'The Verge'

Samsung’s Galaxy Book 5 laptops get an Arrow Lake CPU upgrade

Samsung has announced new Galaxy Book 5 Pro and 360 laptops featuring the NPU-packing (but not CoPilot Plus-qualifying) Arrow Lake Core Ultra processors Intel announced earlier today as an upgrade to the Lunar Lake-powered devices Samsung launched in September. Samsung says the new Book 5 Pro and 360 convertible laptop / tablet “diversifies” the Galaxy… Read more

HDMI 2.2 cranks the bandwidth to 96Gbps and aims to eliminate audio sync issues forever

The HDMI Forum is using CES — the annual showcase of all things home theater — to announce the new HDMI 2.2 specification. In a press release this morning, the trade association confirmed that the new spec will up total bandwidth significantly to a new high of 96Gbps. And yes, that means the introduction of… Read more

Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X chips bring Windows on Arm to cheaper laptops

Qualcomm is introducing another Arm laptop chip to its Snapdragon X series today, lowering the cost of Copilot Plus PCs to around $600. The new Snapdragon X joins the existing Snapdragon X Plus and X Elite and will be available in a variety of devices from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo in the coming… Read more

Ecobee launches an even cheaper smart thermostat

Ecobee is launching a new entry-level smart thermostat that costs $129.99. The Smart Thermostat Essential comes with a full-color touchscreen and supports Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, and Google Assistant. Just like Ecobee’s other smart thermostats, the Essential adjusts the temperature of your home based on the schedule you set, allowing it to conserve energy while… Read more

Meta stops selling the Quest Pro

Meta has stopped selling the Quest Pro, UploadVR spotted. The news comes just over two months since the company discontinued the high-end VR headset. Meta wrote then that it would keep selling the headset until year’s end or until it ran out of stock, whichever came first. I guess it didn’t sell out. The $999… Read more

Elvie’s automatic baby bouncer and bassinet costs $799 for six months of use

The Elvie Rise is an app-controlled baby bouncer that can be converted into a bassinet without moving the baby. Unfortunately, it costs $799 and isn’t suitable for tots over six months of age. Of course, much less expensive bouncers without motors and apps also go flat for nap time, which is why Elvie’s pitch leans heavily into… Read more

Birdfy Bath Pro is a voyeuristic take on smart bird feeders

Birdfy has announced the Birdfy Bath Pro, a camera-equipped smart bird bath that lets you watch your local birds as they plop into the water to wash up. The device features two lenses — a wide-angle one and an auto-tracking one — and an optional AI analysis feature that keeps track of and summarizes the… Read more

This tiny button pulls off the wall and controls your lights and music with gestures

On Monday, Flic announced the Flic Duo, a wall-mountable smart button you can pick up to control other gadgets using customizable gestures. The dual-button remote allows users to create over 30 programmable motion-based commands, so you could, for instance, program the smart button to play a specific music playlist with a swipe. You could even… Read more

Aqara’s new seven-inch home control tablet can replace a light switch

I’m a big fan of different ways to control your smart home outside of using your phone or relying on voice, so I was very excited to see that Aqara is launching three touchscreen controllers at the CES tech show in Las Vegas this week — and one has a wheel! The new Panel Hub… Read more

This sleek doorbell camera is also a smart home hub

Aqara revealed the long-awaited update to its Video Doorbell G4 at CES this week, and it looks like it’s been worth the wait. The Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 adds 2K video quality, a 4:3 aspect ratio, and end-to-end encryption on live and recorded video. It is also one of the first doorbells to use… Read more

This big ol’ smart display fits right into an electrical box and controls your home

Shelly introduced the Wall Display X2 at CES 2025, a new smart panel designed to fit into a wall electrical box that you can use to control your smart home. The display makes it easy for anybody in the household to control smart lights, thermostats, and more by simply tapping its 6.95-inch touchscreen. It also… Read more

JBL’s Tour One M3 headphones wirelessly connect to older devices using a touchscreen transmitter

JBL announced a pair of premium headphones at CES today that can be purchased with an optional transmitter that allows the Tour One M3 to be used wirelessly with audio sources like a plane’s in-flight entertainment system. The headphones will be available starting on April 13, 2025 in black, mocha, and blue for $399.95, but… Read more

Aptera shows off a new solar-powered car that it swears will go into production

Aptera is aiming to get a little more time in the sun. The once-dead and now-resurrected startup unveiled a new “production-intent” solar-powered electric vehicle that it made with a little help from legendary Italian automotive designers Pininfarina. And much like the last go-around, the new prototype is an ultra-efficient three-wheeled electric vehicle powered, in part,… Read more

Microsoft is using Bing to trick people into thinking they’re on Google

Microsoft is pulling yet another trick to get people to use its Bing search engine. If you use Bing right now without signing into a Microsoft account and search for Google, you’ll get a page that looks an awful lot like… Google. It’s a clear attempt from Microsoft to make Bing look like Google for… Read more

Schlage’s sleek new smart lock ditches keys for UWB

It’s a bit of a moment for the humble door lock. Schlage, one of the oldest lock makers in the US, just launched its first-ever smart door lock without a keyway. But that’s not the most exciting part: the Schlage Sense Pro Smart Deadbolt is the company’s first lock to support the new smart home… Read more