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10.01.2025 22:20 As the world turns, so do the console generations. The Nintendo Switch is over seven years old, so it’s due for a refresh. Nintendo Switch 2 rumors have been swirling for years, but now they are really heating up. A sequel to Nintendo's most successful home console ever is coming and it’s likely coming sooner rather than later. Will it be a straight up sequel to the Switch with updated specs while retaining the same hybrid functionality or will Nintendo get weird with it? Will it even be called the Switch 2, or will the company go with something like the Super Switch or even the New Nintendo Switch? You can never tell with Nintendo. Heck, maybe it’ll call the thing the Switch U. In any event, recent weeks have brought feverish speculation regarding all aspects of the forthcoming gaming console. It’s important to note, however, that very little information has been confirmed by Nintendo. The company operates on its own timetable. With that said, here are all of the rumors that are most likely to come true, given industry analysis. When will the Nintendo Switch 2 be announced? As previously mentioned, Nintendo marches to the beat of its own drum. We don’t exactly know when it’ll hold an event to reveal the console. A lot of people wrongly assumed it would happen toward the latter part of 2024, but that didn't happen. Even Nintendo has trouble keeping the lid on a major console release, so we could learn something before the official reveal. There are parts that have to be sourced and shipments that have to be made. A senior analyst at MST Financial noted a spike in production equipment spending by Nintendo assembler Hosiden. When will the Nintendo Switch 2 come out? Once again, this is more or less a mystery. We aren’t totally in the dark, but it’s mostly rumor and speculation. One thing we know for sure is that Nintendo will announce the Nintendo Switch 2 by March 2025, as the company confirmed back in May. Some are saying there will be a March release date, which makes sense given the OG Switch came out on March 17, 2017. However, other reports put the console’s release window later in 2025. Accessory manufacturer Genki, which has been a major source of leaks in recent months, claims the console will be released in April. Will it even be a proper Switch sequel? Nintendo has a weird track record here. The baffling Wii U followed the massive success of the Wii. The Wii itself followed the more traditional GameCube. In other words, it’s possible it’ll be something out of left field and not exactly a true sequel to the Switch. However, this is unlikely this time around. As much as I would love to see wacky VR glasses or a completely bonkers console concept, all points indicate a more traditional approach. Nintendo Patent Points to VR Headset https://t.co/pofTjclgOt #LaboVR #Nintendo pic.twitter.com/A5WEZUG3kL— The Escapist September 10, 2019 Developers have already seen the hardware, though in a much earlier form, and it seems to be a regular old console. While Nintendo hasn't confirmed hybrid functionality, it’d be a weird omission given the absolute financial firestorm of the Switch. We’ve also heard rumors of a Mini-LED display, which would track for a hybrid console. It’s highly likely this will be a straight-up Switch 2, or something like it, calling to mind the Super Nintendo. A summary of today's alleged Switch 2 images 'leak'. pic.twitter.com/Z4rfSGz4WQ— Andy Robinson September 18, 2024 To that end, recent rumors suggest a design that recalls the original Switch. According to reporting by VGC, photos of the console have appeared online and they show an 8-inch screen and magnetic Joy-Con controllers. There looks to be SL/SR buttons and front-facing player LEDs on these controllers. Will there be a bit of Nintendo weirdness? Everything leaked or rumored so far on this console has been fairly, well, traditional. It looks like the original Switch, but better. That's awesome, but will there be any of that unpredictable Nintendo magic? Maybe! Recent reports indicate two puzzling additions that folks can't make hide nor hair of. Genki, the accessories manufacturer, just published a landing page for their Nintendo Switch 2 accessories. This landing page features a video that includes a very detailed look at a Switch 2 mockup. pic.twitter.com/Db7RSk4YlQ— Bob Wulff January 8, 2025 An accessory maker called Genki accidentally leaked an alleged mockup at CES 2025 of the entire console. If the Switch 2 is coming sooner rather than later, it makes sense that accessory makers would have these kinds of mockups. There looks to be a mysterious "C" button on the bottom-right side and nobody knows what it does. Could it initiate voice chat during gameplay? Could it calibrate the controllers? Could it create a room-sized hologram of Bowser in your living room? We'll have to wait and see, and there's always a chance that the button won't even exist. Now onto the updated Joy-Cons, those same leaks seem to indicate a new sensor on the connecting side of each controller. It looks a whole lot like an optical sensor, which is what a computer mouse uses. This has led to speculation that players will be able to flip the Joy-Con over and use it like a mouse. Genki reveal isnt a mockup, its straight up just the Switch 2, optical sensor is literally flashing in this shot @Stealth40k #Switch2 pic.twitter.com/COeLsonqMd— Ash  January 8, 2025 But why would anyone even want this? I can think of three words. New Mario Paint. In any event, take all of that Genki stuff with a big grain of salt, as Nintendo came out and said that the images and video were "not official." The accessory manufacturer has also stated that its mockup wasn't based on an actual console, but rather “leaked information that’s circulating in the industry.” Is the Nintendo Switch 2 backwards compatible? If it’s a sequel to the Switch, the next question has to be about backwards compatibility. The Switch’s library is absolutely massive, and continues to grow, so gamers would be rightfully peeved if they couldn’t play Tears of the Kingdom on their new next-gen console. There’s good news on this front. The company has officially announced in a recent earnings report that the console will be fully backwards compatible. It will also feature access to Nintendo Online, so users will be able to play all of those old retro titles. What about specs? The rumors regarding specs are all over the place, so it’s tough to pin down. We know one thing for sure: It’ll be more powerful than the ancient Switch hardware, which was already antiquated back in 2017. One analyst allegedly got a hold of a spec sheet from the Korean United Daily News that said the Switch 2 would boast an eight-core Cortex-A78AE processor, 8GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal eMMC storage. This tracks for me, as these specs are about as underpowered in 2024 as the original Switch was in 2017. However, some reports do indicate that the console would include 12GB of RAM. Another source suggests that the eight-core CPU will be packaged inside an NVIDIA-produced Tegra239 SoC . Given the current Switch runs on an NVIDIA chip, that makes a lot of sense. The CPU will be more powerful, but it's the Switch 2's new GPU that will be a major differentiator. It's all-but-confirmed that the Switch 2 will support DLSS, NVIDIA's "deep learning supersampling" upscaling tech, which would allow the console to render games at a low resolution internally while outputting a high-resolution image. There are still questions about the Switch 2 and DLSS: