2023’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) officially kicks off this week in Las Vegas, but as is tradition the announcements have already been coming thick and fast in the days leading up to the show. Most interesting for me are the TV reveals, not least because LG’s popular OLEDs finally have some proper competition from Samsung’s QD-OLED panels nowadays.
You can read about LG’s new TVs right here, and see some hints of what’s coming in Samsung’s 2023 lineup in this press release. The latter also has a huge array of monitors it’s announcing at the show including this massive 57-inch ultrawide model, these QD-OLED displays, and this 5K display. Oh, and it’s got some new transforming devices for good measure. Follow along with all our CES news right here.
Away from CES, Microsoft’s is still sparring with regulators as it attempts to purchase Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard. The latest twist is that Microsoft’s lawyers have claimed in a filing with the FTC that it doesn’t know when Call of Duty originally came out. I have no doubt that there’s some expert legal maneuvering going on here, but from a non-legal perspective it all seems pretty daft to me.
Anyway, here’s a silly tweet to start your day:
Stay tuned, as we continue to update this list with the most important news of today: Tuesday, January 3rd, 2023.
Jan 9, 2023, 3:58 PM UTCAlice Newcome-Beill
Asus’ convertible gaming laptops return with new hardware and more staying power
The ROG Flow lineup gets bigger batteries, fixing the biggest issue with earlier models.
Jan 5, 2023, 6:00 PM UTCCameron Faulkner
Razer’s Blade 16 and 18 laptops feature taller, brighter screens and faster guts
Razer fashioned its Blade into two new sizes, with the latest Intel processors and Nvidia RTX 40-series GPUs inside. These could be some of the most powerful and feature-packed gaming laptops of 2023.
Jan 4, 2023, 3:00 AM UTCChris Welch
Samsung’s 2023 TV lineup bets everything on picture upgrades and AI tricks
Automatic HDR conversion for SDR content, a ton of new apps and software features, and processing enhancements are what Samsung has focused on in 2023.
Jan 4, 2023, 3:00 AM UTCChris Welch
Samsung announces bigger, even brighter 77-inch QD-OLED TV
The S95C features the next-generation of Samsung Display’s QD-OLED panels and is hitting some truly impressive brightness levels in early tests.
- RPhenomenal cosmic power, itty bitty living space.
This 14-inch gaming laptop is no lamp, but it’s still mind-warping to consider a mobile version of a massive RTX 4090 graphics card inside this notebook. And yet it’s real, promising AI-enabled DLSS 3 and enhanced ray tracing that will be available starting next month.
Even if pure performance isn’t your goal, Nvidia claims that with its new tech and low-voltage GDDR6 memory, the mobile 4070 can deliver RTX 3080 performance while using one-third as much energy — saving your laptop’s battery.
Jan 4, 2023, 2:44 AM UTCSean Hollister
Qi2: How Apple might finally harness MagSafe by giving it away
MagSafe is coming to Android, kinda?
Jan 4, 2023, 1:59 AM UTCMitchell Clark
Samsung’s recall fix for overheating washers is a software update — and a dongle
Some of Samsung’s appliances were found to pose a fire risk, so it’s having consumers update them via either Wi-Fi or a special device that they can plug into the machine itself.
- RApple’s market cap is down $1 trillion from its peak exactly one year ago.
On January 3rd, 2022, the value of Apple’s shares briefly crossed $3 trillion.
Today, on January 3rd, 2023, the value of $AAPL shares fell to 125.07 at the market’s close, a 52-week low that sets its market cap at a frankly piddling $1.99 trillion. Now analysts are predicting a slight decline in revenue when Apple releases its latest quarterly earnings report in a few weeks.
The share price is down amid greater economic and interest rate concerns (see, it’s not just Tesla and crypto taking a beating), as well as gloomy news about both iPhone production and demand.
Jan 4, 2023, 1:07 AM UTCVictoria Song
L’Oréal’s new makeup applicator uses AR to give you the perfect brow
The company is also working on Hapta, an accessible lipstick applicator that helps those with limited hand and arm mobility.
Jan 4, 2023, 1:00 AM UTCVictoria Song
Withings wants you to pee on its latest device
The U-Scan is a noninvasive device that you stick in your toilet to monitor metabolic and reproductive health.
Jan 4, 2023, 1:00 AM UTCAlice Newcome-Beill
Nanoleaf’s new lighting kits sync up with the action on your TV
The Nanoleaf 4D kit matches the scenes on your TV with dynamic lighting, thanks to a small camera pointed at the screen.
