Google has turned to India’s Supreme Court as a “last hope” to block an order that has the potential to reshape the Android ecosystem. Last October, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) fined Google $161.9 million and barred the search giant from requiring OEMs to preinstall Google apps and services on their phones. On Wednesday, an appeals tribunal rejected the company’s request to block the ruling, which is scheduled to go into effect on January 19th. According to court documents seen by Reuters, Google filed a challenge against the tribunal’s decision with the country’s top court on Saturday. The company reportedly sees the effort as its last and best hope at preventing the CCI’s order from impacting its business. Google did not immediately respond to Engadget’s comment request.
While the $161.9 million fine is tiny for Google, the order is likely to force the company to change its deals with Android manufacturers dramatically. The CCI seeks to prevent Google from including “anti-fragmentation” clauses that bar Android forks. The order would also force the company to allow third-party app stores on Google Play, and allow users to uninstall first-party apps they don’t want on their phones. India is a critical market for Google. The country is home to about 606.6 million smartphone users, and about 97 percent of the phones in India run Android. In other words, the company can’t afford to exit the market.
After nearly four decades in space, NASA’s retried Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) is about to fall from the sky. On Friday, the agency said the likelihood of wreckage from ERBS harming anyone on Earth is “very low.” NASA expects most of the 5,400-pound satellite will burn upon re-entry. Earlier this week, the Defense Department predicted ERBS would re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere on Sunday at approximately 6:40PM ET, give or take 17 hours.
While it may be a household name, the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite had anything but a dull history. Per Phys.org, the Space Shuttle Challenger carried the satellite to space in 1984, a little more than a year before Challenger's heartbreaking demise in early 1986. Astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly to space, released ERBS from Challenger’s cargo hold using the spacecraft’s robotic arm. During that same mission, Ride’s crewmate, Kathryn Sullivan, became the first American woman to perform a space walk. It was also the first mission to see two female astronauts fly to space together. As for ERBS, it went on to collect ozone and atmospheric measurements until 2005. Scientists used that data to study how Earth absorbs and radiates solar energy. ERBS's contribution to science is even more impressive when you consider NASA initially expected it would only stay functional for two years.
Once you get past the gimmicks, there’s a common thread among the TVs announced at CES 2023. Every manufacturer is trying to produce the brightest possible sets. For Samsung and LG, that has meant doubling down on their respective OLED display technologies. Hisense is instead seeing how far it can go with Mini LED. At CES 2023, the company unveiled the UX, an 85-inch 4K TV Hisense claims can produce 2,500 nits of peak brightness.
The set is the first entry in the company’s new ULED X line and features Hisense’s in-house Hi-View Engine X processor. According to the company, the chip is the key to what makes the UX special. With control over more than 20,000 Mini LEDs, 5,000 local dimming zones and the industry’s first-ever 16-bit light control algorithm, the Hi-View Engine X allows the UX to produce smoother and more precise dimming and color effects. Hisense claims the UX can achieve three times the “environmental contrast” of an OLED TV, and two times the dynamic range. I’ll note here Hisense didn’t say what OLED TV it used as a benchmark. For a more definitive comparison, the company says the UX features a 150,000 to 1 contrast ratio.
Hisense promises the UX is no slouch in the audio department either. The TV incorporates a newly designed seven-speaker system that delivers more than 80 watts of power and Dolby Atmos spatial sound. Other notable features of the UX include support for Dolby Vision, WiFi 6E and AMD Freesync Premium Pro. When the TV ships, it will also include a built-in ATSC 3.0 tuner for those who want to catch broadcast television. Hisense did not announce pricing and availability details for the UX. Expect those to arrive after CES.
