MSI has introduced a handheld gaming device called Claw at CES 2024 in Las Vegas. And unlike its biggest rivals the Steam Deck and the ASUS ROG Ally, it's powered by Intel's processors instead of AMD's. The Claw runs on Intel's new Core Ultra chips and comes integrated with Intel's XeSS technology, which uses advanced AI upscaling algorithms to boost FPS for a smooth gaming experience. MSI says that will allow users to enjoy even resource-intensive AAA games on a handheld device.
The device also uses MSI's thermal technology design called the Cooler Boost Hyperflow that redirects airflow to cool internal components so that it doesn't overheat even after extended gaming sessions. Its battery lasts for two hours under full workload conditions, same as ROG Ally's. In fact, the Claw looks pretty similar to its ASUS counterpart, even its curvatures at the bottom for better grip.
It has a 7-inch full HD display, as well, with a 120Hz refresh rate. MSI's system enables users to fully customize personal macros for certain games, and it gives them access to Android games in addition to Windows titles on the handheld. We'll be taking the Claw for a spin at CES, so keep an eye out for a hands-on where we'll be talking about its performance.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-msi-claw-is-the-first-gaming-handheld-built-on-intels-core-ultra-chips-033813849.html?src=rss
If you’ve ever wanted to turn your car into a DJ, with the sound controlled by how you drive, then you need to buy a Benz, stat. Mercedes-AMG and will.i.am have turned up at CES 2024 in Las Vegas with what they’re calling MBUX SOUND DRIVE (all caps, as if to be bellowed). Sadly, it’s hard to talk about what it is and what it does without robbing it of its mystery, so apologies in advance: It’s essentially a system that pulls data from the car’s suite of sensors, which then helps control a specially-deconstructed music file. But, as joyless as that description sounds, once you’ve experienced it, you’ll wonder why it hasn’t been done before. Not to mention that, at the risk of gushing, it really does deepen the emotional connection between driving and the music you’re listening to.
The announcement came as part of Mercedes’ CES push, which this year is focused on the power of its audio setup. Alongside the announcement of MBUX SOUND DRIVE, it’s boasting of a new partnership with Amazon Music and Audible. That’ll see Dolby Atmos versions of its exclusive audio dramas, podcasts and books come to compatible vehicles. (The highlight of the event was when legendary British audio producer Dirk Maggs took to the stage, the figure responsible for the latter radio versions of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.)
MBUX SOUND DRIVE works by pairing musical elements in a song with ten inputs taken from the car. Start the car and all you get is the track’s bed, so to speak, looping in the background waiting for you to get moving. Push on the accelerator at low speeds and it’ll add some bass reverb to the song, while turning the steering wheel gets you extra effects or the chorus loop kicking in. It’s only when you open the car up on a clear highway and the main music and lyrics will start blasting, rewarding you for moving along. And then, when you’re coasting toward a stop light, the lead vocal and melody will peel away, returning you to the far less intrusive backing track.
If nothing else, it’s a spectacular piece of hardware and software development, given the fact even the fanciest in-car platform wasn’t designed to do this. It’s worth pointing out the extent of the achievement that’s enabled something like this to happen on an existing system. And there are plans to extend it further so, for instance, if the windshield wipers detect rain, the music will change to reflect the mood.
The demo I experienced had 16 tracks pre-loaded, including The Black Eyed Peas’ I Got A Feeling and Le French’s Night Drive. These songs have all been broken down and rebuilt to take advantage of MBUX SOUND DRIVE’s separated format. When you’re just cruising around a Las Vegas parking lot, it’s all pretty restrained, even if you do put some heavy reverb on while you’re parked. In fact, the whole experience at slow speeds could almost be described as teasing, offering you hints of the song you know and love, but never giving you the whole thing.
It’s only when you (or in this case, your qualified driver) puts their foot down and you suddenly start screaming down the road that the whole song kicks in. Even a song like I Got A Feeling, hardly the most bombastic, suddenly feels epic in this format. The closest thing I can compare it to is those moments in Grand Theft Auto when you’re opening it up on the highway and a great track kicks in. Of course, the best example of that would be cruising down the road while David Bowie’s Somebody Up There Likes Me plays. But, despite will.i.am’s promises that when the system arrives halfway through 2024 all genres will be well-represented, I’m not so sure. After all, it’s clear that tracks primarily based on discrete loops are going to be the easiest to translate and the most well-suited to the environment.
