ces2020
Latest
The Suunto 7 improves on Wear OS with offline outdoor maps and fitness features
Suunto's next wearable is trying to satisfy the needs of two different wearable types: the die-hard fans that have followed (if not bought) its multisport watches in the past, and the smartwatch buyer looking for more fitness functionality. The latter is a much bigger audience — and things are rough for wearable makers at the moment — so the Suunto 7 is aimed squarely at the middle. It's less fitness-dedicated than the Suunto 9, but it's arguably more capable than other smartwatches running Google's Wear OS. The main party trick is offline outdoor maps, calibrated to track 15 different activities, and packing heatmaps of other athletes' trails.
Olive Union Smart Ear hands-on: A stylish hearing device with tradeoffs
As wearable technology becomes the norm, there's still one gadget that carries a stigma: the hearing aid. You can wear wireless earbuds and no one flinches, but for some, a behind-the-ear device can still seem awkward. Invisible hearing aids are an option, but they're often pricey or less effective. Olive Union understands this and hopes its Smart Ear hearing amplifier — which looks just like a wireless earbud — will help squash any anxiety for those who need a little volume boost in the world.
Fisker's Ocean electric SUV will start at $29,999 after tax credit
After dribbling out details for months, Fisker is finally ready to say exactly how much its Ocean electric SUV will cost. The automaker has revealed that the Ocean will start at $37,499. Conveniently, that's just under the $30,000 mark after you apply the $7,500 US tax credit. That's also conspicuously lower than the $42,700 starting price of Tesla's upcoming Model Y, and even more of a bargain compared to Volvo's XC40 Recharge. Reservations are open and set at $250 regardless of how you intend to finance the vehicle.
Oral-B thinks its AI toothbrush can clean your teeth better than you can
Oral-B, a giant of the tooth-brushing industry, has been making electric toothbrushes for years, incorporating consumer tech trends like smartphone apps and Bluetooth. Every few years, the company takes advantage of the scrum of CES to announce its latest power toothbrush, and 2020 is no exception: Oral-B just announced the iO, a new device the company says is the result of six years of R&D and input from over 1,800 users.
Sleep Number’s Climate360 bed adjusts to suit your body temperature
Many people get plenty of sleep, but still don't feel fully rested. And there are always companies looking fix our sleeping woes. Sleep Number's mattresses have focused on providing the ideal level of firmness for a specific person's sleep style to remedy this, but the company's newest product will take things a step further. The forthcoming Climate360 mattress will use "microclimates" to apparently reduce how often you wake up during the night by keeping your body at the right temperature. With both heating and cooling functions, the mattresses will automatically adjust your body temperature according to sleep cycles for deeper rest.
Acer is showing off a 55-inch 4K OLED gaming monitor
We all know someone who bought a big TV to use as a PC monitor, refresh rates be damned. Thankfully, Acer is joining the not-so select group of companies producing enormous displays that are actually suitable for PC gaming. The company's Predator division is announcing the CG552K, a 55-inch, 4K OLED display that sports adaptive sync, NVIDIA G-Sync and a 120Hz refresh rate. It's smarter than your average TV, too, with a light sensor that optimizes brightness depending on the local environment, and a proximity sensor that activates the monitor when it detects your presence. It also packs plenty of connectivity options, including three HDMI 2.0, two DisplayPort v1.4, one USB-C and two USB-type-A, as well as pair of 10W speakers nestled inside. Additionally, the display has 98.5 percent DCI-P3 color gamut and 400 nits brightness, so it should do well for work as well as play. And no gaming monitor would be complete without a customizable light strip, would it?
Acer's ConceptD 7 Ezel laptop is part tablet, part mini desktop
Acer has been expanding its ConceptD line of powerful, not-gaudy PCs made for creators, and at CES 2020 the company has a new pair of laptops to add to the family. The ConceptD 7 Ezel and ConceptD 7 Ezel Pro are NVIDIA RTX-powered machines in surprisingly sleek bodies, but they also feature new hinges that enable their displays to swing almost 360 degrees. This way, you can use them in five different modes -- sharing, floating, pad, display and stand.
TP-Link adds WiFi 6 to its affordable mesh routers
If you live in a large home or have thick walls which cause WiFi dead zones, one solution is a multi-node mesh router system to blanket your living area in bountiful internet. Networking brand TP-Link launched its first WiFi 6-capable mesh router last year, and expanded its range of affordable mesh WiFi systems as well. Now, the company has unveiled a new Deco Mesh line that combines next-gen WiFi and mesh networks into an affordable package.
Arlo's new floodlight security camera is completely wireless
Floodlight cameras are helpful for spotting (and ideally, deterring) intruders, but they typically require some kind of wiring. Even Ring's model still requires a link to a floodlight system. Arlo, however, thinks it can one-up its rivals. Its new Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera is billed as the first truly wireless option of its kind -- you can put it where you need it without any messy connections. About the only hassle is having to recharge the battery.
Acer’s Spin convertible laptops get 10th-gen Intel chips
Acer's Spin line of convertible laptops are really designed for people who need flexibility but don't want to carry around too much stuff. They've never been outrageously heavy, but were never the lightest or prettiest devices. Which is precisely why the 2020 refresh of the Spin 3 and Spin 5 is so welcome.
Charmin thinks your bathroom needs robots and VR
Charmin, the popular toilet paper brand, has big plans for CES. Its Charmin GoLab will showcase "cheeky" conceptual prototypes all meant to improve the bathroom experience. They're a blend of robotics, sensors and virtual reality, and they're all equally ridiculous.
Greetings from CES 2020!
