make it much easier for the rider to navigate rough surfaces like grass and uneven dirt paths. The add-on is affixed to the front bars of the wheelchair and can lift the small caster wheels off the ground, in addition to providing power assistance with five speed options. It's portable, has a decent range of about 15 miles with the option to swap out its battery on the go and could give wheelchair users greater access to areas that would otherwise be difficult to move about in. It can also keep the wheelchair from speeding up when a person is traveling on a downward slope. This feels very much like a product that will actually see the light of day, and could be genuinely helpful. It builds upon an existing category of wheelchair accessories to address a real issue in a way that doesn't overcomplicate things, and would work with the wheelchairs people already use. Cheyenne MacDonald, Weekend editor Best TV: LG Wallpaper TV (OLED Evo W6) LG OLED Evo W6 Wallpaper TV LG Ive seen plenty of TVs at CES this year, but few stopped me in my tracks like LGs OLED Evo W6 . Its the resurrection of the companys Wallpaper TV, but this time its even thinner (about the depth of a pencil), and its no longer tied to a soundbar. It also uses LGs wireless control box to reduce cabling the only cord you need to hide is the one for power. And best of all, the OLED Evo W6 features LGs latest OLED technology, which promises to be about 20 percent brighter than previous generations. Video demos looked absolutely stunning, with all of the wonderful contrast and black levels weve come to love from OLED. But its also a work of art when its turned off, one that practically disappears when viewed from an angle. Devindra Hardawar, Senior reporter Best AI hardware: Subtle Voicebuds Subtle Voicebuds Subtle Subtles Voicebuds are earbuds with a twist: They feature an AI model thats trained to transcribe your voice accurately in very noisy environments, or when it's below a whisper in quiet spaces. Weve seen these things in action on the bustling CES show floor, where they managed to transcribe several sentences amid the chaos. The only downsides is that the Voicebuds require internet access to use the best transcription models, and you need to subscribe to the Subtle app to use it. Without the app, it relies on a smaller local model for transcription. While we still need to put the Voicebuds through their paces, theyre intriguing because we havent seen many genuinely useful AI hardware products. Plus, its been a while since weve seen a tiny startup deliver hardware trying to take on the likes of Apple. Devindra Hardawar, Senior reporter Best smart home: IKEA Matter-compatible smart home IKEA KAJPLATS smart bulb range IKEA The best smart home devices I saw at CES had nothing to do with AI or robots. It seems every other company, from Bosch to LG to Samsung , had one or both of the buzzy technologies baked into their new smart home offerings. But IKEA came to its first CES with a simple lineup of basic, Matter-enabled smart plugs, sensors, lamps and remotes at screamingly good prices. Function paired with accessible pricing is sort of what IKEA is known for, so the lineup didnt exactly surprise me as much as make me appreciate that someone is finally simplifying and democratizing smart home stuff. There are 21 Matter-compatible devices in all. They include a $6 smart bulb, an $8 smart plug, a $6 smart remote and a slew of home sensors. A slightly pricier ($15) globe bulb looks very lovely. Finally, theres a smart bulb youd actually want to look at one that doesnt cost $50. Another standout is the BILREA remote control. Not only is it an intuitive controller for IKEAs smart devices and new smart lamps, it also has a magnetic mount so you dont lose the thing. Matter devices require a hub to function. Here, you can either go for IKEAs own DIRIGERA or use a Matter hub you already own. The new lineup should land at IKEAs website and stores sometime in January. Amy Skorheim, Senior reporter Best home theater: Samsung HW-QS90H Samsung HW-QS90H soundbar Billy Steele for Engadget Many companies claim their soundbars have enough bass that you dont need a separate subwoofer. Those promises rarely pan out, even when the company devises new technology to solve the problem. With the HW-QS90H , Samsung is pledging to do the same with its Quad Bass woofer system. Those woofers move in two directions, producing a lot more low-end tone than most soundbars are capable of on their own. Whats more, Samsung included its Convertible Fit Design tech that debuted last year, so you can lay this speaker flat or mount it on a wall and the built-in sensors will automatically adjust the driver output accordingly. So, if youve longed for deep bass on a soundbar without a large or ugly sub in the corner, you may finally get your wish later this year. Billy Steele, Deputy editor Best audio: Shokz OpenFit Pro Shokz OpenFit Pro Shokz When it comes to open fit earbuds, companies that claim to offer active noise cancellation (ANC) usually dont deliver; Its difficult to effectively block external sound when your ears arent completely sealed off. Shokz is one of the few that has cracked the code with its OpenFit Pro . The over-the-ear hook design allows the earbuds to sit outside of your ear for a clear line to your surroundings. When you need a bit more quiet, the companys noise reduction tech does well to silence moderate sounds in a cafe, office and more. Its seriously impressive how much noise reduction youll get here, and the fact that nothing is stuck in your ear canals makes them very comfortable to wear. Plus, Shokz improved overall sound quality with new drivers, and tacked on Dolby Atmos for good measure. Billy Steele, Deputy editor Best outdoor tech: Tone Outdoors T1 Tone Outdoors T1 Whisper Aero Outdoor tool companies have increasingly shown up at CES, especially the ones that offer a range of battery-powered gear. Tone Outdoors isnt your usual power tool outfit though; its a spin-off of the aerospace engineering company Whisper Aero. Through its development of quieter electric airplane engines, Whisper Aero realized its technology had other uses. Enter the T1 leaf blower. The T1 is significantly quieter than most handheld gas models, clocking in at just 52 decibels of peak noise on average. Its also more powerful than most of them with 880 CFM of airflow volume. The T1 can run longer too, and an upcoming backpack will extend run time for several hours. But the most important advancement here is not annoying your neighbors or yourself when its time to do some yard work. Billy Steele, Deputy editor Best toy: Lego Smart Play Lego Smart Play Lego Lego is constantly evolving, but rarely does it make as big a move as it did with Smart Play . The system is designed to take standard Lego sets and make them more interactive thanks to a tech-packed Smart Brick. Those bricks have a tiny chip the size of a Lego stud that enables things like motion, color and proximity sensing. They also have a tiny speaker that further helps bring Lego builds to life. The Smart Brick is mostly a blank slate, but pairing it with Lego's Smart Tags and Smart Minifigures is what enables these new play scenarios. Unsurprisingly, Lego introduced the Smart Play system alongside Star Wars sets that make these new immersive elements more obvious. An X-Wing piloted by Luke Skywalker can get into a dogfight with Darth Vader's TIE fighter, and you'll hear the engines roar to life, the characters exclaim as they come under fire and the spaceship explodes if it gets hit too many times. And Smart Play requires no setup, meaning that the technology packed into the Smart Brick fades away and lets kids (and kids at heart) get down to the business of playing. You don't need to know how it works it just does. Nathan Ingraham, Deputy editor Best PC or laptop: Dell XPS 14 + 16 The Dell XPS 14 and 16. Dell In a way, this award is for Dells latest flagship laptops but also the company itself. Last year, Dell showed up with a new naming scheme for all of its hardware that included replacing the iconic XPS line with the word Premium. And despite our objections , the company followed through with the rebrand. But now at CES 2026, not only has Dell admitted its mistake , its righting wrongs with two new members of the XPS family that are exactly what we wanted all along. On the XPS 14 and XPS 16, were getting brand new chassis featuring the latest chips from Intel, gorgeous tandem OLED displays and precision engineering that embodies everything we loved about XPS laptops from previous years. Dell also streamlined its designs with the larger XPS 16 dropping an entire pound compared to the previous generation. The company even addressed a number of our previous critiques by switching from capacitive touch controls back to a classic row of function keys and reverting to segmented touchpads instead of seamless glass ones that made it hard to keep track of your cursor. But perhaps the best part is that Dell isnt stopping here, because the company also teased a new version of its legendary XPS 13 slated for later this year, the thinnest and lightest member of the family yet. There are also placeholders for two more XPS models slated to arrive in the not too distant future. Sam Rutherford, Senior reporter Best health tech: Eyebot vision test booth Eyebot vision test Eyebot Wouldnt it be nice if getting an updated eyeglasses prescription wasnt as lengthy a process as it is right now? Eyebots new kiosk is designed to automate the process of visiting a doctors office to three minutes rocking up to a machine. It uses a combination of analog and digital wizardry to identify what you need to see properly in no time at all. Even better is that the prescriptions have to be signed off by a licensed eye doctor, so you can still rely on a degree of professional rigor. We like Eyebot because it proved itself in our tests: its brief examination matched my professionally completed prescription from last year. But its ability to make effective eye care accessible and affordable in a way that it isnt at present is even more compelling than the tech itself. Daniel Cooper, Senior reporter Best gaming tech: ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo ASUS The ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo is big, weird and potentially awkward to set up. But honestly, what kind of gamer doesnt want more screens? Even if you cant use its second display in the middle of a firefight, more real estate means extra room for Discord, build guides or anything else you might need. Furthermore, ASUS included not one but two brilliant OLED panels with up to 1,100 nits of brightness and color accuracy so good you wont have a problem editing photos or videos. You also get a ton of ports, and with support for up to an NVIDIA RTX 5090 GPU, the ROG Zephyrus Duo has more than enough performance to handle anything you can throw at it. Sam Rutherford, Senior reporter Best mobile tech: Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold Sam Rutherford for Engadget Samsung might have announced the latest iteration of its foldable smartphones in Korea, but CES was the first chance for many of us to see the Galaxy Z TriFold in person. Its a 10-inch Android tablet hidden within a 6.5-inch smartphone form factor. The jump from the almost-square screen ratio of Samsungs past foldables to approximately 4:3 is a major improvement. This is a device that I could happily watch entire movies on. Theres more horizontal space to read, more room to type and more bright, vivid AMOLED everything. Unfurling the sides is incredibly satisfying and, perhaps because its thicker, it has a reassuring heft, too. The rest of the spec sheet reflects another fashionable Galaxy phone with a 200-megapixel main camera and the biggest battery yet in a Samsung foldable. Itll likely be expensive though. Samsung hasnt confirmed pricing in the US, but based on its launch cost in Korea, it could be around $2,500. Mat Smith, UK bureau chief Most promising concept: Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable Lenovo Concept devices are hard to judge because even the ones with a ton of potential might be too difficult to make or too niche to bring to market. But with the Legion Pro Rollable concept , Lenovo created something with a simple yet powerful premise: A gaming laptop with a screen that gets wider at the touch of a button. To make the Legion Pro Rollable, Lenovo took a regular Legion Pro 7i and then swapped its standard 16-inch display for a flexible one that can expand all the way up to 23.8 inches with a bonus stop in between. This means you have the option to choose from 16:10, 21:9 or even 24:9 depending on the situation, which feels like an incredible way to enhance racing games, flight sims and anything else that can take advantage of extra wide aspect ratios. Granted, when its screen is fully deployed, it does look a bit ungainly. But of all the concepts we saw this year at CES, the Legion Pro Rollable is the one we hope survives to become a proper retail product someday. Sam Rutherford, Senior reporter Best emerging technology: IXI autofocus lenses IXI Autofocus lenses IXI IXIs autofocusing glasses were a late addition to our discussions, but we were impressed by what could be a significant advancement in spectacle technology something thats been largely static since the 1950s. IXIs glasses feature an elegant, unique, cameraless eye-tracking system that uses ultra-low-power LEDs and photodiodes to precisely monitor the user's eye movement and focus convergence. This data drives a liquid crystal lens layer, enabling a focus switch between near and far distances in approximately 0.2 seconds.Focus your gaze elsewhere, and your glasses return to their normal prescription.Think of them as a high-tech take on the often thick and clunky multifocal lenses were currently stuck with. IXI is now finalizing the production process, developing manufacturing and gaining the necessary medical certification to sell its glasses, but it has already struck deals with lens manufacturers in Europe. The company has a busy year ahead as it turns its technology into a consumer product. Mat Smith, UK bureau chief Best in show: Lego Smart Play Lego Smart Play Lego There's perhaps no place better than CES to highlight how quickly industry trends die. Over the years the show has been a driver of cornerstone technologies like the VCR, DVD, flatscreen TVs, PDAs and more. Some trends stick, some don't. Lego could almost be seen as the antithesis of the typical CES product: The company's core concept of creative play has remained in place throughout its long history, boosted by a gradual and ongoing evolution of block types and brand tie-ins. Announced at its first-ever CES press conference, Smart Play represents a thoughtful integration of technology to the classic toy. A tiny chip the size of a single Lego stud allows the company's Smart Bricks to sense what's around them, opening up new ways to play. The system will debut with a trio of Star Wars sets, but were sure Lego has plans for a wide range of licensed and unlicensed options. Our team instantly fell in love with Smart Play, and Deputy editor Nathan Ingraham had the opportunity to both build some sets and talk with some of the people behind the technology. Amid parental anxieties about screentime, it's refreshing that Smart Play doesn't require an app or a screen to get started. Kids can just get building. Aaron Souppouris, Editor-in-chief This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/engadgets-best-of-ces-2026-all-the-new-tech-that-caught-our-eye-in-las-vegas-200057123.html?src=rss

The US withdraws from dozens of international bodies, including climate-focused organizations

In a new executive order , President Donald Trump has declared that the United States will withdraw from 66 international organizations and bodies, including several focused on tackling climate change. Trump made his disregard for climate change clear when he withdrew the US from the Paris climate agreement for a second time in early 2025, but these new withdrawals further confirm the second Trump administration is against global collaboration in general. Among the organizations targeted, the US will no longer participate in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and organizations focused on trade, conservation, reproductive rights and immigration, like International Trade Centre, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the UN Population Fund and the Global Forum on Migration and Development. In the case of the United Nations-affiliated organizations, the US ending its participation also means withdrawing funding. According to the White House, the organizations the US is leaving promote radical climate policies, global governance and ideological programs that conflict with US sovereignty and economic strength. Withdrawing is supposed to save taxpayers money, though the White House's fact sheet on the executive order neglects to say how much will be saved or how that saved money will be spent now that it's not supporting the United Nations. By withdrawing from the IPCC, UNFCCC, and the other vital international partnerships, the Trump administration is undoing decades of hard-won diplomacy, attempting to undermine climate science and sowing distrust around the world, Former Vice President Al Gore said in a statement responding to the executive order. While losing financial backing likely doesn't help anyone, the actual impact of the US'sdec withdrawals is a bit of an unknown, The Washington Post reports . For example, the US remains involved with the International Energy Agency, which works on global clean energy solutions. Also, many of the organizations the White House decided to exit were deliberative bodies, or ones that the US was only marginally involved in, according to a UN official The Post spoke to. Directly pushing back against global organizations and regulation has been a consistent theme of the second Trump administration, particularly in regards to tech regulation. The US withdrew from trade talks with Canada in June 2025 over the country's digital services tax, and just last month the US banned former EU commissioner Thierry Breton from entering the US for his role in the creation of the Digital Services Act . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-us-withdraws-from-dozens-of-international-bodies-including-climate-focused-organizations-195259578.html?src=rss

Missing NBC on Fubo? Here's how to watch Sunday Night Football, figure skating, and more this week

Amber Glenn is competing in the 2026 United States Figure Skating Championships this week.(Jamie Squire/Getty Images) Jamie Squire via Getty Images It's been almost two months since Fubo has stopped carrying NBCUniversal-owned channels, and there's still no sign of them coming back to the streaming service. Customers have had to find alternate methods of watching Sunday Night Football , all the latest episodes of the Real Housewives franchise, and so much more because of Fubo and NBCUniversal's contract dispute, so channels like NBC, USA Network, Telemundo, and Bravo have been unavailable on Fubo since Nov. 21. A message released by Fubo to their customers explains, Fubo believes customers should have the option to choose among multiple distributors to access the content they love. Unfortunately, NBCU has offered terms regarding pricing and packaging that are egregiously above those offered to other distributors. A statement from an NBCU spokesperson adds, Fubo has chosen to drop NBCUniversal programming despite being offered the same terms agreed to by hundreds of other distributors. Unfortunately, this is par for the course for Fubo theyve dropped numerous networks in recent years at the expense of their customers, who continue to lose content. (Fubo, for instance, cut Warner-owned channels back in 2024.) You can read more about exactly why Fubo is countering NBC's proposed deal here . While the companies are continuing discussions to come to an agreement, there is still no resolution. Fubo issued $15 credits to subscribers' bills as a gesture of goodwill, and has also lowered the subscription prices of plans that included NBCU-owned channels (you can see if your plan is included here ). If you're a Fubo customer and are wondering how to watch this week's biggest games and shows, here's everything you need to know about the Fubo-NBC blackout, which channels are missing and your options for where to watch them. How to watch Sunday Night Football without Fubo This week's Sunday Night Football playoff game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the New England Patriots airs at 8:00 p.m. ET on NBC, but you'll also be able to stream it on Peacock , DirecTV , and Hulu + Live TV . What else is on NBC this week? In addition to this week's Sunday Night Football game, there are loads of sports on NBC, USA, Universo and more that you won't want to miss, including extensive Premiere League coverage, NBA games, and the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, plus new show premieres this week like St. Denis Medical and Chicago Med. On Bravo, there are new episodes of Vanderpump Rules , The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City , and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills , too. Which channels are no longer available on Fubo? The following is a list of channels owned or operated by NBC that are not currently available on Fubo: Local Channels: NBC Local Affiliates Telemundo Local/National Regional Sports Channels: NBC Sports 4K NBC Sports Bay Area NBC Sports Bay Area Plus NBC Sports Boston NBC Sports California NBC Sports California Plus NBC Sports California Plus 3 NBC Sports Philadelphia NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus National Channels: American Crimes Bravo Bravo Vault Caso Cerrado CNBC CNBC World Cozi Dateline 24/7 E! Entertainment Television E! Keeping Up Golf Channel GolfPass LX Home Million Dollar Listing Vault MS NOW (formerly MSNBC) NBC NOW NBC Sports NOW NBC Universo True CRMZ New England Cable News Noticias Telemundo Ahora Oxygen True Crime Oxygen True Crime Archives Real Housewives Vault SNL Vault Syfy Telemundo Accion Telemundo al Dia The Golf Channel Today All Day Universal Movies USA Network Why are these NBC-owned channels currently unavailable? Per Fubo , NBC channels were pulled from the platform because of a disagreement over their long-standing content distribution agreement that has yet to be resolved. When will the missing channels return? Negotiations between the companies are ongoing and after more than six weeks, there is still no projected return date. Is Fubo offering a rebate while these channels are missing? Fubo has announced that as of Jan. 1, 2026, pricing for select subscription tiers has been reduced. To know whether or not you're eligible for this rebate, you should have received an email from Fubo with a new price structure for your plan. Customers who received an email about a price reduction are on plans that previously included NBC programming, but if your current plan did not previously include NBC programming, your subscription is not affected at this time and the price remains the same. What alternatives do viewers have in the meantime? Looking to switch from Fubo? You've got plenty of options, including Peacock, DirecTV, and Hulu + Live TV. Here are some of your choices: Watch NBC on Peacock Get a deal on Peacock with Walmart+ Try DirecTV free for 5 days, and get $30 off your first month Try Hulu + Live TV for free Other services to watch NBC If I switch to a different service, can I cancel or pause Fubo in the meantime? Fubo does not allow customers to pause their subscriptions, so if you're looking to make a change, you can cancel your plan outright. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/missing-nbc-on-fubo-heres-how-to-watch-sunday-night-football-figure-skating-and-more-this-week-014052346.html?src=rss

Three months of Audible is only $3 right now

Have a hankering for some audiobooks? Audible is holding one heck of a sale right now, giving users three months of access for $3 . That's a dollar per month. This is something of a winter tradition for the Amazon-owned platform and the promotion ends on January 21. An Audible subscription grants one audiobook per month to keep. This can be selected from a massive catalog of new releases and bestsellers. The collection here has just about everything. However, it's easy to plow through a single book in a month. Users also get streaming access to thousands of curated titles. Think of it like Netflix for audiobooks. The catalog is limited, but it gets the job done in a pinch. Subscribers do get access to all Audible original content and they will receive discounts on purchasing audiobooks outright. In other words, it's a neat little service and well worth a buck. The regular price is $15, so make sure to cancel at the end of that three months if you aren't enjoying the platform. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/three-months-of-audible-is-only-3-right-now-193859847.html?src=rss

CES 2026: Longbow Motors shows off its Speedster EV with Donut Lab's in-wheel motors

As an unabashed fan of electric vehicles, even I have to admit that most of them are pretty boring. Their smooth, quiet and calm demeanors don't offer much in the way of intrinsic personality, which has led to many brands slapping on outr designs and fake engine sounds to try and dial up the excitement. To that end, a pair of offerings coming soon from UK-based EV startup Longbow Motors looks to deliver exactly that. The Speedster and Roadster are high-performance electric machines built using advanced in-wheel motors from Donut Labs. Those motors and a bespoke design enable an astonishing curb weight of just 2,200 pounds. For comparison's sake, that's over 100 pounds less than a Mazda Miata, the current king of lightweight roadsters. Longbow brought just the Speedster to CES 2026, displaying it on the show floor at the Donut Lab booth. Donut is a spinoff of Verge Motorcycles , which was the debut platform for the company's hub-less electric motor, creating a unique, Tron-style aesthetic. But the technology is about a lot more than creating physics-defying motorcycles. Donut Lab is expanding its motors to all sorts of platforms, from scooters to heavy-duty trucks, creating a platform for easy adoption by electrified startups. Donut Labs' motors in the Longbow Motors Speedster Tim Stevens for Engadget Of all those platforms, though, Longbow's implementation is the most compelling I've seen. The appeal starts with the style. Co-founders Daniel Davey and Mark Tapscott (who, with Jenny Keisu, founded Longbow after stints at Tesla and Lucid) told me they wanted to offer a classic but also modern and compelling look. The roofless Speedster has an edge over its glass-topped Roadster in terms of visual simplicity, but a complete lack of any protection from the elements even a token windscreen will make it viable only for the most committed of open-air enthusiasts. Exposed or protected, you'll find yourself situated in an extremely spartan interior. Things like the gauge cluster and primary controls were covered, set to be revealed later, so I can't say for sure exactly what the Longbow looks like on the inside. But it was designed to be basic and minimal to an extreme, an abject rejection of the rest of the touchscreen-laden machines on the road today. There is one seemingly unnecessary piece of equipment in the interior, though, and that's a shift knob. EVs, of course, rarely have transmissions, so there's no outright need to shift. The purpose of that lever is also a mystery for now, as neither Davey nor Tapscott would confirm its function, but it seems safe to expect some sort of simulated gearshift action, a la the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N . The Longbow machines don't just lack a transmission, they lack a traditional drivetrain layout at all. The direct-drive Donut Lab motors are situated right inside the wheel, freeing up space inside the vehicle's chassis and helping it to maintain its pert dimensions. Longbow Motors Speedster Billy Steele for Engadget They also provide a distinctive look, filling up the wheels as they do. There is a downside to this arrangement, that being the heft of these motors hanging on the outer edges of the vehicle. The suspension, then, has to work a bit harder. But co-founder Mark Tapscott told me that the positives outweigh the negatives, and that the handling benefits of having multiple motors alone are worth it. To keep the rest of the Longbow's weight centralized, the car uses a battery pack that runs largely along the center of the machine, stacked vertically rather than spread throughout the floor. This keeps the mass centralized in the vehicle while also enabling the kind of ultra-low seating you want in a machine like this. It looks like it'll be quite a fun package to drive, and while exact power output from those Donut Lab motors hasn't been confirmed yet, the Speedster is said to sprint to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds. That's supercar-like performance, but unfortunately, that performance won't come cheap. The Speedster starts at 84,995, or just under $100,000 by current conversion rates. The Roadster is a fair bit more attainable at 64,995, or about $75,000. However, given the wonderfully chaotic state of international tariffs right now, expect the actual pricing here to be somewhat higher when they go into production later this year. Reservations are open now on the company's site . That's a little too rich for my blood, sadly, but if you've got the budget, a left-hand drive version will be available. And yes, it'll be fully road-legal in the U.S. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/ces-2026-longbow-motors-shows-off-its-speedster-ev-with-donut-labs-in-wheel-motors-192329111.html?src=rss

