Yesterday’s trickle of CES announcements has turned into a flood today. The best place to keep up with them is over on our dedicated CES 2023 page, but I wanted to use today’s roundup to highlight a couple that piqued my interest.
First up is this delightfully wacky gadget from Withings. It’s called the U-Scan, and it’s a small puck that you mount in your toilet to take urine samples as you pee throughout the day. It’s meant as a simple way to keep track of your reproductive health and nutrition, without the invasiveness of blood testing, and despite sounding a little gross, I’m really intrigued by this kind of ambient health monitoring.
Second are Samsung’s CES TV announcements, which are particularly interesting after it’s gotten back into the OLED game. Most exciting is a brand new 77-inch QD-OLED, but there are also new Mini LED, and quantum dot LCD TVs further down the range.
Finally, Qi wireless charging is getting an upgrade this year thanks to Apple, which is allowing MagSafe to provide the basis of the new Qi2 standard. It means the company’s ring of magnets might not be exclusive to iPhones for much longer. Check out Sean’s writeup for all the details.
Late in the day, Sony’s CES press conference included the debut of the Afeela name for its car project with Honda, while Amazon execs confirmed a plan for mostly-corporate layoffs that will let go of 18,000 workers.
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: Wendesday, January 4th, 2022.
- RWe understand if you can’t follow AMD’s new processor naming scheme.
Because judging by the state of its CES 2023 presentation and some of the related press release materials, neither can AMD, as seen in these screencaps.
If you need a refresher, we broke down the new rules of AMD’s CPU names here.
Jan 5, 2023, 3:30 AM UTCMonica Chin
AMD’s new Ryzen 7000 mobile processors include a massive 16-core chip
Zen 4, Zen 3 Plus, Zen 3, and Zen 2 are all here.
- THow to watch AMD’s CES 2023 event.
AMD is ready to announce its next chips at CES 2023 today.
Rumors have suggested we might see more Ryzen 7000 CPUs, the launch of Zen 4 for mobile, and perhaps even a Ryzen 7000 X3D gaming CPU. AMD could even have some more RX 7000 GPUs to talk about. You can tune into AMD’s live stream at 9:30PM ET / 6:30PM PT in the YouTube stream below.
Jan 5, 2023, 1:53 AM UTCTom Warren
Asus announces new Xbox controller with a built-in OLED screen
Asus isn’t the first to an OLED display on an Xbox controller, but it’s the first to include tri-mode connectivity of Bluetooth, RF, or USB-C.
Jan 5, 2023, 1:46 AM UTCAndrew J. Hawkins
Sony and Honda just announced their new electric car brand, Afeela
The two companies’ joint venture aim to have an EV ready for the North American market by 2026.
- SYour first look at the Gran Turismo movie — based on a true story.
“The film is the ultimate wish fulfillment tale of a teenage Gran Turismo player whose gaming skills won a series of Nissan competitions to become an actual professional racecar driver,” writes Sony.
A la Top Gun Maverick, Sony is promising lots of actual cockpit footage, mounting massive camera rigs to its cars. Looks like there’ll be some epic drone shots too. It’s out in August.
Jan 5, 2023, 1:25 AM UTCMitchell Clark
Amazon confirms its layoffs will affect 18,000 employees
In November 2022, The New York Times reported that Amazon planned to lay off about 10,000 employees, but that figure has grown.
- THow to watch Sony’s CES 2023 event.
Sony is breaking from tradition this year and won’t be announcing any new TVs at CES 2023. So what’s left? Well, a teaser image from Sony points towards the PlayStation VR2 virtual reality device being part of the live event.
We’re also expecting more details on the Sony and Honda electric vehicle. You can tune into Sony’s live stream at 8PM ET / 5PM PT in the YouTube stream below.
Jan 4, 2023, 11:05 PM UTCSean Hollister
Coming soon: smart homes where the electricity isn’t so dumb
Schneider Home wants to manage your electricity.
- MLastPass’ data breach got it sued.
Someone has filed a petition for a class action against LastPass, claiming its security measures were “woefully insufficient.” The password management company suffered a breach in August, leading to an even worse leak where hackers got their hands on customers’ encrypted passwords.
The person who filed the complaint claims to have lost thousands of dollars in Bitcoin because of the hack, though that could be hard to prove.
There’s no promise this lawsuit will go anywhere, but LastPass probably didn’t need more to worry about right now. Several security experts have heavily criticized LastPass’ security, as well as the way it disclosed the breaches.
- THow to watch Samsung’s CES 2023 event.
Samsung has already revealed new TVs and monitors, but that was just the beginning for CES. Samsung is holding a CES 2023 press event today, which is expected to last around 45 minutes and will bring “Calm to Our Connected World. Whatever that means.
