ASUS is taking a stab at glasses-free 3D in 2023, starting with its new ProArt StudioBook laptop. It sports a 16-inch, 3.2K OLED panel that has the ability to flip into 3D at the touch of a button. This feature, which ASUS calls Spatial Vision, uses eye-tracking and a lenticular lens to deliver two separate images to your eyes. That lets you view things like 3D models and movies with the same amount of depth that you'd expect from a typical 3D screen with glasses.

Now this isn't exactly new — Acer has been hyping up its SpatialLabs technology for years, which was most recently featured in a gaming notebook. ASUS appears to be following a similar path by focusing on professional users first. Aside from the ProArt StudioBook 16 3D OLED, Spatial Vision will also make its way to a slightly less premium VivoBook Pro mode, which will hopefully cost less. Pricing details aren't available just yet, but you can expect to pay a great deal more than a typical 2D laptop.

Based on a brief demo with ASUS, Spatial Vision looked impressive on the StudioBook 16, though it took a few tries to get it working properly. It turns out ASUS's eye-tracking technology couldn't deal with a face mask easily, which makes me concerned about using this tech in a crowded office. Once I removed my mask though, I was able to view a variety of 3D models up close. When I moved my head side to side, the eye-tracking sensors rotated the models, almost as if they were physically in the room with me. I didn't get to try out any 3D gaming with the StudioBook, but it'll be interesting to see how shooters work with Spatial Vision.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Personally, I'm excited about the possibilities of glasses-free 3D while watching movies. I was able to see 3D cinema-like depth while viewing the trailer from Avatar: The Way of Water. It was a reminder that 3D can be more than a gimmick when done correctly. Unfortunately, Spatial Vision only supports one viewer at a time, but that's true of every glasses-free 3D solution. It's hard enough to track one person's eyes to keep perspective — adding more people is exponentially more difficult.

Beyond its 3D capabilities, the ASUS ProArt StudioBook 16 3D OLED looks like a premium workhorse laptop. It's powered by Intel's new 13th-gen HX CPUs, as well as NVIDIA's RTX 4000 graphics. It can fit up to 64GB of DDR5 RAM and 8TB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage, and thankfully there are two user-replaceable slots for memory and storage. The ProArt's OLED screen can also reach up to 120Hz, which makes it useful for late-night gaming together with its NVIDIA hardware.

Even though Spatial Vision looks cool, it's still unclear if people actually want glasses-free 3D. I've talked to 3D artists who prefer having a VR headset nearby to fully explore their models, they don't see much value in getting a bit of depth right on their screens. But I don't blame ASUS, Acer and other companies for exploring the possibilities of this technology — when it works well, it looks absolutely magical.

Along with its gaming-focused laptops and models that offer 3D visuals without the need for glasses, ASUS had some upgraded general-purpose systems to show off at CES. Depending on how you spec them, though, the likes of Elden Ring should still look pretty great on these laptops.

First up is the latest Zenbook Pro 16X OLED, which ASUS says is the most powerful Zenbook to date. You'll be able to kit it out with up to a 13th-gen Intel Core processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40-series laptop GPU and 32GB of LPDDR5X DRAM.

ASUS says the Zenbook Pro 16X OLED (UX7602BZ) has a "unique" Intel processor and a Supernova System-on-Module design that reduces the size of the motherboard core area by 38 percent, allowing for more efficient cooling. There's also more space for the graphics unit's power components, which ASUS says will deliver higher and more stable GPU performance.

ASUS

As the name suggests, this model has an OLED display. It's a 16-inch, 3.2K HDR touchscreen with an aspect ratio of 16:10 and a 120Hz refresh rate. There's an auto-tilting keyboard that could help you to find the ideal typing angle. You'll also be able to take advantage of the ASUS Dial, which should offer more precise control in creativity-focused apps.