In terms of the future, will.i.am shared his hopes that tracks could be hard-coded to reflect a geography. He used the example of a car going through a tunnel, which would prompt a gas car driver to put their foot down to fill the space with engine noise. But in our electric future, where there is no engine noise, users will instead have to content themselves with the jolt from their favourite song. He added that he also dreams of building in easter eggs for songs, which would only start playing when the car reaches a specific location. On one hand, I’m curious how many musicians would take the time to remix their existing songs for the size of the addressable market. Which, in this case, is only Mercedes-Benz vehicles equipped with a second-generation MBUX system. Then again, money talks.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/im-ashamed-how-much-i-love-mercedes-amg-and-williams-attempt-to-turn-cars-into-djs-023948867.html?src=rss
Sony's partnership with Honda around a new concept EV called the Afeela has been a highlight of CES for several years now. And while we're not any closer to finding out if and when this car will become a reality, Sony had a fun way to show off the latest iteration of the vehicle: they drove it onto the Sony CES 2024 stage with a PlayStation DualSense controller. Sure, it was just a fun gimmick rather than any evidence of a PlayStation-controlled vehicle coming down the road, but CES is all about the spectacle.
Sony
We'll keep an eye out for more details on the Afeela, but Sony just invited Microsoft on stage to talk about how the in-vehicle experience is going to get smarter thanks to — you guessed it — AI. We're getting close to CES bingo here, folks.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sony-drove-its-afeela-ev-onto-the-ces-stage-using-a-playstation-controller-014403857.html?src=rss
Kia is back at CES after five years and just announced a new modular EV platform called Platform Beyond Vehicles, or PBV for short. These vehicles are still in the concept stage and aren't the kind of cars you're going to go out and buy to get around town or go on vacation — at least, not yet. Instead the PV5, the first vehicle Kia is planning, will focus on business utilities like ride-hailing, delivery and other business utilities.
Probably the coolest thing about the PV5 is how modular it is. Kia showed off four different configurations. The standard is a small van, but you can swap in an extended roof if you need more space. You can also swap the back two thirds out entirely and have it in a pickup truck configuration, and finally there's a taxi configuration focused on transporting passengers. As you might guess, the inside is completely modular to enable these transformations.
Kia didn't mention autonomous capabilities specifically, and shots of the insides of the vehicle showed a somewhat traditional driver seat and steering area. But the company also said it wants to develop a Robotaxi PV5 in partnership with Motional that'll provide an autonomous ride-hailing experience.
Beyond the PV5, Kia also teased the large PV7 and relatively tiny PV1, a pair of vehicles meant to work in conjunction. The PV7 is the largest in the lineup, which gives it more interior space as well as driving range, while the PV1 is mean tot be small and "agile" for last-mile deliveries. The cool thing is that there's a rail system that can link the two vehicles together so you can easily move cargo from the larger PV7 into the PV1.
Kia
As is so often the case at CES, there isn't a ton of detail on when the PBV initiative will move from concept to a product in production, but Kia is already building a dedicated PBV plant in Korea, with plans for manufacturing capacity of 150,000 vehicles in 2025, ramping up to 300,000 at an unknown future date. So it's possible we'll see the first of the PBVs hit the road next year.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/kia-announced-a-fleet-of-cute-modular-vans-at-ces-2024-004005807.html?src=rss
If your home is filled with Samsung and SmartThings-compatible products, an upcoming feature might simplify your life. At its CES 2024 press conference here in Las Vegas, the company unveiled a new service called Now+ that incorporates smart home controls into the TV's interface. With this, not only can you see and control your light switches or air conditioners from your television, but also use your phone as a remote control. The company also unveiled a feature called Daily+, which is customizable and will tap all the info Samsung and Bixby have on you via your SmartThings devices to make it easier to get to relevant apps.
