Qualcomm is ringing in the new year at CES 2024 in Las Vegas with some updates in its chip lineup that power virtual and mixed-reality headsets. The keynote, which will detail more about what’s new for its anticipated AI-powered chip, will happen on January 10 at 5pm ET. It can be streamed on Qualcomm’s website or directly on the CES keynote page.

What to expect

There might be some information divulged about Meta and Qualcomm’s chip collaboration and how it could improve functionality on new gen VR headsets. Qualcomm has said that the technology has been engineered into a single chip architecture that allows it to support smaller and sleeker headsets.

The AI-integrated chip technology will not only make it easier to track a headset user’s hands, controllers and eyes during use, it will also deliver better display resolution per eye. The Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 chip will offer up to 4.3k by 4.3k resolution per eye, as well as upgraded raw image processing and full color display.

Cristiano Amon, the CEO of Qualcomm is also going to focus on generative artificial intelligence and how Snapdragon platforms will integrate AI on devices from smartphones to PC gaming systems. Amon’s keynote is in alignment with the company’s overall move towards investing in AI hardware in its offerings, which we saw in its recently revealed mobile chipset for Android devices.

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 year, LG Display came to CES 2024 with something to prove. It had multiple sizes of transparent OLEDs (the show's theme appears to be transparent displays) and a gaming monitor capable of 480Hz refresh rates – double what we’re used to seeing. Perhaps the most interesting things at its showroom were LG Display’s most advanced OLED panels yet, featuring its META technology 2.0. While it sounds like promotional fluff (and there’s some of that here), the company is trying to address arguably OLED’s biggest weakness.

While the company revealed its META technology last year, version 2.0 features advanced microlens arrays (now called MLA+). These are micrometer-sized lenses with a Dragonfly eye design that improves the viewing angle of OLED displays up to 160 degrees. These lenses (and there are 42.4 billion of them in LG Display’s 83-inch 4K prototype), combined with new algorithms result in an OLED far more brighter than its predecessors – 42 percent brighter than conventional OLEDs, according to the company.

META 2.0 could address one of the biggest criticisms of OLED compared to rival screens- whether Mini or MicroLED – that it can’t get bright enough. LG Display says its META 2.0 OLEDs can hit 3,000 nits of brightness.

Why would you want an even brighter OLED? Combining MLA+ with a new brightness-optimizing algorithm analyses scenes in even more detail, to enhance both peak and also color brightness. These next-gen OLED displays can reach color brightness of up to 1,500 nits — 114% brighter than conventional OLEDs. A new detail-enhancing algorithm will also attempt to accurately render bright and darker images, where detail is sometimes lost. It’s not just a matter of image quality either — the technology offers power savings too.

LG Display’s 83-inch 4K META 2.0 OLED demonstration display will apparently be joined by 55-, 65- and 77-inch options, as well as 8K OLEDs as big as 88 inches. These will reach consumer TVs, monitors, and the rest – just in time to go head-to-head with the latest, brightest MicroLED rivals.

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.

Netflix’s long-anticipated sci-fi series 3 Body Problem finally has a full trailer, following a short teaser released last year. This new trailer is over two minutes long and absolutely filled with exciting moments and tantalizing clues. Watch it below.

The show’s based on a hit book series by Chinese author Liu Cixin. The showrunners include David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, formerly of Game of Thrones. Yes, everyone hates them because of the ending of HBO’s fantasy epic, but here’s the thing. 3 Body Problem is the first novel in the finished Remembrance of Earth's Past series, and the earlier seasons of Game of Thrones, when working from pre-existing material, were absolutely iconic. So this could be very good, though it has suffered from delays.

As for the plot, well it’s complicated and hard to even discuss without getting into spoilers. The books are out there if you can’t wait until the show’s March 21 release date. As a clue, the clunky title actually refers to a common problem with both classical physics and quantum physics involving Newton’s laws of motion and universal gravitation. In other words, it’s hard sci-fi, but the books have plenty of action and mystery set-pieces, and the show looks to follow suit. Expect plenty of advanced technologies and otherworldly weirdness.