The Zenbook Pro 14 OLED is getting a glow up too. The UX6404 model has a 2.8K, 120Hz NanoEdge Dolby Vision display with a 100 percent DCI-P3 gamut and Pantone validation for accurate colors. It comes with up to a 13th-gen Intel Core processor, a GeForce RTX 40-series laptop GPU, a 2TB SSD and 16GB of DDR5 RAM. There's a memory slot that can accommodate up to 32GB SO-DIMM, as well as WiFi 6E connectivity and a 76Wh battery. ASUS says it packed all of this into a body that weighs 3.64 lbs (1.65 kg) and is less than 0.7 inches (1.8 cm) thick.

ASUS

As for the Zenbook 14X OLED (UX3404), that has a 14.5-inch, 2.8K HDR display with a 16:10 aspect ratio and 120Hz refresh rate. The laptop comes with up to a 13th-gen Intel Core processor, GeForce RTX 3050 GPU, 32GB of LPDDR5 RAM, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD and a 70Wh battery. The thin and light 14X comes in two colors, Inkwell Gray and Sandstone Beige. The latter has a lid with what ASUS describes as "a new ecofriendly Plasma Ceramization coating technique that creates a ceramic-like finish and stone-like feel."

Meanwhile, the business-oriented ExpertBook B9 OLED (B9403CVA) is an all-metal laptop. The company claims the "ecofriendly manufacturing process helps to reduce production materials by up to 29 percent, and shortens manufacturing time by up to 75 percent to maximize energy efficiency." It's said to be lighter than most 13-inch laptops too.

The latest ExpertBook B9 has a 14-inch 2.8K display with a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio. There's a touchpad that's almost 27 percent larger than the previous model and you can expect a raft of security features, including NFC login, face login and a physical webcam shutter.

ASUS hasn't revealed pricing for any of these models as yet. The laptops should start shipping between April and June.

This year at CES ASUS has an updated version of its bread and butter ultraportable in the Zenbook 14X OLED. But for 2023, in addition to revamped specs, ASUS is trying out a fancy new ceramic coating on the laptop’s lid.

The process used to create the coating is called PEO, or plasma electrolytic oxidation. This allows ASUS to add a lightweight but durable finish that’s not only harder than traditional anodized aluminum, because it doesn’t require any strong acids or heavy metals during manufacturing, it’s also more environmentally friendly.

In person, the Zenbook 14X’s ceramic finish feels great. It reminds me of the magnesium chassis Microsoft used on old Surfaces, except that it’s even smoother and better at resisting fingerprints. The downside is that because this is the first time ASUS is using this process, the ceramic coating is only available in one color: sandstone. On the bright side, if you want something a bit more traditional, there’s also a cheaper model with an aluminum finish in Inkwell gray.

Other updates on the Zenbook 14X include a slightly larger 14.5-inch OLED touchscreen, a faster 120Hz refresh rate and a taller 16:10 aspect ratio. And of course, performance is also getting a bump thanks to new 13th-gen Intel CPUs, support for up to 32GB of DDR5 RAM and even an optional RTX 3050 GPU from NVIDIA. ASUS is also adding faster Wi-Fi 6E connectivity and with a slightly larger 70-watt hour battery, I’m hoping we see a small boost in longevity too.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

Port selection looks solid as well with two Thunderbolt 4 connectors. And when it comes to making video calls, there’s a new full HD webcam (which is up from the 720p on last year’s model) with support for windows hello and dual mics with AI noise cancellation, so you should look and sound better during meetings.

Now I know some of you might be disappointed that ASUS didn’t find room for Nvidia’s newest 40-series mobile graphics cards. But considering that the Zenbook 14X weighs barely more than four pounds and isn’t meant to be your main gaming machine, it’s hard to be too upset.

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

All told, between the new ceramic coating, the slightly larger display and revamped components, the Zenbook 14X is shaping up to be a pretty well-equipped and stylish notebook. I just hope other people like it too, because I’d love to see ASUS expand the color options for the ceramic coating to more shades than just sandstone. Of course, just how much of a premium you have to pay for it may play a role in its success. ASUS has not yet released pricing for the Zenbook 14X OLED, though it is slated to go on sale sometime in Q2 2023.

