JLab is following up its ultra-affordable JBuds Mini from 2023 with a new model that supports active noise cancellation at CES 2026. The JBuds Mini ANC are still as tiny as the company's previous wireless earbuds, but now offer customizable ANC for the same $40 price.
In comparison to the company's JLab Go POP+, which is only $30, JLab says its new model features a 50 percent smaller charging case, and 30 percent smaller earbuds. The JBuds Mini ANC comes in gray, dark blue, red and pink, and is IP55-rated for dust and sweat resistance. JLab says the Mini ANC get 6.5 hours of battery life per earbud, and over 24 hours of battery life if you use the earbuds' charging case.
Dark blue, pink and red versions of the JBuds Mini ANC.
JLab
Support for Bluetooth multipoint for switching between connected devices, and the earbuds' built-in noise-canceling mics also produce clearer voice calls, according to the company. Like JLab's other wireless earbuds, ANC performance, touch controls, and additional features like Be Aware (JLab's version of a transparency mode) can be enabled and customized in the JLab app.
JLab's earbuds and headphones have appeared on multiple ofEngadget's best wireless earbuds and headphones lists, and in general, hands-on use of the company's wireless earbuds has consistently impressed. You might not get all the software features of something like the AirPods Pro 3 on the JBuds Mini ANC, but it does seem likely the core competencies of wireless ANC earbuds will be covered for a much cheaper price.
The JBuds Mini ANC will be available in March for $39.99.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/jlab-adds-anc-to-its-tiny-wireless-earbuds-for-ces-2026-160000342.html?src=rss
It seems like only a few years ago that Anker made nothing more than batteries and chargers. But 15 years into its history, the company's CES portfolio continues to illustrate how much it's expanded. Among other announcements, the company has a new robot vacuum, video doorbell, outdoor light and smart lock. They're all rolling out under Anker's Eufy smart home brand.
The company hopes its Eufy Clean Robot Vacuum Omni S2 will be your next robovac. The $1,600 device vacuums with 100 AW suction, and it mops, too. Anker claims the vac works on shag carpets up to about 2 inches (5 cm) in pile height. It has an 11.4-inch rolling mop that applies up to 15 N of downward pressure.
As is increasingly common in robovacs, Omni S2 uses AI to identify floor types and adjust several factors on the fly. These include cleaning mode, suction, scrubbing force and wheel height. The machine can also generate lightly oxidizing disinfectants (a hypochlorous acid and ozone water solution) inside its tank.
Presales for the Eufy Clean Robot Vacuum Omni S2 begin on January 6. Shipping and in-store availability for the $1,600 robovac kicks off on January 20.
Eufy Video Doorbell S4
Anker
Anker also has a new doorbell, the Eufy Video Doorbell S4. It includes an AI-powered people detection feature with auto-framing. The doorbell has 3,024 x 3,024 resolution at 24 FPS and offers a panoramic (180 x 180-degree) view.
You can use the doorbell in either wired or wireless mode, and it supports solar charging. The Video Doorbell S4 is scheduled to launch "later in Q1" for $280.
Eufy Solar Wall Light Cam S4
Anker
Along similar lines, there's the Solar Wall Light Cam S4. The outdoor light has a built-in 4K camera with an f/1.6 aperture. The light has a color temperature ranging from warm white (2700K) to cool white (6500K).
As its name suggests, it supports solar charging. It’s bundled with a detachable 2W solar panel. It also has a 10,000mAh battery that's rated for up to two months. Anker says the Solar Wall Light Cam S4 will arrive in Q1 for $200.
Eufy Smart Lock E40
Anker
Finally, Anker has a new lock / camera combo: the Eufy Smart Lock E40. It has "advanced 3D face recognition" that can identify you and your family from up to 10 feet away, unlocking accordingly. Its camera has 2K resolution and a 135-degree field of view, which should capture visitors from head to toe. The lock has a removable 15,000mAh battery (rated for six months) and a smaller 800mAh backup battery to keep things running while the main one is charging.