TikTok will broadcast some unknown portion of the 2026 World Cup live

TikTok and FIFA are teaming up for World Cup matches. On Thursday, FIFA said its media partners will be able to broadcast parts of matches on the social platform. The preferred platform partnership will run through the end of 2026. How long the live clips will be is anyones guess because parts of matches is as specific as the announcement got. We emailed TikTok for clarification and will update this story if we learn more. FIFA said the collaboration is designed to bring fans closer to the action. Getting more to the point, TikTok's global head of content said live sports on the platform are shown to transform fandom into measurable business results for our sports partners, with fans being 42 percent more likely to tune in to live matches after watching sports content on TikTok. TikToks World Cup content will include filters, stickers and other gamification features. FIFA will also give a select group of global TikTok creators access to press conferences and training sessions to create content. As football grows and evolves uniting an increasing number of people so should the way it is shared and promoted, FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom wrote in the announcement. The World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19. It will take place in 16 cities across Canada, the US and Mexico. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/tiktok-will-broadcast-some-unknown-portion-of-the-2026-world-cup-live-192035507.html?src=rss

Microsoft is now integrating shopping directly into Copilot

Have you ever wanted to save approximately three seconds and two mouse clicks when shopping online? Microsoft has something special just for you. The company just introduced something called Copilot Checkout at the NRF 2026 retail conference. This is exactly what it sounds like. It's a shopping assistant embedded within Copilot. The feature is rolling out now in the US and integrates with PayPal , Shopify, Stripe and Etsy. It lets people complete purchases directly inside of Copilot without having to withstand the grueling experience of being redirected to a retailer's website. Participating partners include Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and Ashley Furniture. The retailers remain the actual merchant of record, so they'll still get customer data and all of that jazz. Microsoft controls the interface. We don't know what kind of safeguards are in place to prevent the AI from hallucinating its way into buying you a giant bounce house when you wanted to order some Bounce dryer sheets. Engadget has reached out to Microsoft to inquire about these safeguards and how exactly the money is handled. This is a pretty big moment for AI shopping. OpenAI introduced a shopping assistant several months ago that seems to work in a similar way . However, the company said that a related shopping assistant might make mistakes about product details like price and availability and it encouraged people to visit the merchant site for the most accurate details. Exclusive: OpenAIs push to turn ChatGPT into a personal shopping assistant is running into a familiar problem: messy product data. Read more from @AnnGehan https://t.co/atPdY1ruEa The Information (@theinformation) January 8, 2026 Microsoft is advertising Copilot Checkout as a way to avoid the merchant site entirely, so maybe all kinks have been worked out. A recent report from The Information suggests OpenAI has had trouble integrating merchant partners for its own initiative, so maybe not. It's also worth noting that automatic shopping isn't exactly a new concept. It's just the AI wrapper that's new. Remember those weird buttons from Amazon that would complete a purchase with a simple press? That was over ten years ago. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/microsoft-is-now-integrating-shopping-directly-into-copilot-181022989.html?src=rss

You can get a four-pack of Samsung SmartTag 2 trackers for just $45

Samsung SmartTag 2 trackers are back on sale if you're willing to pick up a bundle. Woot has a four-pack down to just $45 , which undercuts the previous all-time low weve seen on Amazon ($55) by $10. That's a discount of 55 percent from the retail price of $100. It's a compelling opportunity to stock up if you're already in Samsung's ecosystem. We named the SmartTag 2 the best Bluetooth tracker for Samsung devices. The companion SmartThings Find app is easy to use, showing locations on a Google Maps-based interface. Much like Apple's Find My network, the location of a SmartTag is pinpointed using nearby Samsung phones. While nothing can beat the sheer size of Apple's tracking infrastructure given the number of iPhones in the US, it still worked well in our tests. The SmartTag 2's design is more practical than some competitors since the oblong fob has a built-in hole that lets you easily attach your keys without buying an extra accessory. Its IP67 rated for water and dust resistance, and uses a replaceable battery that Samsung says offers about 16 months of juice. The volume on the tag is pretty loud and users can select from multiple ringtones. Additionally, a double-squeeze of the SmartTag 2 will ping your handset, something you can't do with an AirTag. The tracking is not quite as precise as Apple's AirTag, but it's a solid option for Samsung users looking to keep track of their things and can be scooped up at a bargain price. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/you-can-get-a-four-pack-of-samsung-smarttag-2-trackers-for-just-45-173936230.html?src=rss

The GE Profile Smart Fridge stops you from buying too much kale

If youve ever bought a bag of spinach only to come home and realize you already had a bag of spinach, you may appreciate this fridge. I had a chance to check out the GE Profile Smart Fridge with Kitchen Assistant at CES and was surprised to find I kinda wanted one. To be perfectly honest, most attempts Ive seen at the show to stick some AI in it are at best amusing but usually completely unnecessary. Here, though, the AI has a purpose. After seeing how the autofill water dispenser worked, I asked the GE Appliance reps how easy it was to change the fridges water filter. Jason May, a GE Appliances product management executive, walked up to the fridges (appropriately sized) touchscreen and said Hey HQ, wheres my water filter? (HQ is short for SmartHQ, GE Profiles assistant). Then, relying on information it had gathered from this models user manual, the AI assistant explained exactly where to find it (in the left hand door below the ice maker). It took another rep about two seconds to pop out the filter and, justlikethat, the task was on its way to done. As for the spinach conundrum, thats handled by a crisper drawer camera, called Fridge Focus. Each time you open the drawers, a built-in camera (that you can physically shutter or turn off in the app) takes a video snapshot of whats left when youre done. So if youre at the store and wondering how much kale you already have, you can take a peek and see. Checking out what's in the crisper drawer using the Fridge Focus feature. Sam Rutherford for Engadget Wendy Treinen, GE Appliances senior director of product communications, told me the camera can see whats in the crisper drawer, but cant see who accessed it. So if youre hoping your fridge will rat out whoever at the last of the grapes, youre out of luck. It can however, help that grape-eater easily add more fruit to the family shopping list. Thats the most unique feature the fridge offers: a patented, built-in barcode scanner. It lives in the water dispenser and when you walk up, a little green light activates and scans the barcode of whatever you hold up to it. So if youre drinking the last of the almond milk, you scan the container and itll automatically add it to your list. That list can be accessed through the SmartHQ app which you can either check off at the grocery store or, if you really want to get deluxe about it, use the Instacart integration and have it delivered to your door. I scanned a few products a box of vitamin C mix and a package of cinnamon raisin bagels both of which quickly popped up on the screen and joined the running list. Adding grocery items to Instacart with one button. Sam Rutherford for Engadget The scanner can recognize four million products, including household items like paper towels and trash bags, but you can add things a other ways too. The easiest is probably just asking your fridge to do so, saying Hey HQ, add paper towels to my shopping list. The app allows manual additions and you can add items using the recipe function as well. For the launch of the fridge, GE Profile has partnered with Taste of Home and will send 50 recipes each month to the fridge for users to try. Once you see the ingredients list, you can add anything youre missing to your shopping. Those 50 recipes will cycle out at the end of the month to make way for a new 50, so if you cook something and like it, youll need to to add it to your personal recipe vault. The AI assistant can also create recipes for you. The GE rep snapped a picture of an array of produce and asked SmartHQ what he could make with it. A list of recipe suggestions popped up and they all looked quite tasty (to be fair, I hadnt eaten yet and it was already 2PM). The recipe created from a picture of produce. Sam Rutherford for Engadget I mentioned the water dispensers hands-free auto-fill feature earlier. Thats been available on GE Profile fridges for a while and lets you select your glass capacity and walk away while it fills. You can also ask for, say, a half cup of water for a recipe. A new precise fill feature will dispense larger amounts in sequence. Say you need ten cups of water for soup. Since you cant fit a huge vat in the water dispenser tray, you can instead use a smaller jug and the auto-filler will fill it the correct amount of times. Another of my favorite bits is the screen. Fridges with giant, interactive screens make my eyes roll. Yes, its novel and eye-catching and perhaps amusing, but what possible problem is it trying to solve? The screen here is eight inches, which is enough to display scanned items, show recipes, and display the weather atop a pretty image when youre not actively using the interface. Finally! A reasonably sized fridge screen. Sam Rutherford for Engadget The GE Appliances reps were eager to point out that this is just the beginning of what they want to do with the fridge. My college Sam Rutherford asked whether the fridge would be able to alert you before your lettuce went bad, and we were told something that addresses that problem is on the horizon. It would likely work by recognizing when you purchased a perishable, and how long that perishable typically lasts. The company is also working with a chef on a feature that can reimagine your leftovers to create something new. During the demo, May told me that the whole idea around the fridges design was to do something other than just put a big screen on it with a bunch of apps that dont have ay relevance to anything. Instead the engineers started with problems people actually have knowing what to buy at the store, knowing whats already in the fridge, answering the eternal, unrelenting Whats for dinner? question and designed the fridge around that. Id have to live with it a while to know whether those problems were solved, but so far, I can say this is the most intrigued Ive felt about a smart fridge yet. The GE Profile Smart Fridge with Kitchen Assistant will be available in March from geappliances.com for $4,899. A good amount of organization. Sam Rutherford for Engadget This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/the-ge-profile-smart-fridge-stops-you-from-buying-too-much-kale-172433059.html?src=rss

NASA delays spacewalk due to a 'medical concern' with a crew member

NASA has postponed an International Space Station (ISS) spacewalk that was scheduled for Thursday. The agency is monitoring a medical concern with a crew member that arose Wednesday afternoon aboard the orbital complex, the agency wrote. On Thursday, NASA added that ending Crew-11's mission early was on the table. The unnamed crew member is stable, according to NASA. Space News notes that Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) was heard on an open comms channel on Wednesday requesting a private medical conference with a flight surgeon. However, those requests are routine on the ISS, so we cant assume the events were related. The matter involved a single crew member who is stable, NASA wrote. Safely conducting our missions is our highest priority, and we are actively evaluating all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew-11's mission. NASA astronaut Zena Cardman in her pressurized spacesuit, checking its comms and power systems ahead of the (now postponed) spacewalk NASA Crew-11 was scheduled to remain on board the ISS until at least the second half of February. Its replacement, Crew-12, isn't slated to blast off until February 15 at the earliest. NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman had planned to exit the airlock on Thursday for the six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk. The short trips mission was to install a kit and cables in preparation for a new roll-out solar array that will arrive on a future mission. The agency said it will provide further updates within 24 hours. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasa-delays-spacewalk-due-to-a-medical-concern-with-a-crew-member-171900024.html?src=rss

It took guts for Dell to admit its mistake, here's how XPS will make its big comeback in 2026

When Dell made the decision to kill off its XPS laptop name last year, it felt like a big mistake. We said so , in fact, multiple times . But at CES 2026 , the company is righting its past wrongs by resurrecting the iconic laptop brand and this time, this decision feels like the right move both for Dell as a whole and its flagship consumer devices. Even more than the words the letters XPS are meant to represent (Extreme Performance Systems), over the last decade, Dells signature laptop brand stood for excellent design, quality engineering and top notch performance. And it was precisely those laptops that landed the company at the top of nearly every best Windows laptop guide every year for the last decade. So to replace XPS with a generic tag like premium felt like a big step backwards. Now if you were living under a rock (at least when it comes to Windows laptops), you can sort of squint your eyes and see the reasoning behind Dells misguided rebranding. Premium means good, typically something much better than average. By putting that word in front of its top-tier systems, theres no way anyone could be confused about what kind of device they were buying, right? Take for example the Dell Premium 14 , which was the new moniker for what was previously called the XPS 14. A laptop like that has to be decent. I mean, its right there in the product name. The issue is that XPS already meant good. Actually, way better than that, if we were just going by the sheer number of accolades previous-gen models got, like Dells 2020-era machines which we called practically perfect (which it was). Going away from that wasnt just reductive, it was throwing the best part of Dells consumer business in the trash for no real reason. The first two new XPS machines will be the XPS 14 and XPS 16. Sam Rutherford for Engadget Additionally, Dells new naming strategy was intended to simplify its product portfolio, and it failed to deliver on that original goal. COO Jeff Clarke was refreshingly honest about this when announcing the return of XPS at a CES media preview in early December. Not only did Dell lose its signature XPS brand last year, it actually made things more confusing for consumers when it simultaneously created a full range of Dell Pro and Pro Max systems. Unlike Apples MacBook Pros and iPhone Pro Maxes, those devices were actually meant for enterprise customers instead of regular Joes. Another photo of the new XPS 14 and 16, which have a bunch of welcome changes and then some. Sam Rutherford for Engadget Amidst its rebrand, the company also eliminated a lot of its budget and entry-level models. That left a lot of people turning to more expensive mid-range Plus systems or waiting for a proper redesign of its top tier Premium laptops, which werent expected to arrive until 2026 anyway. So where is Dell going from here? Well as Clarke put it quite succinctly, Were getting back to our roots. Starting in 2026, the company is planning to create its broadest PC portfolio ever including, a full line of XPS laptops. This includes an all-new version of the XPS 13, which is going to be the thinnest and lightest model to date, along with complete overhauls for the XPS 14 and XPS 16. But Dell isnt stopping there because on a slide it showed at its press event, there were two additional placeholders for future XPS systems coming at some later date. Dell wouldn't let me take photos of the XPS 13 prototype model, but here's a teaser it provided for CES. Dell Even when it comes to specific features and components on individual models, Dell is finally acknowledging some of the criticism it has received over the past few years by returning to segmented touchpads instead of seamless all-glass slates and ditching capacitive function keys for good ol buttons. Dell isnt just bringing the XPS line back, its kind of on a revenge tour (even if the original wound was self-inflicted). On top of that, the consumer device team will be reporting directly to Clarke while the company retools itself internally. Dell is also updating its naming scheme to finally deliver on the promise of making things clear and simple. XPS will once again be the companys flagship consumer brand with the XPS logo (not Dells) front and center on the lid of every laptop, while everything else will fall under the general Dell umbrella. Alienware will continue to do its own thing for gaming and the Dell Pro family will remain aimed strictly at enterprise businesses, professional services (like first responders) and education. No more confusion. And underlying all of that is a very straightforward motto from Clarke that great products win. After ditching the XPS brand, Dell is now bring it back for 2026 in its rightful spot at the top of the company's consumer portfolio. Dell In the end, even though Dells big plan from last year ended up being a mess, I appreciate when a company is self aware enough to know it messed up and has come up with a plan to fix things. Regardless of whether it's a corporation or a single person, admitting mistakes is always hard. Oftentimes, what you learn in the process is the real prize and from what Ive seen Dell and its iconic XPS line is poised for a major comeback. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/it-took-guts-for-dell-to-admit-its-mistake-heres-how-xps-will-make-its-big-comeback-in-2026-233248065.html?src=rss

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy deftly balances teen drama with intergalactic intrigue

Star Trek is in a weird place right now. Less than three years ago we were living in a golden age with five shows on the air, all with different styles and intended audiences. But the universe rapidly contracted, with Picard ending while four other shows were cut short. Strange New Worlds still has another two seasons left, sure, but even that final season got truncated. As it stands, theres only one project with a firm future right now, and thats a brand-new show, Starfleet Academy , premiering January 15 on Paramount+. How this show is received could very well determine the future of Star Trek. Thats a lot to put on it, but theres something very appropriate given the subject matter. Starfleet Academy takes place in the 32nd century, 900 years after the adventures of James T. Kirk and company, and it takes place at the titular academy, meaning its principal cast is a collection of teens representing the next generation of Starfleet officers. That focus on a younger cadre has led to fans online derisively calling the series CW Trek without seeing a single episode. As Starfleet Academy is technically a Discovery spinoff, it picks up some of that series traits. The sleek, shiny sets are back, as well as a few plot threads originally set up in Discovery . The most notable is the collapse of the United Federation of Planets and the rebuilding of both the Federation and Starfleet. In fact, the series picks up on that as early as its second episode, with the Academy hosting a delegation from a once stalwart Federation planet thats now gone isolationist. Scenes from Star Trek: Starfleet Academy John Medland/Paramount+ While many complaints about the series have focused on how what fans wanted was an academy show set during the 24th century (the time of The Next Generation , Deep Space Nine , et al.), this particular episode plot works precisely because of the distant future in which it is set. In a fully-functioning galactic democracy like the United Federation of Planets, theres no logical reason for the average 18-year-old college freshman to be involved in interplanetary diplomacy. But in the 32nd century, the Federation is a lot scrappier and the individuals involved might be asked to wear many hats. Its a lot like an early-stage tech startup. The setting also lets the show be a little more creative with its cast: where TNG featured the first Klingon in Starfleet (Worf), 900 years of progress have created a Starfleet where no one bats an eye when a Klingon cadet like Jay-Den Kraag (played by Karim Dian) shows up to study science. Theres also a holographic cadet, Sam, who is the first of her kind to attend the academy (and shes super excited to do so). A few new species are present as well: Darem Reymi (George Hawkins) is a Khionian and Genesis Lythe (Bella Shepard) is a Dar-Sha, both aliens making their debut in the Star Trek universe. The cast of Star Trek: Starfleet Academy John Medland/Paramount+ However, the show does still lean on some Trek stalwarts, and its these characters that have gotten the most chatter from fans. Mary Weisman as Sylvia Tilly was originally slated for the cast, and there was even a backdoor pilot-esque episode of Discovery to tie her in to the new show, but shes no longer a regular and is nowhere to be seen in the first two episodes. Instead, we have Jett Reno (played by the wonderful Tig Notaro) as supporting cast, and Admiral Vance (Oded Fehr) appearing in a few episodes. And old school fans have been abuzz by the inclusion of The Doctor, who first appeared on Voyager (and later Prodigy ). As a hologram, hes practically immortal so his presence doesnt need any convoluted explanation, and after 800 years hes still the same gregarious blowhard (and its delightful). Theyre joined by new characters like Lara Thok, a part Klingon, part JemHadar security officer and a Lanthanite chancellor, Nahla Ake, played by Academy Award Winner Holly Hunter. And Hunter isnt even the only Oscar winner on the cast, with a major villain, Nus Braka, being portrayed by Paul Giamatti. Its a stellar cast, and the shows sets certainly rise up to meet the challenge. Like in the shows of old, a good portion of Starfleet Academy is clearly shot on location, though not in the familiar water reclamation plant that was used back during the TNG and DS9 era. This time its all being shot in Ontario, with the outdoor scenes in particular being filmed in Waterloo. Regardless of where its shot, it looks enough like sunny California to work. Scenes from Star Trek: Starfleet Academy John Medland/Paramount+ The indoor scenes, shot at Torontos Pinewood Studios, have a pleasant convention center quality to them, with lots of wide hallways and large windows in contrast to Discovery s cramped ship corridors. The hallways are full of students and teachers going to and fro, including some from species that would normally be off-limits to a show with a limited budget. But here robots and strange aliens roam freely in the background. The CGI cant have been cheap. And thats ultimately my biggest question about Starfleet Academy . Exactly how much is this costing Paramount? So much of it is being shot on real sets instead of green screens, established actors like Hunter and Giamatti couldnt have been cheap, and plentiful CG points to a robust special effects budget. Though Paramount doesnt release official numbers, estimates have put an average episode of Strange New Worlds at $10 million, so it figures that Starfleet Academy is probably more than that, with some online estimates as high as $20 million per episode. With 10 episodes scheduled, thats on par with a major motion picture budget but without the promise of blockbuster box office returns. No wonder Paramount has been doing so much cost-cutting, which includes axing every other Star Trek show. That said, Starfleet Academy is carrying a lot on its shoulders. Just as the success or failure of its class of Starfleet cadets will determine the future of Starfleet and the Federation, the success of the show may even affect whether this era of Star Trek continues. As a Star Trek fan, this can be nerve-wracking; no one wants the franchise to go dormant again. But Starfleet Academy has so far shown itself to be up to the challenge. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/star-trek-starfleet-academy-deftly-balances-teen-drama-with-intergalactic-intrigue-170253808.html?src=rss