CES is back! For real. Sort of. While the show has never actually gone away in spirit, this year is the first time since the pandemic that Engadget has a team on the ground. The show proper kicks off on Thursday Jan 5th, but the news has already been coming hot and heavy. If we count Jan 4th as Day 1, since it’s usually the media preview day, that would make today… Day 0. Some companies couldn’t even wait and broke their news on New Year’s day, those eager beavers. From Samsung’s eye-catching display prototypes and home appliances, to a slew of chips and laptops, here’s what you missed from Day 0 of CES 2023.

Samsung beat everyone to the punch by announcing some of its news early. On Monday, the company unveiled new QD-OLED TVs that will hit up to 2,000 nits of brightness, as well as a 57-inch 8K gaming display. But most intriguing are the new wall ovens that will livestream a video feed of what you’re cooking, plus a new prototype mobile display that can both slide and fold.

CES is also a big show for chip makers like Intel, AMD and NVIDIA. This year, Intel unveiled its 13th-gen CPUs for laptops, which can offer up to 24 cores. NVIDIA had a slew of news, including the mid-range RTX 4070 Ti, which costs $800, as well as a series of RTX 4000 cards for laptops. The latter promises serious leaps in gaming performance for portable machines, with the flagship 4080 and 4090 GPUs reportedly being powerful enough to play games across three 4K monitors at 60 frames per second. NVIDIA is also expanding its GeForce Now game streaming to cars, while bringing the processing power of the RTX 4080 desktop GPU to the cloud gaming service.

These new chips are showing up in the usual plethora of laptops and computers from companies like Acer, Lenovo, Dell, ASUS, HP and more. Acer, for example, is updating its range of gaming laptops and simplifying its Swift series, with all of them getting 13th-generation Intel Core processors, alongside design refinements. Meanwhile, LG is updating its Gram series of super thin and light laptops with — you guessed it — 13th-generation Intel Raptor Lake processors. The new Gram Style is a mere 10.99mm or 0.43 inches thin, and has a so-called “hidden” trackpad that has LED backlighting that illuminates when you touch it.

Dell usually shows off some compelling concepts at CES and this year it’s catching our attention with an update to Concept Nyx. As a refresher, Concept Nyx is the company’s vision for a server for your home that can let you play games on various screens around the house. The update this year is a new accessory, and senior reporter Devindra Hardawar, who has already checked it out, called it a “truly baffling PC gamepad.” He even says “it’s like the Steam Controller 2.0, but worse.” Check out his hands-on to see why, and stay tuned all week as we bring you all the news from CES 2023.

MSI has announced its 2023 gaming laptop lineup at CES, including new Intel and NVIDIA components. The updated models also have redesigned cooling that MSI says can help kick up performance.

As with most new gaming laptops unveiled this week, MSI’s upgraded models use 13th-gen Intel Core series processors with GeForce RTX 40 series laptop graphics. In addition, the new models include the company's latest thermal setup, now organized into shared, dedicated and VRAM-exclusive pipes.

The Titan GT and Raider GE series are the most spec-intensive models, using the Intel i9-13980HX with MSU Overboost tech that can push processing and graphics to a 250W power draw (or support 5.2GHz frequency across 8 P-cores). The Titan GE also adds what MSI describes as the “world’s first 4K 144Hz Mini LED display.” The 17.3-inch panel can hit an impressive 1,000 nits peak brightness with over 1,000 local dimming zones. The Raider GE’s display is a step down from it but still offers a respectable QHD+ resolution at 240Hz. That model also has a new chassis with an upgraded light bar.

