Posts with «author_name|mat smith» label

The Morning After: Sony's mixed reality headset breaks cover at CES 2024

Sony’s big press event at CES 2024 didn’t reveal much for the first half, retreading the company’s entertainment successes in TV, film and music. Then, out of the blue, it revealed an as-yet-unnamed mixed reality headset, with almost anime-looking controllers.

Sony

While there are some design similarities, this isn’t a VR headset à la PSVR. This is for “spatial content creation." The headset is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2, announced just as CES began. This means it’s a self-contained device that doesn’t require a computer. Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said the 4K OLED microdisplays on the headset would offer a “crisp viewing experience” and “intuitive interaction for 3D design.”

The headset has a pair of controllers. One is described as a “ring controller” for manipulating objects and the other as a “pointing controller” for... pointing. Sony envisions creators being able to craft 3D models in real time with them.

It all seems a more creative interpretation of Microsoft’s HoloLens. We haven’t yet seen the headset in person, though. Hopefully, we’ll get more details from Sony’s booth, here in Las Vegas.

Oh, and the company drove its incoming Afeela EV on stage with a PlayStation controller. That’s CES. For all the latest CES news, find all our stories right here.

— Mat Smith

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Lots of refreshed laptops landed at CES 2024

Intel’s updated chips need to go somewhere.

Engadget

Yesterday, Intel revealed its entire 14th-generation CPU family, which includes powerful HX series chips, like the 24-core i9-14900HX, as well as new mainstream desktop CPUs. That means, of course, lots of new laptops. We’ve got impressions and reports on new ASUS, Alienware, Acer, Lenovo and Razer computers, but I’d point you toward the weirdest PC we saw so far: the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5. As pictured here, the bottom is a Windows laptop deck, and the display is a 14-inch Android tablet. You can use the tablet as a standalone Android device, a wireless monitor for the laptop base or a Wacom-like drawing display.

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Samsung’s Ballie robot ball showed up at CES 2024 with a built-in projector

And a yellow new look.

Samsung

Samsung showed off a robot named Ballie, which has a projector built in. Interestingly, though, according to a report from The Washington Post, Samsung said the robotic sphere will actually be available for sale within the year.

We first saw an early iteration of Ballie in 2020, touted as a household assistant and potential fitness assistant, with such sophisticated skills as opening smart curtains and turning on the TV. But four years later, it’s a little different. It’s now “bowling-ball-size” and has a spatial LiDAR sensor and a 1080p projector. The latter has two lenses and allows the robot to display movies, video calls and “greetings” on its surrounding surfaces.

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Mercedes-AMG and will.i.am try to turn cars into DJs at CES 2024

Oh no. will.he.is.

Mercedes-AMG and will.i.am are collaborating on a new sound system for cars, called MBUX SOUND DRIVE (all caps, apparently). It pulls data from the car’s sensors, which control a specially deconstructed music file. Start the car and you hear a music track’s bed, looping in the background; accelerate to a low speed and it’ll add some bass reverb to the song. On top of that, moving the steering wheel gets you extra effects or the chorus loop kicking in. It’s only when you open the car up on a clear highway that the main music and lyrics start. Daniel Cooper tested it out, here in Las Vegas.

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This audio mask left our reviews editor speechless

It makes the public phone calls private.

Skyted’s Silent Mask launched its Kickstarter campaign today at CES 2024. It’s a noise-reducing wearable that would allow you to speak freely about confidential information anywhere, without worrying about people around you hearing. It’s already broken its $8,800 goal many times over. While the noise reduction tech has its limits, the idea is it’ll offer a degree of confidentiality to voice calls in busy or quiet public spaces.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-sonys-mixed-reality-headset-breaks-cover-at-ces-2024-181019926.html?src=rss

Sony announces a 'spatial content creation' headset at CES 2024

Sony's CES 2024 presentation didn't have much for the first 25 minutes, then it revealed a new virtual reality creation headset with... no name so far, aimed at "spatial content creation".With a matte grey finish, the headset looks like a stripped-down PSVR2, and there appears to be two cameras facing out from the front. There is also a controller-wand and a smaller peripheral similar in size to a ring. The new hardware is apparently aimed at creators and artists who manipulate and craft products in virtual spaces.

Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida said it would offer a "crisp viewing experience" and "intuitive interaction for 3D design", teasing a device aimed a professionals, similar to its professional-level cameras and devices. 

