Google wants to do for Android and Chrome users what Apple does for people in its ecosystem. It's announcing a set of news today at CES 2022 that are designed to help those using non-Apple devices easily set up, connect and share seamlessly across platforms. That involves expanding its existing Fast Pair and Chromecast capabilities to more products, as well as improving the sharing of data between Android phones and laptops. In fact, Google said that "for the first time with Android, we're also focused on building for other platforms, like Windows."

First, Fast Pair. Google is working with Acer, HP and Intel to bring Fast Pair to Windows PCs so you can quickly connect your Android phone to your laptop. You can then set up Bluetooth accessories, sync your text messages and easily share files via Nearby Share. This feature will arrive on select Windows PCs later this year. 

Meanwhile, Google is also bringing Fast Pair to devices beyond wearables, cars and Bluetooth audio accessories, to include things like TVs and smart devices. It already works with the Pixel Buds and some Fitbit watches, enabling easier setup on those devices. In a few weeks, your Chromebook can automatically detect your Fast Pair-enabled headphones when you turn them on, allowing you to connect to them in a single click. New Chromebooks arriving later this year will be easier to set up, too. You can connect your Android phone and port over saved data like your Google account and Wi-Fi password.

Google

The company said it'll let you connect headphones to Google TV or Android TV in the coming months, and that Fast Pair will work with new Matter-enabled smart home devices as well. That should make adding connected appliances to your home network easier than before. It doesn't sound as simple as Apple's HomePod setup where you can just hold your iPhone near your speaker to trigger the installation process, but we'll have to wait to see Google's solution in action to know for sure.

After your gadgets are all set up and synced with each other, Google also wants to enable convenient connections a la Apple's AirPlay or AirDrop. It's bringing Cast support to more brands, starting with all Bose smart speakers and soundbars, so you can stream music and audio from your Android phone to compatible speakers. 

The company is also "building a technology for Bluetooth-enabled headphones" that will let them automatically switch audio output depending on what device you're using. Say you're wearing earbuds while watching a show on your Android tablet and a call comes in on your phone. The system will pause your movie and the headphones will switch over to your phone, then go right back to your tablet when your conversation is over. This will work for all audio playing through your devices at a system level, rather than on a supported-app-only basis. For Apple users, this is similar to how AirPods can automatically switch between iPads, iPhones and Macs. 

Google

Google says compatible headphones will also get spatial audio support so you can hear directional sound based on your head's movements for more immersive experiences. These features are coming in the next few months.

Later this year, Phone Hub on Chromebooks is also getting new features to make it more useful. For example, you won't have to install separate apps like Signal or WhatsApp on your laptop to message your friends via your phone anymore. Messages from chat apps will show up on your Chromebook and you can reply to them from there. Google is also adding Camera Roll to the Phone Hub so you can view your media without opening photos.google.com. 

Locking and unlocking devices and vehicles is also getting easier. Just like you can with Apple Watch (and some Samsung devices), in the coming months you'll be able to use your paired Wear OS 3 watch to keep your Chromebook and Android devices unlocked when you're close by.

Google

Cars are also getting an Android update. Compatible Samsung or Pixel phones will now be able to lock, unlock and start supported BMW vehicles. Later this year, too, phones with ultra wideband support can open car doors without leaving your pocket or purse. Google is also adding support for key sharing, in compliance with the Connected Car Consortium interoperable standard, so you can remotely share access to your vehicle right from your phone. The company said it's "working to bring digital car keys to more Android phones and vehicles later this year."

Finally, you'll also be able to tell the Google Assistant to warm up, cool down, lock and unlock your car and ask it for the amount of battery left in your EV. This is coming first to Volvo Cars vehicles in the coming months, "with more to follow," according to Google. 

Everything Google announced today fits in with the vision of ambient computing the company has talked about for years. "This is sort of a foundational element for us to achieve the vision of ambient computing," vice president of multi-device experiences Erik Kay told Engadget. It does seem like when these updates do roll out, non-Apple users may have less reason to envy the seamless ecosystem that iPhone or Mac users enjoy.

Follow all of the latest news from CES 2022 right here!

In 2020, Goodyear pledged to develop a new tire made entirely of sustainable materials within the next decade. Today the company has unveiled a tire with 70 percent sustainable material content, which shows the progress it has made towards achieving its ultimate goal. The tire features 13 ingredients across nine different tire components, including three different carbon blacks that are traditionally made by burning petroleum products.

