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05.01.2025 23:40 LG has unveiled its OLED evo TV lineup for 2025 and is showing them off at CES this year, along with its other home entertainment products. The new models are powered by the company's latest α 11 AI processor Gen2, with deep learning algorithms that give the TVs the ability to sharpen the visuals of low-resolution and low-quality images. LG says the new TVs are also the industry's first with 4K resolution and a refresh rate of 165Hz, as certified by NVIDIA G-SYNC and AMD FreeSync Premium. That enables the models to delivery stutter-free gameplay with minimal input lag. The company has upgraded its Brightness Booster Ultimate technology for the new OLED TVs, which means they can achieve brightness three times higher than conventional OLED models. For dark scenes, LG promises "top-notch black levels," as these models have received UL Solutions' "Perfect Black" and "Perfect Color" verification. LG was notably the first in the industry to obtain the Perfect Black verification back in 2022, ensuring viewers that their TVs can achieve true black when the image on screen calls for it. Photo by Billy Steele / Engadget LG's rapid brightness and color temperature stabilization feature allows viewers to enjoy the best of what their TV can offer as soon as they turn it on. And if they choose to watch a film, the models' Filmmaker Mode with Ambient Light Compensation feature will kick in to automatically adjust the picture's settings based on the environment's lighting conditions in order to stay true to how the filmmaker wants viewers to experience their movie. When it comes to audio, the TVs come with AI Sound Pro that can deliver 11.1.2 channels of surround sound. Meanwhile, the models' AI Remote can recognize individual voices for tailored recommendations. Viewers can also use AI Search powered by Microsoft Copilot to understand conversational queries and "uncover subtle user intentions." One of LG's new OLED TVs is the latest M5 series, which serves as the successor to its previous M-series models that can wirelessly transmit video and audio. The latest M5 TVs are capable of wireless audio and video transmission at up to 144Hz without loss in picture and quality. While they have a slightly lower refresh rate than the other models in the lineup, the wireless M-series TVs also promise a "tear-free, stutter-free gaming experience." LG has been showing off this technology for a few years now, but they're bringing it to more and more TV in their lineup lately. Back in December, LG announced its new, more affordable QNED TVs would work with the Zero Connect Box, for example. Previously, it was available on the OLED M series but only at sizes of 77 inches and up.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/lgs-oled-evo-tvs-for-2025-come-with-ai-and-a-165hz-refresh-rate-200037568.html?src=rss

05.01.2025 23:40 LG is carrying over much of its 2024 soundbar lineup to 2025, but the company has one all-new model that it plans to debut this year. At CES, I got a preview of the compact speaker, the S20A, that will provide a boost to your TV audio without taking up too much space. The 2.0-channel unit offers 50 watts of power and works best with LG's TVs. When paired with one of the company's televisions, you can expect its Wow Interface that allows you to make sound adjustments through the TV UI. There's also AI Sound Pro tech that calibrates the audio based on each scene. LG will offer a three-band EQ on the S20A, so you can tweak treble, mids and bass to fit your preferences. Billy Steele for Engadget During a quick demo of the S20A, I was impressed with the punchy highs and clarity from the smaller unit. LG says it won't come with a subwoofer as the company uses the soundbar's drivers for that low-end tone. Of course, this setup doesn't provide the booming bass that a standalone wireless sub would, but the company doesn't see that as an issue here. We'll look forward to testing that theory later in the year when the S20A is available for review. There's no word on pricing or availability just yet as LG is only teasing this new soundbar here at CES. That info, as well as more detailed specs, should arrive closer to launch. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/lg-previews-the-compact-s20a-soundbar-at-ces-2025-191337487.html?src=rss

05.01.2025 23:40 If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to upgrade your Kindle Scribe, now wouldn’t be a bad time — Amazon is running its first sale on the new model, which has only been out for a month. Normally $450, the 2024 Kindle Scribe is 19 percent off, bringing the 64GB model down to $365. With the latest generation, Amazon tweaked the appearance of the tablet and added some AI features, along with some new note-taking options. The second-gen Kindle Scribe has white bezels around the screen and either a green or gray border, in contrast to the previous model’s thick black border. The discount applies to both colors and, for the gray version, all storage options . When we tried out the new Kindle Scribe, we liked the new design and found the reading and writing experiences to be smooth. The new Kindle Scribe uses AI to help you clean up and summarize your notes, with the Summarize and Refine tools — and you can apply these to individual pages or the entire Notebook. These features worked out pretty well for us. In her review, Engadget’s Deputy Editor of Reviews Cherlynn Low found the Scribe was able to “make sense of a disorganized plan” she’d written out by properly putting list items in sequential order, and she saw “largely accurate results” when it summarized her notes. “Any mistake the system made felt reasonable, since I have horrible handwriting,” she wrote. There’s also now a better way to write directly on ebooks. With the 2024 Kindle Scribe, Amazon introduced Active Canvas — a little box that will pop up when you put your pen to whatever you’re reading. The box can be resized and won’t disappear when you leave the page. You’ll also soon be able to write in collapsible margins, a feature expected to arrive early this year. One of our biggest gripes about the new Kindle Scribe was the relatively high cost, so if it appeals to you, don’t miss your chance to get it at a discount. 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/the-second-gen-kindle-scribe-is-on-sale-for-the-first-time-184403045.html?src=rss