Sony showed mock-ups of a user tinkering with a bipedal robot while wearing the new headset, manipulating the robot's harm, while two monitors nearby showed things in extra detail. 

It doesn't seem like a Vision Pro rival (or even a next-gen PSVR2) but something possibly more like Hololens. Just more... artistic. 

This is a developing story, please refresh for more 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.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sony-spatial-content-creation-headset-at-ces-2024-013936595.html?src=rss

TCL's NXTPAPER 14 Pro is somewhere between a tablet and a giant e-reader

TCL is going for different with its new pro tablet, revealed at CES 2024. There aren’t that many premium tablets beyond the annual updates from Apple and Samsung, and TCL plans to make its new 14- and 10-inch slates stand out with their display tech, featuring its next-gen NXTPAPER 3.0. It's aimed at striking a middle-ground between e-readers and tablets. It’s not about them being sharper or faster, but gentler on our very human eyes.

The TCL NXTPAPER 14 Pro’s display features heavily focus on eye comfort, with a new VersaView interface that can switch between a black-and-white reader mode and the standard tablet views. The 14-inch 2.8K display (2,880 x 1,800) features the company’s new NXTPAPER 3.0, aimed at better reflecting, literally, how the human eye reads natural paper, but on a digital display. NXTPAPER is TCL’s display tech that tries to offer a tablet experience with a paper-like reading surface. We’ve written about earlier iterations found in devices like the NXTPAPER 11 tablet and even some of its recent budget smartphones.

The company says its next family of phones – no fewer than seven, including the TCL 50 XL NTXPAPER 5G and 50 XE NTXPAPER 5G – will also feature NXTPAPER 3.0 technology. The NXTPAPER 14 Pro is powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 8020 chip, with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which is fine if unremarkable. It’s truly all about the screen.

Photo by Mat Smith/Engadget

TCL says its NXTPAPER series continues to filter out up to 61 percent of blue light to ease the effects on users’ eyes. Version 3.0 is brighter, hitting 700 nits on the 14-inch matte display. A new Circularly Polarized Light (CPL) screen should also light up text more naturally, while being easier to read in sunlight. TCL claims this creates a reading experience closer to reading books in natural light. There’s also DC dimming, which should also lower flickering effects experienced on some lower-refresh rate screens. In tablet mode, the NXTPAPER 14 Pro can reach up to 120Hz refresh rates, and the new CPL tech also means it maintains legibility even if you’re wearing polarizing lenses.

Meanwhile, the Tab 10 NXTPAPER 5G packs some of the same display technology (NXTPAPER 3.0) but on a 10.4-inch, 2K (2,560 x 1,440) screen. And no dedicated viewing mode button. It does, however, feature 5G support.

To really make sure you get it, TCL also created an Eye Health Assistant to nag remind you to reduce screen brightness or perhaps not stare at your new tablet at midnight. The NXTPAPER 14 Pro also has a dedicated physical button for switching between three different viewing modes. The tablet’s VersaView UI means users can switch between a standard tablet mode and NXTPAPER mode.

Photo by Mat Smith/Engadget

The latter is an e-ink style (but not e-ink!) monochrome mode, which rarely features on devices headed to the US. However, this isn’t just the tablet processing the Android interface into grayscale. The interface includes stripped-down icons, like line drawings, that can still be differentiated from each other and a lot more blank space and white backdrops for reading ease. It feels like a concentration mode, which I appreciated. You’ve probably heard of the ‘hack’ of turning your smartphone system into black-and-white to make everything less compelling. This simplifies everything 2even more aggressively while ensuring that some content, like video, can still be played in full color. Swiping around the tablet, or using TCL’s stylus on the screen in both modes was fluid, and refresh rates seem much improved from the earliest NXTPAPER hardware

There are no prices for either of TCL’s new tablets yet, but the company has confirmed that the NXTPAPER 14 Pro will be coming to the US in early 2024. In the meantime, these are our reigning picks for the best tablets you can currently buy.

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.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tcls-nxtpaper-14-pro-is-somewhere-between-a-tablet-and-a-giant-e-reader-190047895.html?src=rss

The Morning After: CES 2024 kicks off with transparent displays from Samsung and LG

Viva Las Vegas! I am contractually obliged to write that in at least one of our posts at CES 2024. So I’m getting it out of the way early. This year, LG and Samsung brought out the big guns, both revealing similar (but technically very different) transparent displays for assembled media and analysts to gaze at and wonder… why.