You can tune into Samsung’s live stream at 5PM ET / 2PM PT right here.
Jan 4, 2023, 9:05 PM UTCMonica Chin
The HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook is neat, but what’s with the RGB?
HP’s new Dragonfly Pro Chromebook is a consumer offshoot of the premium, very expensive Dragonfly Chromebook. It’s launching alongside a Windows model in spring 2023.
Jan 4, 2023, 9:01 PM UTCAllison Johnson
TCL has a screen ready for every version of reality
Augmented, virtual, mixed — however you view reality, the display maker wants to put a screen in front of your eyeballs.
Jan 4, 2023, 9:00 PM UTCChris Welch
TCL’s 2023 TVs have new branding and are gaming powerhouses
A new Game Accelerator feature can double the panel’s refresh rate in VRR, reaching as high as 240Hz. And the flagship QM8 is absolutely crammed with Mini LED dimming zones.
- CAlienware’s fresh gaming laptops (and more) from CES 2023 in video form.
The big thing happening at CES in the microcosm of gaming laptops is the shift to 16- and 18-inch designs. 15- and 17-inch is very 2022! Oh, and all of those new Intel and Nvidia chips are cool, too.
Alienware was one of the first companies to announce its 2023 machines this year, and we shot a video to give you the full rundown of its announcements. So, in between reading our CES coverage, why not take a breather and watch this video?
- RLG’s Signature OLED M is (almost) wireless.
A few years ago LG’s gimmick for the highest-end version of its OLED TV was a paper-thin display that you could slap on the wall and connect to its soundbar / base station with a single wire.
In 2023, LG’s top-of-the-line 97-inch 4K OLED doesn’t need the connecting wire at all.
From wireless to 8K and back to more reasonable options, Verge editor and reviewer Chris Welch is ready to walk you through the entire lineup.
Jan 4, 2023, 7:00 PM UTCMonica Chin
Asus debuts an impressive (glasses-free) 3D display on its new Vivobook Pro
The device leverages a lenticular lens and advanced eye tracking to create a (breathtaking, at times) 3D image.
- EBelkin will make its most popular accessories with recycled plastics.
That includes many of its wireless chargers, power banks, wall chargers, and car chargers, which will now consist of 73 to 75 percent post-consumer recycled plastics.
But as our science reporter Justine Calma points out, electronics made with recycled plastics still don’t do much to solve the e-waste problem. That’s because companies have to use new plastics to reinforce recycled plastics that have deteriorated over time:
All those weaknesses with plastic also make it more difficult to recycle something that’s already been made with recycled materials. There comes a point when plastic can’t even be downcycled anymore. When it reaches that point, it’s typically incinerated or sent to landfills.
- NThe exec in charge of Roku’s new TVs came from... TCL.
Roku hasn’t said who is building the new TVs it just announced at CES, but it’s fascinating they have ex-TCL exec Chris Larson running things. A little badge engineering goes a long way, I suppose.
Jan 4, 2023, 5:00 PM UTCMonica Chin
MSI’s Stealth Studio takes aim at the Zephyrus G14
There’s a new 14-inch powerhouse in town.
Jan 4, 2023, 5:00 PM UTCCameron Faulkner
MSI’s new laptop is see-through but not see-through enough
There haven’t been enough translucent gadgets at CES 2023. This MSI gaming laptop earns a little credit for its partially see-through design.
Jan 4, 2023, 4:33 PM UTCMia Sato
Vimeo is laying off 11 percent of its workforce in another round of job cuts
In an email sent to Vimeo workers and posted online, CEO Anjali Sud said ‘ongoing cost discipline’ was necessary to keep the company sustainable.
Jan 4, 2023, 4:16 PM UTCMitchell Clark
Eve’s new gadget turns retro rollers into smart blinds
The upgrade kit will let you add HomeKit and Matter control to your existing roller shades. Matter means it’ll work on all major smart home platforms, not just Apple’s.
Jan 4, 2023, 4:16 PM UTCAllison Johnson
Samsung’s $200 Galaxy A14 5G comes with an upgraded display
The refreshed budget phone is backed by a healthy software update policy of up to four years of security updates — practically unheard of at this price.
Jan 4, 2023, 4:15 PM UTCAntonio G. Di Benedetto
Panasonic’s new mirrorless camera gets the autofocus overhaul we’ve been waiting for
The Lumix S5II is mostly an incremental update, but its hybrid phase-detect autofocus system may be a turning point for Panasonic playing some much-needed catch-up. And a sick, blacked-out S5IIx variant is coming later.
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