05.01.2025 18:41 Belkin has a new phone accessory at CES 2025 that somehow brings something fresh to the crowded field of magnetic charging accessories . The company’s Stage PowerGrip is a wireless power bank, camera-like grip and stand rolled into one. It even has a little screen and comes in several fun colors. Belkin pitches the PowerGrip as an accessory for creators and travelers. While modern smartphones are all most people need for photography, holding a candy-bar-shaped handset in landscape mode for long periods doesn’t feel as comfortable or natural as the heartier grip of a dedicated camera. This accessory remedies that with a thick bulge similar to what you’d find on a DSLR or mirrorless camera. Belkin Inside that lump is its 10,000mAh battery, which offers 7.5W magnetic wireless charging. An LED on its backside gives you a quick way to check its battery level. And a retractable USB-C cable is tucked inside the accessory, so you don’t need to remember to throw a separate one in your bag. Belkin says the PowerGrip will be available in powder blue, sandbox, fresh yellow, pepper and lavender . It’s scheduled to ship this May. Unfortunately, Belkin hasn’t yet announced pricing.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/belkins-new-accessory-is-a-magnetic-power-bank-and-camera-grip-rolled-into-one-170057685.html?src=rss

05.01.2025 18:41 Robot vacuums can remove the dust and dirt on your floor, but you still have to pick up stray socks and and any item strewn about your home. Now Roborock, a Chinese company that manufactures robot vacuums and other household cleaning appliances, has unveiled a new model that can pick up small objects so you don't have to. The Roborock Saros Z70 has a foldable robotic arms that the company calls the "OmniGrip." It has five axis and can lift objects under 300 grams like socks, light sandals and small dog toys to put them away. Apparently, the AI-powered vacuum marks objects it can lift while going about cleaning the floor and then circles back to pick them up when it's done. It then cleans the areas underneath the objects during its second pass. The OmniGrip uses its equipped precision sensors, camera and LED light to determine its position and whether an item is too heavy to pick up. Before you can use it, you will have to activate the arm through the Roborock app, where you can also set what kind of objects it can interact with and where they should be placed. While not quite Rosey the Robot, Saros Z70 has the potential to make tidying up a lot easier. And it's not just a prototype — Roborock is planning to make it available for purchase this year. In addition to Saros 270, Roborock has also launched two more robot vacuums, a lineup of handheld wetdry vacuum cleaners, as well as three all-in-one washer-dryers. It will be showcasing its home cleaning products at CES this year. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/roborocks-new-flagship-robot-vacuum-has-an-arm-that-can-grab-small-objects-170020390.html?src=rss

05.01.2025 18:41 Belkin just unveiled a unique bundle at CES 2025 that’s being described as a “comprehensive toolset designed to meet the needs of budding creators.” The appropriately-named Creator Bundle comes with a bunch of useful accessories and “offers everything needed for hands-free recording.” So what comes in the bundle? It ships with a pair of tiny wireless clip-on microphones with a 100m transmission range. These mics are battery-powered and last up to 5.5 hours per charge. They operate via a handy push-button design, making it easy for folks to mute, record or make adjustments to the sound. The kit ships with a sturdy tripod and a magnetic mount for a smartphone. The tripod reaches 1.7m in height and the mount can be adjusted to suit different shooting angles. The Belkin Creator Bundle also comes with a USB-C cable for charging up those mics. The combo of a tripod, a mount and wireless microphones will indeed allow for hands-free recording. However, the camera won’t track people as they move around the room, so creators will have to stay in the center of the frame. The company does note that the bundle has been designed to integrate with its Auto-Tracking Stand Pro, which does track movement, but that costs an extra $180. Speaking of pricing, Belkin hasn’t announced how much this bundle will cost. That’ll likely come closer to the launch date, which is in May.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/belkins-new-creator-bundle-makes-hands-free-recording-easy-170006787.html?src=rss