Bose made the consumer friendly move to open source its SoundTouch speakers

Bose recently announced the pending end of cloud support for its SoundTouch line of home speakers. This will, in effect, turn the smart speakers into dumb speakers as they will no longer have access to many features and any related software updates. Well, there's a spot of good news for SoundTouch owners. The company is turning to an open source model for the software, allowing third parties to keep the music playing. The company has already begun mailing out the API documentation to customers so independent developers can create their own SoundTouch-compatible tools and features. This will take some time, so Bose is also extending the end-of-life (EoL) date for the SoundTouch speakers. They were set to stop receiving cloud updates in February, but that has been moved to May 6. It made a couple of other changes to make life a bit easier for SoundTouch owners. The speakers will still be able to use AirPlay and Spotify Connect after EoL, which was something that had been in doubt. The app will also continue to work in a stripped-down format. That app was originally set to stop working altogether, so all of those angry customer comments on Reddit must have done the job . The SoundTouch speakers were introduced in 2013 and were on the expensive side, starting at $600. Nobody likes spending hundreds of dollars on something only to have it become a useless brick several years later. Good on Bose for listening to their customers on this. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/bose-made-the-consumer-friendly-move-to-open-source-its-soundtouch-speakers-163459024.html?src=rss

All the tech and gadgets announced at CES 2026

It's the first week of a new year and there's no time for the tech world to slowly ease back into things following the holidays. That's because CES 2026 is in full swing, with all manner of companies descending on Las Vegas to reveal their latest innovations and what they're planning to bring your way in the near future. Many of the Engadget crew are on the ground to check out as much of the new tech as possible. Of course, we're keeping tabs on all of the major CES press conferences too. Samsung held its First Look presentation, which focuses on home products, while LG has shown off a wide array of TVs and Lego unveiled its new Smart Brick technology. Weve heard from the major chipmakers, gone hands-on with Samsungs trifold phone, checked out some funky laptops and seen some cute robots. Theres some hot gaming gear at the show too, not to mention some weird tech . You dont necessarily have to wait to get your hands on all of these gadgets either. Some are available to buy right now. You can catch up on all of the big CES 2026 announcements (and some of the more offbeat gizmos weve seen) right here. We'll be keeping this story updated throughout the week.We also have CES live updates , with all the latest news from the event. Lego Lego introduced the Smart Brick at CES 2026. Lego In its first CES appearance , Lego announced the Smart Brick , a standard-sized brick with a 4.1mm ASIC chip inside thats designed to respond in different ways depending on what set youre building and how youre building it. Using what Lego calls the Play Engine and integrated copper coils, each brick can sense things like motion, orientation and magnetic fields, plus its own distance, direction and orientation in relation to other Smart Bricks. Each brick also has a teeny tiny speaker built in that will play audio tied to live play actions rather than only pre-recorded clips. Accompanying Smart Bricks are Smart Tags and Smart Minifigures, which have their own capabilities one of which is letting Smart Bricks know what context they are being used in. All of these pieces tie together via a local wireless layer dubbed BrickNet that, in part, lets Smart Bricks know where they are placed in relation to other smart components. The first Smart Play partner is, unsurprisingly, Star Wars, which will launch three all-in-one sets using Smart Bricks, Smart Tags and Smart Minifigures. The 473-piece Darth Vader TIE Fighter set will cost $70; the 584-piece Lukes Red Five X-Wing set comes in at $100 and the 962-piece Throne Room Duel & A-wing set will set you back $160. The speakers in these sets can emit lightsaber swooshes, fighter sounds and The Imperial March . Engadget deputy editor Nathan Ingraham got to check out Legos Smart Play system in person and Ive never been more envious of him. One of the Star Wars sets allows you to have an interactive lightsaber duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. Not only does the Vader minifigure have his signature heavy breathing sound, the speaker emits the Sith Lords nooooo yell if he loses the duel. All of this seems extremely cool. I'm looking forward to seeing what else Lego and fans can do with the Smart Play tech. LG LG's CLOiD robot. LG Along with some TVs (which well get to momentarily), LG brought plenty of other products to CES. For one thing, the company shone the spotlight on its CLOiD robot. Like the far creepier-looking 1X Neo , the CLOiD is designed to help with household tasks such as starting laundry cycles, folding clothes, unloading the dishwasher and serving food. This appears to be more of a concept than something you'll be able to buy anytime soon. During an in-person CES demo, Engadget senior reporter Karissa Bell saw CLOiD competently pull off some household tasks, albeit very slowly . The company also debuted the LG Sound Suite , a modular home audio system it developed in conjunction with Dolby to take on the likes of Sonos. Just ahead of CES, LG pulled back the curtain on a new batch of xboom speakers as well as some monitors and ultralight Gram laptops that are made with a material it's calling Aerominum . The chipmakers NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang presents at CES 2026, wearing a black snakeskin-like jacket. NVIDIA It's CES, so of course we're going to see a bunch of laptops and desktops, along with announcements about the tech that powers the new models. That means NVIDIA , Intel , AMD and Qualcomm are all in town to talk up their latest chips and other innovations. Given its lofty position in the industry (and the economy) NVIDIAs CES press conference is always one to keep an eye on. This years edition was laregly a recap of the companys recent moves, but it did have some news to share . NVIDIA announced Alpamayo, which is a group of open-source reasoning models designed to help autonomous vehicles handle difficult driving scenarios. The company also revealed that a super computer built on the Vera Rubin GPU architecture NVIDIA unveiled in 2024 is in production. As Intel wraps up, Johnson is eager to assure the viewers that Intel has ways to make AI profitable. He may have a better case than OpenAI does right now. Sam Chapman for Engadget Things havent exactly been going great for Intel for a while, but the company is surely hoping that its Core Ultra Series 3 chips can help it right the ship. These are the first chips to be built using Intels 18A (18 angstroms, which is just under 2nm) process. The company says they offer improved performance 60 percent more than the previous-gen Lunar Lake processors and battery life improvements for laptops. The Ultra Series 3 includes a new Arc B390 integrated GPU, with 50 percent more graphics cores, double the cache and 120 GPU TOPS of performance. Put all that together and these chips should deliver up to 77 percent faster gaming performance than Lunar Lake models, Intel said. To that end, the company teased a Ultra Series 3-powered gaming handheld for later this year. Engadget senior editor Devindra Hardawar played some Battlefield 6 on a Core Ultra Series 3-powered Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5 (an ultraportable) and came away impressed . The game ran at up to 190 fps in 1080p with the graphics settings on high, even without a dedicated GPU. Thats a promising sign for the embedded Arcgraphics on Intels chips, as well as the companys upscaling and frame generation tech. A screenshot from AMD's CES 2026 press conference showing a hellish vision of the future of gaming. AMD Of course, AMD wasnt going to be left out of the CES party. The company announced several CPUs for laptops and desktops , while chillingly declaring that AI is everywhere and changing the face of gaming. Ick. There was a lot of AI chat during the two-hour(!) keynote, along with a a jet-powered flying robot. Illustration showing the Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Plus on a stylized red circuit board showing the abbreviation "X2." Qualcomm And then theres Qualcomm . The company revealed the Snapdragon X2 Plus chip at the show. Its more of a mid-range chip that isnt quite as powerful as the higher end Snapdragon X2 Elite it doesnt have as many CPU cores, for one thing. Still, Qualcomm claims the X2 Plus offers as much as 35 percent faster single-core performance over the previous gen. The company also says the Adreno GPU offers a performance boost of up to 29 percent compared with the last generation. Laptops Samsung Galaxy Book 6 series hands-on Mat Smith for Engadget What would CES be without some new hardware that makes use of those new chips? As ever, laptop and desktop makers were at the show to offer up their latest models for your consideration. (Be sure to check out our dedicated roundup of all the laptops that grabbed our attention at this years show.) Samsungs Galaxy Book 6 Ultra, Galaxy Book 6 Pro and Galaxy Book 6 boast Intels Core Ultra Series 3 chips and revamped designs that are said to improve heat management. You can read our story on the Galaxy Book 6 series for the specs of these laptops, though we dont have pricing or a release window as yet. Dell realized it messed up by killing off the XPS name as part of a broader rebranding effort and were glad to see that the company is making a U-turn on that front. A full lineup of XPS laptops is coming this year , including an all-new XPS 13 (a long-time Engadget fave on the Windows ultraportable front). Dell also has 14- and 16-inch XPS models in the hopper, along with others its keeping under wraps for now. On top of having two displays, the Zephyrus Duo's screens also feature excellent brightness at up to 1,100 nits. We love an odd laptop and ASUS didnt disappoint by bringing the ROG Zephyrus Duo to CES. This is a dual-screen gaming laptop with two 16-inch OLED panels, one of Intels new CPUs and up to an NVIDIA RTX 5090 GPU. The keyboard is detachable and can work wirelessly. A kickstand can help you set up the Zephyrus Duo in all kinds of orientations. You can even position the dual screens in an upside-down V tent mode. We dont know the price of the Zephyrus Duo as yet, but it surely wont be inexpensive. Marketing photo of a Kojima-inspired ROG Flow Z13 tablet ASUS Thats not all ASUS brought to the dance. The company made a special edition of the ROG Flow Z13 some thats styled after the works of the famed game designer Hideo Kojima. The ROG Flow Z13-KJP has visual flair thats draws from the likes of Death Stranding and Metal Gear. Kojimas Ludens mascot is here too. Theres no pricing or release date for this variant or its matching accessories just yet. Micro RGB TVs Samsung's 130-inch Micro RGB TV. Devindra Hardawar for Engadget Micro RGB is a term you can expect to hear about quite a bit in the coming months and years, especially when you're shopping for your next TV. Micro RGB is a new tech that's similar to Mini LED, though it uses red, green and blue LEDs instead of white backlights. Contrast ratios aren't quite as high as those on Micro LED and OLED displays, since the pixels can't be turned on and off individually. However, Micro RGB units are said to be brighter and more color accurate than TVs that use other display tech, in part because the LEDs in these screens offer smaller, more customizable dimming zones. Read reporter Steve Dents explainer for a deeper dive into how Micro RGB differs from other types of display tech. We're seeing more of these TVs pop up at CES 2026, including a mammoth 130-inch concept model that Samsung brought to Las Vegas . The company unveiled its first Micro RGB TV in August, thats a 115-inch, $29,999 model. This year, you can expect it to start offering Micro RGB TVs in 55-, 65- and 75-inch sizes. There are also 85-, 100- and 115-inch models on the way. LG revealed its first Micro RGB set at CES as well. The largest variant is 100 inches, but there are 86- and 75-inch models too. Elsewhere, LG showed off its latest Wallpaper TV , which is a 100-inch OLED display. We also got a look at LG's new Gallery TV The Gallery is the company's take on Samsung's Frame TV format. Other new TVs and OS updates Ember Artline TV. Amazon Weve got another competitor to The Frame, as Amazon has entered that scene with the Ember Artline TV . The 4K OLED model has Amazon Photos integration and you can choose from 2,000 pieces of free art to show on the screen. The Ember Artline can switch on or off automatically when someone enters or leaves the room. It runs on the Fire TV platform and (of course) theres Alexa+ integration, along with support for Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and Wi-Fi 6. The Ember Artline is expected to start shipping this spring. It starts at $899 for the 55-inch model. The rounder redesigned Fire TV UI. Amazon Speaking of Fire TV, Amazon has revamped the platforms user interface with rounded corners for show, movie and app tiles; a little more space for said tiles; and typography and color gradient changes. The company has reworked the platforms codebase as well, and it says the Fire TV OS will deliver speed boosts of up to 20 to 30 percent. Amazon will start rolling out the updated UI next month. On the Google side of TV land, you can expect more Gemini-powered features . The company is bringing the ability to search Google Photos for certain moments and people to Google TV, along with the options to remix photos into different styles and create slideshows on the fly. The Veo and Nano Banana AI video and photo generation models are coming to Google TV as well. You can also expect the ability to adjust TV settings using your voice. These Gemini features are coming to Google TV-powered TCL models first, then other devices in the following months. In the meantime, you can check out senior reporter Amy Skorheims hands-on impressions of the Gemini updates . Also in TV-related news, Peacock and Dolby have expanded their partnership. Currently, Peacocks Sunday Night Football streams have Dolby Atmos support. Youll soon be able to watch more live sports on Peacock with Dolby Vision and Atmos, as support for NBA and MLB events are on the way. Dolby Vision is coming to Sunday Night Football on Peacock too. Belkin, meanwhile, has a new wireless HDMI dongle that doesn't require a Wi-Fi connection. That should make it easy to beam videos from a device with a USB-C port to a TV, monitor or projector handy if youre planning an outdoor movie night in a space with spotty internet access. Monitors and projectors Let's keep the focus on display tech for a bit with a look at some of the monitors and projectors we've seen at CES this year. Dell revealed a 52-inch ultrawide curved 6K monitor (the first of those on the planet, according to the company). The UltraSharp 52 Thunderbolt Hub Monitor has a nifty feature in that it's possible to hook up four PCs simultaneously and give each a dedicated section of the display that could make co-op games pretty fun if you're dedicated enough to try that set up. It's possible to control all four connected PCs with a single mouse and keyboard too. This monitor is available now for $2,900 with a stand and $2,800 without. Dell also showed off a new 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitor with Dolby Vision and True Black 500 HDR support. The Dell UltraSharp 32 4K QD-OLED Monitor can be all yours for $2,600 as of February 24. Samsung and LG revealed some new gaming monitors ahead of CES. Samsungs 32-inch Odyssey 3D is a model that offers glasses-free 3D on a 6K display, while LG has a new bunch of 5K monitors. During CES , though, the latter also pulled back the curtain on the 27-inch UltraGear GX7, a $1,000 QHD OLED display with a 540Hz refresh rate. Samsung brought the latest version of its FreeStyle+ projector to the show. Engadgets UK bureau chief Mat Smith checked out the new model in person and reckoned that Samsung has given the projector a serious upgrade over previous iteration. The FreeStyle+ is now much brighter, while the updated keystone correction feature seems very useful. Elsewhere, Ankers Soundcore announced the Nebula P1i , a 1080p portable projector with speakers that you can fold out and tilt. At $369, that seems like a pretty decent option if youre looking for an entry-level projector you can take anywhere. The P1i should arrive in time for camping trips too, since Soundcore says itll be available in the early part of this year. The brand also said its higher-end Nebula X1 Pro, a version of its 4K Nebula X1 that includes a 160W surround sound system, will be available this month for $4,999. XGIMI was also at CES to show off its latest high-end projector, the Titan Noir Max. Theres no word on pricing yet, but this appears to be an upgraded version of the $3,999 Titan model. Samsung Samsung's Music Studio 5 speakers at CES 2026. Billy Steele for Engadget Samsung being Samsung, the company had a lot more up its sleeve at CES than just TVs. In the leadup to the event, it announced its two new soundbars (we're had some hands-on time with one of those ) and the stylish Music Studio speakers (we've got some IRL impressions of those ). It also announced plans to bring Google Photos to TVs . At the First Look showcase on Sunday, Samsung talked up AI experiences everywhere. For everyone (sigh). Here, we saw more TVs, such as the thin S95H OLED, which has a zero-gap mount that allows you to position the unit flush against a wall. First Look has long been focused on home products. Naturally, Samsung execs discussed some features for the company's fridges, such as recipe selection updates, AI cooling tech and Google Gemini-powered AI Vision that's said to be able to recognize more items and help you figure out what you need to buy without having to manually take inventory. FoodNote, meanwhile, is a weekly summary that breaks down what has gone in and out of your fridge. Moreover, Samsung highlighted the Samsung Bespoke AI Laundry Combo and its new AI wash cycle. With the new Air Dresser which has an Auto Wrinkle Care feature Samsung aims to do away with irons (thank you, Samsung). As for the Bespoke AI smart vacuum and mop, that can apparently keep an eye on your pets when you're not home. L'Oreal A pair of transparent eye masks with wires and bulbs inside them. L'Oral L'Oreal often brings some interesting beauty tech to CES and the company did so again this year with a trio of gadgets . The LED Eye Mask uses red light and near-infrared light to address the likes of puffiness, discoloration and fine lines. The LED Face Mask seems to be a more pliable version of masks that we've seen from the likes of Dr. Dennis Gross, Omnilux, Therabody and Shark in recent years. However, it's only in prototype form for now and it isn't expected to hit the market until next year. The Light Straight + Multi-styler uses infrared light to help dry and style hair in similar fashion to L'Oreal's AirLight Pro. It's said to have sensors that employ built-in proprietary algorithms and machine learning so they can adapt to your gestures and maximize individual experience. L'Oreal claims that while traditional straighteners can operate at 400F or higher (temperatures that can damage hair), its latest innovation effectively straightens hair while never exceeding 320F. You can expect the Light Straight to arrive in 2027 as well. Mobile Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold Engadget At CES 2026, we had our first chance to go hands on with the Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold, which the company officially announced last month . Senior writer Sam Rutherford had qualms about the price (not confirmed yet for North America, but it costs around $2,500 in Korea) and bulkiness. However, after Sam opened it up, my concerns were quickly pushed aside because suddenly youre greeted with 10 inches of vivid AMOLED goodness. That extra real estate could come in very useful for many folks. Combined with a keyboard and perhaps a mouse, it could well be the laptop/tablet replacement many have been waiting for. Be sure to read Sams hands-on for his full initial impressions . Almost exactly three decades after releasing its first proper clamshell flip phone , Motorola revealed its very first side-folding phone. The Razr Fold has a 6.6-inch external screen and a 8.1-inch main display, with stylus support on both. The camera array includes a 50MP main sensor from Sony, a 50MP ultra-wide/macro lens and a 50MP telephoto. Theres a 32MP external selfie camera and a 20MP internal sensor too. Well get the full specs, pricing and availability info in the coming months. Back at CES 2024, we got to try out a physical keyboard phone accessory from Clicks. Fast forward two years, and the brand is making its own Blackberry-esque phones, as well as a new physical phone keyboard accessory. The Android 16-based Clicks Communicator has a tactile keyboard with a fingerprint sensor in the spacebar, a 4-inch OLED display, a 3.5mm headphone jack (hooray!) and expandable microSD storage up to 2TB. You can reserve one now for $399 the price will increase to $499 on February 27. As for the new accessory, Clicks is calling that the Power Keyboard. It connects to an iOS or Android phone via MagSafe or Qi2, and it can operate as a power bank in a pinch thanks to the 2,150 mAh battery. The Power Keyboard has Bluetooth functionality as well, so you can use it with devices like tablets, smart TVs and virtual reality headsets. Pre-orders are open now and the Power Keyboard is expected to ship in the spring. Early adopters can lock in a pre-order for $79 before the retail price jumps to $110. The Punkt MC03 phone. Punkt Those who prefer their mobile phones to have fewer bells and whistles might be interested in the latest model from Punkt. The MC03 is a nifty-looking touchscreen model that runs on the privacy- and security-centric AphyOS, which is based on the Android Open Source Project. It has a UI that borrows a page out of the Light Phone's playbook, though you can still install any Android app. The MC03 will hit European markets this month for 699 / CHF699 / 610. There's a mandatory subscription, however. You get a year of access included with a phone purchase, then it's a 10 / CHF10 / 9 monthly fee (paying for a long-term plan up front can reduce the cost by up to 60 percent). Charging tech Anker and Belkin feel like CES mainstays at this point. They each had some interesting charging gear to show off this year. Belkin offered up a refreshed Nintendo Switch 2 case that recharges the console via its 10,000mAh power bank (which delivers up to 30W of fast charging). The case has an LCD screen on the outside to show you at a glance how much juice it has left and theres a built-in kickstand for you to prop the console up on. Belkins new Switch 2 charging case costs $100 and its available now. The companys new $100 UltraCharge Pro Power Bank can recharge two devices simultaneously. You can get your hands on that next month. Theres also a very slim BoostCharge power bank that can fit into your pocket. That will run you $60 and it will ship later this year. Anker Nano Charger (45W, Smart Display, 180 Foldable) Anker Anker unveiled its neat Nano Charger, which can seemingly identify the iPhone model you hook up to it and provide the appropriate level of charging power. This plug will arrive later this month for $40. The company announced a string of other products that can charge multiple devices at the same time. The $150 foldable Prime Wireless Charging Station can juice up your iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods simultaneously, with up to 25W of Qi2 wireless power. Thatll arrive by the end of March. Theres also a 10-in-1 Nano Power Strip ($70, late January release) with 70W of output, surge protection and multiple USB-C ports, USB-A ports and AC outlets. Anker also showed off a 13-in-1 Nano Docking Station that you can snag right now for $150. Among other things, this supports up to three 4K displays, as much as 100W of upstream charging and 10 Gbps of data transfer between devices that are hooked up to it. Handy! AI Amazon introduced Alexa.com to Alexa+ Early Access customers. Amazon No prizes for guessing that there's going to be a ton of AI-related news at CES this year. Amazon, for one, announced that it's rolling out a web-based version of Alexa+ . That means you won't necessarily need to have an Amazon device to try out the generative AI-powered assistant. However, Alexa+ Early Access customers are getting first dibs on the web version. Two Sweekar devices are pictured on a table, one wearing a pink and blue snowboarder outfit and the other (behind it) wearing a cowboy hat and outfit Karissa Bell for Engadget There are a boatload of AI-powered devices on the CES show floor too. One that we saw early on is a Tamagotchi-style virtual pet from a startup called Takway. The Sweekar will remember your interactions with it (you'll need to feed and play with the pet to keep it healthy and happy). Once it's all grown up, the Sweekar will head off on virtual adventures and tell you about its exploits when it returns. Takway will soon start a Kickstarter campaign for the Sweekar, which will likely cost between $100 and $150. Ludens AI's Cocomo robot, Cheyenne MacDonald for Engadget Ludens AI, meanwhile, showed off a pair of AI companion robots that are admittedly pretty cute. Cocomo can react to your voice and touch interactions, follow you around your home and learn about you over time. It stays close to human body temps, so it feels cozy if you hug it. Inu, on the other hand, stays on your desktop. It, too, responds to your voice and touch. The Fraimic art display at CES Amy Skorheim for Engadget We also saw the Fraimic , an E Ink display that can tap into OpenAI to generate images. There's no subscription for the Fraimic (which costs $399 for the standard size, which has a 13-inch display) and you get 100 AI-generated images per year included with your purchase. Pre-orders are open now and the Fraimic is expected to start shipping in this spring. MindClip held in a hand. Daniel Cooper for Engadget Some companies are still trying to make wearable AI devices happen. SwitchBot has a wearable mic called the AI MindClip , which can seemingly record and transcribe everything you say (no, thank you!). Ankers Soundcore division got in on the mix too with its Work voice recorder . Plaid, meanwhile, brought its NotePin follow up to the dance. This time around, the NotePin S has a button that you can push to record conversations. You can also press the button to flag key moments for an AI-generated summary to focus on. The NotePin S is available now for $179, should you be enticed to buy such a thing. On a similar note, Bee provided an update on what its bee-n up to since Amazon bought the company last year. It has developed four features that its rolling out to its existing AI voice recording wearable devices, including one that draft an email when you say you need to send one, and another that highlights trends in what you say over a period of weeks or months. Theres also a voice notes feature, because thats something you cant do with your phone already. Robots The product version of Boston Dynamics' Atlas. Boston Dynamics Boston Dynamics Atlas robot is ready to roll. Weve seen a few iterations of this machine over the last few years and now the companys latest model is set to go into production. In addition, Boston Dynamics has teamed up with Google DeepMind to fuse Gemini Robotics AI foundation models into Atlas robots. Per a press release , the partnership will focus on enabling humanoids to complete a wide variety of industrial tasks and is expected to become a driving force of manufacturing transformation, beginning in the automotive industry. As it happens, Hyundai (Boston Dynamics majority shareholder) and DeepMind will be among the first to receive Atlas robots. Switchbot's Onero H1. Karissa Bell for Engadget LGs CLOiD is still a concept helper robot for now, but the Onero H1 is one you may be able to buy as soon as this year. During an in-person demo , we saw Switchbots robot (slowly) pick up clothes, chuck them in a washing machine and close the door. The company has also released a video that shows the Onero H1 carrying out other household tasks, from serving food and drinks to washing windows. Were told Switchbot plans to sell the robot for less than $10,000. Transportation Sony Honda Mobility Afeela Press Conference at CES 2026 Afeela Sony and Honda brought the latest revision of their first Afeela EV to CES 2026. We already knew that youd be able to play your PS5 remotely while the vehicle is parked, though we learned some new details from the companies presentation. The Afeela 1 will debut with an advanced hands-off, eyes-on driver assistance system. The aim is to eventually offer Level 4 autonomy via over-the-air updates. Sony Honda Mobility plans to start shipments at the tail end of 2026, first in California, then in Arizona. However, after getting a close-up look at the latest iteration of the EV, Engadget contributor Tim Stevens reckons the Afeela 1 feels more and more out of touch with each passing year, even though it was an audacious product when it was announced at CES 2020. We also got our first look at a model thats a further down the pike. The Afeela Prototype 2026 is a taller version of the first EV. Just dont expect to be able to try it yourself until at least 2028. Muxi Segway Segway is expanding its e-bike lineup with two new models that have a heap of smart features, from Apple Find My integration and GPS tracking to remote locking and health app functions. The Muxi (above) looks quite pretty and has a cup holder(!), while the $2,000 Myon has a chunkier frame and features such as electronic gear shifting. Both are cargo-centric step-through models. You can buy the Myon now, and the $1,700 Muxi will be available in March, just in time for spring. Along with those e-bikes, Segway had a new electric dirt bike to tell us about. The Xaber 300 was created with off-roading in mind. There are three power modes, offering the equivalent of 150cc, 200cc and 300cc engines. Segway hasnt revealed pricing for the Xaber 300, which should be available this spring or summer. Gaming Slide from NVIDIA's CES 2026 presentation about DLSS 4.5 NVIDIA NVIDIA announced the latest version of its DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) upscaling tech. DLSS 4.5 is said to offer sharper visuals thanks to the 2nd Generation Super Resolution Transformer, which is available now for all RTX GPUs. NVIDIA says this offers better temporal stability, reduced ghosting and improved anti-aliasing. On GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs, DLSS 4.5 will be able to generate up to five extra frames for each traditionally rendered one and deliver up to 4K 240Hz path traced performance, NVIDIA says. The Dynamic 6x Frame Generation feature will be available for those graphics cards sometime this spring. NVIDIA also detailed a new version of its G-Sync variable refresh rate tech. It says that G-Sync Pulsar can minimize motion blur by effectively quadrupling your refresh rate. So 250 Hz gameplay will seemingly offer up a perceived effective motion clarity of over 1,000 Hz with G-Sync Pulsar enabled. Youll need a G-Sync Pulsar-compatible display to use this feature. Most displays have a backlight thats always on, so images fade from one frame to the next. On G-Sync Pulsar displays, there are several horizontal backlight sections. The backlights pulse from top to bottom. This is said to help the pixels in each frame stabilize before theyre backlit, resulting in lower motion blur. Its interesting stuff. Acer, AOC, ASUS and MSI are each releasing a G-Sync Pulsar-compatible 27-inch monitor this week. 8BitDo FlipPad 8BitDo The FlipPad is one of my favorite things Ive seen coming out of CES this year. Its an 8BitDo mobile game controller thats designed for vertical use. There are a bunch of neat physical controllers for phones that are built for landscape mode. But many mobile games are played with the phone oriented to the vertical position. And thats not to mention emulators that allow you to play the likes of Game Boy titles while your phone stands tall. So its neat to see 8BitDo offering a physical controller thatll do the trick. The company also unveiled a new Xbox controller with swappable joysticks and button modules. A keyboard thing. Corsair Why have a numpad on the side of your keyboard when you can have a highly customizable controller instead? Corsair slapped a Stream Deck into a keyboard and it looks absolutely rad. Ive yet to take the plunge on a Stream Deck-style controller and since Id rather not have an extra device on my desk, Im very tempted to pick up the $350 Galleon 100 SD, which is available now. It has 12 programmable keys that you can use for gaming (give me that Helldivers 2 profile so I dont have to keep punching in stratagem codes) or livestreaming, but there are plenty of other applications too. They can help with video editing, controlling smart home devices or simply adjusting media playback. Theres a five-inch screen and two dials for fine control too. Oh, and its a full-sized mechanical keyboard to boot. GameSir had a couple of interesting controllers to tell us about. The Swift Drive (which seems to be a working name) has a steering wheel with force feedback in the middle of a regular gamepad. Its a cool idea and it seems to work pretty well. The Swift Drive should hit the market later this year. In addition, GameSir teamed up with Hyperkin to make a modular controller that works with phones, tablets and Nintendo Switch consoles. Youll be able to slot those devices into the X5 Alterons grip (as you might with a Backbone or Razer Kishi controller) though theres a Bluetooth option for PC gaming too. The magnetic modules include ones styled after the GameCube and Nintendo 64, and therell be one with a trackpad thats made with first-person shooters in mind. Theres no pricing or release date for the X5 Alteron yet, but Im eager to try it. Elsewhere on the gaming front, Lenovo revealed a SteamOS-powered version of the Legion Go 2 . That variant of the handheld is heading your way in June for $1,199. Razer had some concept gear to show off, including an AI-driven headset with built-in cameras that can recognize objects and text, and a gaming chair with haptic feedback and spatial audio built in. Theres also an AI desktop companion device with several avatars to choose from, including an anime girl and legendary League of Legends player Faker. Audio A speaker and a turntable. Victrola Victrola announced a pretty Bluetooth speaker that sits neatly underneath its turntables. You can use a cable to connect the two as well. Of course, you can play audio from other devices, including phones and tablets. Ive had my eye on a Victrola turntable for a while thanks to its Sonos integration, and the Soundstage speaker is tempting too. The Soundstage will be available this summer for $350. The three sizes from the Cambridge Audio L/R speaker series. Green speakers in three sizes. Cambridge Audio Speaking of pretty speakers, I really like the aesthetic of these three wireless bookshelf options from Cambridge Audio. The classy-lookin L/R Series speakers start at $549 for a 100W model with a 21mm hard-dome tweeter with a 3-inch long-throw woofer hut no support for Wi-Fi streaming (there is Bluetooth aptX HD, though). At the top end is the $2,299 L/R X, a 800W speaker that has a a 2.5-way acoustic design with a 28mm Torus tweeter and dual five-inch woofers. Theres even a touch of LED underlighting on this model and the $1,599 L/R M, which has 300W of power, smaller four-inch dual woofers and the same 28mm tweeter. All three speakers will be available later this year. Theres lots more audio gear at CES beyond the Victorla and Cambridge Audio speakers, of course. JBL was at the event to show off a whole bunch of earbuds and gaming headsets . Shure now has a USB-C version of its MV88 condenser microphone, making it compatible with Android devices and recent iPhones. Thatll run you $159. The latest version of JLabs teeny JBuds Mini earbuds now have customizable active noise cancellation (ANC) and yet they still cost $40 . PartyStudio is a speaker with 128 different instrument sounds that works with any MIDI keyboard. Nathan Ingraham for Engadget PartyStudio seems like a fun product its a MIDI speaker with 128 built-in instrument tones and 50-plus drum machine patterns. Theres a companion 36-key MIDI keyboard called PartyKeys as well (the speaker will work with any MIDI keyboard, though). PopuMusic is the company behind both. Anker, meanwhile, has new AeroFit 2 Pro earbuds that are pretty interesting. Theyre the companys first open-ear earbuds with ANC. You can snap them up in February for $180. Theres also a new portable Bluetooth speaker from Anker called the Soundcore Boom Go 3i. Its a 15W unit with (according to Anker) up to 22 hours of battery life, and it should cost between $65 and $80 when it drops in March. Engadget deputy editor Billy Steele has been checking out some of the audio gear at CES, including Shokz $250 OpenFit Pro earbuds , which have Dolby Atmos support. Billy has also had some hands-on (or heads-on) time with Klipschs first new headphones in years. There are initially three models in the companys Atlas series, including the Atlas HP-1, a wireless set with ANC that has a lovely wood finish on the exterior of the earcups. Klipsch is only allowing demos with lossless audio over USB-C for now, but the audio quality is excellent, Billy wrote in his hands-on story . Smart home Dreame Cyber X robot vacuum Engadget As ever, there was a ton of smart home gear at CES this year. One thing that caught our eye is a robot vacuum concept from Dreame . It's one of several companies working on models that can climb stairs, but the Cyber X is a slightly terrifying one since it has large legs that look a bit like chainsaws. The teeth in these legs help provide traction so that the Cyber X can climb stairs that are almost 10 inches high. While Dreames vacuum positions its legs horizontally to climb stairs with tank-style traction, Roborocks Saros rover pushes itself upwards on extendable legs to reach higher floors. The legs have wheels on the bottom and knee-like joints these can help the robot vacuum to raise itself over obstacles on floors too. Narwhal built a vacuum for your mattress. The U50 is a handheld model that has a UV sterilization light. It has a high-speed tapping feature that can help dislodge gunk and mites. The company also showed off a new robot vacuum and mop with a PetCare Mode you can use to track down your bestest furry friend and keep an eye on them when you're not home. You can even talk to your pet via a speaker system. Both products should be available in the spring. Anker's Eufy brand has a new robot vacuum too , along with a video doorbell, outdoor light and smart lock. This ones pretty interesting: Lockins latest vein-recognition smart lock can wirelessly recharge via an optical infrared beam emitted by a separate device thats plugged into an outlet. On a similar note, Ring has updated its door, window and break glass sensors, and it has introduced an OBD-II car alarm, motion detectors and panic buttons. Most of those will be available in March, though can pre-order the car alarm now. Elsewhere in home security, Ugreen announced a modular system that does not require a subscription. At a time when so many companies are desperate to sell you a subscription for dependable monthly revenue, thats quite refreshing. Devices that are part of Ugreens platform including a video doorbell and 4K cameras should be available later this year. IKEA made its CES debut to show off some of its smart home tech, namely a string of budget-friendly, Matter-compatible devices. Along with some home sensors, the company plans to offer a $6 smart bulb, an $8 smart plug and a $6 smart remote in the coming weeks. Senior reporter Amy Skorheim checked out the products and particularly liked the BILREA remote, which you can use to control IKEA's lamps and other devices. Philips Hue SpatialAware feature Speaking of smart bulbs, Philips announced some Hue updates at CES. You'll need a Hue Bridge Pro to use the SpatialAware feature , which uses augmented reality to make sure all of the lights in a room are working together harmoniously to create, for instance, a more natural-looking sunset scene. Philips will be rolling out SpatialAware to Hue users this spring. Also on the way is Apple Home support for the Hue Secure Camera, Hue Secure video doorbell and Hue contact sensors. Elsewhere in lighting, Govee has a new floor lamp, as well as a ceiling light that's said to simulate a skylight . In terms of kitchen tech, GE Appliances has a new smart refrigerator that's designed to make restocking easier. It has a built-in barcode scanner you can use to quickly add items to a shopping list. It's possible to sync the items to Instacart for grocery delivery. There's also an interior camera that can help you keep tabs on the goods in your fridge's crisper drawer. As you might expect for a smart fridge, it has a touchscreen on the door that you can use to call up recipes. The GE Profile Smart Refrigerator will be available in April for $4,899. Nosh Daniel Cooper for Engadget Nosh , meanwhile, is an AI cooking robot that you'll be able to buy in the next few months. Load it with ingredients, pick one of the 500 dishes in Nosh's repertoire and the robot will put everything together. While it has water and oil reservoirs, as well as a built-in spice rack, you'll still need to prep the fresh ingredients before adding them to the machine. Nosh will cost $2,000 but if you're ready to pre-order now, you can snag one for an early bird price of $1,200. Moving outside, Whisper Aero claims that the T1 leaf blower (from its Tone Outdoors division) is 80 percent quieter and 60 percent more powerful than leading gas handheld blowers. That seems pretty great on paper, so heres hoping that your noisy neighbors will be convinced to shell out $599 for a T1 when it arrives in September. Meanwhile, Segways Navimow unit has a bunch of new robot mowers . Health and accessibility Image of the Throne Toilet Computer perched on the side of a toilet. Daniel Cooper for Engadget It perhaps shouldnt come as a surprise that a toilet computer made an appearance in our roundup of weird CES tech . But if Ive learned anything from watching Scrubs , its that our waste offers up a lot of revealing information about our health, so Throne is a pretty compelling device. It has a camera and microphone to track your bowel motions and urination levels. The idea is to figure out your regular toilet usage and then flag any deviations from that. The creators hope that Throne will help you gain a better understanding of your gut health, which could be beneficial for those on GLP-1 drugs, for instance. Throne will start shipping in February for $340 and a $6 per month subscription. Image of Vivoo's FlowPad Vivoo Vivoo also showed off a toilet device that can monitor your urination levels. Not only that, the company unveiled a smart menstrual pad . The idea is for for wearers to scan the pad with their phone camera after use. Elsewhere, the latest version of Withings Body Scan scale can track 60 biomarkers, up from the 40 that the first model from 2023 can keep tabs on. The Body Scan 2 should be available in the spring for $600. A man sits in a manual wheelchair with an add-on attached that gives it a large central front wheel and raises the casters off the ground Cheyenne MacDonald for Engadget Accessibility tech is a welcome sight at CES, and WheelMove looks like it could be useful for many wheelchair users. Its a device with a large front wheel that can quickly be attached to any manual wheelchair. It can then raise the wheelchairs smaller front wheels off the ground, primarily to help users navigate rough terrain. The $6,000 WheelMove will debut in France later their year before a broader rollout. ReviMo has built a robotic lift that it says can help people move themselves from (for instance) a bed to a wheelchair without the assistance of a caregiver. The company expects Niko to cost around $15,000, but its attempting to get the device covered by insurance. Dephy's Sidekick, which the company describes as bionic footwear. Karissa Bell for Engadget Dephys Sidekick is designed as a walking aid. Its an ankle-worn exoskeleton thats attached to a sneaker. The Sidekick has sensors that can detect the users gait and adapt to it in order to deliver an effective boost in each step. At $4,500, the Sidekick isnt cheap, but it could be a boon for those who are perhaps not as physically active as theyd like to be. Dephy is also adapting the tech for athletic use the company is working with Nike on a robotic sneaker project . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/all-the-tech-and-gadgets-announced-at-ces-2026-130124023.html?src=rss

