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In the last few years, Google has used CES to show off new ways for Android, Chrome and all manner of non-Apple products to play nice with each other. At CES 2024 in Las Vegas, the company is also bringing updates to Chromecast, Fast Pair and Nearby Share, alongside some new features for cars. If you've always wanted to cast TikTok to your TV, because you're one of the handful of people from the TV generation that uses the app, you can now do that on Chromecast-enabled screens. Soon, though Google doesn't specify when, you'll also be able to cast livestreams from TikTok. 

In line with the theme of greater inter-device performance, this year Google is rolling out the ability to move what's playing on Spotify and YouTube Music from compatible Pixel phones to docked Pixel Tablets when within range. That's reminiscent of an Apple feature between Homepods and iPhones.

More devices with Chromecast built-in will also be launching this year, including the 2024 LG TV series. Later this year, LG Hospitality and Healthcare will also be getting Chromecast support so you can cast to TVs in, say, your hotel room without having to log into your own Google accounts. The company is also expanding Fast Pair support to Chromecasts with Google TV, which will make it easier to connect headphones to TV dongles. Google added that Fast Pair is coming to more Google TV devices later this year.

One of the best features on Apple devices is AirDrop, which allows different iPhones to easily transfer photos, files and contact information in person. Google's (attempt at an) answer to that since 2020 has been Nearby Share, though proximity-based versions of a file sharing tool on Android have existed for much longer. Samsung also introduced its Quick Share system in 2020, offering a very similar experience to Google's. 

In a move that should make things less confusing and more unified on the Android ecosystem, Google announced it's "collaborating with Samsung" to bring "the best of our sharing solutions together into a singular cross-Android solution under the Quick Share name." In a press release, Google said it's "integrated the experiences and created the best default, built-in option for peer-to-peer content sharing across all types of devices in the Android and Chromebook ecosystems." 

Google also said it's working with LG and other "leading PC manufacturers" to make Quick Share a pre-installed app on most Windows PCs. When Quick Share rolls out to current Nearby Share-enabled devices next month, you should see a new icon. Tapping it will show a list of devices available around you, and allow you to select who to send your media to. Like you can with Apple devices, you can go into your Android's settings to choose if you can be seen by everyone, contacts only or just your own devices.

It's worth noting that with last year's release of iOS 17, Apple upgraded AirPlay to make it possible to share files simply by putting the heads of two phones together. 

In addition to everything covered in this post, Google is also updating Android Auto and making more devices act as hubs for the Matter smart home standard to enable better uptake and integration. We have separate articles on each of those topics, so check them out for all the finer details.

We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.

Much of the auto news out of CES 2024 has focused on EVs, and Google is no exception. The company has announced that Android Auto will share real-time battery updates with Google Maps. The update should initially roll out to the Ford Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning in the coming months before expanding to other Android Auto-compatible EVs in the future.

With this new feature, Google Maps will give you suggestions of charging stations along the route without you having to pull over and search. It should also update you on the car's battery level once you arrive at a destination (something your EV should already do) and provide an estimate of how long it will take to charge. The latter is more novel and could help when you're in a rush.

Google also announced the expansion of Google built-in to additional car brands, such as Nissan and Ford, after first launching in Honda's 2023 Accord sedan's high-end Touring trim. The Chrome browser is now rolling out in beta to select models from Volvo and Polestar (of which Volvo is a part-owner) and should be more widely available later this year. Plus, Google built-in now has The Weather Channel app to track the forecast as you travel.

We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.

It’s official. The Mandalorian and his little green buddy are coming to the big screen, and before Dave Filoni’s long-anticipated crossover film event. The movie, appropriately titled The Mandalorian & Grogu, will be helmed by Jon Favreau, who created the Disney+ streaming TV show.

Fans have been speculating why there hasn’t been a renewal announcement regarding a new season of The Mandalorian, and this could be why. The film’s going into production this year, which is likely when a new season of the show would have been created. Beyond Favreau, the producers include franchise luminaries Kathleen Kennedy and Dave Filoni. There’s no plot synopsis, but Kennedy says the “new story is a perfect fit for the big screen.”

Director Jon Favreau not only created The Mandalorian TV show, but kickstarted the entire MCU when he directed a little film called Iron Man. He also helmed Elf, Swingers and live-action remakes of The Lion King and The Jungle Book.

Disney has offered no information regarding where in the timeline this film would take place, but one assumes it would be set directly following the events of both The Mandalorian season 3 and the first season of Ahsoka. This means that Mando and his ridiculously cute ward could become involved with Grand Admiral Thrawn’s attempts to rebuild the empire.