I’m being cynical, of course. LG, first of all, revealed a wireless transparent OLED. The 77-inch OLED T also taps into the company’s work in wireless transmission technology, reducing wiring needs to power alone. To ensure the display still offers black-enough blacks, a contrast screen rolls down into a box at the base of the OLED T.

A few hours later, Samsung revealed its own transparent display, but it used MicroLED. Samsung showcased the transparent MicroLED display side-by-side next to transparent OLED (oh, snap) and transparent LCD models to emphasize the brighter capabilities of MicroLED. Oh, and it wasn’t only bezel-less — it was frameless.

Lots of questions remain: pricing, availability, and once again, why? The onus is on LG and Samsung to make a case for what will be incredibly expensive displays.

Remember to follow along with all the big CES reveals (and insider views) right here.

— Mat Smith

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Belkin’s Stand Pro iPhone dock uses Apple’s DockKit to track you around a room

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The Flappie AI cat door stops your pet from gifting you dead mice

Pet tech for CES 2024.

Engadget

You know what’s also transparent? A cat flap. Don’t worry, it’s also high-tech and expensive. Flappie’s AI-powered cat door automatically locks if your kitty tries to bring in its caught prey. The flap uses sensors and cameras to detect if your cat has a present — very dead present — for you. Flappie says it has compiled a “unique and proprietary” dataset over the years, which ensures its AI-powered detection system is accurate more than 90 percent of the time. Flappie plans to launch its pet door in Switzerland and Germany later this spring, but there are plans for a US launch. It’ll be $399.

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Samsung made a stylish Frame speaker to match its Frame TV

Hide Dolby Atmos audio behind your framed photos.

Engadget

This just looks… nice? Samsung also announced the Music Frame. It’s a wireless speaker that pulls double duty as home decor, like Samsung’s popular Frame TV series. There’s no screen here, though. Instead, you literally use it as a frame for your printed photos or art. There is no word on pricing or availability for the Music Frame, but expect to hear more in 2024.

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The Apple Vision Pro goes on sale in the US on February 2 for $3,499

What’s CES?

I love it when Apple just elbows CES in the ribs with its own announcements. The company says the hotly anticipated device will arrive in the US on February 2. Pre-orders for the mixed reality headset, which starts at $3,499 for 256GB of storage, will open on January 19. It’s notable as the first new major product since the Apple Watch, which launched almost 10 years ago. Anyway, back to CES stuff.

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JBL adds a touchscreen case to 3 new wireless earbud models

Sure, put a screen on it.

JBL showed off a set of true wireless earbuds that featured a touchscreen-equipped smart case at last year’s CES. It must have been a hit because the company is bringing the feature to three more devices. The Live Buds 3, Live Beam 3 and Live Flex 3 will all get a smart case as well as customizable adaptive noise cancellation, LDAC support for high-res listening, six mics for calls, wireless charging and multipoint Bluetooth connectivity.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-ces-2024-kicks-off-with-transparent-displays-from-samsung-and-lg-182001128.html?src=rss

Govee’s chatbot programs your smart lights for you

At CES 2024, Govee not only revealed an upgraded AI Sync Box Kit, Neon Rope Light 2 and, because it’s 2024, there’s even a dedicated chatbot. While it wasn't available for testing at CES Unveiled, the media preview event that takes place two days before the CES show floor opens, Govee’s AI Lighting Bot will eventually be bundled into the company’s smartphone app, where you’ll apparently be able to cajole it into generating using natural language inputs, a la ChatGPT.

As you can see in Govee’s concept video, it’ll apparently source lighting designs and transmit them to your Govee lights, whether they’re lighting spots, strips or anything else. In one example in Govee’s video, a user asked for a “Barbie Dreamhouse-inspired lighting effect” for their outdoor lights and spotlights, which then undulated between various shades of hot, powder and another-kind-of pink.

Of course, you’ll need even more lighting strips to accomplish grander smart lighting visions, and Govee is willing to oblige with its second-generation Neon Rope Light 2. A spokesperson explained that it will now offer smoother lighting transitions and upgraded bend clips and is made of an even more flexible material, which should be easier to shape around furniture, corners and even into shapes.

Engadget

You’ll also be able to customize the lighting effects of the Neon Rope more easily too. Govee’s app can apply lighting effects through different segments using your smartphone camera and shape recognition, hopefully better evoking your smart lighting vision. The Neon Rope Light 2 will also be Matter-compatible when it launches in the first half of 2024.

