Tag Archives: author_name|Ian Carlos Campbell

Amazon Luna’s January lineup includes Madden NFL 26 for free

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Amazon has announced the next collection games that will be available to play through its Luna game streaming service in January. The highlight of the bunch is EA SPORTS Madden NFL 26, which will be available for a limited time on the service, but as in the past, Amazon is also giving away free PC games too if you'd prefer not to stream.

Madden NFL 26 will be available to Prime members everywhere Luna currently streams, from January 10 through February 10. Luna is also getting several new "GameNight" games — Amazon's name for streaming games you can play with a smartphone — including multiplayer physics-based building game Tricky Towers on January 8, and the party game collection The Jackbox Party Pack 3 on January 23. If you're looking for something a little more narrative-driven, Alan Wake Remastered and Death Stranding Director's Cut are also available to stream right now.

As part of the Prime benefits Amazon offers to subscribers, there's also some new PC games you can redeem for free. The best option this month is turn-based strategy game Sid Meier's Civilization VI, which is worth a revisit after the dramatic mechanical overhaul Sid Meier's Civilization VII introduced last year. Here's a complete list of games Amazon will offer over the course of the month, and which PC game store you'll be able to download them from:

  • Sid Meier’s Civilization VI (Epic Games Store)

  • Brigador: Up-Armored Edition (GOG) 

  • Reflections of Life: Dark Architect Collector's Edition (Amazon Games App)

  • Gunslugs: Rogue Tactics (GOG)

  • DeathKeep (GOG)

  • Harold Halibut (GOG)

  • D&D Stronghold: Kingdom Simulator (GOG)

  • Al-Qadim: The Genie's Curse (GOG)

  • Technotopia (Amazon Games App)

  • ELDERBORN (GOG)

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/amazon-lunas-january-lineup-includes-madden-nfl-26-for-free-192500032.html?src=rss

Satechi is embracing Thunderbolt 5 at CES with a new dock and cable

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Multiple of Satechi's Thunderbolt 4 docks are on Engadget's list of the best docking stations, so when the company announces a new accessory, it's usually worth a look. At CES 2026, Satechi is finally making the jump to Thunderbolt 5 with a new docking station and cable. The Thunderbolt 5 CubeDock with SSD Enclosure and Thunderbolt 5 Pro Cable leverage the faster speeds of Intel's cable tech, and in the case of the dock, also include extra benefits like space for SSD storage.

The CubeDock is made from a block of solid aluminum and is clearly supposed to evoke Apple's desktop Macs, like the new Mac mini. Satechi already made a Mac mini hub that can do some of the same things as CubeDock, but that accessory was focused on Thunderbolt 4. With the Thunderbolt 5 on the CubeDock, the new docking station can offer support for multiple 8K monitors, 180W smart power delivery and up to 120 Gb/s transfer speeds.

The back of a Satechi CubeDock displaying multiple types of ports.
The back of a Satechi CubeDock displaying multiple types of ports.
Satechi

The dock also features a microSD card slot, SD card slots and headphone jack on the front, with multiple other input options on the back, including Thunderbolt 5 ports and an ethernet port. If you're interested in extra storage, you can also pop off the bottom of the CubeDock and add up to 8TB of SSD storage.

To pair with the CubeDock, Satechi is also releasing its own Thunderbolt 5 cable. The Thunderbolt 5 Pro Cable supports up to 120 Gb/s uni-directional or 80 Gb/s bi-directional data transfers, 240W power delivery and either dual 8K/60Hz displays or a trio of 4K/144Hz displays.

The Satechi Thunderbolt 5 Pro Cable coiled on a white background.
The Satechi Thunderbolt 5 Pro Cable coiled on a white background.
Satechi

Satechi says you can pre-order the Thunderbolt 5 CubeDock with SSD Enclosure on the company's website for $399.99, and it will ship in Q1 2026. The Thunderbolt 5 Pro Cable is available to order now for $39.99 from Satechi, Amazon and other retailers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/satechi-is-embracing-thunderbolt-5-at-ces-with-a-new-dock-and-cable-170000137.html?src=rss

Alienware teases new super-slim and entry-level gaming laptops at CES 2026

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After relaunching its Area-51 brand with a new 16-inch laptop in 2025, Alienware is teasing two new laptops at CES 2026 in an attempt to reach an even larger audience. Dell's gaming brand plans to launch both entry-level and ultra-slim models later this year, and in the meantime, it's rolling out updates to its existing desktops and laptops to tide people over.

Alienware isn't sharing all the details of its new laptops at CES, but we do have the highlights. The company's new "ultra-slim gaming laptop" will be around 17mm or 0.67 inches thin, and come in either 14-inch or 16-inch variants. While the 16-inch version of the laptop will feature NVIDIA discrete graphics and "new highly efficient CPUs," it's not meant to be a gaming powerhouse like the Area-51. Instead, Alienware suggests the laptop will work for gaming and also "creative projects, productivity and everything in between."

The entry-level laptop is similarly not at Area-51-levels of power, but Alienware claims it'll deliver "strong gaming performance" at its "most accessible price point yet." That should ideally put the new laptop under the $1,199 starting price of the more streamlined Alienware 16 Aurora laptop.