The Smart Lock E40 supports Matter, Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home Assistant and Samsung SmartThings. It's expected to launch in Q1 at Home Depot (online and in stores) for $300.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/ankers-ces-smart-home-lineup-includes-a-1600-eufy-robovac-160000133.html?src=rss
The Apple Watch Series 11 is on sale for the lowest price we've ever seen. You can pick up the smartwatch for $299, which is 25 percent off its regular price, a discount of $100. Discounts tend to increase as we get closer to September, when the next generation of Apple Watch is typically announced.
The Series 11 is our best overall smartwatch pick, and we gave it a score of 90 out of 100 in our hands-on review. We were impressed with the battery life, which lasted longer than the 24 hours it's rated for in our testing. We also liked how lightweight and thin the watch is. The 9.7mm thick case on the Series 11 ties the Series 10 for the thinnest Apple Watch so far.
Fitness and health tracking are the main appeals of an Apple Watch, and the Series 11 introduces sleep tracking and hypertension notifications. The sleep tracking was comfortable thanks to the watch's small form factor. The watch also added a new wrist flick gesture that lets you dismiss notifications, end calls and silence alarms or timers.
The GPS + cellular model of the Series 11 is also $100 off, and it's the first Apple Watch to support 5G networks. It's not too often you see an Apple product for 25 percent off its retail price, so if you were in the market for a smart watch, and especially if you are an iPhone user, it's worth checking out.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-apple-watch-series-11-is-on-sale-for-a-record-low-price-154609244.html?src=rss
CES 2026 kicked off with a big press conference from one of the biggest companies at the show: Samsung. The tech giant held its "first look" presentation to show off new home products and make a plethora of AI-infused announcements. New TVs, speakers, projectors and more were among the headliners, along with updated gaming monitors and soundbars.
Many of the products announced on stage were not actually new, but instead had been dripped out by Samsung recently. Like its minimalist Music Studio speakers or new Micro RGB TVs. We did get a closer look a previously undisclosed set, a flagship 130-inch Micro RGB TV framed by a giant metal easel with embedded speakers. It's one of the most striking sets we've ever seen, but it's much more in the realm of concept than reality. (That's not to say they won't sell it, just that we've heard no plans and if they do it will be hideously expensive.)
Samsung's flagship Micro RGB TV.
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
As for the rest of Samsung's Micro RGB TV line, that may actually be slightly more affordable. The company released its first set last year for an eye-watering $30,000, but that was a 115-inch proof of concept. This year it'll be offering TVs in more reasonable sizes, including the ever-popular 55-, 65- and 75-inch sets. We don't know pricing on those but those smaller models will definitely be cheaper than $30,000. For those that want something bigger, there'll also be 85-, 100- and 115-inch models. As before, the Micro RGB range will offer a purported 100% coverage of the Rec.2020 color space, which is something that even the highest-end OLEDs can't match.
While they may have been announced prior to CES, we did get a few minutes in person with Samsung's Music Studio speakers in the demo area after the big show. The Music Studio 5 and 7 are wireles speakers supporting both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The Studio 5 has a four-inch woofer and dual tweeters, while the Studio 7 has a 3.1.1 setup with top-, front-, left- and right-firing speakers to give an "immersive 3D audio experience." For all of that, it's clear the main draw of these new speakers is the design, which is definitely striking.
Another thing from those heady pre-CES days was the Freestyle+, the latest attempt at a micro projector from Samsung. Like previous Freestyle models, it's small and unobtrusive, but this one is a little brighter and has "smarter AI capabilities."
“The Freestyle+ reflects Samsung’s vision to create displays that adapt naturally to how people live and move between spaces,” said Hun Lee, Executive Vice President of the Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “By combining true portability with intelligent AI that optimizes both the viewing environment and the content itself, The Freestyle+ makes it easier to enjoy a consistent, high-quality experience wherever you are.”
Samsung's Music Studio 5 speakers at CES 2026.
