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!
Those looking to add a speedy desktop to their household, or upgrade from an old machine, should consider Apple's latest iMac. The sleek machine earned a score of 89 from us thanks in part to its fast performance and updated design, and now you can pick up the silver model for less at Amazon. The 24-inch iMac M1 with an 8-core CPU and a 7-core GPU, along with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, is down to $1,249, or $50 off its normal price. Only the silver model is this low right now, and the last time it saw a similar discount was back in July of last year.
Apple's M1 chipset powers the latest iMacs, delivering noticeable performance improvements over previous models. The desktop can handle video editing, spreadsheet work and even Apple Arcade gaming without breaking a sweat, and wakes almost instantaneously from sleeping and only takes around 25 seconds to boot in a cold start. It also has a stunning 4.5K Retina Display that can show over one billion colors and reach up to 500 nits of brightness, so everything from photos to videos pops on this screen. Plus, the under-10-pound iMac is pretty easy to move around, so while you may just want to park it in one room of your home, you can move it when necessary without much effort.
Our biggest gripes with the iMac are its lack of vertical screen adjustment and its USB-C only port array. The base model, which is the one on sale, only has two USB-C ports — and you'll have to spring for the $1,499 8-core GPU version in order to get two more. That means that you'll most certainly be living the dongle life if you invest in this laptop, and that's an inconvenience that might be too much for some. You do get the color-matching Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard with this desktop, though, and while there are more comfortable combos out there, they will work just fine for most people.
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Walmart has big plans for its InHome delivery service in 2022, aiming to expand it from 6 million households to 30 million by the end of the year. To achieve that, it will hire more than 3,000 full-time associate delivery drivers and build out a fleet of all-electric delivery vans.
The InHome service, which handles more than 160,000 items from 3,400 stores, first launched in 2019. Since then, it's been operating in select markets at a fee of $19.95 per month or $148 per year, a bit more than the $119 you pay for Amazon Prime membership. However, Walmart notes that tips for associates are built into the fee.
Once signed up, you can order items from the Walmart app and select InHome as the preferred delivery method. Drivers can unlock the customer's door using a one-time access code, with a vest-worn camera recording the entire delivery. You can use your own smart lock or purchase one from InHome for $50.
Walmart said that the new associate delivery driver position is full-time and includes benefits like medical, vision and dental insurance, 401K matching, paid time off and free college degrees. Drivers also get paid a $1.50/hour premium compared to other store workers.
The company plans to equip those workers with a fleet of all-electric vans. It has yet to specify exactly which delivery vehicles it will use, though it has tested EV's used by GM's Cruise division and autonomous, electric box trucks employed by a startup called Gatik. Walmart said it will make InHome delivery service accessible to 30 million households by the end of the year, reaching around 70 percent of the US population.
Another year of restrictions means the excuses for not starting that podcast are surely drying up. If your last one was “I can’t find a USB mic I like,” then 512 Audio might be about to ruin your (procrastinator’s) day. The company is unveiling two USB microphones at CES this year along with a podcast-friendly audio interface.
If you do (or plan on doing) a lot of vocal work, the $119 Script microphone might be the one to consider. The vintage styling is based on Warm Audio’s WA-14 studio condenser microphone (512 Audio is a subsidiary of Warm). The Script is dual-pattern (Cardioid/Omni) and the dual 14mm capsules are tuned to vocal work, so the company claims. Thanks to its USB connection, the Script offers zero-latency monitoring via a headphone jack and onboard gain/mute controls.
Should you want a microphone that’s a little more versatile, then the $160 Tempest might be a better fit. Like the Script, there are onboard monitoring and volume controls. The Tempest also offers a larger, 34mm capsule, for those that want a more responsive sound. This model, too, is based on one of Warm’s existing microphones – specifically the WA 47Jr. Though we don’t know if these microphones are just USB versions of the ones they mimic or are simply visually inspired by them (at the very least, the WA14 offers more polar patterns than its 512 counterpart).
512 Audio
With both of the new microphones offering USB connectivity, you won’t need an interface to connect them to your PC, but 512 Audio is unveiling one of their own for those that already have XLR microphones and want to plug them into something a little more podcast friendly than a generic interface.
While there’s no pricing information at this time, the audio interface has two combo ports for the aforementioned XLR mics and or ¼-inch instruments. There’s also a 3.5mm input for phones and other compatible devices. Perfect for introducing a “caller” onto your show or simply for feeding in other audio sources as you see fit. There are two headphone outputs on the front, which is a definite perk for podcasters and even a mute button for the mics which is less common than you might think, and handy in a podcast scenario for talking off-air or avoiding coughs and other unwanted sounds.