The updated version of the Alienware Area-51 Desktop with AMD chips.
The Alienware Area-51 Desktop will get updated with the latest AMD chips in February 2026.
Dell

On top of those two new models, Alienware is bringing new anti-glare OLED panels to a selection of its Alienware 16X Aurora and Alienware 16 Area-51 laptops, along with new Intel Core Ultra 200HX chips. The new display panels reach 620 nits of peak HDR brightness and have a 0.2ms response time for even smoother gameplay. The Alienware 18 Area-51 is also getting an upgrade to Intel Core Ultra 200HX chips, while the Alienware Area-51 Desktop will ship with AMD's new Ryzen 7 9850X3D chips.

There's currently no pricing available for Alienware's new laptops, or the updated versions of its older models. The updated Alienware 16X Aurora, Alienware 16 Area-51, and Alienware 18 Area-51 laptops will be available in Q1 2026. The update Alienware Area-51 Desktop is coming in February 2026.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/alienware-teases-new-super-slim-and-entry-level-gaming-laptops-at-ces-2026-033000700.html?src=rss

Boston Dynamics unveils production-ready version of Atlas robot at CES 2026

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After years of testing its humanoid robot (and forcing it to dance), Boston Dynamics' Atlas is entering production. The robotics company said at CES 2026 that the final product version of the robot is being built now, and the first companies that will receive deployments are Hyundai, Boston Dynamics' majority shareholder, and Google DeepMind, the firm's newly minted AI partner.

This final enterprise version of Atlas "can perform a wide array of industrial tasks," according to Boston Dynamics, and is specifically designed with consistency and reliability in mind. Atlas can work autonomously, via a teleoperator or with "a tablet steering interface," and the robot is both strong and durable. Boston Dynamics says Atlas has a reach of up to 7.5 feet, the ability to lift 110 pounds and can operate at temperatures ranging from minus 4 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. "This is the best robot we have ever built," Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter said in the Atlas announcement. "Atlas is going to revolutionize the way industry works, and it marks the first step toward a long-term goal we have dreamed about since we were children." 

Boston Dynamics has been publicly demoing its work on humanoid robots since at least 2011, when it first debuted Atlas as a DARPA project. Since then, the robot has gone through multiple prototypes and revisions, most notably switching from a hydraulic design to an all-electric design in 2024. Later that year, Boston Dynamics demonstrated the robot's ability to manipulate car parts, which appears to be one of the first ways Atlas will be put to work.

Hyundai plans to use Atlas in its car plants in 2028, focused on tasks like parts sequencing. In 2030, the car maker hopes to have the robot's responsibilities "extend to component assembly, and over time, Atlas will also take on tasks involving repetitive motions, heavy loads, and other complex operations," Hyundai says. Google DeepMind, meanwhile, is receiving Atlas robots so it can work on integrating its Gemini Robotics AI foundation models into Boston Dynamics' system.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/boston-dynamics-unveils-production-ready-version-of-atlas-robot-at-ces-2026-234047882.html?src=rss

Viral Reddit post critical of food delivery apps may have been AI-generated

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A viral Reddit post purportedly from an employee of a "major food delivery app" may actually be an AI-generated hoax, The Verge reports. The post itself, and an image of an employee ID card the poster, u/trowaway_whistleblow, shared with The Verge, where both flagged as being likely AI-generated when run through online AI detectors and AI assistants like Gemini and Claude.

Given the inflammatory nature of the post, it's not hard to see why it received over 80,000 upvotes in the four days it's been up in r/confession. The post includes a series of striking claims about the unnamed food delivery company, like that its "Priority Delivery" option doesn't actually change delivery speeds, that it sorts delivery drivers based on their level of desperation and that it steals tips from drivers. The post doesn't name a specific company, but there's enough real world evidence of driver mistreatment — including misleading pay structures that subsidize driver's base pay with tips — that it sounds true.

Executives from DoorDash and Uber Eats have both denied the claims in the post. "This is not DoorDash, and I would fire anyone who promoted or tolerated the kind of culture described in this Reddit post," DoorDash CEO Tony Xu wrote on X. When The Verge reached the poster over Signal, the employee badge u/trowaway_whistleblow provided also appeared to be AI-generated, and notably featured the text "Uber Eats" on it rather than "Uber." The poster provided similar faulty evidence to Platformer writer Casey Newton.

No one is being directly harmed by this particular AI-generated Reddit post (other than maybe the companies training AI models on Reddit data), but if there's anything this whole debacle makes clear, it's that the reputation of food delivery apps remains tarnished, to say the least.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/viral-reddit-post-critical-of-food-delivery-apps-may-have-been-ai-generated-210558754.html?src=rss

Paris court finds 10 people guilty of cyberbullying Brigitte Macron

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A Paris court has found 10 people guilty of cyberbullying Brigitte Macron, wife of President of France Emmanuel Macron, the BBC reports. The judge found that the defendants made false claims about Macron's gender and sexuality, and "malicious remarks" about the 24-year age gap between Macron and her spouse.