05.01.2025 14:10 United Airlines has announced plans to start testing Starlink on flights in February, and eventually add SpaceX's satellite internet service to its entire fleet. The company first announced a partnership with SpaceX to "set a new standard of inflight connectivity" in September 2024. After testing, United expects the first commercial flight with Starlink to be on a United Embraer E-175 in the spring. The rest of the the airline's "two-cabin regional fleet" will have Starlink installed throughout 2025, and United says it will have the "first mainline Starlink-enabled plane in the air" before the end of year. Starlink will available for free to all members of United's MileagePlus program. Besides improving the quality of inflight Wi-Fi, United sees Starlink as an opportunity to "unlock new partnership" for its members. Do not be surprised if United cooks up new deals with streaming services to offer more free content during flights. United is joining both Delta and Hawaiian Airlines in partnering with Starlink for inflight Wi-Fi. SpaceX originally announced its intentions to offer 350 Mbps internet speeds to planes in 2022, and both Delta and Haiwaiian Airlines have either tested Starlink or committed to offering it on their planes. Starlink has expanded in some serious ways in the last year. SpaceX got to test Starlink's direct-to-cell satellite service with T-Mobile during Hurricane Milton's landfall in the US, made plans for a larger beta test of the service for February and launched a nationwide satellite texting service in New Zealand.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/united-will-start-testing-starlink-on-flights-in-february-130047392.html?src=rss

05.01.2025 03:41 Samsung's CES 2025 theme is "AI for all."Samsung Samsung is the 800-pound gorilla of CES, a global electronics giant that produces mobile devices, TVs and home theater products and kitchen appliances — just to name a few. It's traditionally used CES to remind the world that it's a major competitor in all those arenas, while offering a peek behind the curtain of some more cutting-edge tech, too. In 2024, for instance, Samsung's CES press conference covered all the usual iterative updates — new TVs, new projectors, new soundbars — but also offered up some genuinely futuristic product first looks as well. And while we won't see the transparent MicroLED screens at the local Best Buy anytime soon, you can already buy the Music Frame speaker that was first shown off at CES 2024. But it's the Ballie robot, a two-time CES veteran, that we're most hoping will make a return appearance — ideally with a real-world release date this time. What to expect at the Samsung CES 2025 press conference Or perhaps Ballie will be more autonomous this time around. That would better fit the "AI for All: Everyday, Everywhere" theme that the company has announced for its presentation in Las Vegas. The Korea-based giant has already posted several weeks worth of early CES announcements in its online newsroom, touting AI-enhanced refrigerators and appliances with built-in screens. But there's non-AI stuff, too: Samsung has preannounced a 27-inch QD-OLED gaming monitor, and the company is teaming up with Google to deliver Eclipsa, a new 3D audio technology that is apparently aiming to be an alternative to Dolby Atmos and DTS. One thing you shouldn't expect to see in Vegas: The presumed Galaxy S25 smartphone line. If it follows its recent scheduling, Samsung will likely slate that unveiling for the second half of January, when it will have the tech news spotlight to itself. Samsung's CES 2025 livestream You can watch the Samsung CES press conference as it happens here. The feed will start Monday, January 6 at 5:00PM ET. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/samsung-ces-2025-press-conference-watch-it-here-monday-at-5pm-et-005529946.html?src=rss

04.01.2025 18:10 These are the new releases that caught our attention this week: a post-apocalyptic tale, and an exorcism thriller. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/what-to-read-this-weekend-the-friends-you-make-in-the-apocalypse-150002035.html?src=rss

04.01.2025 18:10 Microsoft has published a lengthy piece talking about its vision for artificial intelligence development over the next four years, under the incoming Trump administration. In the piece, the company has revealed that it's spending a total of $80 billion on AI-enabled data centers in 2025. Microsoft said it's building out the data centers to be able to train and deploy AI models, as well as to power its cloud-based applications. While that's the entirety of its budget for projects around the world, more than half of it will go towards building data centers in the United States. The company explained that none of the progress on AI the industry has achieved thus far would be possible "without new partnerships founded on large-scale infrastructure investments." It's now calling for the incoming Trump administration to expand the government's support for the advancement of AI within the US, such as providing the National Science Foundation and US universities more funding for research. Microsoft admitted in the piece that it knows AI will "disrupt the economy and displace some jobs," but it also said its "confidence has grown that AI will create new opportunities that will outweigh many of the challenges ahead." The key, Microsoft explained, is to train Americans so that they'd be able to use AI as a tool for their jobs, similar to how they're currently using smartphones and laptops. Finally, it said that the third critical priority for 2025 is the promotion of American AI exports. There will be a race between the United States and China to spread their technologies to other countries, so the US needs a smart strategy because the race "will be won by the fastest first mover."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/microsoft-is-spending-80-billion-on-data-centers-this-year-130016150.html?src=rss