3 Body Problem stars Benedict Wong, Eiza González and several Game of Thrones alums including Jonathan Pryce and John Bradley. Besides Benioff and Weiss, screenwriter Alexander Woo is on-board as a co-showrunner. Woo’s best known for his work on True Blood and The Terror, among other well-regarded series.

NASA is delaying its return to the Moon with the Artemis program. "To give Artemis teams more time to work through the challenges with first-time developments, operation and integration, we're gonna give more time on Artemis 2 and 3," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told reporters on a call.

As such, Artemis 2, which had been scheduled for a November 2024 launch, is now targeting September 2025. That four-person mission is set to fly around the Moon, in a similar fashion to the uncrewed Artemis 1. As for Artemis 3, which will take humans back to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972, that's now targeted for September 2026, marking a nine-month delay.

Those are the only delays NASA has announced for now. Nelson said "Artemis 4 remains on track for September 2028." Along with a lunar landing, that mission will mark the delivery of a habitat module to the Lunar Gateway, a space station that's planned for lunar orbit.

The delays are for safety reasons. "For Artemis 2, there are new capabilities being on-ramped for the mission," Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator of the Moon to Mars Program said. Those include propellant loading, crew loading and egress and fresh abort and life support systems.

Kshatriya said NASA is learning from both the data it obtained from Artemis 1 and the production of components for future missions. "From the test flight in particular, we had one major finding that we need a little bit more time to work [on] and that is the performance of the thermal protection system on the spacecraft, on the heat shield," Kshatriya said.

While the heat shield performed well overall during the Artemis 1 landing in terms of thermal protection, it experienced "some unexpected phenomena we need to make sure we understand perfectly," namely some charred material. NASA doesn't want to leave anything to chance when it comes to astronauts' safety and it spent "the bulk of 2023 investigating" that concern, Kshatriya noted. NASA hopes to identify the root cause of the issue in the spring.

Meanwhile, among other concerns, NASA encountered some issues with the life support system. "During the acceptance of some components for Artemis 3, we noticed a failure in some motor valve circuitry," Kshatriya said. "These components passed acceptance testing for Artemis 2, but did not pass them for Artemis 3. That gave us pause to stop and look at that circuit in a more detailed way." As such, NASA found a design flaw in the circuit. 

Given its importance to the life support system, the agency deemed the system unacceptable as is. "We have to replace it to guarantee the safety of the crew," Kshatriya said. It's likely to take quite some time to resolve the issue as NASA will have to carefully test every change, but Kshatriya added the agency knows how to solve the problem. 

The Artemis delays follow the failure of a mission that sought to transport the first US commercial payload to the Moon. Astrobotic had hoped to make a soft landing on the lunar surface with its Peregrine lander. However, due to some post-launch issues (in particular, a propellant leak) the soft landing is no longer possible.

"Given the propellant leak, there is, unfortunately, no chance of a soft landing on the moon. However, we do still have enough propellant to continue to operate the vehicle as a spacecraft," Astrobotic wrote on X. "The team continues to work to find ways to extend Peregrine's operational life."

SAG-AFTRA, the union representing thousands of performers, has struck a deal with an AI voice acting platform aimed at making it easier for actors to license their voice for use in video games. Under the deal, which was announced during a press event at CES 2024, SAG-AFTRA members will be able to work with Replica Studios to license their voice to game studios.

Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the union's top negotiator, said that the agreement “paves the way for professional voiceover artists to safely explore new employment opportunities for their digital voice replicas.” The agreement comes as Hollywood is still grappling with the use of AI. Last year, SAG-AFTRA reached a deal with Hollywood studios that included AI protections following a months-long strike. As a result, studios are now required to pay actors (and obtain their consent) before using an AI-generated version of their likeness.