Put away the Little Trees air freshener, Panasonic has a more advanced solution the next time you want to make your car smell its best. At this year’s CES, the company showed off a portable air purifier that can fit in the cupholder of nearly any car, and filter out odors and even some pathogenic viruses and bacteria. The device uses Panasonic’s Nanoe X technology, which employs hydroxyl radicals, a diatomic molecule that’s known to act as a “detergent” when it comes into contact with pollutants, to clean the air. Panasonic says it takes about two hours for the device to freshen up the cabin of a car, and it does so while only producing about 36 decibels of sound. All you need to do is plug the Nanoe X Portable Air Purifier plugs into one of your car’s USB ports.
Panasonic is not the first company to announce a portable in-car purifier, but with the exception of Philips, it’s not exactly a market crowded by big brands. The company also went out of its way to certify the Nanoe X Purifer with the California Air Resource Board (CARB). Panasonic did not announce pricing and availability information for the device. Expect those to arrive at a later date.
Four years after debuting at CES 2019, Holoride’s in-car VR technology is finally poised to go mainstream. Starting today, the startup has begun selling Retrofit, an all-in-one system you can install in your car to access Holoride content, in the US and Germany. The company designed Retrofit to work with vehicles of any make, model or year.
The device is about the size of a smart speaker and weighs less than half a pound. Installing Retrofit involves attaching it to the windshield of your car with the included mounting arm, which features a suction cup for easy installation. Retrofit’s built-in battery can power the device for up to 14 hours on one charge, and you can use the included USB-C to USB-A cable to charge the device inside your car. You can connect Retrofit to up to two Holoride-compatible VR headsets via Bluetooth.
Inside, the puck features all the technology needed to enable Holoride’s signature “Elastic Content.” When you play an interactive video or game, the platform adapts the experience to the car’s movement. So say you’re playing a game that involves a spacecraft. When the vehicle accelerates, so too will the spaceship. In that way, not only is the experience more immersive, but it’s also likely to cause you to experience motion sickness. Retrofit can collect and process all the movement and location data needed to enable those experiences.
Of course, adding that sort of functionality to your car won’t come cheap. By itself, Retrofit costs $199. However, most people will probably need to shell out for the $799 Retrofit Pack to get an HTC Vive Flow headset and 8BitDo Pro2 controller with their purchase. That’s a lot of money to pay for a backseat experience, and likely as good of a test as any whether there’s a market for Holoride’s technology.
For an event that was once the venue where Samsung announced its latest Galaxy S phones, CES isn’t much of a mobile show these days. But you do still see the occasional phone unveiling, including the newly announced Samsung Galaxy A14 5G. It’s a more affordable version of last year’s Galaxy A13 5G that features a new 13-megapixel front-facing camera the company claims offers a “huge leap in selfie quality.”
New camera aside, the A14 5G is more or less the same phone Samsung shipped last year. It features a slightly larger 6.6-inch screen that boasts a 90Hz refresh rate and FHD+ resolution. As with its predecessor, the A14 comes with a MediaTek Dimensity 700 chipset. At over two years old, it’s a chip that’s starting to show its age, but with an integrated sub-6GHz 5G modem built-in, the Dimensity 700 should make efficient use of the A14’s 5,000mAh battery and offer about two days of uptime. For photos and videos, Samsung has once again gone with a triple camera array that consists of a 50MP main camera and two 2MP macro and depth cameras.
In the US, Samsung will offer a single variant of the A14 5G equipped with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage. A microSD card slot allows you to add up to 1TB of additional space for apps, media and more. The Galaxy A14 5G will ship with Android 13 out of the box. Samsung says you can expect up to two major Android updates and four years of security support if you buy its latest phone. While it’s a boring update to the A13 5G, the Galaxy A14 5G should still find fans since Samsung plans to sell the phone for $200, or $50 less than it did its predecessor. That should allow the A14 5G to better compete against devices like the $240 Nord N200 5G.