04.01.2025 03:11 Streams on TikTok Live were used to exploit children, according to a newly unredacted lawsuit filed by Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes. The lawsuit says that TikTok was not only aware that TikTok Lives were exposing minors to concerning messages from adults, but the company also directly profited off of some of the exchanges through TikTok Live's virtual gifting system. Following an investigation by Forbes into TikTok Live, TikTok conducted its own review called "Project Meramec," according to the suit. The company found that "hundreds of thousands of children" were getting around TikTok's age restrictions, hosting livestreams and interacting with adults. Because TikTok pockets a portion of the sale of digital gifts in livestreams, the company was technically making money on "transactional gifting" over "nudity and sexual activity" that happened during streams. And since TikTok's algorithm favors livestreams where virtual gifts are being exchanged, the lawsuit says, some of these sexually exploitative streams were also distributed more widely than they would have been otherwise. The lawsuit details another TikTok investigation, "Project Jupiter," that looked in to whether TikTok Live's gifting feature was being used to launder money. As it turns out, it was. According to the lawsuit, the company found that "criminals were selling drugs and running fraud operations" during livestreams. When reached for a comment on the lawsuit, TikTok shared the following statement: This lawsuit ignores the number of proactive measures that TikTok has voluntarily implemented to support community safety and well-being. Instead, the complaint cherry-picks misleading quotes and outdated documents and presents them out of context, which distorts our commitment to the safety of our community.We stand by our efforts, which include: robust safety protections and screen time limits for teen accounts enabled by default, Family Pairing tools for parents to supervise their teens, strict livestreaming requirements, and aggressive enforcement of our Community Guidelines on an ongoing basis. Utah's AG filed the redacted version of this lawsuit in June 2024, following a different suit from 2023 concerning the addictive design of the TikTok app. The Utah lawsuit isn't the first time the company has come under scrutiny for its handling of child safety. The FTC has investigated TikTok's handling of child privacy, and the ban of the app — now headed to the Supreme Court on appeal — was partially pushed over concerns with how social video app could be used to influence children. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/utah-lawsuit-alleges-tiktok-knew-minors-were-being-exploited-on-livestreams-220851340.html?src=rss

04.01.2025 03:11 Sony Be it for the Walkman portables and Trinitron TVs of old or the PlayStation consoles, Alpha cameras and superlative headphones of the twenty-first century, Sony has long been a mainstay at CES. But for the past couple of years at the world's biggest electronics trade show, Sony has opted to focus on a different field: Automotive. The Afeela electric vehicle dominated Sony's 2023 and 2024 CES press conferences, and we know that trend will continue for 2025, with an appearance at the Sony event already confirmed. What to expect at Sony's CES 2025 press conference The Afeela is the first product from Sony Honda Mobility, a joint venture between the Japanese electronics and transportation giants. After a surprise rollout at CES 2023, the Sony CES presser teed up additional details on the EV's LiDAR-heavy sensor array and AI-enhanced cabin tech at CES 2024. If the car's previously announced scheduling waypoints — preorders in 2025 ahead of 2026 availability — remain intact, we're hoping to hear which of the Afeela's concept car niceties will actually make the cut once it enters the streets of the real world. Of course, it won't be all Afeela all the time in Vegas. Expect Sony to spend time talking up its imaging, gaming or maybe even its movie studio division. And with any luck, we'll get more info on the company's XR headset, which was shown off at the 2024 show, only to never be seen again. CES 2025 would be the perfect place to show off a meaty update of a possible competitor to the Apple Vision Pro. Sony's CES 2025 livestream You can watch the Sony CES press conference as it happens below. The feed will start Monday, January 6 at 8:00PM ET. The separate Afeela press conference will take place on Tuesday, January 7 at 4:30PM PT, and will be streamed on YouTube as well. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/sony-ces-2025-press-conference-watch-it-here-monday-at-8pm-et-212207358.html?src=rss

03.01.2025 22:20 Meta has nuked a bunch of its AI-generated profiles from Facebook Instagram, the company confirmed, after the AI characters prompted widespread outrage and ridicule from users on social media. The AI-generated profiles, which were labeled as “AI managed by Meta,” launched in September of 2023, rolling out alongside the company’s celebrity-branded AI chatbots . Meta doesn’t seem to have updated any of these profiles for several months, and the pages seem to have been largely unnoticed until this week, following an interview published by the Financial Times with Meta’s VP of Generative AI, Connor Hayes. In the interview, Hayes spoke about the company’s goal to eventually fill its services with AI-generated profiles that can interact with people and function “kind of in the same way that accounts do.” Those comments brought attention to the extant fMeta-created AI profiles and, well, users were not exactly impressed with what they found. With handles like “hellograndpabrian,” a supposed “retired textile businessman who is always learning” and “datingwithCarter,” an AI “dating coach,” the chatbots were meant to showcase “unique interests and personalities” for users to chat with. On Instagram, their profiles also featured AI-generated posts that, as 404 Media noted, looked a lot like the AI spam that’s become prevalent in many corners of Facebook. Meta An AI persona called “Liv” sparked particular outrage. The Instagram profile identified “Liv” as a “proud Black queer momma of 2 truth-teller.” Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah posted a series of screenshots in which she interrogated “Liv” about how Meta trained the AI, with “Liv” sharing that it was created by a “predominantly white team.” Independent journalist Mady Castigan posted another conversation in which “Liv” said that its creators had been inspired in part by Sophia Vergara’s character from Modern Family, a character that is neither queer nor Black. “There is confusion: the recent Financial Times article was about our vision for AI characters existing on our platforms over time, not announcing any new product,” a spokesperson told Engadget. “The accounts referenced are from a test we launched at Connect in 2023. These were managed by humans and were part of an early experiment we did with AI characters." Beyond sparking ridicule for their responses and attempts to appropriate marginalized identities, users found the AI profiles were impossible to block, for reasons unknown. Rather than fix the issue, Meta's solution was to kill the experiment entirely. "We identified the bug that was impacting the ability for people to block those AIs," a spokesperson said, "and are removing those accounts to fix the issue.” While this trial run has gone up in flames, the company doesn’t seem to be abandoning its plans to bring more AI-generated “characters” to its apps. Earlier this year, the company teased AI clones of human creators capable of holding lifelike video calls. Creators can already train their own chatbots to respond to followers on their behalf. Meta also began experimenting with inserting its own AI-generated imagery into users’ Facebook feeds. In an interview last year, Hayes told me that Meta likely will become more “proactive” about surfacing AI-generated content over time, comparing it to the shift from showing recommended content instead of posts from people you follow. “In the beginning of social apps … the corpus of stuff that you could see on a given day was sort of constrained by who you followed or were friends with. And over the last like, five or six years, a lot of apps — ourselves included — have moved to, you know, relax that constraint and start recommending content from accounts you don't follow. “I think probably the next leap that's going to happen there is relaxing the constraint of what humans can create, and actually getting to feeds of content that are a combination of things that, you know, humans have created, but also that are entirely machine generated.” It may still be awhile before Meta fully realizes that vision. But if the reaction to its early experimentations is any indication, the company still has a lot of work to do to convince people AI personas are worth interacting with in the first place.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-sends-its-ai-generated-profiles-to-hell-where-they-belong-204758789.html?src=rss

03.01.2025 22:20 Time to get into the habit of writing "2025" instead of 2024, and the year may have just begun, but the Engadget team is already working hard for CES 2025. This weekend, many from the Engadget team will be flying to Las Vegas, where we’ll be covering tech’s biggest annual conference. We've scoured our bursting inboxes, full of pitches from companies that are planning to be there, and meticulously filled out copious spreadsheets with upcoming launches and appointments for briefings and demos. Based on our experience, as well as observation of recent industry trends, it’s fairly easy to make educated predictions about what we might see in a few days. Over the years, the focus of the conference has spanned areas like TVs, cars, smart home products and personal health, with a smattering of laptops and accessories thrown in. At CES 2025, we expect to see AI get even more pervasive in all areas of the show floor. But we are also likely to get the usual slew of new processors and subsequent laptops, as well as all manner of wearables, trackers, bathroom appliances and massage chairs. Oh, the massage chairs. What we already know is coming There's already a lot we know is coming, just by a cursory glance at the lineup published by the Consumer Technology Association . In addition to numerous panels and talks, there will be keynotes by NVIDIA's founder and CEO Jensen Huang, Delta CEO Ed Bastian as well as C-suite executives from companies like Panasonic, SiriusXM, Waymo and Volvo group. We've also seen that Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X , will be interviewed by journalist Catherine Herridge at a keynote on January 7, while Snap CEO Evan Spiegel will be speaking about the "future goals of the platform" on January 8. Some companies didn't even wait till January to make their news known. LG, for example, continues its annual tradition of sharing its upcoming CES launches weeks ahead of the show by unveiling the 2025 refresh for its QNED evo line of LCD TVs. The company has continued to release more information, including announcing its 45-inch UltraGear bendable OLED gaming monitor alongside a line of curved OLED screens. In fact, here's a little list of all the other CES 2025 things LG has already shared so far: LG’s new projector looks like a stand fan LG updates its Gram laptop line ahead of CES 2025 LG slapped a 27-inch touchscreen on its latest microwave Hyundai Mobis, meanwhile, has said it will be giving us a look at its "Holographic Windshield Display," something it's claiming is a world's