Billy Steele for Engadget
There were even products that Samsung didn't mention on stage that we then found in the demo area. Like the Samsung HW-QS90H soundbar, a new skew on its popular HW-QS90 line that targets those of us that would rather not have a subwoofer sitting in our living rooms. It's an all-in-one 7.1.2 soundbar with 13 drivers, including four (we're assuming) woofers for its "Quad Bass Woofer system." Or the
And that was really that for the big announcements. The rest of the stage show was focused on how Samsung thinks (or really, at this point, insists) AI is going to make all of its products more useful. Demos included using AI noise cancelling to turn off the commentators in a soccer match, using AI to watch recipes on your fridge door, using AI to wash your clothes better (?) and... to cut a long story short, Samsung would very much appreciate it if you could please use AI.
We're expecting to see and hear more from Samsung during CES, but for now you can find all of our news stories and more detailed hands-on impressions below, or if you want to relieve the event in extruciating detail there's the livestream replay too. (Don't worry, though the video is three hours long the event itself was a tight hour.)
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/samsung-unveiled-ai-powered-products-at-ces-2026-everything-announced-from-the-years-first-press-conference-230059247.html?src=rss
You no longer need an Amazon device to summon Alexa since the AI assistant will be available on the Alexa.com website. Amazon will roll out the web client to its Alexa+ Early Access customers first, still featuring the company's new and improved AI assistant that was announced in February.
The web model won't be much different from the existing Alexa+ that's already available on Echo devices, Fire TV and Fire tablets. However, instead of buying into the Amazon ecosystem, Early Access customers can use any web browser to get Alexa+'s help with everything from basic questions to complex tasks, like controlling your smart home devices, customizing a recipe to account for dietary restrictions or making restaurant reservations if you don't feel like cooking. The Alexa+ web version will also feature a navigation sidebar that will be home to your most-used Alexa features.
Amazon recently revamped its Alexa mobile app, while also integrating Alexa+ with Ring doorbells and BMW cars. However, introducing its AI assistant to web browsers could indicate that Amazon wants to encroach on a competitive market, which is currently dominated by OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google Gemini. To see how Amazon's Alexa+ on web compares to the rest, you need to set up the Alexa+ Early Access first. After that, you can log into your Amazon account on Alexa.com to get started.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/amazon-is-rolling-out-alexa-for-the-web-so-you-can-use-its-assistant-without-a-dedicated-device-150053826.html?src=rss
Bee, the company behind an always-listening AI wearable that Amazon acquired last year, has announced new features in a status update. The device is designed to run in the background of daily life and captures conversations or thoughts spoken aloud. Recording can be started or stopped with the push of a button.
Co-founder of Bee, Maria de Lourdes Zollo, says the company has shipped four major updates that will run on the existing Bee Pioneer hardware. The first is “Actions,” which connects Bee to a user's email and calendar and works to turn spoken commitments into actions. The company says that when you say you need to send an e-mail, for instance, Bee can draft one for you.
“Daily Insights” is designed to identify patterns and trends based on information collected over weeks or months. The company says the goal of this feature is to notice things before a user might, including "shifts in your relationships" and recommend personalized goals related to these, like a life coach of sorts.
“Voice Notes” lets a user press the record button on Bee and log a fleeting thought, a task for a to-do list or anything else that a user wants to recall later. Finally, "Templates" is designed to organize and summarize large amounts of information into a more digestible format. It can also create a study plan from a lecture or recap a sales meeting with a client.
Most of these features would presumably be more useful if a user sets their Bee to record constantly, which raises questions around legality and privacy. Zollo says that Bee processes audio in real time so no audio is ever stored, adding that neither Bee nor Amazon ever have access to transcripts. Still, the wearable could come up against recording consent laws which vary by jurisdiction.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/bee-has-been-busy-since-its-acquisition-by-amazon-last-year-150025311.html?src=rss
Amazon just revealed the Ember Artline TV at CES 2026. This is a lifestyle TV that displays art, putting it in direct competition with Samsung's The Frame. The 4K QLED screen is extremely thin, at 1.5-inches, so it'll likely fit just about anywhere.
It also features a glare-reducing matte screen that has been "designed to make your art and photos look great." The Artline integrates with Amazon Photos and offers access to 2,000 pieces of free art to display. For those worried about electricity usage, the TV includes proprietary technology that senses when someone has entered or left the room and turns on or off accordingly.