Will the system support newer DLSS features like frame generation? Will existing games be automatically tidied up by NVIDIA's algorithm? Regardless of the exact implementation, DLSS upscaling will be a huge leap over the rudimentary techniques available to Nintendo Switch developers. As for the display, there are many conflicting rumors. Early reports from solid sources suggested the Switch 2 would have an 8-inch display LCD display, but there have also been rumors about an 7-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Some analysts have suggested this would be an OLED screen, while others have said it would be a Mini-LED display. A Mini-LED display is basically an LCD display that has a backlight made of mini-LEDs rather than edge lighting. This allows for local dimming, making the blacks more black. I’m hedging my bets here. I think it’ll be a standard LCD, to cut costs, with an OLED or Mini-LED model coming later down the line. However, Mini-LED screens are slightly cheaper than OLED displays, so that’s certainly a possibility at launch. As for resolution, recent reporting suggests that the console will output 1080p in handheld and 4K when docked. That's much better than the OG Switch. How much will the Nintendo Switch 2 cost? We don't have too much information regarding price but we do have plenty of history to work with. The original Nintendo Switch launched at $300, which is pretty much the "magic number" when it comes to Nintendo console releases in recent years. The Wii U also came in at $300. However, there are plenty of rumors circulating that Nintendo could be upping the asking price for the Switch 2. Numerous outlets have reported it'll be $400, or potentially even more expensive. However, the same analysts who say the console will be $400 were also fairly certain it would be out by the end of 2024 and, well, it looks like that ain't happening. Dipping back into history, there is some precedence for a price uptick. The GameCube was $200 and the Wii was $250. The Wii U and Switch increased to $300 and, well, numbers like to go up. A $400 price tag would make it nearly as expensive as a PS5 and Xbox Series X. That would also put it at the same price as the 256GB LCD Steam Deck. Do we know about any launch games? Nope! But it’s certainly been a long time since we’ve gotten a proper 3D Mario adventure, right? That would be one heck of a system seller. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine. Past as prologue, we can expect something from Ubisoft and an off-the-wall title like 1-2-Switch. If there’s a gimmick or hook involved with the console, we’ll also get a game that takes advantage of that. A dual release of Metroid Prime 4, just like Breath of the Wild and Twilight Princess before that, is also a possibility. Finally, there have been rumblings that the big launch title could be none other than Mario Kart 9. That's everything we know about the Nintendo Switch 2 today. We'll update this article with rumors we trust and with information we gather directly from sources. Any changes made to the article after its initial publishing will be listed below. Update, January 10, 2025, 12:40 PM ET: This story has been updated with details about the Switch 2's alleged "C" button, along with the Joy-Con optical sensors. We also wrote about the announcement window and launch games. Finally, we covered announcements from Nintendo and Genki regarding a potential leak. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-switch-2-everything-we-know-about-the-upcoming-console-110023968.html?src=rss

10.01.2025 22:20 It was while walking past the RadioShack booth at CES 2025 that I spied the Kodak stand not far ahead. And it was while musing about the fate of those two storied — okay maybe not storied — names that I spied another Kodak booth two rows over. For a company that’s been dead more than a few times over, it’s certainly enjoying something of a renaissance. Look, it’s not as if there haven’t always been brands that die and get revived in pursuit of a quick buck. Especially if the price is cheap and there’s any residual degree of affection for it, but even so there are a hell of a lot of them now. Do we need four different companies selling Kodak-branded wares? Daniel Cooper for Engadget Perhaps the most egregious example at this year’s show was from Mizari, an LA-based company that sells hardware under a variety of names. This year, it was showing off a lineup of products under the Memorex brand, including e-bikes, scooters and golf caddies. If you’re unfamiliar, Memorex made recordable media in the analog era: computer and cassette tapes, VHS, CDs and eventually DVDs. Its slogan was “Is it live, or is it Memorex?” boasting its superior audio quality. Does that slogan work as well for e-bikes, scooters and golf caddies? That’s less clear. Daniel Cooper for Engadget The company’s representatives said that using the Memorex name was an experiment to see how much affection the public has for the brand. They’re targeting people over the age of 40 who remember what they slammed in their tape decks. At the same time, they’re targeting younger generations who may feel the pull of that retro name, since we’re apparently in an era where anything old is inherently laudable. Mizari also holds the license for Delorean, albeit just to make e-bikes, scooters and go-karts, for the kids, you know? Daniel Cooper for Engadget RadioShack has been passed from owner to owner since it initially filed for Chapter 11 back in 2015. In May 2023, it was bought by Unicomer, a RadioShack franchisee from Central and South America which is now relaunching the parent brand in the US. It will act, like so many of these companies, as a distributor, adding its name to a variety of products made elsewhere. Its lineup is already 400 products strong, from gaming keyboards and mice to portable projectors and speakers. The idea, as you might have guessed, is to cash in on the fact people likely remember the name of this over some generic product they'll find among the dregs on Amazon. Daniel Cooper for Engadget The two Kodaks nearby share the Kodak name, but very little else: One is showing off the Kodak Mini Shot , made by Prinics Co. Walk 50 yards further down the plush CES carpet and you’ll find another Kodak , this one selling digital photo frames and tablets. Staffers at both booths are happy to talk about which part of the sprawling Kodak license they are paying for. Hell, the latter Kodak stand was also advertising those same products under the Thomson name, an old French electronics company that was rebranded as Thales 25 years ago. Daniel Cooper for Engadget A little walk and you’ll soon find a large stand from RCA, which also holds the names Thomson and Blaupunkt. All three are nothing more than names and logos slapped on products that are shipped in from various manufacturers. RCA is famously known for making radio equipment and other electronics before branching into broadcasting, music and movies. So it’s natural, too, that you can pick up an RCA-branded e-bike and scooter, cashing in on all those bikes RCA made when your pop pop was in diapers. Daniel Cooper for Engadget Next to Mizari’s Memorex-branded exhibits was the third Kodak booth I’d stumbled across, this one showing off a wide variety of products. This included smartwatches, cameras, binoculars, mirrors with halo lighting and Bluetooth speakers, all made by various licensees. And, quite literally two booths over, was another Kodak stand, this time from C&A Global, which makes Kodak branded photo printers as well as projectors and scanners. Daniel Cooper for Engadget I’m not sure I need to wave my hands around and try to make some sort of grand point about All Of This. One one hand, it doesn’t matter. Lots of low-cost products are sold to folks who aren’t going to interrogate their purchases. Given how common the practice of buying a dead brand and slapping it on whatever you sell, it must be profitable enough to justify doing it. But it just leaves me scratching my head, wondering who’s going to remember the tape company from the ‘90s and want to ride an e-bike with its logo on the side. Or who would think there’s any trust left in the Kodak brand given the near-homeopathic levels of dilution it’s subjected to. Maybe these companies' real lingering value is to serve as a reminder to all the other tech brands that this is the fate that awaits them if they keep messing up. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/a-tale-of-four-kodaks-173040742.html?src=rss