Carbon black is typically used as a filler to reinforce tires, as well as other rubber products, and to lengthen their lifespan. Instead of using carbon black produced using petroleum, Goodyear used ones that were made using methane, carbon dioxide and plant-based oil. The company says the methods of production its suppliers used to create the sustainable carbon blacks generated less carbon emissions than traditional processes. 

Goodyear has also been using soybean oil for certain tire lines instead of petroleum oil, and this one is no different. Soybean oil allows tires to remain pliable in changing temperatures with added traction benefits. The company had been aiming to use 100 percent soybean oil in four of its tire lines in 2020, but it fell short due to production issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Goodyear's new tire uses a variety of silica, which improves tire grip and help lower fuel consumption, made from rice husk ash, as well. Rice husk ash is a by-product of rice milling, and it's pretty abundant in rice producing countries. Researchers have ben looking into its use as an alternative for cement and and as a source of silica, and according to Goodwill, it was able to produce high-quality silica from the waste material. In addition, the company broke down polyester materials recycled from plastic bottles and other plastic wastes into their base chemicals. They were then turned into technical grade polyester used for tire cords that maintain the shape of the tire. 

Chris Helsel, chief technology officer at Goodyear, said the 70 percent sustainable tire "is an exciting achievement that demonstrates [the company's] commitment to increasing the use of sustainable materials." That said, it was manufactured as a demo product, and the company has yet to reveal whether it will be released to the public.

Beyond Meat's plant-based chicken substitute is coming to KFC restaurants across the US. You'll be able to pick up Beyond Fried Chicken à la carte or as part of the fast food chain's first plant-based combo meal starting on January 10th. The item will be available on KFC menus for a limited time and while stock lasts (which might not last long, based on previous runs). It starts at $7, though the price will vary depending on location.

Beyond Fried Chicken, which Beyond Meat created exclusively for KFC, debuted at an Atlanta restaurant in 2019. Lines reportedly wrapped around the restaurant, which sold out of the plant-based item in just five hours. Other test runs took place in 2020 at restaurants in Nashville, Charlotte and Southern California, with locations in the latter region selling out of Beyond Fried Chicken in one week.

If you happen to miss out on Beyond Fried Chicken during this run, you'll still be able to find Beyond Meat's chicken alternative elsewhere. Some grocery stores started selling the company's "chicken" tenders a few months ago.

Lenovo always unveils a cornucopia of gadgets at CES and this year is no different. In addition to smart home products and various laptops, the company is showing off an unconventional approach to PCs. Since introducing the ThinkBook Plus series in 2020, Lenovo has used it as a platform to roll out unusual form factors, like the previous iteration with an e-ink screen on its lid.

Now that the laptop is in its third generation, Lenovo is moving its second panel down to the keyboard deck and making it a full-color LCD instead. Not only is this approach more useful, it’s also potentially more power-intensive. At a recent hands-on in New York (held in accordance with COVID-19 regulations), I checked out the ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 and, in spite of some bugs, I’m intrigued by the premise.

The laptop’s main screen is a 17.3 inch IPS display that runs at a 3K resolution. It’s accompanied by an 8-inch 800 x 1,280 LCD to the right of the keyboard and features an integrated digitizer layer to enable stylus support. The machine runs an interesting version of Windows 11 that offers several more orientations, in addition to the typical snap shortcuts that you see when you hover over an app’s title bar.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

On the ThinkBook Plus, when you drag an app, a small dialog box pops up with two suggested layouts (and five more appear when you hover over an arrow here). Windows 11 will just see the 8-inch LCD as an external screen and push out content the way it would to your connected monitors. You can choose to snap a window to take up the whole bottom panel, half of it, cover the entire top display, take up only two thirds of it and more. The most unconventional of these layouts is something Lenovo called “waterfall” where an app can spill over the top screen into the bottom, which could be nifty for extra long lists.

I dragged a long spreadsheet into waterfall mode, for example, and could see entire columns at a glance. Or say you’re watching a live-changing Ted Talk up top and want to jot down notes by hand. Writing on the demo unit was surprisingly smooth with satisfying latency. I also appreciated the position of the pad because it felt more intuitive than trying to draw on a laptop’s display.