In a short span of time, we’ve gone from wondering if there would ever be another Star Wars movie to there being, well, a whole bunch of them. The Mandalorian & Grogu will likely lead to Dave Filoni’s unnamed crossover movie that features characters from across ‘The Mandoverse’, including Ahsoka, Boba Fett, Ezra Bridger, CGI Luke Skywalker and more.

There’s also a movie in the works chronicling the further adventures of Rey, directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, and a film exploring the origins of the Jedi and Sith directed by James Mangold. On the TV side of things, Ahsoka has been greenlit for a second season. Before that, however, there’s the Jude Law vehicle Skeleton Crew and a show set hundreds of years before the Skywalker Saga called The Acolyte. Star Wars: The Bad Batch is also getting a third and final season.

A promotion at Sling TV is taking 50 percent off your first month of service. Sling divides its offerings in two: Sling Blue and Sling Orange, with different channels in each package. Those go usually for $40 per month separately or $55 monthly combined, but are now down to $20 and $27.50 after the discount. Unlike a cable subscription, you can cancel whenever you'd like with no penalty. Sling TV is one of the many ways to watch live TV channels, including sports and news stations, without having the commitment or higher price of cable. We named it a top pick in our live TV streaming guide. 

Sling TV is our recommendation for the most customizable live TV streaming service, letting you get just the channels you want without paying for too many you won't watch. Sling Orange includes six exclusive channels like the ESPN stations and the Disney Channel, while Sling Blue gives you 14 exclusive channels including FS1, MSNBC and Fox News. Both options come with 24 other channels such as CNN, BET and TNT. In addition to the two packages, you can choose from a number of add-on bundles that go for between $6 and $11 per month. Those include blocks of sports, kid-friendly fare, lifestyle channels and news packs. Premium extras include Starz, Showtime and Acorn which will add $2 to $10 to your monthly bill. In larger market areas (such as Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas, NYC and Miami), Sling TV will also grant access to local NBC, ABC and Fox affiliate channels for no extra charge. 

We liked the way the menus were organized and found them easy to navigate. The service also does a good job of recommending stuff to watch based on your history. We had a little trouble with the service freezing occasionally and felt the 50 hours of DVR allowance could be more generous, but if you're looking for a cheaper alternative to cable and don't want to pay for channels you don't need, Sling is a good way to go. 

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Vehicle-based voice assistants are the next great frontier, incorporating artificial intelligence into the driving experience. At CES 2024, Amazon and BMW announced a partnership to significantly improve the pre-existing experience, marrying a large language model (LLM) with Alexa and the actual driver’s manual. The end result? You can ask the Alexa-powered chatbot anything about your car and receive accurate real-time information. That’s right. That thick and unwieldy manual can stay in the glovebox, for good.

Amazon says this tool offers a “more natural way of getting to know your new car.” You can ask how various features work, like the parking assistance system, and get conversational answers. Both companies suggest that this voice technology will “strip away complexity and minimize distractions in the car.”

It’s not just an information delivery system. You can also ask the bot to take actions on your behalf, like entering a specific drive mode. Additionally, this will fully integrate with the infotainment system, so you’ll be able to ask the assistant to turn on music, navigate to a destination, change the internal temperature and just about anything else.

BMW has been using Amazon Alexa in its infotainment systems for years, but this is a significant step forward. The companies previously announced a partnership to build a custom BMW in-vehicle voice assistant that used Alexa as a framework, and this looks to be part of that effort.

There’s something of an arms race with this tech. Volkswagen announced something similar in Las Vegas this week. It plans on merging ChatGPT with its current IDA voice assistant, and this feature will begin showing up in forthcoming vehicles. Mercedes also made an announcement regarding ChatGPT integration last year.

We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.

Between the ASUS ROG Ally, the Lenovo Legion Go and the Steam Deck, AMD has a virtual monopoly over the chips powering high-end gaming handhelds. But for the Claw, MSI is partnering up with Intel to bring a little more balance to the portable PC performance wars.

On paper and in its design, MSI’s Claw shares a lot with the ROG Ally. It has a 7-inch full HD LCD screen with 500 nits of brightness and a 120Hz refresh rate. (I asked an MSI rep if the Claw also supports VRR, but they didn’t have an immediate answer, so stay tuned.) Even its case looks very familiar, with both handhelds sporting almost identical chassis, button layouts and power buttons with built-in fingerprint sensors, except that the Claw is black and has much bigger grips, which makes it way more comfortable to hold.