Jan 4, 2023, 1:00 AM UTCJennifer Pattison Tuohy
Nanoleaf’s new light switches will learn when you need them
Nanoleaf launches smarter than average smart switches and a stunning new skylight ceiling fixture and confirms its lighting panels will be upgraded to support Matter.
- RGoogle’s January 2023 Pixel update is rolling out now.
If you have a Pixel 4a (or newer) Google phone, then there should be an update headed your way soon.
According to the notes, this patch should bring Android 13’s support for spatial audio to “certain devices and accessories,” as well as tweaks for fingerprint recognition on the Pixel 6a and Pixel 7, Bluetooth improvements, and other fixes, including the latest security updates.
If you don’t want to wait for the automatic rollout, there are images of the new OS available here for manual installation.
- JWizards of the Coast is canceling at least five video games.
Wizards of the Coast is known for tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, but it’s pulling back on some of its video game efforts, according to Bloomberg.
However, in October, Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks (Wizards of the Coast is a subsidiary of Hasbro) said that “the trend is decisively in the direction that interactive entertainment is the future of entertainment,” so we’ll have to see if the company remains committed to video games over the long term.
Jan 3, 2023, 11:41 PM UTCJay Peters
Twitter says it will allow more political ads as it tries to claw back revenue
Exactly what will change under the new policies outside of what’s mentioned in a tweet is unclear. The company is also ‘relaxing’ its policies for ‘cause-based’ ads in the US.
Jan 3, 2023, 10:54 PM UTCMitchell Clark
The Fed, FDIC, and currency comptroller are warning banks about messing with crypto
‘The agencies have significant safety and soundness concerns with business models that are concentrated in crypto-asset-related activities.’
Jan 3, 2023, 10:37 PM UTCEmma Roth
Windows 7 and Windows 8 will stop getting critical security updates in one week
Time’s running out for the millions of people still running Windows 7 on their PCs.
Jan 3, 2023, 10:23 PM UTCMakena Kelly
President Biden nominates Gigi Sohn for FCC — again
The Democrats built on the Senate majority during the midterms. The extra vote could finally secure Sohn’s nomination.
- SHere are the next 36 fan builds that could become official Lego sets.
My favorites are The Travel Suitcase and the Japanese Castle, though I’d be happy with many of them! Here’s the full list.
Don’t get your hopes up for a Zelda castle or the house from Up, as Lego has repeatedly rejected designs like those before. And since Lego’s new Jazz Club already has a pizza parlor, I’m afraid the amazing Modular Arcade might not make the cut.
Jan 3, 2023, 7:41 PM UTCTom Warren
Twitch is recovering from an outage that took down everyone’s stream pages
Twitch experienced sitewide issues that made it it look like your favorite streamers deleted their accounts, but it was just a stream outage.
Jan 3, 2023, 7:40 PM UTCRichard Lawler
Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried pleads not guilty to fraud, money laundering charges
The former crypto billionaire pleaded not guilty to eight criminal charges, with the trial set to begin on October 2nd.
Jan 3, 2023, 7:16 PM UTCAdi Robertson
Louisiana now requires a government ID to access Pornhub
A new law requires age verification for sites with a high enough percentage of pornography.
- MMicrosoft has formally recognized the ZeniMax union.
QA workers at Microsoft’s ZeniMax Studios have voted to join the Communications Workers of America and, true to its word, Microsoft has formally recognized the organization. That means that the National Labor Relations Board won’t have to litigate the election, and the company and the union can start negotiating.
The approximately 300 workers in the union are looking to “put an end to sudden periods of crunch, unfair pay, and lack of growth opportunities within the company,” according to one employee quoted in the CWA’s press release.
Quality Assurance Workers at Microsoft’s ZeniMax Studios Establish Company’s First Union[Campaign to Organize Digital Employees (CODE-CWA)]
Jan 3, 2023, 7:02 PM UTCEmma Roth
Dell’s new 32-inch 6K monitor gives Apple’s ProDisplay XDR some competition
The UltraSharp 32 blends in features found on the Studio Display with a larger screen and lots more ports.
Jan 3, 2023, 7:00 PM UTCMonica Chin
The ROG Zephyrus G14 is getting a Mini LED screen
Its design hasn’t changed much from last year, but the new display could be a game-changer.
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