MSI

MSI also has new editions of its Stealth Series gaming notebooks, which have a slimmer profile than the Titan and Raider lines while sacrificing as little power as possible. That lineup includes models with 14-, 15-, 16- and 17-inch displays. In addition to the new Intel and NVIDIA hardware inside, the Stealth 14 Studio and Stealth 16 Studio use a magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis that helps keep their weight down. (The 16-inch model weighs 4.39 lbs, while the 14-inch one is 3.75 lbs.) In addition, the 15-inch variant has a 240Hz OLED display with a 0.2ms response time while covering 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

The Prestige series pushes the light and thin boundaries further, with the 13-inch variant standing as MSI’s lightest gaming laptop at 2.18 lbs. Like the Stealth line, the Prestige models also use a magnesium-alloy construction. Despite the light and thin build, the Prestige 13 Eco has a 75W-h battery lasting up to 15 hours.

Engadget will try MSI’s new gaming machines later this week, but you’ll still have over a month to decide if they’re right for you. Although the company hasn’t released a full release schedule, it tells us the Titan and Raider series will launch mid-February, while the Stealth and Cyborg lines will arrive later that month.

LG unwrapped its 2023 soundbars right after Christmas, but the company is showing the duo off here at CES. The SC9 and SE6 are both equipped with Dolby Atmos, but while the former is a more premium-level device, the SE6 is compact all-in-one unit more akin to Sonos' Beam. We got out first look at both at CES along with some more info on each unit.

First, the SC9 is designed to work best with LG's OLED TVs — specifically the C series. The company has even designed a custom mounting bracket for its TVs so that the soundbar is attached to the display and not the wall. This means that if your television is on a swivel bracket itself, the speaker rotates with it pointing the sound in the same direction as the TV. And speaking of directional audio, LG has equipped the SC9 with three upfiring speakers — one more than a lot of soundbars offer. That should boost the speaker's Dolby Atmos and DTS:X capabilities. 

A few features for the SC9 are exclusive to LG TVs. Wow Orchestra syncs the display's speakers with the soundbar for the best audio experience and Wow Interface puts all of the SC9's sound settings on the TV for easy access. The company's Wowcast technology will let you connect to its TVs over Wifi, allowing you to ditch the wired connection if you see fit. In terms of wired connectivity, there are two HDMI ports: an HDMI/ARC for linking with the TV and one additional jack. 

The LG SE6 is another proposition entirely. This compact unit still offers Dolby Atmos in a frame that's cloth wrapped and has softer, rounded edges. As you might expect, LG built the SE6 for people who have smaller spaces or simply want a smaller soundbar in front of their TV. It still offers HDMI/ARC connectivity with your TV with one additional HDMI port alongside. To further reduce any clutter, the SE6 doesn't come with a subwoofer like the SC9 does. However, it does support Wow Orchestra, Wowcast and most of the new features the company added to the more robust SC9.

LG hasn't announced pricing and availability yet, but we're likely to get that info sometime this spring. 

Drop might be best known for its mechanical keyboards, but the company has also built out an impressive portfolio of audio gear as well. Usually those take the form of headphones and headsets made in partnership with other brands like Sennheiser and HiFiMAN. But the new BMR1s are an entirely in-house designed set of desktop near field monitors. 

The BMR1s rely on balanced mode radiators (hence the BMR tag) instead of traditional conical drivers. This means that they can deliver a wider frequency response from a single driver and are less prone to breakup. The trade off is that bass response suffers a little bit. Though, Drop is quick to point out that you can connect a subwoofer for increased low end. Force cancelling radiators built in also help further limit distortions. 

Drop

Flexibility is a key part of the pitch here. They can be arranged vertically or horizontally, depending on your needs with minimal change to the acoustic response. And Drop is also offering customize magnetic grills for users to personalize their audio setup. The target audience here is clearly gamers and those looking to step up their PC audio setup. 

They're reasonably small and so ideal for someone that wants to upgrade from the builtin speakers on their laptop, but they're probably not ideal as your primary music listening device or as studio monitors. The frequency range of 80Hz to 24kHz leaves an obvious hole at the bottom end, even if the mids and highs are natural and balanced sounding. The total harmonic distortion rating of 0.40% at 1kHz seems to back up the claims of limiting distortion as well.