The display comes with Amazon's new smart assistant Alexa+, allowing it to double as a smart TV. This is helped along by the inclusion of far-field microphones. Alexa+ is a beefier version of the company's long-standing digital assistant. You can talk to it like a person, if that's your bag. There's even a new use case in which Alexa+ analyzes the aesthetics of a room and recommends art to throw on the screen.
Amazon
This is also a standard TV. It features support for Dolby Vision, HDR10+ and Wi-Fi 6 and will operate on the Fire TV platform. Customers can choose from 10 magnetic frames in a wide variety of colorways, further diversifying the aesthetics.
We don't have a release date yet, other than "later this spring." Amazon has released pricing, however, as this TV starts at $899 for the 55-inch version.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/ember-artline-is-amazons-answer-to-samsungs-the-frame-150015104.html?src=rss
Amazon is kicking off the new year by announcing a redesign of its Fire TV UI at CES 2026. The new UI is designed to make finding things to watch on the platform faster, while making it easier to access more of Fire TV's features straight from the home screen.
On first blush, the biggest difference in the new Fire TV UI is that everything is rounder. Shows, movies and apps have rounded corners, and Amazon's changed the spacing in the interface to give everything more room to breathe. Tweaks to typography and color gradients also give the UI a more modern feel, and Amazon says it's rebuilt the code of the Fire TV software to make everything faster, too, in some cases demonstrating "up to 20-30 percent gains in speed."
The fundamentals haven't changed all that much, however. There's a menu bar of different tabs at the top of the interface that separates the Home page from things like Movies, TV Shows and Sports. Each page shows content in carousels, and Amazon still lets you pin streaming apps like Netflix or Apple TV underneath recommended content, with the biggest difference being you can now pin more apps at once (20 rather than six). Amazon is also changing up how the Fire TV Remote works. Pressing the Menu button now lets you quickly access Fire TV's Art & Photos, Games and Ambient Experience features, and a long press of the Home button pulls up a shortcut panel with access to things like settings and connected Ring cameras. Alexa+, Amazon's rebuilt AI assistant, is also available directly inside of the Fire TV interface for adding things to your watchlist, recommending content and controlling your smart home.
The new Fire TV mobile app can act as a remote and a way to search Amazon's library of content.
Amazon
Amazon offers the Fire TV mobile app as a way to control its streaming devices and TVs with a smartphone, but alongside this redesign, the company is also expanding what the app can do. The new Fire TV app lets you browse content, edit your watchlist and start playing things on your TV, in much the same way Roku and Google's streaming apps do.
Both the new Fire TV mobile app and redesigned Fire TV UI will be available for free for all users, Amazon says. The new Fire TV UI will launch in February on the Fire TV Stick 4K Plus, the second-generation Fire TV Stick 4K Max and Fire TV Omni Mini-LED series. Later in the spring, Amazon says it will bring the redesign to more countries and devices, including the latest Fire TV 4K streaming devices, TVs like the Fire TV 2-series, 4-series and Fire TV Omni QLED series and TVs from third-party partners like Hisense, Insignia, Panasonic and TCL.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/amazon-is-redesigning-its-fire-tv-ui-for-streaming-sticks-and-tvs-150000622.html?src=rss
CES 2026 is still a day away from officially opening, but Sunday, January 4, delivered the first real wave of news. As has become tradition, the pre-show slate set the tone for the week ahead, anchored by Samsung’s annual First Look press conference and CES Unveiled, the latter of which where hundreds of companies previewed products before the show floor opens on January 6.
Samsung once again dominated the early conversation with its First Look event, using the stage to outline how it sees AI shaping everything from TVs to home appliances in the year ahead. Rather than focusing on individual specs, Samsung framed its 2026 lineup around adaptive experiences, with screens and devices designed to respond more intelligently to their environment and the people using them. TVs remained the centerpiece, with updates like the new 130-inch Micro RGB model aimed at improving picture quality, content discovery and personalization through AI-driven tools.
Among the more concrete pieces of tech tied to Samsung’s CES run was The Freestyle+, a successor to the company’s portable projector that doubles down on AI-powered picture optimization, brighter output and smarter calibration for different surfaces. The unit also supports immersive audio features and syncs with Samsung’s soundbars for a more complete entertainment package. The company further bolstered its audio portfolio with the new Music Studio wireless speakers, which offer an eye-catching design.