During my hands-on, the ThinkBook Plus was responsive at snapping apps where I wanted them to go and did so quickly. But it struggled when launching some other functions that Lenovo built into the lower display.

There’s a whiteboard tool that turns the panel into a notepad, as well as a digital numpad. With supported apps like Adobe Lightroom, you can also have a dedicated dashboard of shortcuts or a magnified view sitting next to the keyboard. Lenovo made a “Magic Launcher,” which is a row of buttons at the bottom of this screen for quick access to the whiteboard, numpad and other specialized software.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

This was the most buggy part of my hands-on experience. Sometimes, tapping the buttons wouldn’t work (or would take more than a few seconds before anything happened). The demo unit crashed at least once, too. But we’re at least a few months away from May, when Lenovo expects to sell these machines, so it has some time to iron out these kinks.

The rest of the system performed as expected. The main 17.3-inch IPS display runs at 3,072 x 1,440, which is an aspect ratio of 21:10. It’s easy enough to split three apps on that roomy screen, though if you want to use all of it for editing pictures in Lightroom, at least you can keep an eye on Slack or Twitter with the bottom display.

Keeping all this running is a 12th-generation Intel Core processor with up to 32GB of DDR5 RAM. It uses Intel’s Xe graphics with Unified Memory Architecture, which should be powerful enough for some photo editing. There's also a Full HD IR camera with a privacy shutter and an array of ports including an HDMI socket, two USB A jacks and a Thunderbolt 4 connection.

Cherlynn Low / Engadget

It’s worth noting that the battery size here is 69 Whr, which is pretty typical for most laptops this size. But most laptops this size don't also have a secondary monitor to power, so we'll have to wait till we can test one out for ourselves to get a sense for real-world endurance. You'll only be able to get these in May, and they'll start at $1,399.

Lenovo also announced a slew of other products in its ThinkBook and ThinkCentre family of business-minded devices. There’s the updated ThinkBook 13x Gen 2, which can work with a “Wireless Multi-Device Charging Mat” that recharges Qi-compatible gadgets while also powering the laptop itself. The company also debuted a new ThinkCentre Neo line comprising three desktop systems for small and medium businesses. Finally, the new ThinkBook 14 and 16 Gen 4+ i (yes, that’s part of the name, not a stray letter) sport 16:10 screens running at 90Hz and 120Hz respectively, among other updates.

The ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 is one of the most eye-catching things I've seen this CES, though that’s not to say Lenovo is breaking new ground. ASUS has already made several dual-screen laptops in its ZenBook Pro Duo series, and Lenovo itself also tried before with the ill-fated Yoga Book line. Dell and Intel have shown off some concepts, too and I'm very intrigued by the premise here. With Windows 11’s release last year, it seems like more PC makers could be ready to deliver real dual-screen laptops and we could see more of them in 2022. As a taste of what’s to come, the ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 is tantalizing and I applaud Lenovo for continuing to try and innovate.

Follow all of the latest news from CES 2022 right here!

Although many other major tech companies withdrew from having a physical presence at CES 2022, Samsung stayed the course. A t this year's show, it made a bunch of announcements and revealed an array of products, including the Galaxy S21 FE, a slightly more budget-friendly version of the Galaxy S21.

At 55 inches, the wild Odyssey Ark is Samsung's largest curved monitor to date. Elsewhere, Samsung showed off a portable projector with a built-in smart speaker, its latest QLED sets, a remote that can recharge using router radio waves and an updated TV interface with cloud gaming services such as Google Stadia baked in. You can catch up with the company's biggest news from CES with our eight-minute supercut.

Follow all of the latest news from CES 2022 right here!

Sony's CES 2022 press conference was jammed with information, as it revealed more details on PlayStation VR2 and plans to launch an electric car company. During the latter announcement, it even brought out an electric SUV called the Vision-S 02, a follow-up vehicle to the Vision-S it showed at CES 2020. 

That's not even mentioning that Spider-Man: No Way Home star Tom Holland came on stage to present a clip from the upcoming Uncharted film or a preview of upcoming games for PS VR2. Luckily, you can get caught up with all the news in less than nine minutes with our supercut, so enjoy!