Of all the above, the Tempest will be launching first, slated for March this year. The Script will be available in “spring” and the audio interface will come later this year.
Follow all of the latest news from CES 2022 right here!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
CES 2022 press conferences aren't always the most informative, but NVIDIA actually unveiled some pretty interesting products this year. Chief among those is the RTX 3090 Ti, its new flagship graphics card that's likely the most powerful gaming GPU ever built. The company also announced what will be the cheapest RTX 30-series desktop GPU to date, the RTX 3050.
It didn't leave laptops out either. NVIDIA also launched the RTX 3070 Ti and 3080 Ti GPUs for laptops, with the latter available only in pricey models that cost $2,500 and up. It also unveiled new Max-Q GPU technology that will help save your battery, an obvious concern with high-powered GPUs. That's a lot of info, but you can learn about all of that and much more in under 10 minutes with our supercut.
Intel debuted its new chips for laptops — and a handful of devices that use them — at this year's CES. The chipmaker has announced that it's bringing its hybrid 12th-gen CPUs to laptops a few months after they were introduced for desktop computers. These CPUs combine performance cores (P-cores) and efficient cores (E-cores) on a single chip to be able to better handle the demands of various real-world tasks. Their faster cores can power your game, for instance, while the slower cores are taking care of your livestreaming needs. They'll top out at 14 cores for laptops, which include HP's updated EliteBook and ZBooks, as well as MSI's new Stealth GS77 and Stealth GS66 gaming laptops. Intel has also revealed that its 12th-gen KS-series chips for desktop, which are arriving this spring, will be able to reach 5.5GHz on a single core. Plus, it's adding a foldable specification for its premium Evo PC line this year. You can watch a condensed version of the company's CES event in our video above.
Follow all of the latest news from CES 2022 right here!
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.
Here is a first look at the INSANE Odyssey Ark from @Samsung! This is a curved 55" 4K Monitor with a 16:9 aspect ratio... Can do some serious gaming/multitasking on this! #ces#samsungpic.twitter.com/Y82hbeY9gg
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.
At this year's CES, 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 that the company is calling Vision-S 02. Sony took the sedan's EV and cloud platforms and put them in a new form factor to create the vehicle, 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 conducting tests in Europe as part of its efforts to release a Level 2+ driver assistance technology on public roads. Inside, there are Time-of-Flight sensors for driver authentication, as well as support for intuitive gesture and voice commands. The vehicle will also have 5G connectivity to enable over-the-air updates and remote operation, which Sony is currently working on with its partners.
While the Vision-S 02 is just a prototype at the moment, Sony 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. The company didn't reveal what other steps it's taking to achieve that goal, and it remains to be seen whether it'll truly be able to release its Vision-S vehicles. It's worth noting, however, that Sony has been testing its electric sedan on public roads in Europe since December 2020 and has also started verification tests of the safety and user experience of the vehicle's imaging and sensing technology.
Electrified pickups and SUVs may be all the rage but there's apparently still plenty of room in the EV market for more battery-powered autos and crossovers. At CES 2022 on Wednesday, Chrysler revealed its first fully electric vehicle concept, the Airflow.
“The Chrysler Airflow Concept represents the future direction of the Chrysler brand, providing a peek at the dynamic design, advanced technologies and seamless connectivity that will characterize the full-electric portfolio we plan to reach by 2028,” Chris Feuell, Chrysler CEO, said in a press statement.
Stellantis
Being a concept vehicle, the Airflow has most every bell and whistle Chrysler could include such as an in-vehicle camera for in-vehicle video conference calls as well as the company's new E/E (electrical/electronic) and software platforms, STLA Brain, STLA SmartCockpit, and STLA AutoDrive. STLA Brain serves as the vehicle's central controller, allowing it to receive OTA updates. SmartCockpit, on the other hand, runs the Airflow's infotainment system, providing navigation and voice control, as well as an on-board app store, for both the driver and passengers. Autodrive will reportedly offer Level 3 self-driving features with the capability for further feature improvements via the those OTA updates.
The Airflow concept is equipped with dual 150kW motors, giving the crossover AWD capabilities and a Chrysler-estimated 350 - 400 mile range. Exterior design details include full-width LED tail lights and 22-inch rims, while the leather-bound interior boasts individual climate control options, separate dash-mounted touchscreens for the driver and front passenger (as well as seat-back mounted screens for both rear passengers), and ambient lighting that shifts based on the passengers’ preferences and what's playing on the the central displays.
Stellantis
Being but a concept vehicle, the Airflow that arrives in 2025 could — and likely will — look and perform a bit differently from what was announced today. Looking at you, promises of level 3 autonomy.