But that’s where the similarities come to an end, because on the inside, the Claw is powered by either an Intel Core Ultra 7 or Core Ultra 5 chip depending on the configuration. That’s a pretty big departure amongst the sea of AMD-based alternatives, and may have some people wondering if Intel’s first foray into high-end gaming handhelds can keep up. That’s because in addition to a new chip, developers will be relying on Intel’s integrated Arc graphics and a library of drivers that simply aren’t as deep or as well tested as AMD’s. It’s also unclear how much the NPU inside Intel’s latest chip will help with things like XeSS super sampling, which is sure to play a big part in the Claw’s capabilities.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

However, even on the pre-production models with unfinished software (including beta drivers) that I tested things were surprisingly smooth. Launching games was snappy and I only ran into a small handful of hitches. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to pull up MSI’s built-in performance monitor, as its MSI Center game launcher is still a work in progress. A spokesperson I talked to claimed that, during internal testing, the Claw delivered 20 to 25 percent higher frame rates than an equivalent AMD-based handheld in 14 out of 15 popular titles. That’s a pretty big claim but, if those figures carry over to a larger library of modern games, AMD might soon find itself playing catch-up. But, that’s a big if.

Another benefit of going with an Intel chip is that it allows MSI to include a Thunderbolt 4 port (Thunderbolt is a proprietary connector owned by Intel), which brings super fast data speeds and the option of hooking up an external graphics dock if you want even more performance. MSI is even using one of Intel’s Killer modems that includes support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, so wireless connectivity is pretty much as good as it gets.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Also, while I didn’t have enough time to test its longevity, the 53Whr battery should give the Claw some significant advantages over the ROG Ally, which has just a40Whr pack. There’s huge mesh vents on its back too, which should help keep MSI’s handheld and your hands from getting too sweaty. Also, both the Claw’s buttons and joysticks use precise hall effect sensors, compared to the Ally whose sticks relies on potentiometers. In a lot of ways, the Claw feels like what a mid-life refresh for the Ally might look like, assuming ASUS felt like switching from AMD to Intel.

Even this early there’s a lot to like about MSI’s new Intel-based handheld. And when you factor in that the Claw starts at $699 with a Core Ultra 5 chip, 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, $749 for a faster model with a Core Ultra 7 CPU or $799 for one with a 1TB SSD, it looks to be pretty competitive regarding pricing as well.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Unfortunately, there’s no word on an official release, though MSI says it’s shooting for a window closer to the end of Q1 instead of Q2. And as someone who loved the huge wave of gaming handhelds we got last year, it’s really encouraging to see MSI carry that momentum into 2024 with the Claw.

Even though it often seems Behaviour Interactive is on the verge of running out of horror icons to add to Dead by Daylight, it's still managing to bring notable characters to the hit survival horror game. The next well-known name to hit DbD is the one and only Alan Wake.

One of the protagonists of Alan Wake 2, widely regarded as one of the best games of 2023, the renowned author is officially coming to DbD on January 30 as part of the next chapter. However, you can try playing as the new survivor on the latest public test build on Steam right now.

Actors Ilkka Villi and Matthew Porretta are once again lending their likeness and voice, respectively, to Alan Wake. As you might expect, you'll hear new voicelines from Wake as he tries to survive the horrors of The Fog. Of course, he wields a flashlight in this game too. Wake gets extra movement speed while shining a flashlight and if he successfully dazzles a killer, they'll be temporarily slowed down.

Alan Wake is joining a litany of classic horror characters in Dead by Daylight, including Chucky, the Demogorgon from Stranger Things, the Xenomorph and Ellen Ripley from Alien and Sadako from The Ring. Nicolas Cage (yes, the actual Nicolas Cage) is in the game too.

Audio-Technica's earbuds have run the true wireless gamut. The company has built separate models over the years that individually offer long battery life or ultra affordability, but it has yet to construct a complete package. At CES 2024 in Las Vegas, the company is launching its latest entry, the AT-TWX7, which offers active noise cancellation (ANC) in an all-new AirPods-like stickbud design. Audio-Technica combines 5.8mm high-resolution drivers capable of 24-bit/96 kHz LDAC audio with a compact design and a number of conveniences for $199.

I'm going to start with calls. A lot of people use wireless earbuds for calls, either because they're on the go or want to keep their hands free while having a chat. Every earbud company promises crystal clear voice performance but few actually deliver. Audio-Technica offers two voice modes for calls, Natural and Noise Reduction, that aim to keep you sounding your best in any environment. What's more, there's a Call Test built into the company's companion app that lets you record up to 10 seconds of audio before you hop on the line. When I tried this, the Natural Mode provided above-average results while the Noise Reduction Mode did well to combat a roaring A/C unit, albeit with reduced voice quality. 