Four years after introducing The Wall at CES 2018, Samsung is poised to take its MicroLED technology mainstream. At CES 2023, the company announced it would offer 50-, 63-, 76-, 89-, 101-, 114- and 140-inch MicroLED models, greatly expanding the amount of choice consumers have when it comes to the new display technology. Samsung didn’t provide pricing and availability information for the expanded line, but the company claims the new models are its most affordable MicroLED TVs to date. Since a few of the sets are smaller than any of the MicroLED TVs Samsung has offered in the past, you also won’t need to pay for a professional to install them in your home.
Samsung claims its MicroLED line will set the standard for picture quality in 2023. And judging from the 76-inch model’s topline features, that’s not a mere boast from the company. The set sports a 240Hz variable refresh rate and 2-nanosecond response time. It also offers 20-bit black detail for “intense” contrast.
Samsung
Samsung is also promising upgrades for its Neo QLED sets, starting with the line’s new flagship. The QN900C features an 8K Quantum MiniLED-lit panel capable of maxing out at 4,000 nits of brightness. As with Samsung’s 2022 Neo QLED sets, the QN900C features a 14-bit backlight. However, the TV offers even better contrast thanks to a tweak the company made to its 8K Real Depth Enhancer Pro software. Samsung is also promising improved picture quality when viewing older movies and TV shows thanks to the inclusion of its new Auto HDR Remastering algorithm, which can automatically apply HDR effects to standard dynamic range content.
For those who would prefer a 4K set, there’s also the QN935C. Samsung’s new 4K flagship features a redesigned power board that eliminates the need for an external connection box and allows for bezels that are less than 20mm thick. The QN935C also features top-firing speakers, allowing the set to produce Dolby Atmos sound without a dedicated soundbar. You can use both the QN900C and QN935C as a smart home hub thanks to the fact Samsung’s entire 2023 Neo QLED line will feature built-in Zigbee and Matter Thread all-in-one modules.
Engadget
Last year’s CES saw Samsung launch its new QD-OLED technology. This year, the company is expanding the line to offer additional models, including an all-new 77-inch model. As previously announced, the 2023 QD-OLED TV line will offer up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness thanks to the inclusion of Samsung’s new “HyperEfficient EL” OLED material and IntelliSense AI. Samsung says its latest panels are also more energy efficient and support 144Hz refresh rates. Additionally, the company has gone out of its way to get the panels AMD FreeSync Premium Pro certified. Samsung didn’t announce pricing and availability for its QD-OLED line. Expect those details to come in the coming weeks.
Most smart home products promise to save you time by allowing you to create schedules to automate tasks like turning on your lights, but taking advantage of that functionality requires first creating those schedules. Nanoleaf's newest product line promises to do that work for you. Announced at CES 2023, the Sense+ Control family consists of three products: the Sense+ Smart Light Switch, Sense+ Wireless Light Switch and Nala Learning Bridge. All three are Matter and Thread enabled. They also feature built-in motion and ambient light sensors. The Nala Learning Bridge (pictured above) acts as a Thread Border Router so that you can use it as the hub of your smart home network. You can also use the Nala Learning Bridge as a night light to add a bit of ambiance to a room.
Nanoleaf
Nala is also the name of Nanoleaf's new Automations Learning Assistant and what makes the Sense+ Control line interesting. The company claims Nala can learn your routines and eventually know when to turn your lights on or off and adjust their brightness and color to your liking. "Over time, users will be able to have a truly intelligent and hands-free experience with the smart lighting in their home," says Nanoleaf. The Sense+ Control line will arrive in the second half of the year. Nanoleaf also plans to update its existing Thread Border Routers to support Nala.
Alongside the Sense+ Control line, the company announced several other new products. First, there's the Nanoleaf 4D, a system for synchronizing your Nanoleaf lights with your TV. Set to arrive before the second half of the year, the 4D Starter Kit will ship with Nanoleaf's new Screen Mirror Camera and a Matter-compatible Lightstrip that features 50 addressable LED zones and four mirroring modes. With the help of the company's Sync+ technology, you can synchronize the Lightstrip and all your Nanoleaf lights with the action on your TV. If you want more consistent lighting, the Sync+ platform also supports the usual assortment of pre-made scenes, including Nanoleaf favorites like "Aurora Borealis" and "Vibrant Sunrise."