first. Hyundai Mobis even shared a picture of what its booth at CES 2025 will look like, in case pictures of convention center booths get you excited. Hyundai Mobis If you’re already looking ahead to 2025 and are studiously researching what might be coming in January, here’s a taste of what our team expects to see at the show. New video cards from AMD and NVIDIA There’s no doubt 2025 is going to be a momentous year for PC gamers. NVIDIA is expected to debut its long-awaited RTX 5000 video cards at CES, while AMD CEO Lisa Su has confirmed we’ll see next-generation RDNA 4 GPUs early next year. Of the two companies, AMD could use the upgrade more. Its last batch of Radeon 7000 cards were decent mid-range performers, but they lagged far behind NVIDIA’s hardware when it came to ray tracing, and AMD’s FSR 3 upscaling also couldn’t compete with NVIDIA’s AI-powered DLSS 3. "In addition to a strong increase in gaming performance, RDNA 4 delivers significantly higher ray-tracing performance and adds new AI capabilities,” AMD CEO Lisa Su said in an October earnings call. As for NVIDIA’s new hardware, a rumor from the leaker OneRaichu suggested that the RTX 5090 could be up to 70 percent faster than the RTX 4090. They also note that other “high level” cards could see 30 to 40 percent performance bumps. Those gains might be enough to tempt wealthy RTX 4090 owners to upgrade, but RTX 4070 and 4080 owners might want to skip this generation. For NVIDIA holdouts with RTX 3000 and earlier GPUs, though, next year may be the perfect time to upgrade. — Devindra Hardawar, senior reporter AI PCs round 2 Last year, I predicted that AI PCs would dominate CES, and that mostly turned out to be true. As 2024 rolled on, we saw even more powerful NPUs in chips from Intel, AMD and Qualcomm. Microsoft also doubled down on AI PCs with its Copilot+ initiative, which gave a big marketing push for artificial intelligence features and premium specifications . Expect more of the same going into CES 2025, alongside even more AI being stuffed into every category of product imaginable. This year, in particular, PC makers are likely to gear up to take advantage of Windows 10 support ending next year. Instead of just upgrading your old computer to Windows 11, the likes of Dell and HP would rather you buy a whole new AI PC with the new OS pre-installed. While 2024 was a year of endless AI PC hype, 2025 might end up being a year of reckoning. Microsoft’s long-delayed Recall feature is slowly trickling out to more users, but it’s already showing some glaring security holes, like failing to scrub social security and credit card numbers from screenshots. We’ve also been mostly underwhelmed with Apple Intelligence’s image generation capabilities. PC makers have been eager to talk up the potential of AI-powered features until now, but in 2025 they’ll have to actually prove they can live up to their fantastical claims. — D.H. Earbuds that follow Apple’s lead on hearing health I’m fully aware not every audio company has the ability to build out a clinical-grade hearing test and hearing aid features in their apps. However, Apple’s recent update for the AirPods Pro 2 should inspire the competition to offer some form of hearing health tools on their flagship products. Jabra was probably the best equipped to do this since parent company GN has extensive hearing aid experience. Sadly, the company announced earlier this year that it wouldn’t make earbuds anymore. Samsung and Google could probably integrate something like what Apple made for the AirPods, given both companies’ existing health platforms. If they did, those announcements are unlikely to be made at CES, as both companies prefer to host their own standalone hardware events throughout the year. That leaves Sennheiser as the biggest audio company that consistently launches earbuds and headphones at CES. Last year, it showcased multiple new models, including one with heart-rate tracking for workouts. Plus, it already offers hearing assistance with dedicated devices like the true wireless Conversation Clear Plus. Those earbuds are more hearing focused than for general content consumption, so it would be great to see Sennheiser bring some features from that product to its flagship Momentum line of earbuds. Perhaps a Momentum True Wireless 4 Pro or Plus is in the cards, but the current model is just nine months old. Of course, there’s plenty of room for other companies to innovate here, and there will be no shortage of new earbuds in Vegas next month. We also tend to see a ton of assistive devices and technology launch at CES, from major accessibility companies like OrCam and all manner of smaller brands. I just hope some of the new tech includes more general hearing tools on the models most people will want to use. — Billy Steele, senior editor Vehicle electrification goes sky high As the growth of electric cars nears 10 percent of new models sold in the US, it’s easy to forget that wheeled vehicles aren’t the only kind of transportation seeing the shift to battery-powered propulsion. Flying taxis have been a mainstay of CES for the past few years, with concept vehicles from brands as large as Hyundai dotting the show floor in Vegas. Granted, these contraptions look more like giant drones with cockpits than anything the Jetsons ever dreamed up. But with companies like Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation pledging to actually launch eVTOL services in 2025, the era of air taxis may have landed for real this time. — Sam Rutherford, senior reporter Turning more phones into satellite phones Since Apple introduced Emergency SOS via Satellite on the iPhone 14 in 2022, we've seen a serious uptick in development in satellite communications. Not