10.01.2025 22:20 We’re officially recovering from CES 2025! In this episode, Devindra and Senior Reporter Sam Rutherford dive into their favorite PCs from the show, NVIDIA's RTX 5000 GPUs and debate the merits of Lenovo’s extra-large Legion Go S handheld. They explain why they like ASUS’s ultra-light Zenbook A14, and Sam gives us his final thoughts on Dell’s clunky brand transition. Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News! Subscribe! iTunes Spotify Pocket Casts Stitcher Google Podcasts Topics Lenovo’s surprising CES showing: ThinkBook Plus Gen 6’s rollable screen – 0:47 Legion Go S by Lenovo is the first third-party handheld to run SteamOS – 4:35 NVIDIA’s RTX 5000 seems great… – 10:16 …But Jensen Huang’s keynote on NVIDIA’s future lacked focus – 15:29 MicroLED TVs shown at CES are gorgeous and pricy – 30:11 Credits Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Sam RutherfordProducer: Ben EllmanMusic: Dale NorthThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/engadget-podcast-thats-a-wrap-on-ces-2025-171558731.html?src=rss

10.01.2025 22:20 CES 2025 was a fantastic show for companies making good on the promises of years past. At these events, we’re used to seeing booth after booth of gadgets in concept and prototype phases, with vague details about final designs and release windows of “eventually.” This year, however, the vibe was way more release-ready. A handful of high-profile projects that debuted at previous CESes are back with concrete plans and actual release dates, and many of these products are available right now. It’s a veritable CES miracle. Remember Ballie, the rolling robot that Samsung debuted in 2020 and then brought to CES 2024? This is exactly the type of thing that we’d expect to never see again, doomed to forever haunt the consumer-electronics graveyard, but this year Samsung revealed Ballie’s final form and set its release window in the first half of 2025. Ballie is a cute yellow robot about the size of a bowling ball, with an Among Us-style cutout housing a projector that allows it to beam images and videos onto your walls and floors. This is a fun one from Samsung, and even though we don’t know an exact price or release date just yet, the news that it’s actually coming out this year is a welcome update. Sony Honda Mobility Sony Honda Mobility’s Afeela 1 is officially available to preorder right now, nearly five years after Sony announced its intent to enter the EV market. The Afeela 1 started out as the Vision-S concept car, which Sony unveiled at CES 2020, and it picked up the Afeela name in 2023 after Sony and Honda established their joint venture for EV manufacturing. At CES 2025, Sony Honda Mobility opened up reservations for the Afeela 1 Origin and the Afeela 1 Signature, which respectively cost $89,900 and $109,900. Reservations are only available to customers in California for now, and the first vehicles will be delivered in mid-2026. It’s definitely cool to see Sony’s EV ambitions manifesting after half a decade of build-up. One of the headlines we published this year with the word “finally” in it was dedicated to Displace TV’s wireless 4K OLED screens with suction attachments. First revealed at CES 2023, Displace’s suction-cup TVs are now ready for mass consumption, and they’re available for pre-order with shipments expected in March. Displace is selling two models, the Basic and the Pro, both with 4K OLED displays and screen sizes of 27 inches or 55 inches. They all support rudimentary gesture controls, too. The 27-inch Basic model goes for $2,500, while the 55-inch Pro is $6,000, with the other prices in between. LG Speaking of TVs, the hottest bit of home entertainment tech at CES 2024 was LG’s transparent OLED T — and this year, it’s officially on sale. LG brought the OLED T to CES 2025, just a few weeks after the display hit the market at the eye-watering price of $60,000. The OLED T is a 77-inch, 4K, transparent TV, and even though it costs as much as a fancy car, it’s stunning in action. Here’s another idea we were prepared to forget about forever: Lenovo’s rollable laptop. A handful of concept products with rollable screens have hit CES since 2019, and Lenovo has been talking about its rollout laptop idea since 2022. At CES 2025, the company showed off its first market-ready model, the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable. It has a vibrant OLED display that expands from 14 inches to 16.7 inches at the press of a button, and we found it to be shockingly elegant in person. The ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable should go on sale this spring, expected to start at $3,500. It should be noted that this list isn’t limited to things that fit inside your home — some products hitting the market after previous CES appearances are actual houses themselves. Pebble brought its Flow all-electric RV trailer to CES 2024 and even opened up pre-orders that year, but at CES 2025, the company shared its final design and officially kicked off production. The Pebble Flow should ship out this spring, starting at $109,500 and topping out at $175,000. Amy Skorheim / Engadget AC Future brought concepts of its transformable RV home to CES 2024, and at the 2025 show, the company unveiled its finished product. AC Future’s Ai-TH line comes in three models: a deliverable pod , a pullable trailer and a drivable EV RV . The RV expands into a 400 square foot apartment with one bedroom, one bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen with a full-sized refrigerator, two-burner induction stovetop and microwave. There’s even a washer and dryer in the bathroom. Production on the Ai-TH range will begin as soon as the AC Future gets home from CES 2025, and pre-orders are live now, priced at $98,000 for the pod, $138,000 for the trailer and $298,000 for the EV RV. It’s always nice to see innovative concepts like these become real products. The glut of actual release announcements out of CES 2025 is a relief, and it feels like a positive sign for the current consumer-tech production cycle.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/ces-2025-was-more-shoppable-than-conceptual-160010350.html?src=rss