Dell unveils a massive 52-inch 6K ultrawide curved monitor at CES 2026

PC and gaming monitors are among the CES 2026 announcements, and Dell may just have one of the most impressive. The company launched an ultrawide, curved 52-inch 6K monitor at the show this year, a productivity behemoth designed for stock traders, engineers and other professionals. Dell claims the UltraSharp 52 Thunderbolt Hub Monitor is the first 52-incher to market thats also ultrawide, curved and supports 6K resolution (but with that many qualifiers almost anything can be a world first). Given Dells experience in the monitor realm, this could be a dream display for professionals who handle vast data sets such as trading platforms, AutoCAD, 3D rendering software, spreadsheets and more. It sports a 120Hz refresh rate on an IPS Black panel and emits up to 60 percent less blue light when compared to competing monitors. It delivers an impressive 129 ppi (for comparison a 4K 32-inch monitor delivers 138 ppi) and an ambient light sensor helps avoid eye strain during long work sessions. Users can connect up to four PCs to the monitor simultaneously, which can use picture-by-picture to treat each partitioned screen as an individual monitor. It also features built-in KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) features that let users control all connected PCs via a single mouse and keyboard. The monitor can also charge your laptop with up to 140W of power via a Thunderbolt 4 connection. Dell also rolled out a new 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitor with support for both True Black 500 HDR and Dolby Vision. It claims true-to-life color accuracy out of the box and excellent gamut coverage at 99 percent of DCI-P3. This monitor would be a strong fit for film and photo editing. The Dell UltraSharp 52 Thunderbolt Hub Monitor is priced at $2,900 with stand or $2,800 without. It will be widely available starting January 6. The Dell UltraSharp 32 4K QD-OLED Monitor comes in at $2,600 and will be available beginning February 24. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/dell-unveils-a-massive-52-inch-6k-ultrawide-curved-monitor-at-ces-2026-140024842.html?src=rss

Nintendo reveals its first Switch 2 Joy-Con color variant

Nintendo has unveiled the first color variants for the Switch 2 Joy-Cons in light purple and light green, set to arrive on February 12 alongside Mario Tennis Fever . The new controllers are now on pre-order for $100 and include matching wrist-straps. Other than the colorway, these are standard Joy-Con 2 controllers with motion controls and HD rumble, along with the C Button for GameChat and the mouse controls for compatible games. However, you may have noticed something weird about them the colors are on the inner rails, so you'll barely be able to see them when the Joy-Con 2s are connected to a Switch 2 console, except around the thumbsticks. By contrast, previous Joy-Con color variants covered the entire shell. The new Switch 2 Joy-Con colors also clash with the light blue and orange strips on the inner left and right of the console. Along with the new Joy-Con 2 controllers, Nintendo released a lengthy game-play video for Mario Tennis Fever, also set to arrive on February 12th. It details some of the key gameplay features, like fever shots, the ice racket and moves like slides and dives. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-reveals-its-first-switch-2-joy-con-color-variant-142725414.html?src=rss

Google's Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds are on sale for $165

It's hard to find better wireless earbuds than Google's Pixel Buds Pro 2 if you're an Android user. The statement is even more true if you have a Pixel phone. If you're on the market for a new pair, you can grab the Pixel Buds Pro 2 for $165 in the hazel colorway, which is $54 off their usual price. Other color options are also discounted, just not as steeply. The device made our list of the best wireless earbuds , and this is particularly true for those tied into the Pixel ecosystem. These earbuds are on the smaller side and, more importantly, comfortable to wear for long periods of time. They also manage to deliver pristine audio , as we were fans of the punchy bass, full mids and crisp highs on offer. The battery lasts for 30 hours when you include return trips to the charging case, at around eight hours a pop. They offer multipoint Bluetooth that switches between audio sources with just a single button press. There's an app for keeping an eye on battery levels and ANC levels. The primary downside when these were first released was the high price tag, which has been alleviated by this sale. Beyond that, there's really just one nitpick. Smaller earbuds translate to a smaller touch panel, which requires precision to operate. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/googles-pixel-buds-pro-2-earbuds-are-on-sale-for-165-193444985.html?src=rss

19 CES gadgets you can buy right now

CES 2026 is in full swing, but you dont have to wait months to get your hands on everything announced in Las Vegas this year. A surprising number of products are already up for pre-order, if not outright available to buy today, from new chargers and docks to projectors, keyboards and smart home gear. CES is still a showcase for concepts and big promises, but these are the gadgets that have real pricing and an order button ready right now. Check out all of the CES 2026 gadgets you can buy right now below. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/19-ces-gadgets-you-can-buy-right-now-164325541.html?src=rss

Apple AirPods Pro 3 are back on sale at a record low price

The AirPods Pro 3 are on sale and back at their record low price of $200. This is marked down from $250, a hefty 20 percent discount. This model was just released in September of last year, so consider this a substantial discount for such a recent product. We gave these AirPods a score of 90 out of 100 in our review and we consider them the best wireless earbuds for iPhone users. The third generation model is a substantial update to an already impressive product, bringing new features like live translation to the table. The AirPods Pro 3 also offer heart-rate tracking, allowing them to stream live data to Apple Fitness and other third-party workout apps. This lets you track your fitness and close activity rings similarly to when using an Apple Watch. Apple also improved the sound quality of this generation thanks in large part to a redesigned acoustic architecture that improves how air is delivered into the ear canal. Additionally, the company changed the angle of the drivers to help more sound get where it needs to go instead of bouncing off the sides of your ear. We felt the jump in audio quality from the last generation to this one was substantial. The ANC on the AirPods Pro 3 has also been improved. Apple claims this model filters out twice as much noise as the AirPods Pro 2 and four times as much as the original AirPods Pro. We found the noise cancellation to be top-notch. Live Translation is as neat as it sounds, leveraging the AirPods' noise cancellation tech, Apple's AI and beamforming mics to help you understand a speaker in a different language. Right now, this is limited to a handful of languages with more being added over time. It's not often you see one of Apple's best and most recent products on sale for 20 percent off, so if you're in the market for an upgrade or your first set of AirPods, consider taking advantage of this deal. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apple-airpods-pro-3-are-back-on-sale-at-a-record-low-price-140752004.html?src=rss

CES 2026 Day 2: All of the coolest tech we saw on the show floor during the second day