only did Apple expand its feature to allow for non-emergency communications, component makers like Qualcomm, too, tried to bring similar capabilities to Android devices. Snapdragon Satellite was announced at CES 2023, as a project between Qualcomm and Iridium, but the initiative did not gain popularity with smartphone companies, and was ultimately ended in November that same year. Since then, Google launched satellite calling in Pixel 9 phones, while SpaceX's Starlink satellite texting service has gone live in New Zealand via telco One NZ. In the US, T-Mobile opened up beta signups for its Starlink-powered satellite cell service this year. The skies are getting more crowded, too, with AT&T and partner AST SpaceMobile launching five satellites in September, as well as Amazon's Project Kuiper looking to boost its satellite internet network with space lasers. This year, Garmin launched the inReach Messenger Plus, which it describes as an "SOS Satellite Communicator with Photo and Voice messaging." Though satellite hotspots like that have been around for years from companies like Iridium and GlobalSat, they've historically cost $800 to $1,000, and haven't had the ability to send much more than a few lines of text. Garmin's product may be an indicator of things to come — not only are we likely to see major phone makers embed satellite communication capability into future handsets, but in the interim we're probably going to get a bunch of hotspots so we'll never lose connectivity, not matter how far off the grid we get. And I wouldn't be surprised if CES 2025 is rife with devices that let us tap into satellites to get help and talk to others. — Cherlynn Low, deputy editor Expanded dialog improvement features on soundbars When it comes to the main aspects of soundbars, there really isn’t a ton of innovation from year to year. Heck, Samsung’s biggest update last year was the addition of HDMI 2.1 support to its flagship model, which should’ve been there already. Companies have also been focused on the transition to cable-free everything, whether that’s wireless Dolby Atmos or wireless transmission boxes. Audio enhancement features are a place where companies can really rise above the fray, and tools like Sonos’ TV Audio Swap and Bose’s Personal Surround Sound are great examples of this. A key area nearly every company can improve is dialog boost, a feature that raises the volume or separates spoken word from background noise and music for better clarity. Sonos made a huge leap in this regard on the Arc Ultra, offering two additional settings for its so-called Speech Enhancement. Previously, this was just an all-or-nothing toggle, which is how most companies handle their versions of this tool. Not only is the Sonos update customizable to a degree, it’s also just better, thanks in part to the redesigned architecture of its new premium soundbar. This is an obvious area where other companies can improve. LG and Samsung typically announce new soundbars at CES, and there are plenty of smaller companies that will debut some too. I’d love to see all of them take dialog enhancements a step further and at the very least give multiple options for how it’s applied. LG has been using AI Sound Pro from its TVs since 2021 and Samsung offers something called Adaptive Sound on its home theater speakers. I would expect them both to generally improve the quality of their features, but I’m hoping they’ll expand the capabilities too. — B.S. Update, December 17 2024, 12:40PM ET: This story has been updated to include the companies and CEOs that will be making keynotes at the show. Update, December 20 2024, 11:55AM ET: This story has been updated to include LG and Hyundai Mobis' announcements ahead of CES 2025. Update, December 25 2024, 10:00AM ET: This story has been updated to include a prediction about satellite communication devices being everywhere at CES 2025. Update, December 30 2024, 12:00PM ET: This story has been updated to include a section titled "What we already know is coming," that contains newer information about appearances by X CEO Linda Yaccarino and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, as well as updates on LG's UltraGear line. The intro was also updated to be more accurate about the time of year since we first published this piece. Update, January 3 2025, 3:20PM ET: This story has been updated to include a list of announcements by LG, as well as to edit the intro so it is not outdated and reflects that we have, indeed, entered a new year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ces-2025-the-new-tech-were-expecting-to-see-from-samsung-nvidia-lg-and-more-in-las-vegas-200052148.html?src=rss

03.01.2025 22:20 The first few days of the year are typically sleepy for deals — and 2025 is proving no different. Since most Black Friday sale prices have expired, big ticket items are back to full price, but we found a few new discounts on smaller tech and accessories from brands we recommend, like Anker, Sony, Amazon Echo and JBL. You can get an Anker charging station for 40 percent off and pick up the Apple Watch Series 10 for $329, a return to its all-time low. An Amazon Echo display is also selling for close to a record low. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today. 