SAG-AFTRA’s latest agreement with Replica Studios seems to follow a similar framework. According to Crabtree, the agreements cover the creation of so-called “digital voice replicas” and how they can be used by game studios and other companies. The deal has provisions for minimum rates, safe storage and transparency equirements, as well as “limitations on the amount of time that a performance replica can be employed without further payment and consent.”

Notably, the agreement does not cover whether actors’ replicas can be used to train large language models (LLMs), though Replica Studios CEO Shreyas Nivas said the company was interested in pursuing such an arrangement. “We have been talking to so many of the large AAA studios about this use case,” Nivas said. He added that LLMs are “out-of-scope of this agreement” but “they will hopefully [be] things that we will continue to work on and partner on.”

SAG-AFTRA’s deal with Replica only covers a sliver of the game industry. Separately, the union is also negotiating with several of the major game studios after authorizing a strike last fall. “I certainly hope that the video game companies will take this as an inspiration to help us move forward in that negotiation,” Crabtree said.

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 modern classic mystery game Immortality is finally coming to PS5 on January 23 and it’ll cost $20, which is in line with the price on other platforms. It already exists on PC, Xbox Series X/S, Android and iOS. The game was originally released back in 2022.

For the uninitiated, Immortality is more of an interactive film trilogy than a video game, recalling full-motion titles from the 1990s. The surreal narrative tasks you with solving the disappearance of an actress named Marissa Marcel. You do this by scrubbing through video clips and gathering clues. Creator Sam Barlow has likened the gameplay to a “mental Metroidvania”, in that you return to previously-viewed clips once you have a new understanding of some aspect of the mystery.

We loved the title upon release and it made our list of the best games of 2022. The script, penned by writers behind films like Wild at Heart and TV shows like Mr. Robot, is not just good for a video game, but engaging throughout. The atmosphere is moody and tense, recalling the cinematic stylings of Alfred Hitchcock and, especially, David Lynch. Immortality is geared more towards cinephiles than mainstream gamers, so don’t expect a lot of action. The acting performances, however, are excellent.

Sam Barlow made a similar game called Her Story, which was also well-received, and the less popular Telling Lies. He’s been involved with several entries in the Silent Hill franchise, including Silent Hill: Origins and Silent Hill: Shattered.

EcoFlow has arrived at CES 2024 in Las Vegas to show off its largest and most useful home battery backup solution, the Delta Pro Ultra. It’s calling the hardware a “smart hybrid whole house battery generator and backup” that will draw power from a wide variety of sources. You’ll be able to charge it from either high or low-output solar panels, from the grid, or even juice it up from a gas powered generator. (But also, don't do that unless lives are on the line, please, the planet can't handle it.) The Delta Pro Ultra also vastly increases how much power you can keep on hand at any one time. The existing Delta Pro can scale — with additional batteries — up to 25kWh but, if your wallet is thick enough, you can equip the Ultra with 90kWh of batteries, which the company says should be enough to keep your home’s essentials running for up to a month.

In fact, the theme of this hardware is supersized capaciousness since every element of it has been built to service the most extravagant McMansions. For instance, the solar input can take up to 16.8kW of power at a time, letting you wire up to 42 400W panels at a time. Combined with the ability to draw extra power from the grid when energy costs are low and you should see the initial outlay paid back fairly quickly. And the company says output runs from 7.2kW — enough to run a Central Air unit — all the way through to 21.6kW with enough additional gear, which should be enough to power most key appliances in your home.

On its own, the Ultra is plug-and-play, although if you want to take advantage of its higher outputs and deeper integration with the home, you’ll have to buy its Smart Home Panel 2. That will of course require the services of a qualified contractor but, even so, the company says that installation is pretty clean and tidy. Not to mention that it’s nice and quiet when outputting less than 2,000W to help avoid complaints from the neighbours.