Samsung’s broader display strategy was also on show: Samsung Display revealed next-generation QD-OLED panels capable of peak brightness up to 4,500 nits, which are expected to be used in TVs and monitors that debut on the show floor, and introduced new concepts illustrating how OLED tech can blend into future AI-enhanced lifestyles.
Software also played a role in Samsung’s early messaging. The company confirmed that Google Photos will be coming to Samsung TVs later this year, bringing photo libraries and Memories directly into the living room. It’s the kind of addition that doesn’t grab headlines in the same way as new hardware, but it’s exactly the type of update that quietly shapes how people actually use their TVs regularly.
Outside of Samsung’s event, CES Unveiled — the convention’s kickoff mini-show — offered an early look at what smaller companies and startups are bringing to Las Vegas this year. The show floor was packed with a familiar mix of near-ready consumer products and more experimental ideas, spanning robotics, smart home gear, health tech and personal electronics. Companion-style robots, updated AR glasses and AI-powered household gadgets were common sights, reflecting broader trends that are likely to show up repeatedly across the main halls this week.
Unveiled is rarely about big-name launches, but it often reveals where the industry’s attention is drifting. This year, that meant a noticeable emphasis on AI-assisted hardware that blends into everyday routines, whether that’s home devices designed to act more autonomously or personal tech that prioritizes context and convenience over raw performance.
LG also kicked off its pre-show efforts with some notable display news that’s certain to shape conversations on the CES floor. The company reintroduced its ultra-thin Wallpaper OLED evo W6 TV, a panel that sits just 9mm deep and can be mounted flush against a wall, boasting improvements in brightness and color accuracy with Hyper Radiant Color Technology and support for FreeSync and G-Sync.
LG's 2026 Wallpaper wireless OLED TV
Devindra Hardawar for Engadget
LG’s display lineup extends into the PC space too, where the division plans to debut a 27-inch OLED gaming panel hitting a 720Hz refresh rate and response times as low as 0.02 ms. On the lifestyle front, the Gallery TV aims to compete more directly with Samsung’s art-style screens by combining a specialized anti-glare panel with an expanding Gallery+ service that brings thousands of artworks to the living room.
Some CES-related announcements also landed ahead of Sunday, underscoring how stretched the show’s news cycle has become. Samsung and LG both shared display and ecosystem updates in the days leading up to January 4, ensuring their products were already part of the CES conversation before pre-show events even began.
Sunday’s announcements served as a clear warm-up for what’s coming next. Monday, January 5, marks the start of press day, when major companies will take the stage for individual conferences and a large number of embargoes are expected to lift. Then, on Tuesday, January 6, CES officially opens its doors, shifting the focus from presentations to hands-on demos and real-world impressions.
We’ll be updating this recap as more news breaks, but if Sunday was any indication, CES 2026 is already moving fast — and the show hasn’t even started yet.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/ces-2026-opening-night-recap-all-the-early-news-you-missed-from-samsung-and-lg-142611832.html?src=rss
If you want a wireless charger for your iPhone and prefer to stick with Apple, Amazon has a sale that may pique your interest. The retailer is selling the one meter Apple Magsafe charger for $30, saving you $10 off the regular price, while also selling the two meter model for $40 ($10 off).
If you have an iPhone 16, iPhone 17 or iPhone Air, this cable can charge your device at 25W as long as it's connected to a 30W power adapter on the other end. While you'll need a more recent iPhone to get the fastest MagSafe charging speeds, the charger can wirelessly top up the battery of any iPhone from the last eight years (iPhone 8 and later). With older iPhones, the charging speed tops out at 15W. The cable works with AirPods wireless charging cases too — it's certified for Qi2.2 and Qi charging.
The MagSafe charger is one of our favorite iPhone accessories, and would pair quite nicely with your new iPhone if you're picking up one of the latest models. If you're on the fence about that, be sure to check out our reviews of the iPhone 17, iPhone Pro/Pro Max and iPhone Air.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-latest-25w-magsafe-charger-is-on-sale-for-30-141707297.html?src=rss