CES 2026s second day was all about hands on time with new tech. From Legos most ambitious play experiment yet to assistive mobility tech, smart home ideas that actually feel affordable and robots that might one day fold your laundry, heres what stood out most on January 7. Lego Smart Play Lego Star Wars Smart Play: Luke's Red Five X-Wing Nathan Ingraham for Engadget LEGOs new Smart Play system feels far more compelling in person than it did on stage. The Smart Brick, combined with Smart Tags and Smart Minifigures, responds dynamically to movement, proximity and context, triggering sounds and interactions without screens or apps. Seeing kids physically act out Star Wars battles while the bricks reacted in real time made it clear this is designed first and foremost for active social play, not digital distraction. WheelMove A man sits in a manual wheelchair with an add-on attached that gives it a large central front wheel and raises the casters off the ground Cheyenne MacDonald for Engadget WheelMoves motorized wheelchair attachment is compact, surprisingly quick to install and genuinely empowering in action. The add-on lifts a chairs front wheels and adds powered assistance, making grass, cobblestones and slopes far easier to navigate. After seeing it demonstrated on uneven surfaces, its easy to imagine this opening up spaces that would otherwise be exhausting or inaccessible for manual wheelchair users. Throne Image of the Throne Toilet Computer perched on the side of a toilet. Daniel Cooper for Engadget Thrones toilet-mounted health tracker is exactly as strange as it sounds, but its also thoughtfully designed. Using computer vision to analyze bowel movements and urination, the device aims to establish a personal baseline and flag changes over time, with gut health and GLP-1 users firmly in mind. Its too early to judge accuracy, but seeing it in person made it feel less gimmicky and more like a niche wellness tool worth testing. IKEA smart home gear The popular VARMBLIXT donut lamp is now smart. Amy Skorheim for Engadget IKEAs first CES appearance leaned heavily into what it does best: simple, affordable design. The new Matter-compatible smart home range includes bulbs, plugs, remotes and sensors priced low enough to make smart homes feel accessible again. Standouts like the magnetically mounted BILREA remote and playful TEKLAN lamps showed that IKEA hasnt sacrificed charm in its push toward interoperability. SwitchBot Switchbot's Onero H1. Karissa Bell for Engadget SwitchBots Onero H1 was one of the most intriguing robots on the show floor because its meant to ship this year. The wheeled humanoid robot uses articulated arms and onboard AI to perform household chores, like loading a washing machine, albeit at a deliberate pace. Watching it work made the case that speed matters less than reliability when a robot can handle tasks while youre not home. Eyebot vision testing Image of the Eyebot Kiosk Daniel Cooper for Engadget Eyebots self-service vision testing kiosk turns a 20-minute optometrist visit into a process that takes just a few minutes. The test is guided by a large touchscreen and reviewed remotely by a licensed eye doctor, striking a balance between automation and oversight. After comparing results with a recent traditional exam, the accuracy felt reassuring, even if it doesnt replace full eye health screenings. Dephy Sidekick sneakers Dephy's Sidekick, which the company describes as footwear. Karissa Bell for Engadget Dephys Sidekick robotic sneakers deliver a subtle but noticeable boost with each step. The ankle-mounted exoskeleton adapts to your gait, and walking with it feels bouncy rather than overpowering, especially at lower assist levels. Its not for everyone, but after hours on the CES floor, the idea of powered help for people with limited mobility started to make a lot of sense. Klipsch headphones Klipsch Atlas HP-1 Billy Steele for Engadget Klipschs return to headphones starts strong with the Atlas HP-1 . The wireless ANC model looks premium, borrows familiar design cues and delivers the brands warm, balanced sound in early demos. Pricing is still unknown, but based on build quality and audio alone, these feel positioned firmly at the high end. Clear Drop The Clear Drop soft plastics compactor next to a pile of the bricks it produces. Amy Skorheim for Engadget Clear Drops home plastic compactor tackles a real recycling problem most households face. The machine takes bags and wraps them into dense bricks that can be shipped to partner recycling facilities, and watching it swallow soft plastics was oddly satisfying. Its expensive and not perfect, but its one of the more practical attempts at dealing with waste outside municipal systems. Nosh cooking robot Nosh Daniel Cooper for Engadget Nosh is an AI cooking robot designed for low-effort, sauce-heavy meals like soups, curries and pasta. Multiple ingredient trays allow you to prep meals ahead of time, then slide them in when youre ready to eat. Its not replacing real cooking anytime soon, but as an alternative to microwaved meals, its more appealing than expected. Day two leaned heavily toward tech you could physically interact with, whether that meant flying Lego ships through the air, watching a robot load laundry or testing a vision exam in a kiosk. With more show-floor time still ahead, well be back with additional hands-ons, impressions and daily recaps as CES 2026 continues. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/ces-2026-day-2-all-of-the-coolest-tech-we-saw-on-the-show-floor-during-the-second-day-134608348.html?src=rss

ElevationLabs' 10-year extended battery case for AirTags is 30 percent off

AirTags already have a decently long battery life, but you will end up needing to replace the coin cell every two years or so. If you don't even want to be bothered with that, ElevationLab made just the accessory for you: its AirTag battery case that can power the tracker for up to 10 years is on sale for 30 percent off. You can pick one up for only $16, and it's available in two- and four-packs as well at a discount. The TimeCapsule case uses two AA batteries to offer up to 14 times the lifespan of the CR2032 battery that powers an AirTag. The company based those estimates on Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries, so your mileage may vary. Once an AirTag is seated inside the case, which is a compact 4.45 x 1.57 inches, it is sealed shut with four screws at the corners. The case is fiber-reinforced, according to Elevation Lab, and rated IP69 waterproof. The company says its intended for use cases where you might place an AirTag for long periods of time, like in a vehicle, a piece of luggage or a work bag. We've already got a couple of Elevation Lab products on our list for best AirTag accessories , so while we haven't reviewed the battery case, we tend to like this company's products. If you're in the market for more AirTags or considering picking some up for the first time, you can still get a pack of 4 for just $65 , which is only a few dollars off the lowest price we've seen. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/elevationlabs-10-year-extended-battery-case-for-airtags-is-30-percent-off-162308110.html?src=rss

The weirdest tech we've seen at CES 2026 so far

CES is famous for ushering in big TVs, faster chips and serious upgrades to the tech we already use every day. Its also where companies feel emboldened to ask some very strange questions, like whether your toilet should analyze your poop or your nails should change color on command. From experimental laptops to health tech that probably didnt need a camera, these are the weirdest gadgets we spotted at CES 2026 . Throne toilet computer The Throne device perched on the side of a toilet. Daniel Cooper for Engadget Throne is a toilet-mounted computer that uses cameras and microphones to analyze your bowel movements, which is a sentence we did not expect to type this week. Designed to establish a personal baseline for your bathroom habits, it aims to flag changes that could indicate digestive or metabolic issues, including for people on GLP-1 drugs. We cant speak to its effectiveness yet but if knowledge is power, this thing might know way too much. Vivoo Hygienic FlowPad smart menstrual pad Vivoo's FlowPad Vivoo Vivoo looked at at-home health tracking and decided the bathroom was still underutilized. Alongside its clip-on smart toilet that analyzes your hydration by literally monitoring your pee , the company also unveiled a menstrual pad infused with microfluidics that can track fertility and hormone markers once you scan it with your phone. Its a bold reminder that CES 2026 is fully committed to quantifying everything even the stuff wed rather not discuss over brunch. Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable While it normally has a 16-inch display, the Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable concept's screen can expand up to 23.8 inches across. Sam Rutherford for Engadget Lenovos Legion Pro Rollable is what happens when a gaming laptop decides it wants to be a widescreen monitor mid-match. Its 16-inch display can physically expand sideways into ultra-wide formats, turning flight sims and racing games into full cockpit experiences at the press of a couple of keys. Its impractical, faintly ridiculous and absolutely the kind of CES concept we hope survives long enough to escape the demo floor. Lenovo ThinkBook XD Rollable With its XD Rollable concept, Lenovo took the Thinkbook Plus Gen 6's basic design and made it even more futuristic by allowing its flexible display to wrap around onto its lid. Sam Rutherford for Engadget If the Legion Pro Rollable is excessive, the ThinkBook XD Rollable is philosophically confusing. Its flexible display doesnt just grow taller, it wraps over the lid to create a world-facing screen for people sitting across from you, which feels either futuristic or deeply unnecessary depending on your mood and situation (maybe this is the perfect device for hotel check-ins and other points of sale?). Still, its a gorgeous piece of hardware theater and proof Lenovo is determined to roll screens onto every surface it can reach. OhDoki Handy 2 Pro Image of The Handy 2 and Handy 2 Pro Daniel Cooper for Engadget OhDokis Handy 2 Pro arrived at CES with one clear message: more power, fewer limits and absolutely no chill. The upgraded sex toy model cranks battery life up to five hours and unlocks a Turbo mode so aggressive it was described as overclocked, which is not a term we expected to hear in this category. It can also charge your phone, because apparently even pleasure tech needs to justify itself with productivity. iPolish iPolish Daniel Cooper for Engadget iPolish finally made Total Recall nail tech real, minus the dystopia and Schwarzenegger. These press-on acrylic nails use an electric charge to switch between hundreds of colors in seconds, letting you change your manicure as often as your outfit. Its delightfully impractical, surprisingly affordable and the most convincing argument yet for treating your nails like a customizable display. Hisense S6 FollowMe display Hisense S6 FollowMe display Hisense Hisenses FollowMe display is a screen that physically follows you around the room which no one really asked for, but CES happily delivered anyway. Designed to reposition itself automatically so content stays in view, it feels like the logical endpoint of smart TVs becoming increasingly clingy. We havent seen it in action yet, but the idea of a display that refuses to be ignored is deeply on brand for 2026. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-weirdest-tech-weve-seen-at-ces-2026-so-far-134056504.html?src=rss

Volvo's EX60 electric crossover promises 400 miles of EPA range

Ahead of a launch later this month, Volvo has teased some impressive details about its upcoming electric crossover. The EX60, which slots between the EX40 and EX90 , will offer an EPA range of 400 miles, beating all other Volvos and most EVs in general. It will also be the first Volvo car to use a megacasting process designed to reduce weight and boost manufacturing efficiency. With our new electric vehicle architecture, we directly address the main worries that customers have when considering a switch to a fully electric car, said Volvo CTO Anders Bell. The result is class-leading range and fast charging speeds, marking the end of range anxiety. Volvo Volvo considered that main worry to be range anxiety, so it focused on maximizing endurance to the largest extent possible. Key to that is Volvo's advanced SPA3 EV architecture, which integrates the battery directly into the structure of the car with cell-to-body technology. Volvo also developed its e-motors in-house to improve efficiency and reduce weight. The company also made the EX60 fast to charge with an 800-volt electrical system and support for up to 400kW fast charging, letting you add up to 168 miles of range in just 10 minutes. New lighter materials and lower heat generation aid in that, meaning the EX60 can add over 100 miles or range in just a few minutes, Volvo wrote on its blog. Volvo The megacasting, meanwhile, helped Volvo replace hundreds of smaller parts with a single, high-precision casting to reduce weight. The Volvo EX60 will be revealed on January 21, 2026 at a livestream on Volvo's website . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/volvos-ex60-electric-crossover-promises-400-miles-of-epa-range-130008964.html?src=rss

Gmail is getting a Gemini AI overhaul

In a move that should surprise nobody, Google is stuffing more Gemini AI into Gmail. A host of new features, some of which are already familiar to Workspace users , are rolling out today for Gmail users in the US. Some are free, while others require a Google AI Pro or Ultra subscription . The first premium feature is AI Overviews, the same name as a similar feature in Google Search . Gmails version lets you ask questions about your messages in the search bar, using natural language. Google uses the example of, Who was the plumber that gave me a quote for the bathroom renovation last year? Its hard to imagine that saving much time over a basic search for plumber quote or plumbing estimate, but maybe it could help in some situations. There's also a free portion of AI Overviews that summarizes mail threads for easy catch-ups. However, the ability to ask your inbox questions requires a subscription. Meanwhile, Proofread is a subscription-only feature that's essentially Grammarly for Gmail. As you'd guess, it suggests improvements in grammar, word choice, conciseness, voice and sentence structure. AI Inbox Google Finally, there's the AI Inbox, a feature that filters out the clutter so you can focus on what's most important. Google says it's like a personal briefing that flags to-dos and catches you up on what it thinks is most important. (It identifies VIPs based on frequent contacts, your contact list, and inferred relationships.) The company claims, without adding further detail, that this all happens securely with the privacy protections you expect from Google. AI Inbox is another subscription-only feature. Now onto the free stuff. Help Me Write is a tool for all Gmail users that generates email copy from a prompt. This kind of thing should be well-familiar by now , as Big Tech increasingly encourages users to avoid drafting anything from scratch . And Suggested Replies can draft replies for you that mimic your tone and style. (Google describes it as a next-gen version of Smart Replies .) Help Me Write and Suggested Replies are rolling out to everyone (no subscription required) today. The new Gemini-powered features begin rolling out to Gmail today. Although they're starting with English speakers in the US, Google says they'll arrive in more languages and regions in the coming months. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/gmail-is-getting-a-gemini-ai-overhaul-130000422.html?src=rss

Disney+ is launching vertical videos this year

Disney+ will add vertical videos to its service in the US sometime this year, in hopes that they can entice viewers to engage with its app every day. The company has made the announcement at its Tech + Data Showcase event at CES 2026. Disney first dabbled in vertical content with Verts, which launched for the ESPN app in August 2025, giving it the insight it needed on how its users respond to the video format. Erin Teague, Disney Entertainments EVP of Product Management, told Deadline that the company will use the format for all kinds of content. The service isnt just planning to use it as a vehicle for movie and series teasers, but also for original short-form programming. She didnt say what kinds of original programming Disney+ will be adding as vertical videos to its app, but vertical micro-dramas have become incredibly popular over the past year. Were obviously thinking about integrating vertical video in ways that are native to core user behaviors, Teague said. So, it wont be a kind of a disjointed, random experience. The company is targeting Gen Z and Gen Alpha users, in particular, since theyre not inclined to sit and watch long-form content on their phones for hours. Disney said in a statement that the experience will evolve as itexpands across news and entertainment and will be personalized for users, with making the service a must-visit daily destination as its goal. After all, if a user is already in the app, theyre more likely to explore and watch the services programming. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/disney-is-launching-vertical-videos-this-year-120000776.html?src=rss

You wont be able to buy Samsungs household Ballie robot after all

For years, weve been wondering when Samsung would actually bring Ballie, its cute household companion robot, to market and now we finally have our answer: it wont. After the planned summer 2025 release window came and went, the company has opted not to release the gizmo as a consumer product, at least not for the foreseeable future. According to Bloomberg , Samsung has indefinitely shelved the robot. A spokesperson told the publication that the company will keep Ballie around as an active innovation platform internally. After multiple years of real-world testing, it continues to inform how Samsung designs spatially aware, context-driven experiences, particularly in areas like smart home intelligence, ambient AI and privacy-by-design, the spokesperson added. Theres a sliver of a chance that Samsung will eventually bring Ballie to market, but that seems unlikely as things stand. So, six years after we first clapped eyes on the robot at CES 2020 , (and two years after a redesigned larger version debuted), it appears to be doomed as a consumer device. Its a bit of a shame, as Ballie seemed like a fun gadget. In fairness to Samsung, companies are now likely having to be more judicious about what products especially more experimental ones go into full production amid rising costs of things like RAM . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/you-wont-be-able-to-buy-samsungs-household-ballie-robot-after-all-104529942.html?src=rss

The best E Ink tablets for 2026

Im a longtime lover of pen and paper, so E Ink tablets have been intriguing to me ever since they started becoming more widely available. After having hundreds of half-filled notebooks over the years, I, at some point, turned to digital tools instead because it was just easier to store everything on my phone or laptop so I always had my most important information at my fingertips. E-Ink tablets seem to provide the best of both worlds: the tactile satisfaction of regular notebooks with many of the conveniences found in digital tools, plus easy-on-the-eyes E-Ink screens. These devices have come a long way in recent years now you can find them in multiple sizes, some have color E Ink screens and others double as full-blow ereaders with access to ebook stores and your local librarys offerings. Ive tested out close to a dozen E Ink tablets over the past year or two to see how well they work, how convenient they really are and which are the best tablets using E Ink screens available today. Table of contents Best E Ink tablets for 2026 Are E Ink tablets worth it? What to look for in an E Ink tablet Other E Ink tablets we've tested Best E Ink tablets for 2026 Are E Ink tablets worth it? An E Ink tablet will be a worthwhile purchase to a very select group of people. If you prefer the look and feel of an e paper display to LCD panels found on traditional tablets, it makes a lot of sense. Theyre also good options for those who want a more paper-like writing experience (although you can get that kind of functionality on a regular tablet with the right screen protector) or a more distraction-free device overall. The final note is key here. Many E Ink tablets dont run on the same operating systems as regular tablets, so youre automatically going to be limited in what you can do. And even with those that do allow you to download traditional apps like Chrome, Instagram and Facebook, E Ink tablets are not designed to give you the best casual-browsing experience. This is mostly due to the nature of E Ink displays, which have noticeable refreshes, a lack of vibrant colors and lower picture quality than the panels youll find on even the cheapest iPad. Arguably the biggest reason why you wouldnt want to go with an iPad (all models of which support stylus input, a plethora of reading apps, etc) is because its much easier to get distracted by email, social media and other Internet-related temptations. What to look for in an E Ink tablet Writing and latency Arguably the most important thing to consider when looking for an E Ink tablet is the writing experience. How good it is will depend a lot on the displays refresh rate (does it refresh after every time you put pen to paper, or at a different regular interval) and the stylus latency. Most of the tablets Ive tested have little to no latency, but some are certainly better than others. Finally, you should double check before buying that your preferred E Ink tablet comes with a stylus, or if you need to purchase one separately. Reading How much will you be reading books, documents and other things on this tablet? E Ink tablets come in many sizes, but most of them tend to be larger than your standard e-reader because it makes writing much easier. Having a larger display isnt a bad thing, but it might make holding it for long periods slightly more uncomfortable. (Most e-readers are roughly the size of a paperback book, giving you a similar feeling to analog reading). The supported file types for e-books can also make a big difference. Its hard to make a blanket statement here because this varies so much among E Ink tablets. The TL;DR is that youll have a much better reading experience if you go with one made by a company that already has a history in e-book sales (i.e. Amazon or Kobo). All of the titles you bought via the Kindle or Kobo store should automatically be available to you on your Kindle or Kobo E Ink tablet. Also with Kindle titles, specifically, since they are protected by DRM, its not necessarily the best idea to try to bring those titles over to a third-party device . Unless the tablet runs an operating system like Android that supports downloads for apps like Kindle and Kobo, youll be limited to supported file types, like ePUB, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, PNG and others. Search functionality Most E Ink tablets have some on-device search features, but they can vary widely between models. Youll want to consider how important it is to you to be able to search through all your handwritten notes and markups. I noticed in my testing that Amazons and Kobos E Ink tablets made it easy to refer back to notes made in books and files because they automatically save to the specific pages on which you took notes, made highlights and more. Searching is less standardized on E Ink tablets that have different supported file types, but their features can be quite powerful in their own right. For example, a few devices I tested supported text search in handwritten notes along with handwriting recognition, the latter of which allows you to translate your scribbles into typed text. Sharing and connectivity While we established that E Ink tablets can be great distraction-free devices, most manufacturers understand that your notes and doodles arent created in a vacuum. You may want to access them elsewhere, and that requires some form of connectivity. All of the E Ink tablets I tried have Wi-Fi support, and some support cloud syncing, companion mobile apps and the ability to export notes via email so you can access them elsewhere. None of them, however, integrate directly with a digital note taking system like Evernote or OneNote, so these devices will always be somewhat supplementary if you use apps like that, too. Id argue that, if you already lean heavily on apps like OneNote, a standard tablet with a stylus and screen protector might be the best way to go. Ultimately, you should think about what you will want to do with the documents youll interact with on your E Ink tablet after the tablet portion is done. Price E Ink tablets arent known for being cheap. They generally fall into the $300-$800 price range, which is what you can expect to pay for a solid regular tablet, too. A key factor in price is size: cheaper devices with E Ink displays are likely to have smaller screens, and stylus support isnt as much of a given. Also, those types of devices are generally considered e-readers because of their size and may not be the best for note-taking, doodling and the like. E Ink tablets have gone up in price recently. Supernote and Onyx Boox increased prices, as did reMarkable. The former said it was due to increased costs, and a reMarkable representative confirmed this to Engadget and provided the following statement: We regularly review our pricing based on market conditions and operational costs. We've communicated an upcoming adjustment for the US market effective in May to provide transparency to our customers. Multiple factors influence our pricing decisions, including supply chain dynamics and overall operational costs in specific markets. As a result, the reMarkable Paper Pro jumped from $579 to $629 (that's for the bundle with the standard Marker and no Folio). This isn't great, considering the Paper Pro was already on the expensive side of the spectrum for E Ink tablets. It's also worth noting that Supernote and Onyx Boox have raised prices in the past few months as well. Other E Ink tablets we've tested Onyx Boox Tab X C The Boox Tab X C is a color-screened version of the Tab X, the companys all-purpose e-paper Android tablet. The Tab X C has a lovely 13.3-inch Kaleido 3 E Ink color display, an octa-core processor, 6GB of RAM and it runs on Android 13, making it one of the most powerful tablets in Booxs lineup. Ive used the Tab X in the past and this color version runs similarly, if not better, and at 5.3mm thick, its impressively svelte even when you pair it with its folio keyboard case. As someone who loves legal-pad sized things to write on, I also like how the Tab X C is most akin to A4-size paper. But at $820 for the bundle with the standard case (or a whopping $970 for the tablet and its keyboard case), its really only best for those who are ready to go all-in on a premium E Ink tablet. Lenovo Smart Paper Lenovo made a solid E Ink tablet in the Smart Paper , but it's too pricey and too married to the company's companion cloud service to warrant a spot on our top picks list. The hardware is great, but the software isn't as flexible as those of competitors like the reMarkable 2. It has good Google Drive integration, but you must pair it with Lenovo's cloud service to really get the most use out of it and in the UK, the service costs 9 per month for three months, which is quite expensive. Onyx Boox Tab Ultra The Boox Tab Ultra has a lot of the same features we like in the Note Air 2 Plus, but its designed to be a true, all-purpose tablet with an E Ink screen. Running Android 11 and compatible with a magnetic keyboard case, you can use it like a standard 2-in-1 laptop, albeit a low-powered one. You can browse the web, check email and even watch YouTube videos on this thing but that doesnt mean you should. A standard 2-in-1 laptop with a more responsive screen and better overall performance would be a better fit for most people who even have the slightest desire to have an all-in-one device. Like the rest of Onyxs devices, the Tab Ultra is specifically for those who put reading and eye comfort above all else. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/best-e-ink-tablet-130037939.html?src=rss