If you’re looking to splash out on a new whole house battery backup system, the Delta Pro Ultra is available to order starting today. For the first month, the inverter and battery will set you back $4,999, while the Smart Home Panel 2 costs an extra $1,599 when bought separately. Not to mention you can snag both in a bundle for $6,399 until February 9, when prices for all three will leap up to their RRP of $5,799 (Ultra), $1,899 (Panel 2) and $7,499 (bundle).

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.

Palworld, often described as “Pokémon with guns,” finally has an Early Access release date. In addition to its violent battles, the game tackles labor exploitation themes with a sardonic sense of humor while adding (perhaps) just enough changes to evade Nintendo’s lawyers. It launches in Early Access on Steam and Game Pass on January 19.

At first glance, Palworld’s trailers make the game look like a simple and charming 3D open-world riff on Pokémon. You’ll see battles with strange monsters, vaguely resembling those in the creature collecting franchise, including players capturing them inside a sphere after a victory.

Pocketpair

But Palworld also takes things to darker places Nintendo would never dream of. For example, take this slice of developer Pocketpair’s Steam FAQ about the game. In response to “What kind of game is this?”, it reads, “Pals can be used to fight, or they can be made to work on farms or factories. You can even sell them or eat them!”

A section of the FAQ on building reads, “Want to build a pyramid? Put an army of Pals on the job. Don’t worry; there are no labor laws for Pals.” On factories and automation, it says, “Letting Pals do the work is the key to automation. Build a factory, place a Pal in it, and they’ll keep working as long as they’re fed — until they’re dead, that is.” The game’s trailers showcase piles of Pal corpses to prove the point.

For yet another example of the game’s dark undertones, take the video above, “Using Pals Efficiently.” “To build a great base, catch a Pal and make it work,” the voiceover says, repeating the last part twice for emphasis. Simultaneously, we see various Pokémon-like monsters sweating away constructing the player’s headquarters.

The narration continues: “Creating a productive base like this,” as we see a yard full of Pals swinging hammers, “is the secret to living a comfortable life in Palworld.” The player circles them, holding an assault rifle to ensure they’re on task.

Palworld will be available in Early Access on January 19 at 00:00 PST. You can catch them all — and put them to work — on Steam and Game Pass (Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and Windows).

The second season of HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us is about to go into production. That means we're starting to find out the actors who have been cast in key roles from the second game, including the most pivotal new character of them all, Abby. No spoilers here, but Kaitlyn Dever, the star of Booksmart and No One Will Save You, is taking on the challenging role. (Let's just say we hope she nukes all of her social media accounts.)

“Our casting process for season two has been identical to season one: we look for world-class actors who embody the souls of the characters in the source material,” the show's co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann told Variety. “Nothing matters more than talent, and we’re thrilled to have an acclaimed performer like Kaitlyn join Pedro [Pascal], Bella [Ramsay] and the rest of our family.”

Abby is described as “a skilled soldier whose black-and-white view of the world is challenged as she seeks vengeance for those she loved.” As it happens, Dever and Druckmann have worked together in the past. She played Cassie, the daughter of Nathan Drake, in the epilogue of Uncharted 4, a game that Druckmann co-directed.

Dever is joining the series just after it won eight Emmy awards (including acting honors for Storm Reid and Nick Offerman), and that's even before the delayed main ceremony takes place this Sunday. Pascal and Ramsay are nominated for their performances, while the show is up for Outstanding Drama Series. Overall, The Last of Us snagged 24 Emmy nominations this year, more than any other show except for Succession.

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

The biggest stories you might have missed

The MSI Claw is the first gaming handheld built on Intel’s Core Ultra chips

Watch Sony’s CES 2024 keynote in under 6 minutes

Lockly’s Visage smart lock can unlock doors by scanning your face

Formlabs shows up at CES 2024 with more realistic 3D-printed teeth

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

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.

Continue reading.

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.

Continue reading.

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.

Continue reading.

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.

Continue reading.