According to Samsung, this will allow TVs to detect smartphones that are within range and use them as remotes. A new SmartThings TV Quick Panel will slide in to show "core functions," so you can manage devices, view cameras and, say, ping your phone "without compromising content viewing." The company also described a feature where your TV will turn on as you approach it and show "critical information about your devices and appliances." The platform can also display "your home’s camera feed, temperature, and remaining time in your laundry cycle," if you have all the relevant compatible appliances.
Details were scarce on when these features can be expected, what TVs and devices are compatible and whether you'll need to be using Samsung smartphones if you want the remote control feature. It's worth noting that SmartThings is compatible with the Matter standard, so quite a large array of connected appliances should work with it.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsung-has-a-new-interface-that-turns-its-tvs-into-smart-home-control-hubs-232050767.html?src=rss
CES often sets the tone for all of a manufacturer’s products that year. And apparently the theme for MSI in 2024 is “big.” It’s kicking things with three new 18-inch gaming laptops at CES 2024, plus one of the best-looking budget systems around.
As usual, MSI’s roster of gaming notebooks is headlined by the Titan series, in this case the Titan 18 HX. For those familiar with the previous generations, you may notice a lack of a two-letter tag in front of the system’s names (e.g., GT, GE, et cetera), a move MSI is making across all of its laptops to simplify its naming scheme.
In addition to a revamped design based on a new magnesium alloy chassis, the Titan 18 HX is crammed full of the most powerful components you can fit in a laptop including up to a 14th-gen Intel Core i9-14900HX chip, RTX 4090 GPU, 128GB of RAM, three SSD slots, Wi-Fi 7 and more. In total, we’re talking about a TDP of 270 watts with stable clock speeds of up to 5.2GHz across the CPU’s eight performance cores.
In case the Titan 18 HX's size and design don't draw enough attention, it also packs a touchpad with customizable RGB lighting.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Its display also shines thanks to what MSI claims is the world’s first 18-inch 4K Mini LED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, which boasts VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification. Meanwhile, for gamers who don’t feel like plugging in an external mouse, there’s a haptic touchpad that boasts eye-catching RGB backlighting. The only drawback is that with a starting price of $5,000, the Titan is only for people with equally large bank accounts.
For those who want a big gaming machine that’s still very fast but a tiny bit more affordable there’s the Raider 18 HX, which starts at around $3,500 to $4,000 (exact pricing still TBA). It sports a similar design to the Titan, except this there’s a big lightbar in front to really show off your love of RGB. The Raider also supports up to an i9-14900HX CPU and RTX 4090 GPU, but with a slightly lower overall 250-watt TDP. Unfortunately, the model we saw wasn’t functioning, so there wasn’t much more to glean from it.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Then there’s the Stealth 18 AI Studio, which is the first time MSI’s best-selling thin-and-light line has been available in this size. At 6.3 pounds, it’s almost two pounds lighter than both Titan and Raider while still supporting up to an RTX 4090 (but with a lower 185-watt TDP). The main difference is that as its name implies, it’s based on a 14th-gen Meteor Lake chip instead of Raptor Lake refresh, so it has a dedicated NPU for handling AI tasks.
The translucent plastic from the 90s is making a comeback.
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Finally, I saw the Cyborg 14 and, if you’re a fan of old-school gadgets made out of translucent plastic, you’re going to appreciate MSI’s new approach to budget chassis design. Instead of a bunch of bulky plastic with too much RGB, the Cyborg has smoky gray accents scattered across its body – from its WASD keys to its sides and bottom panel. And its specs are solid for a system starting at around $1,000. It has a 16:10 144Hz display, support for up to an RTX 4060 and 13th-gen Core i7 chip. So not blisteringly fast, but not too shabby either. It’s a good value and has a little flair that shows that a company put some thought into a product beyond the price. And while it may not get a ribbon, if Dell’s G-series was the best-looking budget laptop at CES last year, the Cyborg 14 looks to be the early favorite in 2024.
That said, these four laptops were only a sample of all the new systems MSI is launching in Las Vegas, which includes spec refreshes for existing systems like the Stealth 14/16 alongside bigger revamps for others like the Vector line.