Finally, the AI Sync Box Kit 2 will be HDMI 2.1 compatible and following feedback from its users on Govee’s first kit, will support resolutions up to 8K and output video (with matching light effects) at 4K at 120Hz. Govee says its new CogniGlow AI recognition tech will automatically activate tailored lighting effects for compatible games. One example is a blue healing ‘bloom’ when a character heals in Apex Legends. You’ll even be able to personalize these AI effects if you want more subtle lighting twists. A Matter-compatible update will also land on the sync box later this 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.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/govees-ai-chatbot-programs-your-smart-lights-for-you-030217383.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Dell updates its XPS laptops

Last year’s Dell XPS 13 Plus looked slightly different to the XPS laptops preceding it. But the company seemed to like it, because it’s now retooled the rest of the XPS lineup to match. Yes, CES 2024 hasn’t even had its press days yet, let alone started in earnest, but Dell is busy.

The new XPS 13, 14 and 16 laptops all sport the XPS 13 Plus’ glass wrist rest, which hides an invisible haptic touchpad. They also pack touch-sensitive function buttons above the keyboard and larger keycaps for your typing ease. These laptop keyboards are also among the first to get that spicey new Copilot key. Swoon.

This new XPS lineup will be available soon, with the XPS 13 starting at $1,300, the XPS 14 at $1,700 and the XPS 16 at $1,900. Read our first impressions here.

— Mat Smith

​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!​​

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The return of the physical iPhone keyboard case

Clicks has made cases for the latest iPhone models.

A company called Clicks is introducing a new iPhone keyboard accessory if you’re still (still!) pining for the typing experience of a BlackBerry. The keyboard sits at the bottom of the case and doesn’t cover any part of the screen or device at all other than its back and edges. Instead, it extends the phone’s length, so it could make your iPhone 15 Pro Max even more of a pocket-breaker. But maybe that’s the price of having a physical keyboard.

Continue reading.

Qualcomm will debut upgraded VR headset chips at CES 2024

The company continues to beef up its silicon for VR, MR and the rest.

Qualcomm is teasing a new VR/MR chip for CES. The Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 is an update to the vanilla XR2 Gen 2, revealed last year. The chip is for virtual reality headsets, mixed reality headsets and even other wearables. It’ll support 4.3K per eye resolution, compared to 3K per eye with the previous version, and can integrate with up to 12 cameras at once, up from 10, for improved body tracking.

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Yes, this is an Xbox Series S toaster

Goes with your Xbox fridge.

Walmart

For $40, you can now buy an Xbox Series S toaster. Thanks, Walmart. It’ll even toast the Xbox sphere logo onto your bread. It also has six browning levels, an LED countdown and crumb tray — but no ray tracing.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-dell-updates-its-xps-laptops-121516778.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Someone finally ‘beat’ NES Tetris

Tetris always endures. The blocks keep coming and the game itself gets reinterpreted, twisted and remade for new generations. Now, a 13-year-old boy has become the first person to ‘beat’ the NES version of Tetris, 34 years after it was first released.

Yes, ‘beat’ goes in quotes because there’s no way to complete the game. Instead, he played such a flawless game that he forced a kill screen, from an overflow error. While he’s the first person to do this, but not the first time it’s been achieved: An AI program called StackRabbit forced a kill screen with the NES Tetris back in 2021.

But hey, we got there eventually.

– Mat Smith

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Microsoft Copilot keyboard keys are coming

Coming soon to a Windows 11 PC near you.

Microsoft

Microsoft calls this "the first significant change to the Windows PC keyboard in nearly three decades" in a blog post ahead of CES 2024 in Las Vegas. The Copilot key immediately summons Microsoft's AI companion to do your bidding, and while yes it is just a key, it signifies how serious the company is taking its AI moves. The last time it tweaked the keyboard in a major way might have been the Windows key, following the introduction of the Start menu.

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LG’s 2024 OLED TVs can hit 144Hz refresh rates

The big CES TV spec fight begins.

LG revealed its new lineup of OLED TVs, just days before CES 2024 starts. Its Signature OLED M4 and OLED G4 TVs will have an updated AI processor that offers four times the performance of last year’s models. The refresh rates have also been improved. Last year’s models capped out at 120Hz, but both the M4 and G4 will now hit refresh rates of up to 144Hz. Marginal? Yes. But better? Yes. Expect the prices to appear closer to going on sale.

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Finally, you can smoke indoors

BBQ meats, we mean.

