Nanoleaf, the company best known for its modular wall lighting tiles, is now moving outside your house. As part of CES 2024's avalanche of smart home news, the company unveiled its first exterior lights designed to bring extra visibility to your home. It also announced the Orchestrator app that creates a light show synced up to your playlists and songs. 

The new Outdoor String Lights and Permanent Outdoor Lights are the company's first exterior lighting products, bringing "the magic of dynamic gradients and warm ambience to your home's exterior spaces, lighting up patio areas, backyards and gardens all year round," the company said. 

Nanoleaf also announced a new Smart Multicolor Lightstrip for indoor use. All the new panels work with the Nanoleaf app and integrate with the company's other products in terms of controls and customizations. You can also group products together to schedule automations using Matter hubs "and paint your own animations with multiple colors... for a stunning gradient effect," Nanoleaf said. The new products are set to arrive in Spring 2024, with pricing to be revealed at a later date.

Nanoleaf

The Orchestrator software, meanwhile, can create color and light shows using real-time music analysis and beat detection. It supposedly goes beyond existing music visualizers that simply pick up audio within a space by connecting directly to your computer's sound source to provide the "most accurate real-time audio-visual experience," the company said. In other words, you'll get light shows synced up perfectly to your preferred music apps, including playlists and songs. 

Orchestrator, set to arrive in Spring 2024, works via the Nanoleaf desktop app and is compatible with any music streaming platform or audio player. The company also announced that its Skylight Smart Modular Ceiling Light announced last year is now on pre-order at $250 for the Smarter Kit (3 panels), and $70 for each expansion pack (1 panel).

As it often does in Las Vegas, Sony focused its CES 2024 keynote on some of the company's more esoteric products. To start with, it rolled out the Afeela electric car first introduced last year at CES, but did it with some gaming panache by driving it using a PlayStation DualSense controller. Otherwise, it mostly talked about how the in-vehicle experience is getting smarter thanks to our old friend, artificial intelligence (AI). 

Sony also unveiled something else we weren't expecting, namely a new mixed reality headset. Unlike the PlayStation VR 2 consumer model, though, this one is designed for "spatial content creation," so it's designed more for developers, creators and artists than users. 

It's powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip (so it doesn't need to be tethered to a computer) and comes with a controller wand and a smaller ring-sized peripheral. It also sports dual 4K OLEDS microdisplays for a "crisp viewing experience" and allows for "user and space tracking" for mixed reality experiences. There's no word on price, but we should know more when it goes on sale later in 2024. 

The company also discussed its latest offerings from Sony Pictures entertainment, some PlayStation stats and more. The press conference went on for 46 minutes, but we've cut it down to just six so you can get the gist as quickly as possible.  

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.

With Apple's Vision Pro VR/AR headset set to go on sale on February 2, we're starting to see more details about the app requirements. For example, the company has released guidelines for visionOS developers planning to release apps and there's one strange caveat. It would rather developers don't use the terms AR and VR when referring to Vision Pro apps, but rather call them "spatial computing apps," according to the developer page spotted by 9to5Mac. 

"Spatial computing: Refer to your app as a spatial computing app. Don’t describe your app experience as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), extended reality (XR), or mixed reality (MR)," the company states. The headset itself should be called "Apple Vision Pro" with three uppercase words, while "visionOS begins with a lowercase v, even when it’s the first word in a sentence." The terms should never be translated or transliterated, Apple added. 

Given that they're definitely going to be AR and VR apps built for an AR/VR headset, Apple may want to differentiate its own offerings so that consumers don't confound apps for other VR/AR headsets, particularly Meta's Quest 3, with its own. At the same time, Apple has used those terms extensively to describe the headset, with CEO Tim Cook calling Vision Pro an "entirely new AR platform" when it launched at WWDC 2023. 

In the same document, Apple asked developers to indicate if their AR/VR, er, spatial computing apps contain movements like quick turns or sudden changes in camera perspective. That way, the product page will show a badge to warn users. It also described the use of privacy labels and game controllers. As mentioned, the Apple Vision Pro headset arrives on February 2 for $3,495 — a price likely to attract only highly motivated buyers. 