8Bitdo 8Bitdo Ultimate Wired Controller for $30 : Here's a record low price for a licensed Xbox controller from a brand we recommend in a few of our best of lists. It’s compatible with the Xbox Series X, Series S, Xbox One and Windows 10 and above, so it can work with either a console or PC. It has hall effect joysticks and impulse triggers, a 3.5mm audio jack on the back, and two extra buttons that aren’t included with the official controller, which could be useful for mapping with PC games. Anker 9-in-1 Charging Station for $36 : This small tower has been a boon for my messy and small work area, letting me charge and power the various phones, batteries, tablets and other electronics that are a necessary part of a tech-heavy work life. It's got four USB-C ports, two USB-A and two AC outlets, plus the wall adapter is nice and slim. I just wish I had bought mine on sale. Apple Watch Series 10 for $329 : This is a return to the Black Friday pricing we saw in November and represents the biggest discount we've seen yet on Apple's latest flagship wearable. We gave it good marks in our review and named it the best Apple Watch and the best smartwatch overall currently on the market. Of course, it's only for iPhone users, but if you're an Apple fan, it can be pretty dang useful. Also at Best Buy. Photo by Amy Skorheim / Engadget Ugreen Revodok Pro 109 USB-C hub for $39 : Prime members can save 30 percent off the 9-in-1 dock we named the best of the bunch after testing for our USB-C hub guide. It lets you connect two 4K monitors and has a good array of other ports plus the longer 10-inch cable gives you more options for where to put it on your desk. Roku Streaming Stick 4K for $29 : If your TV feels a little slow as it streams its built-in apps, this is one of the cheapest ways to help. The $29 price tag is one we've seen often these past few months, and it's about $4 more than its all-time low, but it does match the largest discount we've seen this past year. The discount was previously available from multiple retailers, but it appears Amazon is the only site sticking with the discount. Sony WH-1000XM4 ANC headphones for $198 : This deal is so old, it's got whiskers on it, but still worth mentioning for anyone looking for a quality set of headphones. Sony's XM4s were the top pick in our guide to wireless headphones until the latest generation knocked them off their throne. They're four years old at this point, but if that's not an issue, it's a good way to save on a premium set of cans. Logitech Pebble Mouse 2 M350s for $20 : A newer model of one of our favorite productivity mice is on sale for a third off. It's got more recycled plastic this time and the middle button is customizable. All three colors look to be on sale . Also at Amazon. Billy Steele for Engadget Beats Pill bluetooth speaker for $100 : This is the same price we saw for Black Friday on the Beats' return to the Bluetooth speaker market. The completely redesigned Pill earned a spot on our Bluetooth speaker guide and an 83 in our review. It offers much improved sound quality with impressive bass and full mids. You also get a long, 24-hour battery life and lossless audio over USB-C. Also at Best Buy. Zagg screen protectors for 20 percent off: If you got a new phone or smartwatch for the holidays, you may want to slap a screen protector on it to avoid cracks and chips. Right now through January 4, Target is selling a range of the Zagg accessories for 20 percent off. JBL Xtreme 4 for $300 : The latest generation of our recommended JBL Xtreme is back to it's Cyber Week price . This one adds around nine hours of battery life for a total of 24 hours plus the replaceable battery can be swapped out. It’s also made from more recycled materials and throws in some AI-powered tuning. Also at Amazon. The previous generation model is $200. Photo by Amy Skorheim / Engadget Nimble Champ Pro portable charger for $80 : I’ve tested nearly 50 batteries for our power bank guide and this is the one I take with me when I travel. It’s compact but packs a high, 20,000mah capacity that can refill a large smartphone nearly three times — and quickly. It’ll even juice up an iPad just under two times. The fact that the company is a certified B Corp doesn't hurt. Amazon Echo Show 8 for $85 : You can grab Amazon's 8-inch smart display for $85, down from its usual $150. The Echo Show can display the weather, videos, show your connected doorbell feeds and do all the things Alexa is good for — like adding butter to your Trader Joe's shopping list and controlling your smart home devices. Leebein Electric Spin Scrubber for $40 : This spin scrubber made a huge difference in one of our editors' bathroom cleaning routine — as detailed in our year-end tech-we-bought roundup. It's 33 percent off for Prime members at the moment, which is about $9 more than its all-time low. Amazon Amazon Echo Show 5 for $45 : You can also pick up the smaller Echo Show for half price. It went for $10 less back in 2023, but this is the lowest price we've tracked since then. The Echo Show 5 has a smaller screen so it's better for compact spaces like bedside tables or cozy kitchens. Anker Docking Station 575 for $140 : We tested the Anker's 575 for our guide to docking stations, but it wasn't one of our top picks as it had trouble supporting a MacBook Pro. It did great with a Dell PC, however, so if you're not an Apple user, this could be a good way to get more utility out of your laptop. Anker Nano 65W USB C Charger for $30 : If you need a fast charger, you can hardly do better than one from Anker. This Nano charger has three USB ports, one Type A and two Type C. Its max output of 65 watts should quickly charge phones, tablets and even laptops at their max speeds. Anker Soundcore 2 Portable Bluetooth Speaker for $28 : Anker’s doesn't just make accessories, the Soundcore brand has impressed us both with its earbuds and Bluetooth speakers. The Soundcore 2 is one of the smaller and more affordable models and it’s currently back to the low it hit for Cyber week. 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/8bitdos-wired-xbox-controller-is-just-30-plus-the-rest-of-this-weeks-best-tech-deals-175952340.html?src=rss