GE

After an Indiegogo campaign amassed over $800,000 in funding, GE Appliances is bringing its indoor smoker to consumers nationwide – before CES even started. While the design has been updated since it first appeared, it’s still the same thing: a countertop device for all your BBQ smoking needs. I’m British and don’t understand good BBQ, so please read on for Billy Steele’s explanation – he knows what he’s talking about.

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Jack Black will reportedly play Steve in the long-delayed Minecraft movie

He’ll co-star with Jason Momoa.

Is there a video game character Black won’t play?

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-someone-finally-beat-nes-tetris-121503520.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Samsung schedules its Galaxy S24 event for January 17

Samsung threw a dart at the year’s calendar and chose January 17. Yes, its next Unpacked event is coming earlier this year and will be held at the SAP Center in San Jose. The event, usually held in February, is typically when Samsung reveals its latest array of flagship smartphones. At this point we’ll see the Galaxy S24 – unless the company shakes up the numbering – and I remember the S8!*

This is all broadly unofficial, though. Samsung typically isn’t explicit about what it’ll reveal (unless it’s bantering about foldables “unfolding”). If you’re feeling risky, the company has already started a “pre-reserve” program where you can register your email address to pre-order… something Galaxy flavored.

– Mat Smith

*Yes I know Samsung changed its naming nomenclature to S20 back in 2020, but let me have my fun.

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​​

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Square Enix plans 'aggressive' use of AI to create new forms of content

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LG made a jukebox with a transparent OLED and vacuum tubes

Because it could.

LG

LG has teased another reveal for CES: its DukeBox by LG Labs. The audio device combines vacuum tube audio with a transparent OLED panel to control it. Vacuum tubes have been around since 1906, while transparent OLEDs appeared around 2015. Why not put them together? Functionality-wise, it’s a smart speaker with glamor. LG appears to be pitching it at older rich men who stack their books so you can’t see the spines. What a power move.

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Pornhub blocks Montana and North Carolina as their age verification laws take effect

The website says the states' ID requirement would put users' privacy at risk.

Montana and North Carolina have been leading the list of US states with the highest number of searches for "VPN" over the past few days. Why’s that? New age verification laws were enacted on January 1, and adult websites now either require a copy of visitors' government IDs or have blocked access in the regions altogether.

Pornhub has decided to block users in both states from accessing its website, instead of asking for verification. The other websites owned by its parent company Aylo (formerly MindGeek), including Brazzers, Redtube and YouPorn, are also no longer accessible.

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Tesla says it delivered a record 1.8 million EVs in 2023

China's BYD was close behind with sales of 1.6 million fully electric cars.

Tesla has unveiled its EV delivery and production figures for 2023, and the company had another banner year. It produced 1.846 million EVs last year and delivered 1.809 million, besting 2022 deliveries by 38 percent. That said, Tesla originally projected it would sell 2 million vehicles in 2023, but revised that figure downward in its October 2023 earnings call. Its EV sales also benefited from several price drops over the last year, with the Model 3 and Model Y most recently dropping to $38,990 and $45,990, respectively.

Continue reading.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-samsung-schedules-its-galaxy-s24-event-for-january-17-121624331.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Tech to help stick to your New Year’s resolutions

New Year’s resolutions are usually set with the best intentions – I may have already failed at one of mine already — but the right tools (and resolution, if I’m honest) can make achieving those goals easier.

Naturally, with all the wearables and smartwatches around, there’s a fitness theme to half of our guide, but smartwatches can help nudge you into better habits and even remind you to meditate, which is something I’ve set up on my Apple Watch this week.

We’ve also got to-do list app recommendations, cable organizing advice (that is a weak-ass New Year resolution) and help on how to cultivate a new reading habit in 2024.

What are your resolutions for the coming year? And what will you do (or buy) to achieve them?

– Mat Smith

​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!​​

The biggest stories you might have missed

The Morning After: The biggest tech stories of 2023

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CES 2024: What we expect to see in Las Vegas this year

Wireless TV, plug-and-play solar and next-gen headphones.

The Engadget team is prepping itself for another tour (in military terms) of Las Vegas. CES is back again. Alongside the glory of huge TVs in every size, new autonomous car tech and weird robots that will never make it outside of tech trade shows, we’ve compiled a few predictions for all the tech companies and startups planning to attend. We’ve got next-gen headphones, new display technology and more.

The show officially runs from January 9 - 12, though we'll be on the ground well before that. The first CES-related events will kick off on January 7, so get ready!

Continue reading.