10.01.2025 22:20 It's CES week at Engadget, and our team has been on the ground in Las Vegas checking out tons of new devices, from the good to the weird to the ones that make you look like a sleep paralysis demon. Only a few gadgets from the show are actually available to buy, however, and even less are discounted. If you're looking for a good sale right now, we're back with another edition of our weekly deal roundup. This week's highlights include a four-pack of AirTags for nearly $30 less than Apple's standard selling price, deep discounts on our favorite microSD card and portable SSD, extended free trials for Audible Premium Plus and Apple TV+, and more. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today. Apple AirTag for $70 at Amazon : A new model may arrive later this year, but we still consider Apple's current AirTag to be the best Bluetooth tracker for iPhone owners. While this discount on a four-pack isn't quite an all-time low, it beats the bundle's typical street price over the last few months by a few bucks. Also at Best Buy. Samsung Pro Plus microSD card + USB reader for $20 at Amazon : The Pro Plus is the top recommendation in our guide to the best microSD cards. This 256GB model has gone for a few bucks less in the past, but this deal ties the lowest price we've tracked for the bundle with a USB reader, which helps the card achieve its fastest possible speeds on compatible devices. Also at Samsung. Crucial X9 Pro portable SSD for $70 at Amazon : The X9 Pro heads up our guide to the best portable SSDs: It's rugged, super compact and consistently quick for common tasks. This is the largest discount we've seen for the 1TB model since late 2023. Also at Crucial and B&H. The 2TB model is a bit cheaper than usual at $120 as well. The Crucial X9 Pro.Photo by Jeff Dunn / Engadget Apple Watch Series 10 for $329 at Amazon : The latest Apple Watch remains our pick for the best smartwatch. It's a bit slimmer and lighter than past models, with mildly improved battery life, a rich wide-angle OLED display and the usual range of fitness-tracking features . This deal on the 42mm GPS model has been live for a few weeks, but it still ties an all-time low. Also on Best Buy. The 46mm version is similarly discounted at $359. 8BitDo Ultimate Wired Controller for $27 at Amazon : This is a wired version of 8BitDo's Ultimate Bluetooth Controller, we've previously praised for its durable Hall effect joysticks, comfy shape and useful software. This variant is made for Xbox and PC; the discount is within $2 of its all-time low. Both the black and white versions are on sale. Audible Premium Plus for $3 at Amazon : Up until January 21, new and returning users can get three months of Audible Premium Plus for $3 total. Normally, the audiobook service costs $15 per month after a 30-day free trial. Premium Plus, as a refresher, is Audible's highest tier: Beyond granting access to the full Audible Plus library, it lets you keep one title from a curated selection of audiobooks each month. Just note that your subscription will auto-renew by default if you decide to take the plunge. The Apple Watch Series 10.Cherlynn Low for Engadget Corsair MP600 Mini M.2 2230 SSD for $80 at Amazon : The MP600 Mini is a small-size SSD you can pop into gaming handhelds like the Steam Deck or devices like Microsoft's Surface notebooks. It's not hugely far off for the M.2 2230 drive we recommend in our SSD buying guide, but more importantly it's $20 cheaper as of this writing. This deal ties the 1TB model's best price since March. Also at Corsair. Beats Pill for $100 at Amazon : The latest Beats Pill is a pick in our guide to the best Bluetooth speakers. As we note in our review, its audio performance can struggle at high volumes, but in general it pumps out strong bass without sounding imbalanced. It's also water-resistant, with a 24-hour battery life rating and wired audio support via USB-C. This discount has been live for several weeks, but it ties the device's lowest price to date. Also at Target, Best Buy and others. 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard for $70 at Best Buy : While this NES-themed keyboard isn't a formal pick in any of our buying guides, it's still a nice value for those looking to give their desk a more vintage look. It's comfy for typing and hot-swappable, though the default switches are fairly loud. This discount is $10 more than the lowest price we've seen, but it's $20 off the device's typical street price in recent months. The keyboard also comes with a fun joystick and a pair of "Super Buttons" that you can use for custom macros. The 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard.Will Lipman Photography for Engadget Anker Charger for $80 at Amazon : Announced this week at CES, Anker's latest wall charger includes three USB-C ports, one USB-A port, a foldable plug and a built-in display that can show the device's power output and temperature at a glance. Those ports are located on the bottom, which might be awkward but should help keep the device more stable in an outlet. Anker says it can supply up to 140W of power, which is enough to quickly refill larger laptops, though you'll have to avoid using multiple ports simultaneously to reach that maximum speed. Full disclosure: We haven't tested this one for ourselves, but we've recommended several Anker charging devices in the past, and this early discount takes $10 off the new model's MSRP. Just clip the on-page coupon to see the discount. Also at Anker. Apple TV+ for free at Best Buy : Apple's streaming service is far from essential, but it does include plenty of exclusive shows worth checking out, from Severance and Slow Horses to Ted Lasso and Bad Sisters. If you've never subscribed but have been meaning to take a look, this extended free trial deal from Best Buy seems like a good opportunity. The service normally costs $10 per month after a seven-day trial. Again, remember that the subscription will auto-renew at full price unless you cancel. Samsung The Frame 55-inch QLED TV for $868 at Woot : Outside of an eBay coupon deal on Black Friday, this is the best price we've seen for the 55-inch version of Samsung's stylish TV. It's worth noting that the company unveiled a new "Frame Pro" model at CES this week: That one promises improved contrast and brightness, plus support for Samsung's wireless breakout box, though it'll almost certainly cost more whenever it's launched. If you aren't as demanding about picture quality but still want a TV that looks like a framed piece of art, there's value to be had here. You're still paying for the design first and foremost, but this is also one of the few TVs with a matte finish, which helps it ward off glare in a bright room. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/an-apple-airtags-four-pack-is-down-to-70-plus-the-rest-of-the-weeks-best-tech-deals-163020795.html?src=rss

10.01.2025 22:20 It's always gratifying when something promised at CES actually comes to market. That's the case with the Pebble Flow electric trailer that my colleague Sam Rutherford checked out last year's CES. I was able to see the final draft on the show floor this week and was adequately impressed. Like the other sustainable, electrified tiny homes we saw this year, it was shiny and luxe and decked out in wood tones, glass, metal and white polymers. The main features that drew us to the Flow last year remain intact: sleeping for four, a 45 kWh battery and a 1.1 kW solar panel, full kitchen and bath, a queen-size Murphy bed that transforms into a shared working space and a convertible dinette at the other end. The kitchen faucet even spins 180-degrees and out the window to let you do some washing up outside. The option for the Magic Pack add-on is still here. For an upcharge, it allows the Flow to self-park, automatically hitch itself and provide it's own propulsion from dual motors so it's not such a drag on the vehicle that's towing it. One of the coolest features is still the glass separating the bathroom from the rest of the cabin. At the push of a button it goes from clear to opaque so you can have some privacy without