In terms of sound quality, those 5.8mm drivers offer the clear, warm audio I've coming to expect from the company. It's quite pleasant to listen to across genres, and the great clarity means you'll pick up on finer details — like string noise in Charles Wesley Goodwin's country tunes and the texture of the upright bass laying down the rhythm. There are four audio presets if you don't like the standard tuning and the company gives you the ability to make your own with manual adjustments to a five-band EQ. The ANC setup did well to block most of the noise from that raucous hotel A/C unit, but I could still hear it faintly at low volumes. 

Photo by Billy Steele/Engadget

There's a transparency or Hear-through mode you can activate with a long tap on the left earbud, a gesture that also cycles between ANC and off along with the ambient sound. Audio-Technica has managed a quite natural-sounding profile for Hear-through, although it's still not as good at what Apple manages on AirPods. You don't hear quite as much of your own voice as you do on Apple's gear. However, A-T provides and additional Talk-Through option that can be activated with a long tap on the right earbud. This is meant to lower or pause content while focusing on human voices. There are two settings for it, Natural and Strong, that differ in terms of primary function: reducing noise or enhancing environmental sound pickup. 

In addition to those long taps, tiny physical buttons on the ATH-TW7 offer access to volume and playback controls. The smaller overall design of the earbuds leads to a more comfortable fit, especially for longer periods of time. What's more, the company gives you two different types of ear tips with four sizes of each: soft for comfort and standard for a secure fit. Bluetooth multipoint pairing is available for easy switching between devices as well. And lastly, Audio-Technica promises up to six and a half hours of listening on the earbuds with another two full charges in the wireless case. 

The Audio-Technica ATH-TWX7 is available now in black, white and gray color options.

We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.

NordVPN's latest limited-time sale knocks up to 67 percent off its subscription plans. The Ultimate plan, which includes malware protection and ad blockers on top of VPN access, typically costs $476 for a two-year period. This new year’s deal will bring down the cost of the Ultimate subscription to $6.40 per month, or $154 for the entire two years.

While this sale on NordVPN plans isn't as good as the 69 percent off we saw during the Black Friday season, it comes pretty close. NordVPN, which can support up to six devices at once, has 5,000 servers in 60 countries. It's worth noting that its standard price is a bit high when compared to competitors and their offerings. But, given this discount, now could be a good time to subscribe if you’ve been thinking about doing so.

If you don’t want to commit for that long, you can get a one-year subscription for the Ultimate package for 59 percent off, or $96 instead of the usual $238. There are also offers on the one- and two-year subscription plans for the mid-tier Plus and the lowest-tier Standard plans. The two-year deal for Plus and Standard plans are only 58 and 59 percent off, respectively, but they don't include as many perks as the Ultimate plan does, such as extra identity protection and included cloud storage.

A NordVPN Ultimate plan gives you access to the company’s password manager, NordPass. But if you’re primarily interested in better organizing and keeping track of your logins and credentials in the new year, NordPass is also having a similar flash sale. Both individual Premium and Family plans are cheaper right now at 50 and 53 percent off, respectively. For the Premium plan, instead of paying $72 for the first two years, it will only cost $36 in total, which comes out to $1.50 per month. The Family plan, which gives you six user accounts, is listed for $67 for the first two years instead of the usual $143. NordPass earned a spot in our best password managers guide thanks to how easy the service makes it for you to access your credentials across many different platforms and devices.

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Amazon is the first big company to add support for the Matter open casting standard, it announced at CES 2024. Matter Casting is an open protocol that lets you send videos and related content from an app to a hardware device, just like Apple AirPlay and Google Chromecast. The feature just launched for the Prime Video app and will allow casting to various Amazon hardware devices.

For now, you can only cast to the Echo Show 15 smart display, but the company says it’ll soon offer support for Fire TVs, including Panasonic models with Fire TV built in. As for content streaming partners, it’s just Prime Video for now, but the company promises more options later this year, including Plex, Pluto, Sling TV, Starz and many more.

This works just like AirPlay. You open the Prime Video App, tap the cast button and look for an appropriate hardware device. However, Matter cast isn’t tied to a particular smartphone operating system and is available to every app and hardware maker, if they want to implement the feature.

This is part of the open-source Matter smart home protocol, which is backed by Amazon, Apple and Google. However, it’s unlikely Google and Apple will jump onboard this particular feature set, as each company has its own casting standard in place. Google took to CES this week to announce that Chromecast will be built into all new LG TVs, giving no mention of Matter cast.

Amazon would prefer that each of the big tech companies adopt an open casting platform instead of the current glut of competing models. “We believe in open standards,” Chris DeCenzo, a principal engineer at Amazon, told The Verge. “It simplifies things for developers.”

In the meantime, major players have begun adopting other aspects of the Matter smart home standard. Google’s smart home devices integrate with the protocol, and the same goes for Amazon devices like Echo speakers.

We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.