Of course, the year when many media outlets and companies decide to skip on attending CES in person, Sony decides this is the year to make some news at its press conference. While we got more news on its EV plans, and next-gen TVs, Tom Holland was also drafted into the showcase to promote the forthcoming Uncharted feature film.

Then it hit us with a barrage of specs for the highly anticipated next-gen PlayStation VR headset. It will, of course, be compatible with the PS5 and the VR2 Sense controllers we’ve already seen. It will have a display resolution of 2,000 x 2,040 pixel per eye, a 110-degree field of view, and be capable of 90 to 120Hz frame rates, all while supporting 4K HDR.

The world of consumer VR has rocketed forward since the original PSVR, so Sony is playing catchup with features like inside-out tracking, which uses multiple embedded cameras to track the movements of your head and controllers. There will also be “headset feedback” which sounds like the headset will shake and vibrate like a DualShock/DualSense controller. We’re still waiting to see what it’ll look like, how much it’ll cost and when we’ll get to buy one, but the company did announce one of the first games arriving on the platform: Horizon Call of the Mountain, which will be a VR experience set in the Horizon universe.

-Mat Smith

Samsung's portable Freestyle projector focuses and levels automatically

The floodlight-style device weighs just 1.83 lbs.

Samsung

Samsung's new portable projector uses autofocus and auto-leveling features that'll help align whatever you're watching, meaning you'll have a lot of options for where to place it.

You'll be able to project content at a display size ranging from 30 to 100 inches with a 1080p resolution. It has a 180-degree cradle stand, so you can point it toward a ceiling and watch things while you're lying down. Alternatively, using a base accessory, the Freestyle can even connect to a standard E26 light bulb socket.

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TP-Link’s new WiFi 6E router has motorized antennas that follow your devices

Less excuses for poor connections.

TP-Link

How do you make a router cute?

Look at it wiggle!

ASUS' ROG Flow Z13 is a gaming tablet with NVIDIA's RTX 3050 Ti

Think of it like a Super Surface.

The ROG Flow Z13 packs in Intel's new 12th-gen processors and up to NVIDIA's RTX 3050 Ti all in a sleek slate. Weighing in at 2.43 pounds, it's clearly not meant to replace smaller tablets like the iPad. Instead, ASUS sees it as a way to bring your PC games everywhere — say a cramped airplane tray table — without the bulk of a laptop. It can even connect to external GPUs.

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​​The RTX 3090 Ti is NVIDIA’s new-new flagship GPU

There’s also an “RTX 3050” at the low end.

NVIDIA just teased a new flagship GPU: the RTX 3090 Ti. More details will arrive soon, but the company did reveal a few specs to keep high-end GPU fans intrigued. The RTX 3090 Ti will become NVIDIA’s ultra high-end GPU, outside of its creator line, supplanting the RTX 3090.

Like the 3090, the 3090 Ti will have 24GB of GDDR6X memory, but running at 21Gbit/s, as opposed to the 19.5Gbit/s of the 3090’s memory. NVIDIA also says the GPU is capable of calculating 40 shader teraflops, 78 RT teraflops and 320 tensor (AI) teraflops. More vital statistics – but no price – after the fold.

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Dell's XPS 13 Plus is a beautiful ultraportable with no headphone jack

What good is a sleek design if we can't plug in our headphones?

The company's flagship ultraportable that sparked the slim bezel trend and has remained one of our favorite notebooks for years is evolving. The XPS 13 Plus, a more powerful and ambitiously designed notebook with a lattice-less keyboard (read: no space between the keys) and a glass haptic touchpad. It also, gasp, lacks a headphone jack.

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Sony reveals its follow-up Vision-S 02 EV prototype

It’s an SUV.

Sony

Sony has unveiled a follow-up to the electric car it revealed at the same event two years ago. The new prototype is an SUV called the Vision-S 02, which features a large interior that can seat seven.

The electric SUV has sensors all over its body, including CMOS image and LiDAR sensors for its driver assistance system. Sony says it's already conducting tests in Europe as part of its efforts to release Level 2+ driver assistance technology on public roads. Inside, there are ime-of-flight sensors for driver authentication, as well as support for intuitive gesture and voice commands. Sony now has ambitions to become a player in the electric vehicle industry and sell its cars to the public. It will establish an operating company named "Sony Mobility Inc." this spring and will explore entry into the EV market.