LG is bringing a 4K projector with a weird handle to CES 2024

The CineBeam Qube weighs just 3 pounds.

LG

LG’s latest 4K projector looks a little like, well, I’ll say it: an objet d’arte from TJ Maxx. I say that from a place of love: I’d love a projector that looks like this. I mean, it has a handle that looks like a crank! The style does betray the high-tech insides. The CineBeam Qube can blast 4K images that measure up to 120 inches, with an RGB laser light source, a 450,000:1 contrast ratio and 154 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

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Meta's Quest 2 headset is about to get even cheaper

The price has dropped permanently to $249 following the launch of the Quest 3.

Meta is permanently cutting the price of its Quest 2 VR headset to $250 following the launch of the Quest 3, according to Meta’s official Quest blog. The Quest 2 has been on sale at that price since Black Friday anyway, but a new official retail price might spell even better deals for the previous-gen model in the next few months.

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Take a look at this dreamy timelapse of Mars

From NASA’s Curiosity rover.

NASA

NASA’s robotic Mars explorers were given some time off, as a natural phenomenon would likely interfere with communications. Leading up to the pause, the Curiosity rover was put in park — but its Hazard-Avoidance Cameras (Hazcams) kept snapping away. By the end of the period, Curiosity recorded the passage of a Martian day over 12 hours from its stationary position, as the sun moved from dawn to dusk. 

Take a look.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-tech-to-help-stick-to-your-new-years-resolutions-121518831.html?src=rss

The Morning After: Tech to help you stick to your New Year’s resolutions

New Year’s resolutions are usually set with the best intentions – I may have already failed at one of mine already — but the right tools (and resolution, if I’m honest) can make achieving those goals easier.

Naturally, with all the wearables and smartwatches around, there’s a fitness theme to half of our guide, but smartwatches can help nudge you into better habits and even remind you to meditate, which is something I’ve set up on my Apple Watch this week.

We’ve also got to-do list app recommendations, cable organizing advice (that is a weak-ass New Year resolution) and help on how to cultivate a new reading habit in 2024.

What are your resolutions for the coming year? And what will you do (or buy) to achieve them?

– Mat Smith

​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!​​

The biggest stories you might have missed

The Morning After: The biggest tech stories of 2023

The biggest winners in tech in 2023

How to find and cancel your unused subscriptions

Some Vizio TV owners can claim a share of a $3 million settlement

CES 2024: What we expect to see in Las Vegas this year

Wireless TV, plug-and-play solar and next-gen headphones.

The Engadget team is prepping itself for another tour (in military terms) of Las Vegas. CES is back again. Alongside the glory of huge TVs in every size, new autonomous car tech and weird robots that will never make it outside of tech trade shows, we’ve compiled a few predictions for all the tech companies and startups planning to attend. We’ve got next-gen headphones, new display technology and more.

The show officially runs from January 9 - 12, though we'll be on the ground well before that. The first CES-related events will kick off on January 7, so get ready!

Continue reading.

LG is bringing a 4K projector with a weird handle to CES 2024

The CineBeam Qube weighs just 3 pounds.

LG

LG’s latest 4K projector looks a little like, well, I’ll say it: an objet d’arte from TJ Maxx. I say that from a place of love: I’d love a projector that looks like this. I mean, it has a handle that looks like a crank! The style does betray the high-tech insides. The CineBeam Qube can blast 4K images that measure up to 120 inches, with an RGB laser light source, a 450,000:1 contrast ratio and 154 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

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Meta's Quest 2 headset is about to get even cheaper

The price has dropped permanently to $249 following the launch of the Quest 3.

Meta is permanently cutting the price of its Quest 2 VR headset to $250 following the launch of the Quest 3, according to Meta’s official Quest blog. The Quest 2 has been on sale at that price since Black Friday anyway, but a new official retail price might spell even better deals for the previous-gen model in the next few months.

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Take a look at this dreamy timelapse of Mars

From NASA’s Curiosity rover.

NASA

NASA’s robotic Mars explorers were given some time off, as a natural phenomenon would likely interfere with communications. Leading up to the pause, the Curiosity rover was put in park — but its Hazard-Avoidance Cameras (Hazcams) kept snapping away. By the end of the period, Curiosity recorded the passage of a Martian day over 12 hours from its stationary position, as the sun moved from dawn to dusk. 

Take a look.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-morning-after-tech-to-help-you-stick-to-your-new-years-resolutions-121518467.html?src=rss