Gaming software developer Unity plans to lay off 1,800 employees or about a quarter of its global workforce, according to a securities filing first spotted by The Wall Street Journal. The company said it made the move "as it restructures and refocuses on its core business" in an aim to get back to profitability. The cuts follow major turbulence in the company after it angered developers by introducing and then partially walking back a controversial runtime fee for its game engine. 

The layoffs add to the more than 1,100 jobs it has eliminated since 2021. Unity fired 265 people in November as part of what it called a company "reset," all of whom were employed as part of its 2021 Weta Digital acquisition. The company also closed down 14 offices around the world. In May of 2023, it announced it would let go around 600 employees, following layoffs of over 500 people in 2022. 

Last September, Unity rolled out some significant concessions to its developer pricing model after widespread backlash over its plan to charge developers for game installations. CEO John Riccitiello, who took much of the brunt of the criticism, stepped down shortly afterwards and was replaced by former IBM president James Whitehurst, who continues to serve as interim President and CEO.

After reporting record profits for 2022, the company has missed revenue forecasts over the last three quarters. In a shareholder letter, the company said it aims to emerge from restructuring as a "leaner, more agile and faster growing company." Unity's game engine is used in titles like Cuphead, GTFO and Kerbel Space Program. 

With game sales flat over the past year, Unity isn't the only company in that industry to see layoffs. As we detailed in our year-end video game roundup, The Embracer Group, which owns studios like Crystal Dynamics, Square Enix Montreal and Gearbox Software, laid off more than 900 people. Epic Games fired around 830 people, Sony cut 100 jobs at Bungie, CD Projekt RED and Sega laid off 100 employees each and Electronic Arts reduced 6 percent of its workforce, or around 1,130 employees. 

Following last year's smart toilet which debuted at CES 2023, Vivoo is at it again for CES 2024 with another urine analysis product. The company has unveiled an at-home digital urinary tract infection (UTI) testing kit that provides what it calls "gold standard accuracy results" via a two-minute test. 

To use it, just pee on the provided UTI test strip and scan it to obtain results via Vivoo's app in "seconds," the company says. If the result is positive, customers can then connect with a doctor to obtain a prescription if required. The company says the product "saves customers time, prevents confusion in readings, and digitalizes the data so customers can share results with healthcare providers via the app, if instant treatment is desired." From the looks of it, the results are obtained via the strip, then deciphered by the app.

Vivoo notes that UTIs are the most common type of outpatient infection, with six in ten women experiencing them in their lifetimes. Normally, you'd send your urine off to a lab for analysis, or use an existing at-home test kit. The company says that the new product spares users the bureaucracy of lab testing while also keeping the relevant data for users who might need that, unlike regular testing kits. 

In fact, many women experience recurrent UTIs, which have become resistant to at least one or even multiple types of antibiotics. By keeping a record of past infections, Vivoo's app could help patients and medical professionals track the problem and treat it appropriately. 

Last year, the company unveiled a smart toilet device that clips onto existing toilets and provides data like your body's water, magnesium, PH, protein and sodium levels. Later on, it released strips for vaginal PH levels. The new home UTI test will come to market in Q2 2024, but pricing isn't yet available. 

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.

AMD gave the first big keynote of many to come for CES 2024 and revealed a couple of interesting products arriving this year. Chief among those is the $329 Radeon RX 7600 XT GPU designed for entry-level gaming, going on sale on January 24th. The main takeaway is that it's designed for 1440p gaming and should be a solidly more capable GPU than the RX 7600, though we didn't see any benchmarks against its main rival, NVIDIA's RTX 4060 8GB. 

The other big news is AI acceleration for the company's Ryzen 8000G desktop processors. Those chips are aimed at folks trying to build capable systems on a budget, with the fastest Ryzen 7 $329 8700G model running eight cores between 4.2GHz and 5.1Ghz, while carrying Radeon 780M graphics. 