having to kick your entire family out of the trailer. Amy Skorheim for Engadget As for what's new, those changes were partly sourced from prospective customers. One directive was "more windows," so a skylight was added, along with a larger window at the back. The cupboards are now easier to access by flipping up instead of down. And the overall shape was refined to be more aerodynamic. Walking around in the Flow, everything felt soothing and clean. The bed was so plush I wanted to melt into it. The seating area was inviting and spacious. It was tough to leave this homey pod . I don't have a vehicle that can pull a trailer, but I would love to park one of these in my backyard. Even if I never took it on the road, I'd happily hang out in its well-appointed comfort and even give it up to guests when they visited. Production on the Flow will begin early this year and shipping is scheduled for spring. The option without the motor assist and self-parking features will go for $109,500. If you want the Magic Pack package, that brings your price to $135,500. There's also a "Founders Edition" with a limited-edition color scheme and a few more upgrades going for $175,000. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/cess-pebble-flow-ev-trailer-gets-some-tweaks-ahead-of-its-spring-shipping-date-161502791.html?src=rss

10.01.2025 22:20 There was no question that NVIDIA's RTX 5000 GPUs would be one of the biggest stories at CES 2025, and I figured Intel and AMD to arrive with some new hardware of their own. But I didn't expect that each of these companies would, in their own way, be putting the pedal to the metal when it comes to power for their chip designs. After all, we've spent the last few years covering AI PC CPUs that was targeting efficiency more than raw performance. While NVIDIA RTX 5000 GPUs seem to deliver the performance leap we expected over its 2022-era cards, AMD is also redefining what's possible for mobile workstations with its Ryzen AI Max chips, which combine powerful graphics with gobs of integrated memory. Intel isn't sitting still either — it's finally moving Arrow Lake into the high-performance and gaming arena with its Core Ultra 200HX chips, which can reach up to 24 cores and 5.5GHz speeds. I'm not just talking about power in the sheer performance sense, either. NVIDIA's $1,999 RTX 5090 requires a 1,000-watt power supply to function and uses up to 575 watts. The Ryzen AI Max chips, meanwhile, could eat up as much as 120-watts. Intel's Core Ultra 200HX chips go as high as 120-watts. Clearly, none of this hardware is meant for anyone concerned about their energy bills or potential laptop battery life. RTX 5090RTX 5080RTX 5070 TiRTX 5070RTX 4090ArchitectureBlackwellBlackwellBlackwellBlackwellLovelaceCUDA cores21,76010,7528,9606,14416,384AI TOPS3,3521,8011,4069881,321Tensor cores5th Gen5th Gen5th Gen5th Gen4th GenRT cores4th Gen4th Gen4th Gen4th Gen3rd GenVRAM32 GB GDDR716 GB GDDR716 GB GDDR712 GB GDDR724 GB GDDR6XMemory bandwidth1,792 GB/sec960 GB/sec896 GB/sec672 GB/sec1,008 GB/secTGP575W360W300W250W450W So what do you get for all of this energy consumption? AMD says the RTX 5090 will deliver roughly twice the performance of its previous flagship, the $1,499 RTX 4090. In a 4K Cyberpunk 2077 demo with full ray tracing, the 4090 hovered around 108 fps while the 5090 was reaching 240 fps. That frame count is a bit controversial, though, since the RTX 5090's DLSS 4 AI upscaling generates three frames for every natively rendered frame. The end result may look smoother to most people, but some gamers might question the integrity of so-called false frames. It's those same AI-generated frames that allow NVIDIA to proclaim that the $549 RTX 5070 could be as powerful as the 4090. That may be true when it comes to pure frames-per-second count, but it certainly won't be for rasterized performance without DLSS 4. AMD's Ryzen AI Max chips aren't aiming for the same sort of graphical heights as NVIDIA's new GPUs, but they're still notable for the sheer amount of hardware they contain. The top-of-the-line Ryzen AI Max+ 395 sports 16 CPU Zen 5 cores, 50 TOPS of AI performance and 40 RDNA 3.5 GPU compute units. According to AMD, it should be on-part with Apple's 14-core M4 Pro chip , and it's 2.6 times faster in 3D rendering than Intel's Core Ultra 9 288V. AMD In an interview with AMD CVP and product CTO Joe Macri, he told Engadget that the success of Apple Silicon as a major reason why the Ryzen AI Max exists. "What Apple showed was consumers don't care what's inside the box," he said. Macri later noted, "I always knew, because we were building APUs, and I'd been pushing for this big APU forever, that I could build, a system that was smaller, faster, and I could give much higher performance at the same power." AMD also briefly previewed its RDNA 4 graphics at CES, though at this point it's clearly aiming for the mid-range and not NVIDIA's RTX 5090. Notably, AMD will debut a new AI powered upscaling technology in RDNA 4 GPUs, FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 . That should finally give AMD a way to directly compete against NVIDA's DLSS, which for years has looked better than earlier versions of FSR. The first RDNA 4 cards, the Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT, will arrive sometime in the first quarter. Intel's presence at CES 2024 was more muted than the competition, but loyalists will likely appreciate the new Core Ultra 200HX chips. While they scale back NPU performance from its recent AI PC hardware , the Core Ultra 9 285HX looks like a 24-core beast. It'll be interesting to see how it competes AMD's Ryzen AI 300 hardware, though it likely won't stand a chance against the Ryzen AI Max when paired up with a discrete GPU. Intel This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/nvidia-amd-and-intel-aimed-for-maximum-power-at-ces-2025-150038070.html?src=rss

10.01.2025 22:20 At CES 2017, Faraday Future introduced its futuristic luxury EV, the FF 91. Seven years later, following repeated delays, bankruptcy, lawsuits and other controversies, the company has sold “15 or 16” FF 91s. Now the company is detailing its latest strategy shift, with a plan to sell cheap EVs under its new low-cost “FX” brand. FX CEO Max Ma came to CES, along with two prototype vehicles, to pitch the plan that he described as a “fresh start” for the embattled company. As you might expect with Faraday, the exact details are somewhat hazy, but it involves sourcing parts from Chinese car-makers and bringing them to the US to produce “mass volume mainstream vehicles” with some of the premium touches Faraday is known for. “We want to take that $300,000-car expertise from a technology and features and performance into a $30,000, $40,000 car to try to upgrade the overall user experience,” Ma said during a briefing with Engadget. The first FX vehicle, the flagship product of the brand’s lineup, will be a minivan called the "Super One." Faraday showed off two prototype minivans to demonstrate the concept. We were not permitted to take photos but the vehicles in the photo at the top of this post are the ones I saw. One was meant to show the kind of premium in-cabin experience Faraday is envisioning for the low-cost car. It had two rows of white leather captain seats. The second-row seats had reclining footrests, heated seats and built-in massagers. There was also a small fridge underneath the center console for keeping drinks cold. The vehicle was missing its door handles and several other pieces. “Obviously, we’ll have door handles,” a Faraday rep assured us. The second minivan was even less finished. The