CES 2026: The Tone Outdoors T1 solved the biggest problem with leaf blowers

Every fall, dozens of maple and oak trees in my neighborhood shed their leaves. Thus begins the constant drone of gas-powered leaf blowers every day through early December. The noise is by far the most annoying thing about these yard tools, but I can appreciate its a necessary evil unless you prefer to pick up a blister-inducing rake. Whisper Aero argues theres a better way. The company is using aerospace tech to quiet the noisy devices, introducing the T1 leaf blower at CES 2026 under its sub-brand Tone Outdoors. The company promises the T1 is 80 percent quieter and 60 percent more powerful than leading handheld gas leaf blowers. More specifically, the T1 has 880 CFM of air flow, which easily surpasses my battery-powered EGO. And at 52 decibels of average noise at peak volume, his model is drastically quieter than any leaf blower Ive used. I was able to confirm its lower roar on the CES show floor. Tone says the T1 also offers extended run time of up to 50 minutes on a charge in Eco mode. That too is greater than what I get on my mid-grade EGO. Whats more, the company plans to sell a battery backpack that will extend any clean-up sessions for several hours. The T1 also has a built-in LED nightlight so you can still use it after dark. And since its quieter than what you have now, you can do so without annoying your neighbors. Tone Outdoors T1 Billy Steele for Engadget So, how does Whisper Aero achieve this? The company originally set out to devise a quieter solution for electric aerospace motors. Its engineers discovered that they could dramatically reduce noise and increase overall efficiency by redesigning the fan and motor. They're still pursuing that, but the company discovered its technology had other uses too. The T1 is already available for preorder for $599 and its scheduled to ship in September. If you dont care for the standard green color, you can spend another $100 for limited edition Silence Is Golden version. The battery backpack wont arrive until Q1 2027 though (price TBD). Tone also says it has additional models in the works and it has a partnership with Stanley Black and Decker that will likely produce additional products with this tech on board. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/ces-2026-the-tone-outdoors-t1-solved-the-biggest-problem-with-leaf-blowers-234309500.html?src=rss

Bluetti's Charger 2 uses solar and engine power to charge your portable battery

If youre off-roading, its a neat idea to use your engine to top up your battery, which prompted Bluetti to launch the Charger. You could hook it to your alternator and draw off energy as you drove to make sure you turned up to your campsite with full batteries. But if youre also toting around solar panels on your roof, then its a shame you cant also use that power to top up. This omission is what prompted Bluetti to turn up to CES 2026 with the Charger 2, which will take power from your engine and your solar panels at the same time. Bluetti says the Charger 2s dual-input architecture will accept 600W from the panels, 800W from the engine. All of that power will charge your batteries significantly faster than the first model, claiming its 13 times faster than a standard car charger. In addition, Charger 2 can manage more than one Bluetti power station and expansion batteries, should your power needs stretch. And the system is smart enough to know where the energy is coming from, managing the sources based on their availability. Plus, you can use it to jump start your engine should you need the help. If youre a Charger 1 owner and want to upgrade, its fairly painless to drop the old unit out in favor of its replacement. It uses the same cabling, so you can just hook the new model to your existing wires without having to get your fingers greasy. To reward that loyalty, the company will sell you an upgrade for $99, at least through February 7. As for everyone else, youll be able to pick up the Charger 2 for $349 through February 7, at which point the price leaps to $499. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/bluettis-charger-2-uses-solar-and-engine-power-to-charge-your-portable-battery-230000270.html?src=rss

Engadget Podcast: CES 2026 and the rocky year ahead for the PC industry

CES 2026: A rocky year ahead of the PC industry We're halfway through CES 2026, and its clear that it's going to be a rough year for the PC industry. In this episode, Devindra chats with Engadget's Dan Cooper about Intel, AMD, NVIDIA and the sad state of the PC industry. We've got some new CPUs, but the volatile RAM market will likely make everything expensive this year. Also, they dive into Dell's revival of the XPS brand, as well as iPolish's smart nails and Subtle's AI-powered VoiceBuds. Subscribe! iTunes Spotify Pocket Casts Stitcher Google Podcasts Topics The state of the PC industry in 2026 -- 02:22 Intel's new Core Ultra Series 3 chips -- 12:41 Dell's XPS lineup is back -- 17:41 Our favorite products from CES: 26:36 Credits Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Dan Cooper Producer: Devindra Hardawar Music: Dale North This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/engadget-podcast-ces-2026-and-the-rocky-year-ahead-for-the-pc-industry-221500019.html?src=rss

Samsung Display at CES 2026: Playful demos and mysterious prototypes

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

ChatGPT is launching a new dedicated Health portal

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

The best VPN deals: Up to 88 percent off ProtonVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN, NordVPN and more

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

How to use a VPN on iPhone

Installing a virtual private network (VPN) on an iPhone or iPad is easy. The days are gone when Apple users had to be content with the leavings from the Windows ecosystem in 2026, all the best VPN services have secure, user-friendly iOS apps on par with every other platform. If you've decided to add a VPN to your iPhone to stay anonymous online and change your virtual location, you've got plenty of great choices. Since you're here, chances are you're familiar with the benefits of using a VPN , including security on public Wi-Fi and the ability to explore streaming libraries in other countries. But you may still be daunted by the process of actually choosing, installing and configuring a VPN on your iPhone. In this article, I'll walk you through the steps, including how to configure a VPN manually without going through a service. Check out my how to use a VPN piece for more general information. How to choose an iPhone VPN One of the trickiest parts of installing an iPhone VPN is picking the right service. That brings us to our first pro tip: Dont just go to the App Store and search on VPN. That will simply front-load whichever vendor(s) are paying for top placement (note the little Ad icon) as well as a laundry list of free services that come with big caveats. There are dozens of mobile VPNs out there, and many of them don't put the user first (for example, I reported last year on popular VPNs that failed to disclose shared security flaws ). Choosing hastily can leave you stuck with an iOS VPN that's either mediocre or actively harmful. Before downloading an iPhone VPN, do some research into the provider's background. A dependable VPN should have a well-written customer support page, a clear timeline of its history and a way to tell at a glance who actually owns and operates it. Check the reviews on the app store it should have at least several hundred, almost all 4s and 5s. iPhone users have a particular advantage here: several VPNs let you download their iOS app and start using it without paying. You can use this free trial period to put the VPN through its paces . Start by testing its speed using Ookla speedtest or a similar app. You should also use an IP address checker to make sure it isn't leaking; to confirm this, just check your phone's IP address before and after connecting to the VPN and make sure it's different the second time. To keep things simple, my top recommendation for all platforms is Proton VPN . Out of all VPNs, it strikes the best balance of solid security, fast performance, useful features and a commitment to user privacy. Other iPhone VPNs I love include ExpressVPN , Surfshark and NordVPN . How to install a VPN on your iPhone Installing an iPhone VPN is like installing any other app. Just go to the App Store, find the VPN you've chosen and download it onto your phone. When it finishes downloading, open the app to grant permissions and finish setup. However, since there are a couple of potential sticking points, I'll run through the steps in more detail. Proton VPN on the iOS app store. Sam Chapman for Engadget Open the App Store. Tap the search bar and type in the name of your chosen VPN. Hit Search and look through the list of results. Be careful to pick the right one there are some mockbuster VPNs that try to snare people looking for well-known names. As a rule, the one with the most reviews is the service worth using. On the page for the VPN app, tap Get. Enter your Apple ID and password to begin the installation. Once installation is complete, either tap Open in the App Store or find the new VPN icon on your home screen. Create a VPN account with a username and password. Most services let you do this within the app, but you may have to shift temporarily to a browser, so make sure you've got internet access. Choose a subscription. If there's a free trial, grab it and use it to test the VPN. If not, or if it's already expired, choose a plan that fits your budget and needs. Longer-term plans tend to save you money on average, but cost more at the start. On the VPN app, log in with your new credentials. You're now ready to get started. If you aren't interested in paying for software right now, you can still get an iOS VPN. Check out my list of the best free VPNs , which all have iPhone apps. We also constantly update a curated list of the best VPN deals for bargain hunters. How to configure and use a VPN on your iPhone An iOS VPN is generally usable with the default settings. Even so, it's a good idea to look through the options you may not end up using all of them, but many of them are vital security checks or important quality-of-life boosters. Proton VPN's NetShield content blocker on iOS. Sam Chapman for Engadget Here are some quick steps to make sure you're getting the best performance. These settings are in different places on each VPN, but most can be found by clicking a button with a gear icon, or any page labeled settings or preferences. Turn on the kill switch. This will protect you from broadcasting any data the VPN hasn't encrypted. In the event the VPN suddenly disconnects, the kill switch also cuts off your internet connection. Set the VPN to always reconnect automatically if it disconnects. The method for doing this varies between services, so check the VPN's help page. Some (like Proton VPN) have an always-on VPN setting in the app itself, while others (like ExpressVPN) handle it through iOS settings. Configure split tunneling. Not many iPhone VPNs have this option, but if yours does, you can use it to let certain apps or websites skip the VPN tunnel. Make sure to only bypass the VPN on sites and apps that share no sensitive information, or that refuse to work with a VPN active (some banks are like this). If your VPN has a feature for blocking ads and malware domains, I recommend using it the worst it can do is not work. Some also include parental controls, in case you're setting up the VPN on your child's phone. Create shortcuts. Sometimes called Profiles, this relatively common feature lets you connect to the VPN and open a certain website with one tap. Decide when and how you want the VPN to send you notifications. Check available protocols. It's almost always best to let the VPN pick for you, but if you want to choose for yourself, IKEv2 is generally the fastest. Look over the server list to see what choices are available. When choosing a VPN server, think about what you need the VPN for. If you're just using it for privacy, pick the fastest server (or let the VPN app choose it for you). On the other hand, if you want to watch a movie or TV show that's only on streaming in another country, choose the fastest server in that country. If you're on a good VPN, it still shouldn't slow you down too much. If you have the address of a VPN server and the necessary credentials, iOS lets you set up your own VPN and connect directly. This is less convenient than using a provider app, since you need to know the details about every server you connect to, but it's nice if you're worried about trusting your privacy to a third party. It can also be convenient for quickly accessing a work or school VPN from your phone. Here's how to do it. Manually setting up a VPN connection on iOS. Sam Chapman for Engadget Open the Settings app. Scroll down and tap General . Scroll down again and tap VPN & Device Management . Tap the word VPN on the new page, then tap Add VPN Configuration . You should reach the screen shown above. Make sure Type is set to IKEv2, then enter the Description , Server and Remote ID for the server you're connecting to (plus the Local ID if there is one). Your source for the server information should also have told you if it authenticates access with a username/password or certificate. Pick the correct option, then enter the credentials required. Tap the Done button or the blue checkmark at the top-right of the screen. You'll arrive back on the previous menu with your new VPN option available. Toggle it on to connect. To turn it off, return to the same menu and deactivate the switch. Do you need an iPhone VPN? Whenever you get online, your internet service provider (ISP) assigns an IP address to your device a unique fingerprint that follows you throughout the session. Your ISP may sell this knowledge to marketers to target ads at you, or in worse cases, collaborate with governments willing to violate their citizens' rights to privacy. When you use a VPN, though, your real IP address is hidden behind that of the VPN server, so nothing you do on the internet connects back to you. That's why I always advise using a VPN on any device, including iPhones, that connects to the internet. It's even more important on the unprotected public networks you sometimes find in cafes and hotels. On the fun side, you can also use a VPN to change your virtual location to show you different content libraries on Netflix and other streaming platforms. One more thing: I often hear iPhone users ask whether they need a VPN, since iCloud Private Relay comes standard on iOS devices. Just to clear this up, iCloud Private Relay is not a VPN. As you can see from this support page , your ISP can still see your real IP address when its active. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/how-to-use-a-vpn-on-iphone-201743118.html?src=rss

Character.AI and Google settle with families in teen suicide and self-harm lawsuits

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

Fujifilm's latest Instax camera looks like a vintage Super 8

Fujifilm just revealed the Instax mini Evo Cinema camera , which looks suspiciously like a vintage Super 8. More specifically, it was designed to mimic the Single-8 from 1965, which was a rival unit to the Super 8. Fujifilm's latest device captures video, just like its retro inspiration. Wow, the new FUJIFILM Instax Mini EVO Cinema camera looks nuts.. esp the decade slider thing for the looks. If the cost isn't nuts this could be a must have... Needs to be around $249/299ish to be a hit https://t.co/6w8JPsBxIg pic.twitter.com/plcmNhfyT7 derek morleY (@derekmorley) January 7, 2026 However, this is an Instax and the line has primarily been dedicated to snapping and printing out still images on the fly . The Evo Cinema can still do that, albeit in a slightly different way. Users shoot a video and the camera can convert a shot from the footage into an Instax print. That's pretty cool. The bad news? It requires some kind of QR code tomfoolery. The camera also comes equipped with something called the Eras Dial, which has nothing to do with Taylor Swift and everything to do with adjusting various effects and filters to create footage inspired by different eras. There are ten eras to choose from, including a 1960s vibe. The filter levels here are adjustable. We'll have to take a look at some footage to see how everything translates. Fujifilm Fujifilm is dropping the Instax Evo Cinema on January 30, but only in Japan for now. We don't have a price yet. This is just the latest nifty camera gizmo the company has thrust upon the world. It recently released an Instax model that has a secondary camera for selfies . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/fujifilms-latest-instax-camera-looks-like-a-vintage-super-8-194537863.html?src=rss

HP's new EliteBoard made me believe in keyboard computers again

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

The Shine 2.0 is a compact wind turbine for your next camping trip

As power gets more dicey , personal energy generation only gets more appealing. Shines compact turbine isnt going to power your house any time soon (though the companys co-founder told me they have plans in that direction) but it can suck up the energy required to refill a smartphone in as little as 17 minutes. Of course, what it can generate depends on wind speed. That same charge could take as long as 11 hours if theres only a slight breeze. That power curve, and its ability to operate at night, sets the turbine apart from solar panels. Of course, on a completely still day, the Shine as inert as a becalmed sailing ship but if the wind picks up even as little as a breeze, it gets to work making power. The turbine even automatically pivots on the included stand to face into the wind. Shine turbine 2.0 Shine The Shine 2.0 looks like a thin space football and has a screw-off cap that reveals a hollow compartment for the stand and tie downs. The cap then doubles as a key to unlock the blades. It all weighs just three pounds, which is impressively light considering it also houses a 50W, 12,000mAh battery. This is the second version of the turbine and updates include a USB-C port instead of USB-A, as well as app connectivity. The company claims you can set the entire thing up in around two minutes. I watched the co-founder take the turbine from fully closed to unfurled and ready for the stand in about that long. Unfortunately, there was no wind rushing through the CES show floor so I couldnt see it spin, but the rep was kind enough to spin it for me. Spinning the Shine Turbine 2.0 Amy Skorheim for Engadget Possibly the most exciting part is Shines plan for more expansive power generation. Shine 3.0, which the company is working on now, will be a 100 to 300 watt system and grid-tied turbines are on the wish list. Pre orders are now open for the Shine 2.0 through Indiegogo for $399 and units should begin shipping this spring. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/the-shine-20-is-a-compact-wind-turbine-for-your-next-camping-trip-191000940.html?src=rss

ASUS and XREAL teamed up at CES to make gaming smartglasses with two important upgrades

The latest generation of smartglasses can create huge virtual screens without the need to lug around giant monitors are a real boon to frequent travelers. However, their specs arent often tailored to the needs of gamers, so at CES 2026, ASUS and XREAL partnered to make a pair with two very important features you dont normally get from rivals. The new ROG XREAL R1 AR glasses are based on the existing XREAL One Pro , so naturally they share a lot of the same components and specs including dual micro-OLED displays with a per-eye resolution of 1,920 x 1,080, three degrees of freedom (natively), 700-nit peak brightness, 57-degree FOV and built-in speakers tuned by Bose. However, the big difference on the R1s is that instead of maxing out with a 120Hz refresh rate, ASUS and XREALs collab goes all the way up to 240Hz. Thats a pretty nice bump, especially for people with older hardware or anyone who might not have access to a high refresh rate display or just doesnt want to lower their standards while traveling. The ROG XREAL R1 AR smartglasses deliver 1,920 x 1,080 resolution to each eye with a 240Hz refresh rate and 57-degree FOV. Sam Rutherford for Engadget The other big addition is the R1s included ROG Control Dock, which from what Ive seen is slightly better suited for home use. Its designed to be a simple hub with two HDMI 2.0 jacks,one DisplayPort 1.4 connector and a couple of USB-C slots (one is for power), so you can quickly switch between multiple systems like your desktop and console with a single touch. That said, depending on the situation you might not even need the dock at all because the R1s can also be connected to compatible PCs or gaming handhelds like the ROG Ally X and ROG Xbox Ally X (see the synergy there?) directly via USB-C. When I got to try them out at CES, the R1s delivered a very easy to use and relatively streamlined kit. At 91 grams, they are barely heavier than the original XREAL One Pro (87g) so they dont feel too weighty or cumbersome. I also really like the inclusion of electrochromic lenses, which allow you to change the tint of the glasses with the touch of a button. This lets you adjust how much or little light you want to come in through the front to best suit your environment. And thanks to support for three DOF, you have the ability to pin your virtual screen in one location or let it follow you around. Of course, ASUS and XREAL couldn't resist putting RGB lighting on the ROG XREAL R1 AR smartglasses. Sam Rutherford for Engadget Now it is important to remember that in order to get 240Hz on the smartglasses, you need hardware capable of pushing the kind of performance. So depending on the title, when the R1s are connected to something like a gaming handheld, you might not be able to get there. Luckily, I had the chance to use the specs when connected to a PC as well, which let me really appreciate the smoothness you get from faster refresh rates. General image quality was also quite good thanks to the glasses 1080p resolution, so I had no trouble reading text or discerning small UI elements. The ROG Control dock makes it easy to connect multiple devices to the ROG XREAL R1 AR smartglasses, but it may be a bit too bulky to pull out in tight situations like on a plane. Sam Rutherford for Engadget My one small gripe is that I kind of wish its 57-degree FOV was a tiny bit bigger, but thats more of a limitation of current optical technology as there aren't a ton of similarly sized specs that can go much higher (at least not yet ). That said, even with its current FOV, you can still create up to a 171-inch virtual screen at four meters away, which is massively bigger than any portable screen you might entertain carrying around. Unfortunately, ASUS and XREAL havent announced official pricing or a release date for the R1s yet, but hopefully they wont cost too much more than the XREAL One Pro, which are currently going for $649. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/asus-and-xreal-teamed-up-at-ces-to-make-gaming-smartglasses-with-two-important-upgrades-190500897.html?src=rss

Niko is a robotic lift for people with limited mobility that doesn't require a caregiver's help

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

Ubisoft is shutting down a studio 16 days after it unionized

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

LG's CLOiD robot can fold laundry and serve food very slowly

When LG announced that it would demo a laundry-folding , chore-doing robot at CES 2026, I was immediately intrigued. For years, I've wandered the Las Vegas Convention Center halls and wondered when someone might create a robot that can tackle the mundane but useful tasks I despise like folding laundry. With CLOiD (pronounced like Floyd), LG has proven that this is theoretically possible, but probably not likely to happen any time soon. I went to the company's CES booth to watch its demonstration of CLOiD's abilities, which also include serving food, fetching objects and fitness coaching. During a very carefully choreographed 15-minute presentation, I watched CLOiD grab a carton of milk out of the fridge, put a croissant in an oven, sort and fold some laundry and grab a set of keys off a couch and hand them to the human presenter. Throughout the demonstration, LG showed off how its own appliances can play along with the robot. When it rolled over to the fridge, the door automatically opened, as did the oven. When the LG-branded robot vacuum needed to move around a hamper, CLOiD helpfully cleared the path. But the robot also moved very slowly, which you can see in the highlight video below. The appliance maker is selling the setup as a part of its vision for a zero labor home where its appliances and, I guess, robotics technology can come together to take care of all your chores and household upkeep. Maybe I'm jaded from a decade of watching CES vaporware, but I left the slick demo thinking the concept is unlikely to amount to much anytime soon. On one hand, it is exciting to see robots competently performing tasks that would actually be useful to most people. But this technology is still far from accessible. Even LG isn't making any firm commitments about CLOiD's future as anything more than a CES demo. The company has instead said that CLOiD is a signal of its interest in creating home robots with practical functions and robotized appliances, like fridges with doors that can open automatically. That may be a more reasonable target for the company (and yet another way for LG to sell us more appliance upgrades). But it's still pretty far from anything approaching the fantasy of a zero labor home. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/lgs-cloid-robot-can-fold-laundry-and-serve-food-very-slowly-181902306.html?src=rss

These robotic sneakers gave me a surprising boost at CES

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

Spotify now lets you share what youre listening to in real time via chat

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

Samsung says RAM costs will likely lead to price hikes soon

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

Nosh is an AI cooking robot for the meal prep crowd

Im fascinated by AI cooking robots which, as far as Im concerned, automate the one fun bit of cooking. Sadly, its far easier to make something that can stir a pan of ingredients as they cook compared to building something that would successfully peel a carrot. Nosh is the latest unit to use CES to announce itself to the world, gearing up for its launch in the next few months. Like its many rivals, you load ingredients into the unit and then Nosh will assemble them for you. Unlike its many rivals, you can have more than one ingredient tray, opening up the possibility that you could prep multiple meals at the same time. Even if youre not familiar with the category you can guess how this thing works: Youll select a recipe from the hardwares 500-dish strong repertoire. Then youll prepare the necessary raw materials and slide them into individual compartments in the trays. Once done, youll be able to push the tray into the unit when youre ready to eat and let it get on with the job of cooking. There are water and oil reservoirs, a spice rack mounted in the top, and a camera that uses computer vision to keep an eye on the meals as they cook. As each morsel is added, a mixer arm spins to ensure the food never stays in one place for too long. From the marketing materials (as well as my own common sense) its clear Nosh works best with sauce heavy meals . Pasta dishes, soups and curries will work pretty well in the system, which may limit how often youll want to use it across a regular week. That said, the idea of having this as a low-effort alternative to pre-prepared meals from the oven or microwave is preferable. Im just not sure how engaged Ill be in finely julienning carrot batons after an 18-hour day at the content factory. Nosh is launching in the near future but early birds can already put some cash down to get the unit for $1,200 , a deep discount on its $2,000 retail price. And, for all my snootiness about the utility of AI cooking robots in general, Ill admit I am looking forward to trying one of these out. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/nosh-is-an-ai-cooking-robot-for-the-meal-prep-crowd-170000610.html?src=rss