Still, at only $129 they're pretty reasonably priced, especially considering that, in addition to the 3.5mm audio jack they can be connected via Bluetooth, and there's a headphone out jack for when you need to keep things quiet. The Drop BMR1s are available now for preorder, with an expected delivery of late February or early March. 

LG isn't quite done revealing its 2023 OLED TV lineup. The company has unveiled the 97-inch Signature OLED M3, a TV LG says is the first to support Zero Connect wireless video and audio transmissions. Plug your devices into a large external box and you can send a 4K 120Hz picture to the TV from up to 30 feet away without running ugly cables directly into the set. While the approach isn't completely wireless, it does let you tuck your media players and game consoles out of sight.

The tech should hold up under real world use. LG claims its algorithm minimizes disruptions by people and pets moving through the room, and that appeared to hold up in our brief experience at CES. People were walking between the M3 and the Zero Connect box with no apparent impact on the signal quality. You can rotate the antenna to face the TV and use voice commands to manage it, so you shouldn't have to worry much about placement.

As for other details? LG didn't share much else, but the M3 has an integrated bracket that lets the TV sit virtually flush against the wall. As a 4K set, it won't offer the same bragging rights as the 8K-ready Z3 line. However, that's not entirely the point — this is more about creating an elegant living room setup than having the best specs.

Like LG's other CES TV announcements, there's no word on price or availability for the M3. Given the size and wireless video tech, though, we'd expect it to be a significant expense. This is supposed to be the centerpiece of a luxurious home theater, and it will likely be priced accordingly.

Never mind asking DoorDash to deliver meals or groceries — it can now take items off your hands, too. The service has introduced a Package Pickup option that has a courier grab your prepaid packages from various carriers (including FedEx, UPS and USPS) and drop them off at the appropriate mailing location. You can use a prepaid shipping label if you have one, but you can also send shipping QR codes directly to the courier and skip the printer or box.

Package Pickup is available for up to five items at a time and costs a flat $5, or $3 if you're a DashPass subscriber. DoorDash hopes to entice early adopters by offering the first pickup for free in January. Conveniently, it's arriving in time to return unwanted or broken holiday gifts.

This is far from a new concept. Shyp was offering similar shipping options in 2015, right down to the $5 fee. And if you're only interested in shuttling items across town, Uber Connect has been available since 2020. However, DoorDash is obviously counting on convenience as a selling point. You can use a familiar app to ship packages when you'd rather not make the trek to the local depot.

The new feature is also part of a larger trend of expanding delivery apps beyond food. It's now relatively easy to use DoorDash, Uber and similar services to get convenience store essentials, prescriptions and even your Facebook Marketplace purchases. The expansion is ultimately a hedge against uncertainty in the pandemic recovery period (services can make money even if food deliveries tank), but you might not mind if it saves you from lengthy trips.

Though popular with videographers, Panasonic's mirrorless cameras have always been at a disadvantage to Sony, Canon and other rivals due to the inferior contrast-detect-only autofocus. Now, the company has finally introduced its first cameras with hybrid phase-detect AF (PDAF), the full-frame L-Mount S5II and S5IIx. They're designed to make focus "wobble" and other issues a thing of the past, while also introducing improved video and photography features.

Both cameras have an all-new 24.2-megapixel sensor with 315 contrast and 779 phase-detect AF points. The new chip features Dual Native ISO with a range of ISO100-51200 (50-204800 expanded), and Panasonic has also introduced the new L2 Engine that processes twice as fast as before. That allows for additional performance and less rolling shutter distortion. 

I've yet to test the cameras, but Panasonic seems confident that its new PDAF system can keep up with rivals, speed- and reliability-wise. It said that the AF can now works in conditions that had previously been a challenge, including tracking, multiple people, products, backlit conditions and low light. 

Panasonic

The company also introduced a new in-body stabilization system called Active IS, designed to shoot video while walking. It said the system can compensate for "even significant camera shake, approximately 200 percent more than conventional systems" with select lenses. If the claims are accurate, Active IS could make the new models ideal for vlogging. 