For Engadget editors, life is just a series of moments while you wait for CES to come back around again. Sometimes it almost feels like we never left. But we did. And now we're back. CES 2020 is about to get started in sunny (and slightly smelly) Las Vegas. As always there will be plenty of cars, TVs and smart (fill-in-the-blanks). But our real job is to separate the wheat from the chaff and bring you only the best of what the world's largest tech conference has to offer. The show floor hasn't officially opened yet, but we've already seen plenty shiny new laptops, a lot of 8K screens, and even a shower head that's also a smart speaker. Of course, you don't want to miss out on our liveblogs for Sony (January 6th at 8pm ET / 5pm PT) and Samsung (January 6th at 9:30pm ET / 6:30pm PT). And as always we are hosting the official Best of CES awards on Thursday January 9th at 8pm ET / 5pm PT.
Lenovo's latest Legion gaming laptop relies on an external GPU
Lenovo is kicking off 2020 with a gaming laptop that needs a companion to thrive. It's introducing the Legion Y740S, a slim 15.6-inch laptop (billed as Lenovo's "thinnest and lightest" gaming model) meant to couple with the company's first external GPU, the Legion BoostStation. It has some decent horsepower with up to a Core i9 processor, 32GB of RAM and a 1TB PCIe SSD, but you're stuck with integrated Intel graphics if you buy nothing else -- you absolutely need that eGPU if you're going to play any modern 3D games. At least the 4.18-pound weight and 0.58-inch thickness make it easy to stuff in your bag.
SmartTools' updated weight lifting cuffs are cheaper and more durable
Bench pressing 200 pounds is cool, if you're into that, but it can put a strain on your limbs. SmartTools has an alternative. The company's SmartCuffs, blood flow restriction training (BFR) cuffs, let you lift less weight and see the same gains. While BFR training has primarily been used in clinical settings, the new SmartCuffs are meant for consumers and they're significantly more affordable than past iterations.
Vizio's new soundbar rotates its speakers for Dolby Atmos, DTS:X content
Vizio isn't just the brand that makes cheaper TVs with high-end features, over the last few years it's increasingly become known for offering a number of excellent home theater audio options too. For CES 2020 its soundbar lineup is getting a rebranding to match the popular M-Series and V-Series 4K televisions it sells, while a new premium soundbar is made to match the new OLED TVs it just announced. The Vizio Elevate Sound Bar (shown above) has 18 total drivers, with a pair of channels in the main soundbar that point forward when playing stereo or 5.1 audio, but automatically rotate up to increase height effects when they play Dolby Atmos and DTS:X encoded audio. It's made to work on its own with any TV, or to dock "seamlessly" with the Vizio OLED TVs. There's also a wireless 8-inch subwoofer and two satellite surround speakers that add p to 107dB of output. Like everything else Vizio is announcing today, there's no word on a price or release date. Other than that model, instead of simply branding its soundbars by size and speaker configuration, they now have M-Series and V-Series names just like its midrange 4K TVs (the Elevate has a P-Series model number, P514a, just like the high-end TVs). The M-Series and higher models with Atmos and DTS:X will have HDMI 2.1 inputs along with eARC support, so that you can pass through uncompressed Dolby and DTS Audio from built-in TV apps.
Vizio's 4K TV lineup adds OLED and a new voice remote for 2020
For CES 2020 Vizio is showing off a refreshed TV lineup that's upgraded across the board. Beyond picture quality improvements, the SmartCast UI that Vizio's TVs rely upon is moving to version 4.0 with easier input switching, personalization and a new remote with push-to-talk voice control that should help it fight back against competitors like TCL. This new version of SmartCast will bring performance and personalization updates to TVs going back to the company's 2016 models. While it already works with Siri, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, the new version is supposed to allow with easier pairing for Assistant and Alexa-compatible devices n the SmartCast Mobile app. Its voice remote is also capable for more than just TV operation, with support for Wikipedia searches, weather updates and more.
Samsung sheds light on its 'artificial human' project
Samsung has been drumming up hype for its Neon 'artificial human' project, and now it's clearer as to what that initiative entails. Project lead Pranav Mistry has posted a teaser effectively confirming that Neon is nothing less than an effort to create lifelike avatars. The digital beings are based on "captured data," but can generate their own expressions, movements and sayings in multiple languages. While the static image doesn't reveal much more than that, some recent discoveries help fill in the gaps.
Samsung's latest 8K TVs will include 4K over-the-air tuners
Samsung's next wave of 8K TVs are likely to have numerous features to catch your eye, but one of the more important additions may be one of the simplest: an improvement to free broadcasts. The tech giant has revealed that its 2020 QLED 8K catalog will include ATSC 3.0 tuners with NEXTGEN TV to deliver over-the-air 4K programming, multi-channel object-based audio and "enhanced" content to US viewers. Your TV still won't be used to its fullest potential, but this beats having to pay for cable or streaming services to get a live TV picture beyond 1080p.
Whirlpool's smart thermometer ensures your food is cooked properly
Whirlpool wants to be sure you never serve an undercooked roast again. Its Yummly subsidiary is introducing a Smart Thermometer that uses sensors to check the temperatures of both the oven and your food, letting you know through a mobile app when they reach the right temperature. You won't have to periodically check your turkey to know when it's ready to eat.
Samsung's zero-bezel 8K TV is real
Samsung Korea has announced the premium 8K TV it's bringing to CES 2020, confirming that the recently-leaked image is real. The Q950 is not only a super-high resolution TV, it also "sets a new standard" for TV screens with its Infinity Design -- according to the company at least. Other than a small edge along the bottom, there's really no frame to speak of, and Samsung says it measures only 15mm thick. Inside, its AI "quantum processor" powers a revamped UI that's good for upscaling any source to 8K as well as accessing TV over an antenna, or streaming services, with a universal guide that can combine recommendations from several apps at once.