entire interior, including the dashboard and instrument cluster, was covered in black fabric held together with binder clips. But a Faraday rep took me and other reporters for a ride in it, driving in small, slow circles around a Las Vegas parking lot. Later, Faraday offered to let me take the minivan for a spin and I — apparently the “first lady” to pilot the vehicle — also drove it in slow circles around the parking lot. I’m not sure what I was supposed to get out of it, though, it felt like driving a minivan. There are two other vehicles planned for the initial FX lineup, the FX 5 and FX 6, which were previously announced by the company. Faraday is aiming for a $20,000 - $30,000 price for the FX 5 and $30,000 - $50,000 for the FX 6. There aren't many other details yet about either, though Faraday shared a teaser image of an FX 6 prototype, which it described as an "extra-large luxury AIEV." Faraday Future Faraday claims it will start producing one of its planned vehicles later this year, with the first "pre-production" model rolling off the production line by the end of 2025, according to a timeline shared by Ma. That’s a lofty promise considering the company’s past history of mismanagement and delays. Faraday Future CEO Matthias Aydt also acknowledged that the company has yet to finalize its partnerships with the companies that will supply its parts. He also didn’t address how tariffs may affect those plans. Ma said he understood the skepticism. “Basically, this is a kind of fresh start. We really want to demonstrate that through our dedication of hard work, we can achieve what we promised.”This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/faraday-future-pitches-a-fresh-start-with-a-minivan-ev-prototype-at-ces-2025-010050422.html?src=rss

10.01.2025 16:51 Google has teamed up with the Linux Foundation to establish a new initiative called the "Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers." At the moment, most of the money that keeps Chromium, the open-source web browser project that produced the codebase powering Chrome, comes from Google. The company says it has no intention of reducing its contribution going forward, but it also continues to "welcome others stepping up to invest more." Under the Linux Foundation's management, the new initiative aims to fund the open development of Chromium projects and ensure proper support for contributions that could lead to technological advancements. It's also meant to provide a "neutral space" where developers, members of the academia and big industry players can work together. Aside from Google, Microsoft, Meta and Opera have also pledged their support for the initiative. Google said it established the new program after hearing from "many companies and developers about how critical the Chromium project is to their work" and how they would like to give it more than direct engineering support over the years. Chrome is just one of the browsers built on Chromium — Microsoft's Edge and Opera are also based on the project's codebase, so their involvement in the initiative doesn't really come as a surprise. It's worth noting that the Department of Justice called for the breakup of Google last year, including a sale of the Chrome web browser. Google said in its announcement that it intends to continue supporting the Chromium project, but only time will tell if selling off Chrome will affect its contributions. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/a-new-initiative-will-fund-and-support-open-source-chromium-projects-143028118.html?src=rss

10.01.2025 16:51 Meta knowingly used pirated materials to train its Llama AI models — with the blessing of company chief Mark Zuckerberg — according to an ongoing copyright lawsuit against the company. As TechCrunch reports, the plaintiffs of the Kadrey v. Meta case submitted court documents talking about the company's use of of the LibGen dataset for AI training. LibGen is generally described as a "shadow library" that provides file-sharing access to academic and general-interest books, journals, images and other materials. The counsel for the plaintiffs, which include writers Sarah Silverman and Ta-Nehisi Coates, accused Zuckerberg of approving the use of LibGen for training despite concerns raised by company executives and employees who described it as a "dataset know to be pirated." The company removed copyright information from LibGen materials, the complaint also said, before feeding them to Llama. Meta apparently admitted in a document submitted to court that it "remov all the copyright paragraphs from beginning and the end" of scientific journal articles. One of its engineers even reportedly made a script to automatically delete copyright information. The counsel argued that Meta did so to conceal its copyright infringement activities from the public. In addition, the counsel mentioned that Meta admitted to torrenting LibGen materials, even though its engineers felt uneasy about sharing them "from a corporate laptop." Silverman, alongside other writers, sued Meta and OpenAI for copyright infringement in 2023. They accused the companies of using pirated materials from shadow libraries to train their AI models. The court previously dismissed some of their claims, but the plaintiffs said their amended complaint supports their allegations and addresses the court's earlier reasons for dismissal. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/lawsuit-says-mark-zuckerberg-approved-metas-use-of-pirated-materials-to-train-llama-ai-141548827.html?src=rss

10.01.2025 16:51 Small-scale, hyper-efficient living has always appealed to me, so I was overjoyed to step into numerous examples of sustainable tiny homes this week at CES 2025. There were EV RVs, trailers geared for camping and deliverable, turn-key, self-sustaining living pods. I want one of each to create a little eco village somewhere, preferably within walking distance to a bakery, coffee shop and Thai food. While none of these are cheap, some actually fall under what I would expect, compared to the market at large. And the suite of features employed represent some of the best sustainability capabilities available at the moment — solar power, gray water recycling, atmospheric water generation and boss-level insulation. Plus they're all very pretty. The camping/recreational bent of these models is great — but the fact that most wouldn't require a permit could help address a small corner of the housing crisis, especially as more cities loosen restrictions on additional dwelling units . One of these could easily set up in a backyard or driveway as a studio apartment for a college student, aging parent and happily single folk. I've got some planning to do. After CES. And a long nap. Haus.me microhaus Pro Amy Skorheim / Engadget I'll get this out of the way: the Haus.me Microhaus Pro was my favorite of the bunch. It's a deliverable, ready-to-use, 120 square-foot pod that's capable of setting up on any flat surface — grass, concrete, sand, dirt, atop cinderblocks, you name it. If it's flat, it fits. It can suck water out of the air . It plugs into a standard extension cord, so the power can come from the grid, a solar setup or something else entirely and the integrated battery will run everything for four days without being hooked up to power. Inside, it's posh and lovely with every space maximized. A queen-sized Murphy bed flips up to reveal a table and two bench seats. It has a small fridge, microwave and sink in the kitchen, a full-sized shower in the bathroom, and a TV in the living space. The Pro model is fully appointed, complete with Siri Homepod