17 CES gadgets you can buy right now

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

At CES 2026, Sony Honda Mobility's latest Afeela 1 still feels woefully out of date

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

Roblox now requires age verification to use in-game chat

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

WhatsApp upgrades group chats with member tags and text stickers

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

Eyebot promises an accurate eye test in a couple of minutes

Eye tests are an important part of life, but they arent always the most convenient things to work into your schedule. Its an issue Eyebot thinks it has solved with its kiosk, which shrinks the time taken from 20 minutes to closer to three minutes. Plus, you dont need to book an appointment where an optician will lean too close in to your face while trial and error-ing corrective lenses. As mundane as a subject as a visit to the eye doctor is, this device could have some fairly massive ramifications. And, having tested it, I can certainly see the benefits. Eyebot CEO Matthias Hofmann said that, despite the popularity of online glasses retailers like Warby Parker, 85 percent of Americans prefer to buy glasses in person. But accessibility is a big issue, especially in areas where there arent enough eye doctors to efficiently process tests. Hofmann added that this issue is far worse in rural areas, where people may need to drive for an hour or more to see an eye doctor, and then wait two weeks for their prescription to be filed. Its these two maladies that Eyebots kiosk is meant to address, allowing people to walk up and complete their eye test whenever they want. The test itself is very simple, you just walk up to the kiosk and let the big touchscreen walk you through the steps. Youll answer some basic screening questions this test is suitable for those aged 18 to 64 and then complete a fairly perfunctory letter test. Once thats done, youll be asked to stare at a picture of a hot air balloon (but not the picture youre thinking of). All the while, two banks of three infrared cameras are scanning your eyes to create a 3D model of your retina and optic nerve. Once thats done, you just need to share your email address and then wait for your prescription to be filed. But you dont need to worry that your eye health is being left to some algorithm making its best guess. Eyebot explained that each of its prescriptions are sent to an eye doctor working remotely who can look at the data the kiosk has generated, signing off on the prescription. Thankfully, I was able to compare this prescription with my last eye test (conducted by a professional) from the previous year, and found that Eyebots results matched it perfectly. It is worth noting, however, that Eyebot cant run any medical tests; like the little puff of air blown onto your eyes to measure the pressure your eyes can withstand, which shows your risk of glaucoma. Consequently, while you can get your prescription with this process, youll still be advised to take regular visits to see a clinician. Eyebot is presently operating in limited numbers in some Walmart and Sams Club stores in Pennsylvania, with plans to roll this out across the US in the near future. For the former, youll need to pay, while the latter comes as a benefit of your membership. Hofmann said that he envisages a future where there are Eyebot kiosks in shopping malls or at brick and mortar stores for online glasses retailers to grease the wheels of getting that fancy new pair of specs. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/eyebot-promises-an-accurate-eye-test-in-a-couple-of-minutes-160000668.html?src=rss

Lego Smart Play hands-on: Using Smart Brick technology to get kids to play together

Legos Smart Play system announced at CES 2026 earlier this week is a new embrace of digital technology that we havent seen from the company before. While the demo Lego gave at its press conference on Monday was a good start to showing what Smart Bricks are capable of, it really isnt a substitute for seeing it in person. I was able to get an extended demo that answered many of my questions about how the system will work once Lego fans of all ages get their hands on the first Smart Play sets. As I detailed yesterday, the Smart Play system contains three elements. The Smart Brick is packed with technology like proximity sensors, an accelerometer, color sensors and a speaker, all powered by a tiny chip. Its crucial to know that each Smart Brick is identical at this point; to really bring a set to life, you need to combine it with Smart Tags or Smart Minifigures. Both the Tags and Minifigures contain specific instructions that help the Brick understand the context that it is placed in. The demo started out simply, with three small Lego builds: a car, a helicopter and a duck. Each of those builds had a unique Smart Tag that the Smart Brick uses to understand how it should respond to real-world stimulus. The car started making the sound of a revving engine, and when playing with it to drive it faster and more aggressively, the engine made more noise. Tilting the car would cause it to make some screeching sounds as if it was taking corners hard, and flipping it over would make the sound of a car wreck. The Smart Brick can similarly sense what specific Smart Minifigures is near it and respond accordingly. Since the first three Smart Play sets are all based on Star Wars, its a little easier to explain how they interact with the Smart Brick. Take the Throne Room Duel & A-Wing set it includes Smart Minifigs for Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Emperor Palpatine, and there are also Smart Tags that correspond to various actions the characters can take. If you place a Smart Brick behind Palpatines throne, the classic Imperial March theme will ring out and Palpatine himself will chatter a bit. The Minifigures dont actually say real words, but they can still embody their characters well enough. Vader, for example, offers his classic breathing sound and exclaim if hes defeated in a light saber duel. Lego Smart Play Star Wars sets Nathan Ingraham for Engadget That duel is a clever part of this set. There are moveable mounts you can place Luke and Vader on, along with a Smart Brick. To complete the battle scene, a Smart Tag tells the brick to take on the characteristics necessary for a light saber battle. As such, when you place the Minifigures in the mount, youll hear the classic sound of a light saber humming to life. And if you move the characters around and crash them together, youll hear the sounds of battle. Finally, knocking a Minifigure off its spot will tell the brick associated with that character to make their trademark sound of defeat in Vaders case, thats the iconic noooooooo. The other two new Smart Play sets are Darth Vaders TIE Fighter and Lukes Red Five X-Wing an ideal pair for some space-based dogfighting. The X-Wing shows off how good the Smart Brick is at handling multiple inputs. Adding it to the X-Wing will make sounds of the ship humming to life, thanks to the X-Wing-specific Smart Tile. Sit Luke in the cockpit and youll hear the Jedi theme music play, and seating R2-D2 in the back will make the Droid chatter at you in its familiar tones. The Smart Tile is how the Smart Brick identifies this set as an X-Wing figher. Nathan Ingraham for Engadget Pitting the two ships against each other shows off more of the Smart Bricks capabilities. Grabbing the ships and whooshing them through the air will make the Smart Brick play sounds that arent just generic engine noises you can definitely hear the difference between the X-Wing and the TIE fighter. Each ship also has lasers you can activate, and if two kids are in the same room flying ships around and firing off lasers, youll hear the ships taking damage as well. Firing enough shots while aiming at another ship will eventually cause it to play some exploding sounds to indicate that it has gone up in flames the Minifigures associated with the ship will also make sounds of dismay, as well. At first glance, the sets themselves dont feel wildly different than other smaller-scale Star Wars sets, but the people from the Lego Group giving the demo pointed out a few notable characteristics. The TIE fighter and X-Wing are both specifically designed to withstand more abuse from active play scenarios than the average Lego set, and theyre also specifically designed to fit will in a kids hand so they can run around and propel them through the air. The Throne Room set, meanwhile, has a detachable area where Luke and Vader can battle you can remove and re-attach it to the throne area easily enough, but its good to separate it out for more aggressive light saber battles. Lego Smart Play Star Wars sets Nathan Ingraham for Engadget All told, Im quite excited to see where Lego goes with its Smart Play system from here. Starting out with some simpler sets from a massive franchise like Star Wars is a logical way to introduce the system. There are obvious play scenarios that make perfect sense as a way to show off the Smart Brick. But Im looking forward to a time when Lego starts selling tiles and Minifigures that can expand the capabilities of existing sets, whether theyre licensed or not. And the idea of smushing together Star Wars with some of the many other properties that Lego has access to (Jurassic World? DC or Marvel? Despicable Me or Bluey?) feels like just the kind of chaotic fun kids will love having. Thats perhaps the most important point about Smart Play. While Lego has made major overtures for capturing the hearts and wallets of adult Lego fans, Smart Play is very clearly aimed at kids right now. There are no screens, apps or setup needed for Smart Play it seems exceedingly easy to just pick up and start playing. Furthermore, Lego is using this technology to make Lego sets more interactive, something the company hopes will encourage more social play amongst kids. Thats a solid use of the technology packed into a Smart Brick if you ask me. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/lego-smart-play-hands-on-using-smart-brick-technology-to-get-kids-to-play-together-133000740.html?src=rss

Throne, from the co-founder of Whoop, uses computer vision to study your poop

Throne has rocked up to CES 2026 to show off its forthcoming toilet computer which uses computer vision to study your poop. It hangs from the side of the bowl and has a camera and microphone to track bowel motions and urination and offer feedback. It was co-founded by (activity tracker) Whoop co-founder John Capodilupo, who explained the hardware is designed to understand what your base state is to be able to identify when you fall out of that pattern. Capodilupo explained the hardware will look at how often you go, the texture and size of your motions, as well as the volume. The eventual aim is to be able to analyze your gut health, adding that as a GLP-1 user, that sort of data is vital to manage the symptoms of those drugs. The battery lasts for a month on a single charge but you wont be forced to drag it out of the bathroom to re-juice it. The device ships with a 13 foot long USB-C power cable which should stretch long enough from your nearest outlet to the toilet. At this point, we cant talk to its efficacy but will certainly be looking to test this thing when it arrives at some point in February. Pre-orders are open, and it can currently be picked up for $340, plus a $6 per month membership. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/throne-from-the-co-founder-of-whoop-uses-computer-vision-to-study-your-poop-150000606.html?src=rss

Boston Dynamics unveils production-ready version of Atlas robot at CES 2026

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

Apple's latest 25W MagSafe charger drops to only $30

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

WheelMove gives manual wheelchairs the power and height to handle rough terrain

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

Get a four-pack of AirTags for only $65 right now

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

Warners Bros. Discovery board urges shareholders to reject amended Paramount bid

In a unanimous written determination, the Warner Bros. Discovery's board is advising shareholders to once again reject Paramount Skydance's inadequate hostile takeover bid. The letter to shareholders cites a number of concerns with the offer and reiterates its position that Netflix's offer remains superior. Netflix and WBD have entered into a merger agreement in early December after the WBD board selected its offer over other bidders. There are two key differences between the two options: Netflix is willing to pay $82 billion, but only for the Warner Bros., HBO and HBO Max divisions; Paramount Skydance's latest offer came in at $108 billion and is for all of WBD's assets, including CNN, HGTV, Food Network and many more. The Netflix deal leaves those assets in the hands of WBD shareholders, to be spun off as Discovery Global . Paramount Skydance made three separate attempts to scoop up WBD before the company even opened the process up to other bidders. The third of those early offers was reportedly in the neighborhood of $24 per share, while this most recent hostile takeover stands at $30 per share . But the WBD board has concerns. Among them, the extraordinary amount of debt required for Paramount, a studio with a market capitalization of just $14 billion, to take on an acquisition of this size. (Netflix's market cap is over $400 billion.) This comes despite Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount CEO David Ellison, stepping in to guarantee $40 billion worth of the needed financing. The board also points out that Netflix's offer is partially paid in the streaming giant's shares, which it says have the potential to provide further value in the future. At this stage in negotiations, the board also claims opting to go with Paramount Skydance's offer would also result in WBD paying over $4 billion in termination fees. Your Board negotiated a merger with Netflix that maximizes value while mitigating downside risks, and we unanimously believe the Netflix merger is in your best interest, the letter states. The merger with Netflix will still have to go before regulatory bodies in the United States and Europe. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/warners-bros-discovery-board-urges-shareholders-to-reject-amended-paramount-bid-141513357.html?src=rss

Clear Drop is trying to do something about all those plastic bags under your sink

Even if you bring home as few bags as possible using reusable bags, carrying purchases home with your own two hands soft plastics sill accumulate. I certainly have a collection with one flimsy plastic sack filled with dozens or hundreds of others. I plan to do something with it eventually. Unfortunately, there arent a ton of options for what to do with those soft plastics, as most recycling facilities cant accept them. But no one likes seeing them end up in oceans and rivers and stuck up in trees. So I was excited to see the Clear Drop Soft Plastic Compactor (CPC) at CES. Its a pre-recycler for your home that turns hundreds of bags into a solid brick thats easier to transport. Certain facilities can accept the bricks for recycling. Clear Drop works with 95 percent of soft plastics, sucking up bags, bubble wrap, ziplocks, package wrap and cling film into its maw. It then compresses and heats the plastic to form a compact eight by twelve by four inch brick. I asked Matt Daly, Clear Drops head of product, what the compactor cant take and I was told you cant add ping pong balls, IV bags and camera film.Easy enough. A compacted brick the Clear Drop CPC produced. Amy Skorheim for Engadget It was satisfying to see the little slot on the top gobble up the plastic bags Daly fed it. The Clear Drop wasnt set to smash and heat at the show, but I was assured by another Clear Drop rep that any plastic smell produced during operation was minimal and the company performed safety tests to ensure the machine didnt create any harmful emissions. Daly said it would take about a month for most households to create a brick, which translates to around a 30 gallon trash bag full of other bags. Once that brick is created, it can be shipped to one of Clear Drops partner facilities and pre-paid USPS shipping envelops are included. They work with multiple US-based recycling facilities and do audits to ensure the bricks are actually being recycled. Of course, I was a little disappointed the bricks couldnt be tossed in my blue curbside bin, but Daly said theyre working to bring more recycling partners on board and the ultimate goal is to create an infrastructure that would eventually include municipal recycling. Shipping the bricks somewhere feels a little counterproductive, eco-wise. And the machine itself is not cheap. The price is split up over the course of two years, but it adds up to $1,400. Im happy to see someone somewhere is doing something to address a pretty clear problem. While its not perfect, this is probably the best household-level solution Ive seen to that can ensure your bags dont go down some sea turtles throat. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/clear-drop-is-trying-to-do-something-about-all-those-plastic-bags-under-your-sink-140000254.html?src=rss

The base Kindle is on sale for $20 off right now

The latest entry-level Kindle ereader is on sale for $90 via Amazon . This is a nice discount of $20. It's not a record-low price, but it's certainly a budget-friendly way to keep that New Year's resolution to read more . This made our list of the best ereaders , and for good reason. It's an iconic device that gets the job done. It doesn't have much by way of modern bells and whistles, but it ships with 16GB of storage and comes in two snazzy colorways. The build is compact and durable. It's also light, which makes it easy to pack and easy to hold up with one hand. It allows access to the vast Kindle library and this deal comes with three months of Kindle Unlimited. That's sort of like Netflix, but for books. The selection isn't comprehensive, but I've always found something to read when in a pinch. This is an entry-level device. There's no color screen and no option to use a stylus. The battery, however, does last around six weeks with regular use. This is a metric I can personally confirm. It seems like I barely charge mine and it's always ready to go. The only major downside here is that this is one of those Amazon devices that forces ads on you. There is a version without lockscreen ads, but it costs more. I never really found them to be all that intrusive, given that they are tethered to the lockscreen and mostly advertise books. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-base-kindle-is-on-sale-for-20-off-right-now-183302578.html?src=rss

Anker's new 45W Nano charger with smart display from CES is already $10 off

Anker introduced a nifty little charger at CES 2026 , which is a refresh of the pre-existing Nano Charger . It's already on sale for $30, which is a discount of $10. These are preorders, however, with shipments officially going out on January 20. The 45W charger includes a smart display that shows real-time data like power flow, temperature and charging status. It also features fun animations to keep things cheerful. Anker says it can recognize what's being charged and automatically adjust certain metrics to ensure a longer battery lifespan. To that end, it works with just about everything. The company advertises that this charger is a good fit for the iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods and Samsung devices, among others. The new Nano Charger is on the smaller side, with dual folding prongs that rotate to fit most outlets. The deal does require a coupon code, but it's auto-applied at checkout. If that doesn't work, it's WS24D5XT3DV9 . We haven't gotten a chance to try this one yet, but it looks promising. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/ankers-new-45w-nano-charger-with-smart-display-from-ces-is-already-10-off-160707191.html?src=rss

Pick up the Apple Watch Series 11 while it's $100 off

If you're looking to get in shape in the new year, a wearable that tracks your daily activity and workouts can help with that. Our current favorite smartwatch is the Apple Watch Series 11 , and it's on sale for $100 off right now. That brings it down to $299, which is the lowest price we've seen it so far since its release last September. The Series 11 is our best overall smartwatch pick, and we gave it a score of 90 out of 100 in our hands-on review . We were impressed with the battery life, which lasted longer than the 24 hours it's rated for in our testing. We also liked how lightweight and thin the watch is. The 9.7mm thick case on the Series 11 ties the Series 10 for the thinnest Apple Watch so far. Fitness and health tracking are the main appeals of an Apple Watch, and the Series 11 introduces sleep tracking and hypertension notifications. The sleep tracking was comfortable thanks to the watch's small form factor. The watch also added a new wrist flick gesture that lets you dismiss notifications, end calls and silence alarms or timers. The GPS + cellular model of the Series 11 is also $100 off, and it's the first Apple Watch to support 5G networks. It's not too often you see an Apple product for 25 percent off its retail price, so if you were in the market for a smart watch, and especially if you are an iPhone user, it's worth checking out. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/pick-up-the-apple-watch-series-11-while-its-100-off-154609513.html?src=rss

Klipsch Atlas HP-1 hands-on: A return to hi-fi headphones at CES 2026

Klipsch hasnt debuted new headphones in years , but thats going to change in 2026. At CES, Klipsch announced the upcoming Atlas hi-fi series that includes wireless and both closed and semi-open back models. All three are expected to arrive this summer, but the company hasnt announced pricing or many details on any of them just yet. However, I was able to listen to the Atlas HP-1, the wireless model with active noise cancelation (ANC). Without going into specifics, Klipsch says the HP-1 is designed for both daily wear and travel. This is thanks to the combination of light weight, comfort and standout battery life. Inside, coaxial drivers provide the companys warm signature sound profile. Third-party support for spatial audio and hearing compensation is also in the works. This concludes the info Klipsch announced this week. After seeing the HP-1 in person at CES, I can tell you they look quite similar to Bowers & Wilkins recent headphones designs. Klipsch has opted for wood accents on the outside of the ear cups, likely as a nod to its speaker heritage . But the combination of leather and metal, as well as the headband and ear cups, remind me a lot of B&Ws Px7 . Klipsch Atlas HP-1 Billy Steele for Engadget During my brief time with the HP-1, the excellent sound quality was the thing that stood out most. Klipsch is demoing the headphones with lossless audio over USB-C, so it will be interesting to see what the audio is like in wireless mode. However, the companys trademark warmth and deft tuning is immediately apparent, giving preference to highs and mids without overbearing bass. Theres ample low-end tone, but it compliments everything else and didnt overpower in the Rage Against The Machine songs and other tracks I listened to. Its difficult to paint a comprehensive picture here since I wasnt only really able to observe sound quality and only for a short time. But the HP-1 is certainly a premium set of headphones that are comfy to wear (at least for the few minutes I wore them) and definitely sound good. The biggest downside will likely be price, which I expect to be at least $500. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/klipsch-atlas-hp-1-hands-on-a-return-to-hi-fi-headphones-at-ces-2026-130000415.html?src=rss

Philips Hue 'SpatialAware' feature harmonizes all the lights in a room

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

The best budgeting apps for 2025

As a former Mint user, I had to find a new budgeting app not too long ago. Intuit, parent company of Mint, shut down the service in March 2024, and prompted users to transition to its other financial app, Credit Karma. However, after testing Credit Karma myself, I found it to be a poor Mint replacement that meant I needed to branch out and look elsewhere for a trusted app to track all of my financial accounts, monitor my credit score, follow a monthly spending plan and set goals like building a rainy-day fund and paying down my mortgage faster. I tried out Mint's top competitors in the hopes that I'd be able to find a new budgeting app that could handle all of my financial needs. Hopefully my journey can help you find the best budgeting app for you and your money as well. Best budget apps of 2025 Other budgeting apps we tested PocketGuard PocketGuard used to be a solid free budget tracker, but the company has since limited its free version to just a free seven-day trial. Now, youll have to choose between two plans once the trial is over: a $13 monthly plan or a $75 annual plan. When I first tested it, I found it to be more restricted than NerdWallet, but still a decent option. The main overview screen shows you your net worth, total assets and debts; net income and total spending for the month; upcoming bills; a handy reminder of when your next paycheck lands; any debt payoff plan you have; and any goals. Like some other apps, including Quicken Simplifi, PocketGuard promotes an after bills approach, where you enter all of your recurring bills, and then PocketGuard shows you whats left, and thats what youre supposed to be budgeting: your disposable income. Although PocketGuards UI is easy enough to understand, it lacks polish. The accounts tab is a little busy, and doesnt show totals for categories like cash or investments. Seemingly small details like weirdly phrased or punctuated copy occasionally make the app feel janky. More than once, it prompted me to update the app when no updates were available. The web version, meanwhile, feels like the mobile app blown up to a larger format and doesnt take advantage of the extra screen real estate. Ultimately, now that the free tier is gone, it just doesnt present the same value proposition as it once did. How we test budgeting apps Before I dove in and started testing out budgeting apps, I had to do some research. To find a list of apps to try out, I consulted trusty ol Google (and even trustier Reddit); read reviews of popular apps on the App Store; and also asked friends and colleagues what budget tracking apps (or other budgeting methods) they might be using for money management. Some of the apps I found were free and these, of course, show loads of ads (excuse me, offers) to stay in business. But most of the available apps require paid subscriptions, with prices typically topping out around $100 a year, or $15 a month. (Spoiler: My top pick is cheaper than that.) All of the services I chose to test needed to do several things: import all of your account data into one place; offer budgeting tools; and track your spending, net worth and credit score. Except where noted, all of these apps are available for iOS, Android and on the web. Once I had my shortlist of six apps, I got to work setting them up. For the sake of thoroughly testing these apps, I made a point of adding every account to every budgeting app, no matter how small or immaterial the balance. What ensued was a veritable Groundhog Day of two-factor authentication. Just hours of entering passwords and one-time passcodes, for the same banks half a dozen times over. Hopefully, you only have to do this once. Budgeting app FAQs What is Plaid and how does it work? Each of the apps I tested uses the same underlying network, called Plaid, to pull in financial data, so its worth explaining what it is and how it works. Plaid was founded as a fintech startup in 2013 and is today the industry standard in connecting banks with third-party apps. Plaid works with over 12,000 financial institutions across the US, Canada and Europe. Additionally, more than 8,000 third-party apps and services rely on Plaid, the company claims . To be clear, you dont need a dedicated Plaid app to use it; the technology is baked into a wide array of apps, including all of the budgeting apps listed in this guide. Once you find the add an account option in whichever one youre using, youll see a menu of commonly used banks. Theres also a search field you can use to look yours up directly. Once you find yours, youll be prompted to enter your login credentials. If you have two-factor authentication set up, youll need to enter a one-time passcode as well. As the middleman, Plaid is a passthrough for information that may include your account balances, transaction history, account type and routing or account number. Plaid uses encryption, and says it has a policy of not selling or renting customer data to other companies. However, I would not be doing my job if I didnt note that in 2022 Plaid was forced to pay $58 million to consumers in a class action suit for collecting more financial data than was needed. As part of the settlement, Plaid was compelled to change some of its business practices. In a statement provided to Engadget, a Plaid spokesperson said the company continues to deny the allegations underpinning the lawsuit and that the crux of the non-financial terms in the settlement are focused on us accelerating workstreams already underway related to giving people more transparency into Plaids role in connecting their accounts, and ensuring that our workstreams around data minimization remain on track. Why did Mint shut down? When parent company Intuit announced in December 2023 that it would shut down Mint, it did not provide a reason why it made the decision to do so. It did say that Mint's millions of users would be funneled over to its other finance app, Credit Karma. Credit Karma is thrilled to invite all Minters to continue their financial journey on Credit Karma, where they will have access to Credit Karmas suite of features, products, tools and services, including some of Mints most popular features, Mint wrote on its product blog . In our testing, we found that Credit Karma isn't an exact replacement for Mint so if you're still looking for a Mint alternative , you have some decent options. What about Rocket Money? Rocket Money is another free financial app that tracks spending and supports things like balance alerts and account linking. If you pay for the premium tier, the service can also help you cancel unwanted subscriptions. We did not test it for this guide, but we'll consider it in future updates. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/best-budgeting-apps-120036303.html?src=rss