The new NPU (neural processing unit) will speed up AI tasks without hitting your CPU or GPU, enabling features like Windows Studio Effects which can blur your background during video chats, or media editing in Adobe and Blackmagic's DaVinci software. 

There's a fair bit of information, but we've made it easier by trimming the announcement down to just 7 minutes, while leaving out filler and extra details — so you should be able to catch up over a cup of coffee. 

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.

HP has unveiled the Omen Transcend 32 OLED gaming monitor with high-end specs and new features that should make it a pretty darn good productivity monitor, too. It's part of the company's newly launched Omen lineup at CES 2024, which includes the world's lightest gaming laptop. 

The Omen Transcend 32 looks like an impressive gaming monitor, even before looking at the other new tricks. It uses LG's latest QD-OLED tech and features a 31.5-inch screen with 4K resolution and a 240Hz refresh rate, with a 0.3-millisecond response time. It's the company's first Omen display that's Dolby Vision certified, offering 99 percent DCI-P3 coverage and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification with peak brightness up to 1,000 nits. 

On the gaming side, it also supports AMD's FreeSync Premium Pro and is likely G-Sync compatible as well. You can enhance the mood with aRGB back lighting and it uses Omen's "Tempest" technology to cool the OLED panel during prolonged gaming sessions. Audio-wise, it uses HP's HyperX tech, which connects to Omen's Gaming Hub to allow for customized EQ and other settings. 

HP

If you're one to alternate gaming with productivity or content creation, it has some truly interesting additional features. It comes with KVM switchable inputs that let you run two devices (including keyboard and mouse) from the same display without having to change cables or use a switching box. On top of that, a picture-in-picture mode shows what's happing on both devices at one. 

That KVM functionality also allows for control of more than one computer at the same time and even the ability drag and drop files across devices, according to HP. All of that could allow you to play a game, all while doing spreadsheets or attending a Zoom meeting — a nice feature for users but perhaps not their bosses. 

Another big feature is USB-C with DisplayPort alt mode and 140 watts of power delivery, enough for even powerful gaming laptops. Other features include Dual HDMI 2.1 ports, the latest DisplayPort 2.1, two USB-C 3.2 ports (each with 15 watts of power delivery) and a pair of USB-A 3.2 ports. Finally, it has a three-year warranty to guard against potential burn-in, much like Alienware's latest QD-OLED monitors. 

The Omen Transcend looks like a desirable monitor, but like many devices launched at CES 2024, it won't be available for awhile. It's set to arrive sometime mid-next year, with pricing to be announced at a later date.

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.

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 was recently banned from sale due to a patent dispute, but has now returned to the market pending an appeal by Apple. Now that you can buy one again, it's available with a solid discount from Amazon, priced at just $709 (with the Olive Alpine Loop strap) instead of $799 thanks to a $40 coupon and six percent discount — near it's all-time-low price.

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 arrived this fall with the new S9 SiP (system in package) chip, allowing you to double tap your thumb and forefinger together to perform activities like ending calls and playing music. The Ultra 2 also automatically turns on Night Mode, processes Siri requests right on the watch and has an always-on display. The form factor matches the OG Ultra smartwatch, but the display is now extra bright, at 3,000 nits vs 2,000 nits from last year’s release.

The watch has fantastic battery life, which comes in handy when you’re trekking through the wilderness, with up to 36 hours per charge. However, there’s also a low-power mode that brings this number up to 72 hours. The depth-tracker works even better for divers, adding the ability to save past dives and track depth history straight from the watch.

The Ultra 2 adds new widgets, an upgraded compass app, new workout-tracking features and much more. Apple also noted that it was manufactured using 95 percent recycled materials as part of a broader push to lessen the environmental impact of its product line. There's one caveat, though: This deal is only available on the Ultra 2 small model, which fits wrists of 130mm to 160mm, and the Olive Alpine Loop.