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The biggest news stories you might have missed

​​Sony's 2022 Quantum Dot OLED TVs can tweak quality settings using a camera

HyperX boasts 300 hours of battery life for its latest gaming headset

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has successfully deployed its 70-foot sunshield

Watch LG's CES 2022 event in under five minutes

Eargo's latest smart hearing aid adapts to your environment

Let's watch two minutes of the upcoming 'Uncharted' movie

John Deere says its self-driving tractor is ready for production

Samsung has unveiled its largest curved monitor yet, the 55-inch Odyssey Ark, showing its potential for both gaming and productivity. For gamers, it wraps around your field of view so you can see both ahead and beside you when playing Flight Simulator, for instance. But it can also be flipped 90 degrees into a portrait orientation for work, showing a Zoom feed, spreadsheets and whatever else you need to see. 

Samsung

The Odyssey Ark is a Quantum Dot Mini LED display with a fairly sharp curvature and 16:9 aspect ratio, unlike the much wider 32:9 format of the 49-inch Odyssey Neo G9. It can pivot and tilt via the height adjustable stand (HAS), so you can set it to the optimal angle. That's pretty key, because it's so large when when tilted vertically that you have to crane your neck to see the top of the display. 

It also offers multiview options that "allow users to adjust Odyssey Ark exactly how they want it with a totally adaptable screen size to fit the game or the program without compromising its 4K display and bright, colorful images. The monitor also features a wireless, dial controller to manage lighting and the interface," Samsung wrote in a press release. Other specs like refresh rate, color accuracy, latency and more have yet to be revealed, but with Mini LED you can likely count on a reasonably bright, fast and color accurate monitor. 

Samsung's press shots only show the Odyssey Ark obliquely from the top and side, but YouTuber Tim Schofield tweeted some images from the CES show floor. Suffice to say, it's pretty grandiose when in portrait mode, essentially working as a triple display with the top of it literally towering over the user. Samsung plans to bring it to the US in the second half of 2022, but has yet to reveal any pricing. 

Sony has revealed some pertinent details about its next-gen virtual reality headset at CES 2022, starting by confirming its name: PlayStation VR2. The new headset will be compatible with the PS5 and with the new VR2 Sense controllers. It has a display resolution of 2000 x 2040 pixel per eye, has a 110-degree field of view, is capable of 90 to 120Hz frame rates and supports 4K HDR.

The PS VR2 features inside-out tracking, which means it has multiple embedded cameras to track the movements of your head and controllers. Sony has also introduced a new sensory feature for the device called "headset feedback" that can make games and experiences even more immersive. Headset feedback uses a built-in motor with vibrations to simulate in-game events — it can, for instance, mimic the feel of a character's elevated pulse rate while they're hiding from a threat or the feel of objects passing close to a character's head. 

3D audio and eye tracking are a couple of other features that create immersion. The headset can detect the motion of your eyes, allowing you to interact with the game environment like you'd interact with the real world. As for the PS VR2 Sense controllers, they'll have key features from the DualSense controllers, particularly haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. While Sony has yet to reveal the headset's availability, the company announced one of the first games arriving on the platform. Horizon Call of the Mountain, a VR experience in the Horizon universe, is apparently being built for the PS VR2 and will be an exclusive title for the platform.

Follow all of the latest news from CES 2022 right here!

Samsung's making more moves in the portable projector market with its new Freestyle model. It weighs just 1.83 lbs, and with the help of auto focus and auto leveling features that'll help align whatever you're watching, you'll have a lot of options for where to place it.

Samsung

You'll be able to project content at a display size ranging from 30 to 100 inches with a 1080p resolution. It has a 180-degree cradle stand, so you can point it toward a ceiling and watch things while you're lying down. Alternatively, using a base accessory, the Freestyle can connect to a standard E26 lightbulb socket.

If you want to use the device on the go, there's an optional waterproof case and portable battery. You might not even need to connect it to speakers, as Samsung is promising 360-degree audio. Expect far-field voice control too.

The Freestyle will have much of the technology and customization features of Samsung's smart TVs, according to the company. In addition, you can attach the lens cap for mood lighting while you play your favorite music. The portable projector will be available for pre-order on Samsung's US website starting today for $899. It will be available in other regions over the coming months.