voice control, fancy dishware, linens and includes the aforementioned battery. That model is geared towards Airbnbs and rentals and goes for just under $90,000. The Lite knocks thirty grand off the price as it foregoes the battery, dishes and a few other features and is intended for personal use. All models of the microhaus are available to order now. AC Future Ai-THd The most tony unit I saw was from AC Future. The AC Future Ai-THd is a full-sized EV RV on display at the Las Vegas convention center. This is one of three models the company will make. There's also the Ai-THt, a trailer version and the Ai-THu which, like the microhaus, is a deliverable unit. That last one is the cheapest of the three models and the one that intrigued me the most. All three are based on the same transformable design that expands three ways from 120 square feet to a 400 square-foot one bedroom apartment. Each model will be customized to order and the available tech is impressive. Solar panels will generate 25 kWh of power daily and it also comes with atmospheric water generation to the tune of up to 15 gallons per day. There's a full-sized fridge, a washer/dryer, dishwasher, stand-up shower and, because 2025, a whole-home AI assistant called Futura to manage things on your behalf. Pre-orders opened up at CES and AC Future plans to start production as soon as the madness of CES is behind them. RollAway I only got to peek inside the RollAway, but my colleague Jessica Conditt got to fully tour the rentable EV RV. It combines high-end hotel luxuries, from plush linens to Malin+Goetz toiletries. There's a convertible queen-sized bed, dual-burner stovetop, shower, panoramic roof and an included projector. The RV itself has a range of more than 270 miles and a fast-charging option. Sustainability tech includes rooftop solar panels, a waterless toilet, and low-waste water systems. That should allow for some off-grid trips but the RollAway is also compatible with standard RV site hookups. To complete the hotel-like vibes, a 24/7 concierge is on hand to help plan your trip, give you directions, make side quest suggestions and keep your space equipped on the road. RollAway just started booking trips and is nearly fully reserved for 2025. Reservations go for around $400 a night and for now is just available around San Francisco Bay, but more cities are coming soon. Pebble Flow My colleague Sam Rutherford saw the prototype Pebble Flow EV trailer at last year's CES . I checked out the production model the company brought to the show this year. The differences are slight but meaningful. Basically, Pebble asked prospective customers to tour the prototype and tell them what they should change. One directive was "more windows" so a skylight was added, along with a larger window at the back. The cupboards are now easier to access. And the overall shape is now more aerodynamic, which should make pulling the trailer easier even easier. Being easy to pull was already one of the Flow's selling points. The 24-foot trailer can be outfit with a dual-motor drivetrain that helps propel itself to reduce drag on the towing vehicle. That upgrade also includes a remote control option that lets you park and hitch the trailer via the app. Again, there's a Murphy queen bed that becomes a workspace and the dinette table folds down to accomodate two more sleepers. There's a full kitchen, a shower/bath stall with glass doors that change from opaque to clear with a button push. There's a 45 kWh battery and 1.1 kW solar array. It starts at $109,500 and bumps up to $135,500 with the motor upgrade. The first deliveries should be available in spring of this year. Lightship AE.1 Cosmos Fun fact: Lightship is the only not-exclusively California company on this list. The California and Colorado-based company makes the AE.1 Cosmos, another solar-powered all-electric trailer that also with a motor-assist feature. In addition to the motor, the Cosmos also collapses down by four feet when it's in "road mode" to reduce drag. Inside there's a full kitchen with dishwasher, refrigerator, microwave, convection oven and induction cooktop. Two sleeping areas accommodate up to four and both convert to living areas . Everything is powered by a 1.8 kWh solar array and battery banks. Lightship had the Cosmos set up in the lot just outside the convention center. The space was decked out with a pebble gravel floor complete with scrubby desert plants and a starry night backdrop that blocked out the convention center itself. If I squinted, I could pretend I was out in the desert somewhere, with everything I needed just over there. It was a bit of a downer to leave it and return to the chaos that is CES. But now the sad bit: Only 50 will be produced. Each one will be manufactured in the company's Broomfield, Colorado facility and will sell for $250,000 each, with units shipping this summer. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/the-sustainable-tiny-home-trend-at-ces-2025-revived-my-dream-of-building-a-compound-140057385.html?src=rss

10.01.2025 16:51 CES 2025 is almost over, but if you're wondering if some of the products showcased there are available, you're in luck. Many of them are up for pre-order, if not already on store shelves. CES is known for setting the stage for the forthcoming year in tech, with lots of prototypes on display and always a few pieces of vaporware that never materialize. But this year, there are wireless headphones, smart glasses and even a baby bouncer and bassinet combo that you can pick up right now if you're keen on becoming an early adopter. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/18-ces-gadgets-you-can-actually-buy-right-now-170544225.html?src=rss

10.01.2025 16:51 X is further aiming to clamp down on impersonation by rolling out a label for parody accounts to help make them distinct from the real deal. Users will now start seeing the label on posts as well as profile pages. The company says that the goal of the label is to improve transparency, but there's a fatal flaw in how X is going about that. As it stands, the label is not yet mandatory. And as TechCrunch notes, operators of parody accounts have to apply it manually . "We’re rolling out profile labels for parody accounts to clearly distinguish these types of accounts and their content on our platform. We designed these labels to increase transparency and to ensure that users are not deceived into thinking such accounts belong to the entity being parodied," X wrote in an announcement. "Parody labels will be applied to both posts and accounts on X to clearly demonstrate the source of the content you’re seeing. We’ll share details soon on when the label will become mandatory for parody accounts." We’re rolling out profile labels for parody accounts to clearly distinguish these types of accounts and their content on our platform. We designed these labels to increase transparency and to ensure that users are not deceived into thinking such accounts belong to the entity…— Safety January 10, 2025 The company added that parody accounts still have to adhere to the platform's rules, including those related to authenticity. "Parody, Fan, and Commentary labels are selected by people on X to indicate that the account depicts another person, group, or organization in their profile to discuss, satirize, or share information about that entity," the label's description reads. "This label distinguishes these accounts to ensure they do not cause confusion for others or incorrectly imply any affiliation." Since X isn't applying the label to accounts itself and the fact it isn't mandatory yet, it's unlikely to meaningfully target the problem of impersonation. Scammers who impersonate, say, X owner Elon Musk in an attempt to squeeze some bitcoin out of other users won't exactly be inclined to put the label on their accounts. And those who simply don't care about having their account banned by imitating a legitimate news outlet, brand or celebrity to spread misinformation are unlikely to either. It's almost as if the entire concept of authenticity on X has been a mess ever since the company allowed anyone to buy a blue checkmark for their profile.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/xs-new-parody-labels-wont-fix-its-impersonation-problem-134514427.html?src=rss