As before, they can record 6K "open gate" 3:2 video (4:2:0 10-bit internally), 4K 30p supersampled video using the full sensor width (4:2:2 10-bit), 4K 60p with an APS-C crop and FHD at up to 120p with a 1.5x crop. 

However, they're significantly improved over the original S5 when it comes to record times. Where the S5 was limited to 30 minutes at 4K 60p or 4K 10-bit 30p due to heating, the new models have no recording time limitations at any resolution. Panasonic achieved this by adding a small cooling fan in the enlarged EVF hump. 

Panasonic didn't improve the S5's 200 Mbps data rates for the internal MOV and LongGOP formats on the S5II and S5IIx. However, the S5IIx does support internal SD card recording up to 600 Mbps in All-Intra (All-I) mode, so it appears to be limiting the capabilities of the S5II.

Panasonic

Both cameras offer Panasonic's V-Log as well as V-Gamut recording options that deliver up to 14+ stops of dynamic range, according to the company. It has a LUT view assist for easier monitoring, as well as the ability to apply your own LUTs in real time — an industry first, Panasonic says. 

Other than the fully blacked-out body, the S5IIx has some interesting features not found on the S5II. You can record to the USB-C port, much as you can on the GH6 via a recent firmware update. Formats supported include All-I, ProRes 422 HQ and ProRes 422, all in 10-bit. That includes 5.8K (17:9) at up to 25p (1.6Gbps) and C4K (4,096 x 2,160) at 60p with an APS-C crop (1.9Gbps). That will require some kind of rig to mount a USB SSD, but those already exist and aren't tremendously expensive.

In addition, the S5IIx will output full-frame 12-bit 5.9K 30p (16:9) ProRes RAW video, along with cropped 12-bit 4K (actually 4,128 x 2,176) and 3.5K (3,536 x 2,656) video at up to 50p externally to an Atomos Ninja V+ HDR monitor-recorder. Both cameras also offer S&Q and HFR recording, letting you capture at high frame rates and either output at the same speed for HFR or get slow-mo in the S&Q modes. 

There are a number of other improvements over the S5. The EVF resolution has been boosted to 3,680K dots compared to 2,360K on the last model, removing one of my biggest complaints. It now offers a full-sized HDMI rather than a fragile microHDMI port plus a USB 3.2 Gen2 (not Gen1) slot, and has two UHS-II SD slots instead of just one. The EVF's eye-detect sensor has been moved up to reduce accidental activations, and the joystick now supports 8- instead of 4-direction operation.

Panasonic

Otherwise, it has much the same layout as the last model (including the fully-articulating display) and is about the same size and weight. It supports 4-channel audio via the same XLR microphone adapter, offers a variety video assist functions (wave form, vector scope, zebra, anti-flicker), Lumix Tether for remote USB shooting and wireless streaming via USB tethering (S5IIx only). 

Finally, photography clearly isn't this camera's raison d'etre, but it does offer 7fps RAW shooting speeds in mechanical mode and 30fps in electronic mode with AFC enabled — up over four times compared to the previous model. And with the phase-detect AF, focus should be more accurate when shooting bursts, meaning fewer blurry photos.

That takes us to the most interesting part of these cameras, the pricing. The Panasonic S5II is going on sale this month $2,000, making it cheaper than rival full-frame models like the Sony A7 IV and Canon EOS R6 II — and it's no longer deficient in the autofocus department. While the S5II doesn't come with external RAW video, you'll be able to update to that feature in the future via a $200 firmware update. Panasonic also upped its native lens count to 14 with the launch of the Lumix S 14-28mm F4-5.6 Macro lens arriving in March for $800.

Meanwhile, the S5IIx will arrive in May 2023 for $2,200. It not only has has the RAW video, but also supports USB-C capture and live streaming, features the S5II will never have — for just $200 more. Panasonic says that's because the former is designed for vloggers and the latter for video pros. Frankly though, if I was a vlogger and interested in the S5II, I'd try to find the extra $200.