Of the ten defendants, only one received a firm prison sentence of six months, according to LeMonde. Eight others received suspended sentences (effectively probation in France) of four to eight months, while the 10th person received a fine and was required to attend a sensitivity training course. Three of the “instigators” found guilty will lose access to their social media accounts for six months.

Key to the lawsuit is the fringe belief that Brigitte Macron was born a man — proponents for some reason believe Macron is Jean-Michel Trogneux, her older brother — and transitioned to living as a woman at some point later in life. This style of "transvestigation" is an unfortunately common type of online conspiracy theory, a roundabout way to both spread hateful rhetoric about transgender people and bully cisgender people at the same time. The campaign against Macron has the added twist of her age: Brigitte Macron is 72, 24 years older than President Macron. The pair married in 2007, but their age difference has been an ongoing narrative throughout Emmanuel Macron's political career.

In July 2025, Macron also filed a defamation lawsuit in the US against Candace Owens, a right-wing podcaster and conspiracy theorist. Owens has made multiple attempts since 2024 to spread false claims about Macron's gender, and has said that she's willing to stake her "entire professional reputation" that she's right.

Correction 01/06/26 8:43: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the length of the sentences. We regret the error.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/paris-court-finds-10-people-guilty-of-cyberbullying-brigitte-macron-195500994.html?src=rss

Anker’s new AeroFit 2 earbuds can switch between open-ear and ANC form factors

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Open-ear wireless earbuds are great for running, when keeping some awareness of the world around you is necessary, but not so good when you want premium audio features that require a good seal, like active noise cancellation. At CES 2026, Anker is trying to change that with the Soundcore AeroFit 2 Pro, the company's first open-ear earbuds that offer ANC.

The Soundcore AeroFit 2 Pro features a similar adjustable ear-hook design to Anker's previous AeroFit 2 and AeroFit, but with one extra level of adjustment to help the earbuds create more of a seal in your ear. That change, plus tweaks to the tips of the Pro, seem to be how Anker is offering ANC on the new earbuds. Anker says the algorithm running on the Pro checks 380,000 times per second to adjust its level of noise cancellation on the fly. The earbuds' custom diaphragms also offer deeper bass and clearer highs, according to the company.

A comparison between two different fits of the AeroFit 2 Pro.
Anker

Alongside new open-ear earbuds, Anker is also introducing a new portable Bluetooth speaker. The Soundcore Boom Go 3i is a palm-sized speaker with a strap that's ideal for attaching to a bag or taking on a camping trip. Anker says the 15W speaker gets 22 hours of battery life, and that the Boom Go 3i's 4,800mAh battery can be used to charge other devices in an emergency. With an IP68 rating, the speaker also has ample dust and water protection.

Four different colors of the square Soundcore Boom Go 3i speaker.
Anker

Anker says the Soundcore AeroFit 2 Pro will be available in February for $179.99. Final pricing for the Soundcore Boom Go 3i wasn't shared by Anker, but the company says the speaker will be priced between $65-$80 and will go on sale in March.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/ankers-new-aerofit-2-earbuds-can-switch-between-open-ear-and-anc-form-factors-160014977.html?src=rss

JLab adds ANC to its tiny wireless earbuds for CES 2026

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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. 

Blue, pink, and red versions of the JBuds Mini ANC earbuds in matching wireless charging cases.
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 of Engadget'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

Amazon is redesigning its Fire TV UI for streaming sticks and TVs

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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 redesigned Fire TV mobile app with access to content and browsing watchlists.
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

Google TV is getting Gemini-powered photo editing at CES

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Google is working even more Gemini features into Google TV at CES 2026. The company demoed how the AI assistant would work on its TV platform at last year's show, and this time, it's expanding the AI's features to make it easier to do things like adjust your TV's settings or edit photos.

The ability to view photos stored in Google Photos has long been a feature of Google TV, but as part of this new update, Gemini will be able to do a lot more with them, too. Google says Gemini will be able to search your Google Photos library for specific people and moments, and remix those photos into different styles or compile them into a custom slideshow. Using Google's Veo and Nano Banana models, you'll also be able to ask Gemini to create entirely new media from scratch.

Gemini adjust picture settings through Google TV.
Gemini can adjust TV settings as part of the new update.
Google

When you don't want to spend time digging through menus, Google says Gemini will also be able to adjust picture and sound settings for you based on a natural language request. Rather than asking for your brightness to be set to a specific level, simply telling Gemini that "the screen is too dim" will be enough to prompt the AI to adjust the image. Gemini's ability to display information and answer questions through your TV is also expanding. The AI will now use a TV-friendly, "visually rich framework" to answer questions and explain topics, pulling on high-resolution images and video. When you need even more information, clicking on "Dive deeper" under a Gemini response will prompt the AI to create "narrated, interactive overviews" of whatever you want to learn more about.

Google only recently rolled out Gemini to its Google TV Streamer, and it sounds like it could be a bit before these new features are widely available. Google says the new Gemini update will arrive on TCL TVs running Google TV first, before rolling out to "other Google TV devices over the coming months." 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/google-tv-is-getting-gemini-powered-photo-editing-at-ces-140000172.html?src=rss