10.01.2025 16:51 Tesla has quietly unveiled its facelifted Model Y with new styling that will help it keep up with rivals like Kia and Volvo. Though currently only available in the Asia Pacific region, the refreshed "Juniper" model is likely to appear stateside in the coming months. That was the case with the revised Model 3, which first appeared in Asia in September 2023 and went on sale in the US in January the following year. The new Model Y retains the gawky proportions of its predecessor, but looks sleeker thanks to smoothed out front and rear ends. The smaller headlights bookend a slim lightbar across the front, with a similar treatment for the taillights. In the case of the lights, the new design language is more aligned with the Cybertruck than the Model 3. Tesla Many interior treatments on the Model Y are similar to the Model 3, with one notable exception. Like the Model 3, it has new ventilated seats, a rear-seat display and a light strip that wraps around much of the vehicle. However, the new steering wheel lacks the turn signal buttons found on the Model 3 — instead, the Juniper Model Y uses a stalk like its predecessor. Tesla may have done that to keep it competitive with rivals, particularly in China where it's up against juggernaut rival BYD. Tesla is offering rear-wheel drive and long-range all-wheel drive versions in Australia, but no performance option for now. It's promising up to 342 miles of range by the WLTP cycle on the long-range model, or around 307 miles by US EPA standards. However, US models could have different battery specs and thus different range numbers. Tesla The new model arrives in good time for Tesla. In 2024, the company saw its first drop in vehicle deliveries since 2012, even though it improved in its key market, China. The redesigned Model Y will start shipping there in March 2025 and is likely to arrive elsewhere in several months, though the company has yet to nail down a date for US deliveries. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/tesla-finally-launches-the-refreshed-2025-model-y-in-the-asia-pacific-region-133010038.html?src=rss

10.01.2025 16:51 Before CES 2025 kicked off in Las Vegas, Samsung announced that its spatial audio collaboration with Google would be available on its 2025 TVs and soundbars. Finer details on the platform were noticeably absent from that announcement, with the company only noting that the 3D Eclipsa Audio would be available this year for YouTube content creators. There was also the general explanation that the platform would enable creators "to adjust audio data such as the location and intensity of sounds, along with spatial reflections, to create an immersive three-dimensional sound experience," according to the press release. If that sounds like Dolby Atmos to you, that's what I assume Samsung and Google are trying to replicate here. And if that's the case, if Samsung really wants its own immersive audio standard, there's a backstory worth revisiting here. In 2023, Samsung and Google first revealed their spatial audio ambitions. At the time, Samsung said its research division had been working on 3D audio since 2020 and the first fruits of the collaboration was the open-source Immersive Audio Model and Formats adopted by the Alliance for Open Media in October 2023. There's also the fact that Samsung doesn't offer Dolby Vision on its TVs. Instead, the company uses HDR10+, an open-source and royalty-free platform for encoding HDR metadata. And in that 2023 audio announcement, Samsung Research's WooHyun Nam explained that 3D sound technology needed to be open to everyone too. “Providing a complete open-source framework for 3D audio, from creation to delivery and playback, will allow for even more diverse audio content experiences in the future," he said. Samsung currently supports Dolby Atmos on its soundbars, including its flagship Q990 series and the newly announced QS700F. It sounds like the company no longer wants to pay to license Atmos from Dolby. And in order to still offer immersive 3D audio on its products, this collaboration with Google aims to build the alternative. It's worth noting that AOM counts Amazon, Apple and Netflix among its members, in addition to Google, Samsung and others. The group's AV1 video format was introduced in 2018 and is now used across Netflix, YouTube, Twitch and other sites. Samsung's Q990F soundbarBilly Steele for Engadget The bizarre thing about all of this is that no one from Samsung wants to talk about Eclipsa Audio. I attended multiple events and product demos that the company hosted this week and the response when I asked about it was either "we haven't been told anything" or "let me see if I can find someone who can talk about it." The latter, of course, never manifested a "someone" or a follow-up. I even asked for a rep to tell me if the company wasn't ready to discuss details and never heard back on that either. The most detailed explanation I've seen this week came from Arm, which is apparently also working on the development of Eclipsa Audio alongside Samsung and Google. The chip designer said that Eclipsa is a multi-channel audio surround sound format that's built on IMAF. Vertical and horizontal channels will create the immersive sound, with the goal of making movies, music and television shows more compelling in your living room. Again, that's exactly what Dolby Atmos already does. Arm further explained that Eclipsa Audio can automatically adjust sound based on the scene and that there will be a degree of customization for users. The bitstream can contain up to 28 input channels that can be fixed or dynamic , with support for LPCM, AAC, FLAC and Opus codecs. Binaural rendering is also available for earbuds and headphones, and the new tech will be available to content creators using consumer devices in their workflow. So far, Samsung and Google have only listed YouTube as the platform or service where Eclipsa Audio content will be available. If the duo truly wants to compete with Dolby Atmos, that list needs to expand quickly. Plus, Dolby already has the brand recognition and wide adoption in both the audio and home theater categories for Atmos. It's even available in cars. Samsung said in its pre-CES announcement that it and Google would work with the Telecommunications Technology Association to develop a certification program for devices that support Eclipsa Audio. So, it seems like serious groundwork has been laid to get this technology on devices, starting with Samsung's own 2025 TVs and soundbars. But, as we saw with Sony 360 Reality Audio and the early days of Dolby Atmos Music, it can take time to build out a compelling library of content. That means Samsung will likely have to keep reminding us that Eclipsa Audio is a thing, even when it doesn't have much more to say. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/samsung-isnt-talking-about-eclipsa-audio-at-ces-2025-130041782.html?src=rss