This game controller has a force feedback steering wheel lodged in the middle

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

Lenovo just revealed a concept for AI-powered smartglasses at CES

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

Lenovo updates its Legion and LOQ gaming laptops for CES

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

Motorola just announced a foldable phone to rival Samsung and Google at CES

Motorola just announced its very first side-foldable smartphone, joining the ranks of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold and the Galaxy Z Fold 7 . The Razr Fold boasts an impressive 6.6-inch external screen and an 8.1-inch flexible main display. The company hasn't provided dimensions, so we don't know how thick it is. We do know, however, that it'll include support for the Moto Pen Ultra stylus. This is actually a fairly big deal, as Samsung dropped the feature for the Z Fold 7 . Modern foldables basically double as tablets, so a stylus is always appreciated. Motorola There's a robust camera system here, with a 50MP Sony sensor, a 50MP ultra-wide/macro, a 50MP telephoto, a 32MP external selfie lens and a 20MP internal camera. It also offers the ability to record in Dolby Vision. The Razr Fold will be available in blue and white. We don't have any information regarding internal specs, pricing or availability. Motorola says that more specifications will be shared in the coming months. It's worth noting that while this is the company's first side-folding camera, Motorola has always made top-folding phones. After all, that's what a flip phone is. The company continues to refine this basic idea with its standard Razr line of midrange top-folding smartphones. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/motorola-just-announced-a-foldable-phone-to-rival-samsung-and-google-at-ces-010015323.html?src=rss

Lenovo's 14th-gen ThinkPad X1 Carbon comes with a new Space Frame design

Lenovo has unveiled a bunch of new laptops and concepts at CES 2026 , including its latest ThinkPad X1 models. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition and ThinkPad X1 2-in-1 Gen 11 Aura Edition come with a new design the company has dubbed Space Frame. Lenovo calls Space Frame an engineering breakthrough and describes it as a design that restructures the interior of a laptop, so that components are placed on both sides of the motherboard. This structure improves the computers cooling and, hence, enables higher sustained performance. It comes with replaceable USB ports, battery, keyboard speakers and fans for easier repairs, and it also gives Lenovo enough room to equip laptops with a larger haptic touchpad. In addition to having the Space Frame design, both ThinkPad X1 Carbon and X1 2-in-1 Aura Editions are Microsoft Copilot+ PCs powered by the new Intel Core Ultra X7 Series 3 processors, which also debuted at CES. The processors ship with 12Xe graphic cores and integrated NPUs for AI acceleration. Both models also introduce a new 10MP camera with a 110-degree-wide field of view that features advanced distortion correction. As for the ThinkPad X1 2-in-1, it ships with a new magnetically docked pen that was designed to be ergonomic. The company has announced the ThinkPad X9 15p Aura Edition at the event, as well. Its a follow-up to last years X9 with an all-aluminum chassis, making it an alternative to Apples MacBooks. This model comes with a 15.3-inch 2.8K OLED display and ThinkPads largest haptic touchpad, and its powered by the new Intel Core Ultra X9 Series 3 processors. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/lenovos-14th-gen-thinkpad-x1-carbon-comes-with-a-new-space-frame-design-010000262.html?src=rss

Lenovo reveals a SteamOS variant of the Legion Go 2 at CES

If you saw Lenovo's Legion Go 2 launch last year and thought, I'll wait for the SteamOS version, well, you'll have to wait a little longer. But at least now it's official. At CES 2026 , the company revealed the Legion Go 2, Powered by SteamOS. The Valve-friendly variant of the gaming handheld arrives in June, starting at a pricey $1,199. There aren't any surprises here. It's the same Lenovo Legion Go 2 hardware, with SteamOS replacing the sometimes-awkward Windows. In many ways, you could view the SteamOS Legion Go 2 as a more powerful and versatile (and expensive!) Steam Deck . One notable exception is the optimizations game developers often make for Valve's handheld. (Ditto for Steam Deck Verified badges on store listings to learn quickly how playable games are.) So, all the specs from the Windows version carry over. That includes a spacious 8.8-inch OLED display at 1,920 x 1,200 and with a 144Hz VRR. You still have two tiers to choose from: Ryzen Z2 / 16GB / 1TB or Ryzen Z2 Extreme / 32GB / 2TB. The device has a microSD slot, kickstand, detachable controllers and a 74Wh battery. At 2.2 lbs, it's a bulky affair, so you'll want to look elsewhere if a light, compact handheld is your priority. Lenovo says the Legion Go 2, Powered by SteamOS is expected in June. It will start at $1,199 for the entry-level variant. (Lenovo hasn't yet announced pricing for the Z2 Extreme tier.) You can revisit Sam Rutherford's review of the Windows version for much more on the hardware. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/lenovo-reveals-a-steamos-variant-of-the-legion-go-2-at-ces-010000852.html?src=rss

Motorola expands its Moto Things lineup with a new Bluetooth tracker, stylus and smartwatch

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

Lenovo and Motorola are releasing their own on-device AI assistant

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

Lenovo goes sci-fi with its wild XD Rollable Concept at CES 2026

Lenovo has experimented more with laptops featuring rollable displays than pretty much any other PC maker and at CES 2026 its keeping that trend going with the XD Rollable Concept. Equipped with a 180-degree Gorilla Glass Victus 2 cover, the XD Rollable concept features a very futuristic design. However, underneath, it has the same basic engineering as last years ThinkBook Plus Gen 6. That means with the touch of a button, its 13.3-inch flexible OLED display can expand to 16 inches, which gives you around 50 percent extra screen space in just a few seconds. The main difference with Lenovos latest concept is that instead of hiding the unused section of its rollable display underneath its keyboard, the XDs panel wraps up and over its lid to create a world-facing display around back. This allows people sitting on the other side of the laptop to see content, with the laptop capable of mirroring elements from its main display or using that space as a small secondary monitor. Now I will admit that after seeing the XD Rollable in person, its design does feel a bit gimmicky. Even though Lenovos space-themed animation that appears when the laptops display extends is pretty slick, Im not sure how helpful that world-facing display really is. In normal use, you cant even see it because its on the other side of the lid and while I suppose you could utilize that area for meetings or presentations, I think most people would be much better off simply connecting the notebook to a dedicated secondary monitor or projector. That said, I do like that contrary to the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6, by exposing the unused part of the XD Rollables display when its not extended, you get a little bit of extra value out of it. At the very least, it beats stashing the rest of the panel underneath the keyboard where it wont be seen at all. On top of that, I like the look of having no bezel along the top of the display and you can even use touch controls on the edge of the display to control widgets or expand its flexible screen. Interestingly, the coolest part about the XD Rollable might not even be its screen, but the motors and rails that Lenovo uses to extend its display, which are easily seen beneath its glass design. Meanwhile, the rest of the XD Rollable is very down to earth with it featuring a comfy keyboard and a decent-sized touchpad. The main downsides are that its glass lid makes the concept a bit heavier than a more traditional 13-inch notebook and you only get two USB-C ports. But considering that Lenovo isnt planning to put this thing into production, that lack of connectivity or info regarding its specs shouldnt come as a big surprise. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/lenovo-goes-sci-fi-with-its-wild-xd-rollable-concept-at-ces-2026-010000817.html?src=rss

CES 2026: The Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable concept goes big wide at the touch of a button

Lenovo might have the most concept devices of any company at CES 2026, but the wildest and most interesting one is almost certainly the Legion Pro Rollable which features a 16-inch flexible display that can expand to not one but two different sizes. To make the Legion Pro Rollable, Lenovo started out with a standard Legion Pro 7i and kept the bottom half including all of its ports and support for an RTX 5090 GPU. But then the company went a bit crazy: Instead of replacing the notebooks original 16-inch OLED screen with a rollable variant that extends upwards like the Thinkbook Plus Gen 6 from 2025, Lenovo opted for one that expands outwards to either 21.5 inches or 23.8 inches This means instead of being restricted to a standard 16:10 aspect ratio, you also have the choice of 21:9 or an ultra-wide 24:9 with just the touch of a button. Or more like two buttons because to widen or shrink its display, you need to press FN plus one of its arrow keys. The Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable concept goes wide and wiiiider. #CES2026 pic.twitter.com/R5fJ0vU3NX Sam Rutherford (@samrutherford) January 7, 2026 Admittedly that feels a bit clunky considering some of Lenovos other laptops with expandable displays have a dedicated button. But this is a concept device after all, which was immediately obvious when I got a chance to see this up close. The bottom of the laptop feels solid, as youd probably expect because not much has changed there. However, the top of the laptop didnt feel super sturdy, probably due to the displays hinge not being able to fully support a heavier lid and the notebooks bulkier rollable display. I also noticed that there were some faint lines left by the internal motors that allow the rollable display to do its thing and a bit of waviness from the panel due to it not being super taut. That said, from the side, I was impressed that even for a prototype, Lenovo did a halfway decent job of eliminating any huge panel gaps or empty spaces where the lid expands. The biggest bummer is that even though Lenovo had a handful of demo units on on site, there werent any games installed so I wasnt able see the Legion Pro Rollables tech function in full glory. But if were being honest, none of that really matters on a gadget thats meant to be a showcase and testbed for next-gen tech. The idea of a gaming laptop with a screen that can go from normal to ultra-wide at the touch of a button (or buttons) is super cool, especially if you play titles like flight sims, racing games or big open-world adventures that can take advantage of an extra wide screen. And out of all of the concepts Ive seen at CES 2026, this one is at the top of the list of stuff that I hope eventually gets turned into a proper retail product. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/ces-2026-the-lenovo-legion-pro-rollable-concept-goes-big-wide-at-the-touch-of-a-button-010000333.html?src=rss

iPolish brings color-changing press-on smart nails to CES

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

Quake is now Steam Deck Verified

Bethesda announced on X today that Quake is now a Steam Deck Verified title. The 1996 game from the legendary id Software has also been designated Handheld Optimized for the Xbox ROG Ally devices. As one of the OG boomer shooters, Quake still commands a sizable and passionate fan base, and it's now available on just about every gaming platform imaginable. Since rolling out its verification program, several thousands of games have been designated as supported for the Steam Deck. Valve has more recently been preparing to have additional gaming devices run its SteamOS platform. Even though Xbox ROG Ally is the only one now, there's already a special extension of verification to note if a title is more broadly compatible with Steam's operating system. And don't forget that Valve's anticipated Steam Machine is due out some time early this year, so it wouldn't be surprising to have those verification checkmarks start to carry more weight in 2026. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/quake-is-now-steam-deck-verified-223009852.html?src=rss

CES 2026: Hyperkin and Gamesir made a modular game controller for your smartphone, tablet and even your Switch

Ive been using the same smartphone controller on my iPhone for years. Thats partly because most options are so similar. Announced at CES 2026, the X5 Alteron couldnt be more different. Its a collaboration between GameSir (which loves unusual peripheral dalliances ) and Hyperkin (retro-leaning controller maker ). The X5 Alteron is apparently the world's first fully modular mobile games controller. While the headline feature might be the stick/d-pad/button modules, the X5 Alteron has a very accommodating vice grip that works with devices from iPhone and Android phones through to the Switch series and even iPads. Theres even Bluetooth if you want to use it with a PC. Mat Smith for Engadget On the showfloor, Gamesir had a non-working prototype model with swappable modules, able to replicate most of your favorite layouts, including asymmetric analogue sticks, a yellow stick thats aspiring to be a Gamecube controller and even a six-button array for those wanting to scratch that Sega Saturn itch. And if you want symmetrical sticks, you maniac, you can have that too. Rumble motors will also be built into the controller. The modules lie flush when magnetically attached to the controller, although on the early prototype, they were difficult to remove. Its pretty much fully customizable: there will be adjustable stick heights and hot-swappable buttons. Hyperkin and Gamesir are promising GameCube and N64 modules, and even a trackpad module for FPS games. Theres contemporary technology too. The X5 Alteron will have capacitive sticks, not Hall-Effect ones. This should offer much more precision: the technology remains pretty rare in controllers. There are Hall-Effect analog triggers on the rear of the controller. Its early days, with no release date or pricing set yet, but I'm intrigued and I suspect many mobile gamers are too. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/hyperkin-and-gamesir-x5-alteron-modular-game-controller-ces-2026-221853624.html?src=rss

Intel's Core Ultra Series 3 let me play 'Battlefield 6' at 190 fps on a Lenovo ultraportable

How far has Intel's embedded Arcgraphics come over the years? Enough to let me play Battlefield 6 at up to 190 fps in 1080p, with the graphics settings set to high, all on an unassuming Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5. There was no need for dedicated graphics, just the Intel Core Ultra X9 388H's built-in Arc B390 GPU. There's a catch, of course: Intel's XeSS3 AI upscaling and 4X frame generation is the big reason why I was able to see such high fps figures. I was playing Battlefield 6 on a controller, with the Lenovo laptop connected to a TV, and I was surprised by how smooth the gameplay felt. There wasn't any sense of lag like I've seen in earlier frame-gen implementations, though any lag would probably be more noticeable if I was playing with a high DPI gaming mouse. Playing Battlefield 6 with a Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5, powered by Intel's Core Ultra 3 chip. Devindra Hardawar for Engadget Environmental details, shadows, lighting and particle effects also looked flawless. If I was sitting on a couch, Id think the game was being powered by a console or a budget gaming PC. I didnt get a chance to push the resolution up to 1440p, but itd be interesting to see if it could maintain at least 100 fps in that mode. Not all of Intel's Core Ultra 3 chips will achieve such lofty gaming heights, unfortunately. Only the X7 and X9 chips include 12 Xe GPU cores and Arc B390 graphics. The rest of the Core Ultra 3 family has the typical four Xe cores and basic Intel graphics. Intel claims the B390 is around 80 percent faster than the Radeon 890M, which is built into the Ryzen HX370. Additionally, the company says the new GPU is 76 percent faster than its Arc 140T, and overall it should offer similar performance to the mobile RTX 4050 GPU. A Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5. Devindra Hardawar for Engadget This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/intels-core-ultra-series-3-let-me-play-battlefield-6-at-190-fps-on-a-lenovo-ultraportable-220952246.html?src=rss

Dreame's robot vacuum with an arm is back at CES 2026 and it can do more than pick up shoes

Last year at CES, Dreame showed off a robot vacuum prototype with a mechanical arm . But while we were able to see the arm extend and retract, we didnt see the device, which was described as a prototype at the time, actually grab anything, which was a bit disappointing. This year, though, the company has made its arm-enabled vacuum a reality with the Cyber 10 Ultra. Dreame previewed it recently at IFA in Berlin, but has now confirmed it will be on sale later this year. The vacuum has an extendable arm that looks pretty similar to the prototype version we saw last year. It extends from the top of the vacuum and has a claw-like device at the end for scooping up objects. According to Dreame, it can pick up items that weigh up to 500 grams (about 1 pound) so it should be able to grab a wider variety of stuff than the Roborock vac we saw last year, which had a 300-gram weight limit for its arm. The arm can also do more than pick up stuff from the floor. It supports its own cleaning accessories, and can grab vacuum nozzles and brush attachments from its base station. This allows the arm to act as an extension of the vacuum itself so it can be used similarly to how you might use hose attachments to reach hard-to-get areas with a traditional vacuum. And, like Dreame's other robot vacuums, the Cyber 10 Ultra also has mopping abilities and can climb up small steps up to 6cm (about 2.4 inches). That's not quite as impressive as the tank-like stair-climbing Cyber X prototype it also brought to CES, but should help the Cyber 10 reach a few extra places in the house. The company hasn't announced an exact release date, but says it's targeting August of this year and currently expects the Cyber 10 Ultra to cost around 1799 (about $2,100). This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/dreames-robot-vacuum-with-an-arm-is-back-at-ces-2026-and-it-can-do-more-than-pick-up-shoes-210000020.html?src=rss

Dreame's latest robot vacuum concept has slightly terrifying legs that can climb full-size stairs

Robot vacuum companies are once again trying to outdo each other at CES 2026. This year, Chinese appliance maker Dreame is showing off a prototype of a device that can climb up and down an entire flight of stairs. The concept, called the Cyber X, was previewed last year at IFA in Berlin. The vacuum sports a somewhat terrifying set of legs with rubber treads that allow it to autonomously navigate multi-story environments. While Dreame has previously shown off vacuums that can move up smaller steps , it says the Cyber X can climb stairs up to 25cm (9.8 inches) high and slopes up to 42 degrees. It can manage both straight and curved staircases, and can climb a flight of steps in 27 seconds, according to the company. In addition to its legs, the Cyber X also has a built-in water tank to support mopping abilities, and a laser-powered navigation system to help it maneuver up stairs and around other obstacles. It also has a braking system that allows it to stay stable on floors and stairs, even if the battery dies. We haven't been able to see it in action yet, but Dreame is expected to show off its abilities at its CES booth and we'll update this post once we're able to get an up-close look. Dreame's Cyber X concept and the X60. Karissa Bell for Engadget For now, Dreame says Cyber X is just a research prototype and hasn't indicated if it plans to make it, or a robo vac like it, more widely available at some point in the future. But Dreame has a history of showing off innovative features at CES ahead of an actual release. Last year, the company had a prototype vacuum with a mechanical arm at its CES booth. This year, it announced a new vacuum with very similar abilities. The company also announced the Dreame X60 Max Ultra, its latest flagship robot vacuum that can roll up smaller steps. The X60 Max Ultra, which costs $1,699, can move over stairs up to 8.8cm (about 3.4 inches), a small improvement over last year's X50, which could clear heights of 6cm (about 2.4 inches). That's not enough to manage a full-size stair, which is typically around 7 inches, but it should make the X60 flexible enough to navigate threshold steps and other small obstacles. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/dreames-latest-robot-vacuum-concept-has-slightly-terrifying-legs-that-can-climb-full-size-stairs-210000399.html?src=rss

The Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds are on sale for $165

Google's Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds are on sale for $165 via Amazon . That's a nice discount of $64, which breaks down to 28 percent. There is a spot of bad news. The deal only applies to the hazel colorway. Other colors are discounted, but they aren't as cheap. It's not as if the hazel is hideous. These are standard dark brown-hued earbuds. The device made our list of the best wireless earbuds , and this is particularly true for those tied into the Pixel ecosystem. These earbuds are on the smaller side and, more importantly, comfortable to wear for long periods of time. They also manage to deliver pristine audio , as we were fans of the punchy bass, full mids and crisp highs on offer. The battery lasts for 30 hours when you include return trips to the charging case, at around eight hours a pop. They offer multipoint Bluetooth that switches between audio sources with just a single button press. There's an app for keeping an eye on battery levels and ANC levels. The primary downside when these were first released was the high price tag, which has been alleviated by this sale. Beyond that, there's really just one nitpick. Smaller earbuds translate to a smaller touch panel, which requires precision to operate. Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice . This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-google-pixel-buds-pro-2-earbuds-are-on-sale-for-165-193444491.html?src=rss

Amazon Luna's January lineup includes Madden NFL 26 for free

Amazon has announced the next collection games that will be available to play through its Luna game streaming service in January. The highlight of the bunch is EA SPORTS Madden NFL 26 , which will be available for a limited time on the service, but as in the past, Amazon is also giving away free PC games too if you'd prefer not to stream. Madden NFL 26 will be available to Prime members everywhere Luna currently streams, from January 10 through February 10. Luna is also getting several new GameNight games Amazon's name for streaming games you can play with a smartphone including multiplayer physics-based building game Tricky Towers on January 8, and the party game collection The Jackbox Party Pack 3 on January 23. If you're looking for something a little more narrative-driven, Alan Wake Remastered and Death Stranding Director's Cut are also available to stream right now. As part of the Prime benefits Amazon offers to subscribers, there's also some new PC games you can redeem for free. The best option this month is turn-based strategy game Sid Meier's Civilization VI , which is worth a revisit after the dramatic mechanical overhaul Sid Meier's Civilization VII introduced last year. Here's a complete list of games Amazon will offer over the course of the month, and which PC game store you'll be able to download them from: Sid Meiers Civilization VI (Epic Games Store) Brigador: Up-Armored Edition (GOG) Reflections of Life: Dark Architect Collector's Edition (Amazon Games App) Gunslugs: Rogue Tactics (GOG) DeathKeep (GOG) Harold Halibut (GOG) D&D Stronghold: Kingdom Simulator (GOG) Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse (GOG) Technotopia (Amazon Games App) ELDERBORN (GOG) This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/amazon-lunas-january-lineup-includes-madden-nfl-26-for-free-192500032.html?src=rss