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Belkin has launched a new wireless charging dock that can perform a neat trick: it can swivel and tilt to track you while you move around a room. The Auto-Tracking Stand Pro does that by being the first device to exploit Apple's DockKit framework that allows it to connect directly to an iPhone without the need for a third-party app, according to the company. 

The Stand Pro uses motorization to swivel 360 degrees around its base, while tilting up to 90 degrees on the MagSafe arm. Once you attach an iPhone 12 or newer, it pairs to the base via NFC and works with any camera app including FaceTime, Instagram and Microsoft Teams. Then, when you're on a conference call or doing social media, it'll automatically move the phone around to keep you in frame — much like DJI's Osmo Pocket 3. 

Belkin

Oh, and it's also a charger, supporting up to 15 watts wireless fast charging when plugged into the wall (it can also run on battery power for about five hours use). It's easy to disable tracking via a button so that it doesn't follow you around like a lunatic when you just want to charge, and an LED shows whether tracking is currently active. 

The $175 Stand Pro isn't the first motorized tracker out there, as my colleague Richard Lai pointed out, and it certainly isn't the cheapest. However, Belkin claims it's the first to integrate Apple's DockKit developer SDK, so we may see similar products in the future. The product is now on Belkin's store, but there's no word yet on availability. 

Belkin

Belkin also launched a number of other chargers at CES 2024. One that's bound to be popular is the $150 BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 Magnetic Stand (now in stock) upgraded with the latest Qi2 charging standard. As with the previous version, it lets you charge your iPhone, Watch Series 7 or later and wireless earbuds at the same time. The company also announced the new Qi2-powered BoostCharge Pro Magnetic Power Bank starting at $40 for the 2,500 mAh version. 

French telescope company Unistellar has launched two new tech-infused models at CES 2024 promising to eliminate the tedious parts of backyard astronomy. The new Odyssey and Odyssey Pro smart telescopes use new technology to focus on both nearby objects like Jupiter and distant stars or nebulae. They also feature new Nikon optics and an updated smartphone app that helps you align and focus the telescope, while automatically finding targets to image. 

Unistellar's current smart telescopes, the eVscope 2 and eQuinox 2, are primarily designed to image distant galaxies, stars, clusters and the like — they can also image planets, but focus can be tricky. However, the Odyssey and Odyssey Pro use what the company calls Multi-Depth technology to focus equally well on both near and far objects, letting you switch instantly from viewing the Moon to a distant nebula. 

Engadget

It works by using the full sensor resolution to image close-in objects, which are bright but relatively small. For dim, larger objects it combines four pixels into one, much like many smartphone cameras, to boost the light gathering capability, at the cost of some detail. As the company told us at CES, it also "stacks multiple images of the same spot to render a clean output."

They even work in light-polluted areas, thanks to a high-sensitivity sensor and smart image processing. "With the Odyssey, Unistellar is offering a new generation of smart telescopes that are both ultra-powerful and capable of instantly transforming your stargazing evenings into adventures across the cosmos with family or friends, even in the middle of the city," said Laurent Marfisi, Unistellar co-founder and CEO.

The other big update is the Android/iOS app. As before, it automatically points the telescope toward the desired target at the right time, by recognizing groups of stars and calculating exactly where a target should be. However, it can now suggest items to look at on a particular evening, and provide extra context about the body in question. 

Unistellar

Both telescopes have new optical tubes using Nikon optics and the company says they're the first that don't need manual adjustments — something that can be difficult for amateur astronomers. That marries with a new autofocus system — much like what you'd see on a digital camera — to deliver consistently sharp images. 

The new telescopes are cheaper than past models, though they do have smaller mirrors than the eVscope 2, at 320mm compared to 450mm focal length. The main difference between the two models is that the Odyssey Pro has slightly more resolution (4.1 megapixels compared to 3.4 megapixels), along with a Nikon-made eyepiece. The Odyssey is now shipping for $2,499, while the Odyssey Pro costs $3,999. The company also has a special edition Odyssey Pro Red Edition (above), that costs $4,499. 

Engadget's Richard Lai contributed to this report.

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.