Nanoleaf
When installing the Nanoleaf 4D, you can mount the camera on top of your TV or just below it. You'll find adhesive and snap-on brackets inside the box for attaching the Lightstrip. At launch, Nanoleaf will offer the 4D TV Starter Kit in two sizes: one for 55- to 65-inch TVs and another for 70- to 80-inch sets. No word yet on pricing.
Nanoleaf is also adding a ceiling light to its line of modular wall panels. The aptly named Skylight consists of a set of square RGBW LED panels you can freely arrange to create different patterns on your ceiling. Skylight comes with all the features you expect from a Nanoleaf product, including the company's screen mirroring technology, music visualizer and support for group scenes. You can use the Nanoleaf app to adjust the brightness, color and color temperature of Skylight's built-in LEDs. Like the Nala Learning Bridge, Skylight also doubles as a Thread Border router. Nanoleaf says it will launch its latest modular lighting system in the second half of the year. Expect pricing details to arrive around then too.
Nanoleaf
Last but not least, Nanoleaf is updating its Essentials line to add BR30 and GU10 models. The company is also refreshing existing Essentials models, including its original A19 lightbulb, to make them Matter compatible. Owners of existing Nanoleaf products won't be left out either. The company says it will roll out a software update for its Shapes, Elements, Canvas and Lines lighting products later this year to make them Matter-compatible.
As someone who bought an electric toothbrush far too late in life, I appreciate any product that promises to save me from expensive dental care. After debuting a few years ago in Europe, the Y-Brush, a sonic toothbrush that can clean your teeth in 10 seconds flat, is now available in the US through Amazon. Unlike a traditional toothbrush, the Y-Brush features a mouthguard-shaped head with 35,000 nylon bristles designed to clean all your teeth simultaneously. Rather than moving the brush around your mouth for two minutes, you position one side of your mouth inside the Y-Brush, turn on the device and then gently chew on the brush head while rotating it around your teeth. Once you’re done with one set of teeth, you repeat the process on the other half. At most, you can expect to spend 30 seconds brushing your teeth.
Y-Brush doesn’t promise better cleaning performance so much as claiming you’ll do a better job of taking care of your teeth with its products. Since most adults spend about 45 seconds to a minute brushing when they go clean their teeth, most traditional and electric toothbrushes aren’t as effective as they could be if people spent the two minutes they’re supposed to commit to maintaining their pearly whites. Most modern electric toothbrushes try to get around that problem by including timers designed to remind you to move the brush around your gumline and hit different parts. The Y-Brush instead attempts to make the process as fast as possible.
At $80 for the base NylonStart model, which doesn’t include a timer setting (you can count to 10, right?), the Y-Brush is more expensive than your average electric toothbrush. Popular models like Sonicare 4100 will set you back about $50 – though you’ll curse Philips for its pricey and proprietary brush heads. Y-Brush also offers a kids model suitable for children between the ages of four and 12, and a $130 NylonBlack variant that features multiple timer settings and ships with an accessory you can attach to your toothpaste tube to make it easier to use it with the Y-Brush.
Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder and former CEO of crypto exchange FTX, has pleaded not guilty to federal wire fraud charges and other crimes. Per The New York Times, Bankman-Fried appeared before a Manhattan court on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after he was granted bail on a $250 million bond, and said he was innocent of charges laid against him by US prosecutors.
In addition to a civil suit from the Securities and Exchange Commission, SBF faces a criminal indictment from the Justice Department. Prosecutors have accused Bankman-Fried of leading a multiyear scheme to defraud investors and customers of FTX. SBF faces a total of eight criminal charges, including multiple counts of wire fraud. He is also accused of attempting to commit commodities fraud, as well as breaking federal election laws by donating more than is legally allowed and in the names of other people.