MSI has yet to announce full pricing and availability info for the Titan 18 HX, Raider 18 HX, Stealth 18 AI Studio and the Cyborg 14, so stayed tuned for updates.
Update, January 8 2024, 6:16PM ET: This post has been updated with hands-on video.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/msi-is-going-big-with-three-new-18-inch-gaming-laptops-at-ces-2024-230028061.html?src=rss
It wouldn't be CES without Samsung showing off a strange and strangely lovable robot, and this year is the same. At its CES 2024 press conference today, the company showed off a robot named Ballie that has a projector built in. Interestingly, though, according to a report from The Washington Post, Samsung said the robotic sphere will actually be available for sale within the year.
We first saw an early iteration of Ballie in 2020, when Samsung brought the device onstage, with an executive cupping the oversized tennis ball-like gadget in their hands. When it was introduced back then, Ballie was touted as a household assistant and potential fitness assistant, with such sophisticated skills as opening smart curtains and turning on the TV. It was supposed to also be able to call for help if it sees a person has fallen and not gotten up.
In four years, Ballie appears to have grown up. It's now "bowling-ball-size," according to the Post, and has a spatial LiDAR sensor and a 1080p projector. The latter has two lenses and allows the robot to display movies, video calls and "greetings" on its surrounding surfaces. In a video shown during the keynote, Ballie greets a user who returns to their home by projecting the word "Welcome," as well as displaying a conference call, workout video and the contents of a nearby PC, like a secondary screen. In an adorable scene, it also showed the robot projecting a video of greenery on to the floor for a golden retriever sat across from it.
Samsung also showed people controlling Ballie by speaking to it, as well as via text messages. In its replies, Ballie was sending clips of what it saw, like the activity of a pet left at home. Like the earlier model, the newer robot can automatically switch connected lights and gadgets on or off, as well as non-connected appliances with its infrared transmitter.
Ballie was reminiscent of a similar product that LG showed off in 2016 called the Rolling Bot, but that short-lived device never made it to market. It's quite hard to believe that Samsung will be selling these in 2024, but it hasn't shared any details beyond what it told The Post, and pricing has also yet to be revealed. Still, it's nice to see a product go from adorable concept to plausible prototype and possibly be able to buy it soon.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/samsungs-ballie-robot-ball-showed-up-at-ces-2024-with-a-new-look-and-a-built-in-projector-224231693.html?src=rss
At CES 2024 this week, Philips teased its first-ever smart deadbolt that works using a touch-free palm reading system that allows homeowners to unlock their front doors. The Philips 5000 Series Wi-Fi Palm Recognition Smart Deadbolt, will go on sale in the US early this year and will retail for $360.
The deadbolt will join the Philips home security smart lock product lineup and will integrate with the Phillips Home Access app where users can remotely control the lock system through smart home assistants like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. It’ll also have built-in Wi-Fi that makes it easier to pair and link to other smart devices.
The system works by automatically detecting unique palm vein patterns through its built-in proximity sensors. While palm sensing technology hasn’t fully hit the mainstream, we may start seeing more applications like this. Amazon, for example, is already offering a payment system powered by palm recognition in Whole Foods.
The new door smart lock is another part of Philips’ expanded smart home security product offerings, which include indoor and outdoor cameras and monitors that compete with Ring.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/philips-smart-deadbolt-will-unlock-a-door-by-looking-at-your-palm-224040003.html?src=rss
Until now, TCL has perhaps been best known not for the quality of its TVs, but its reasonable prices. This week at CES 2024, however, the company seems like it’s trying to reintroduce itself as the sort of premium player that can could compete with the likes of Samsung, LG and Sony. The brand just debuted a new 115-inch set at its CES press conference, the 115QM89, which it claims is the largest MiniLED TV with Quantum Dot technology.
The TV is an offshoot from TCL’s broader QM8 line, which includes premium TVs in the 65- to 98-inch range. The new set brings over some features from TCL’s previous QM8 TVs, but it adds a 6.2.2 channel speaker system that delivers a more surround sound-like home theater experience. The mega-sized screen also has a TCL AIPQ ULTRA processor that allows it to deliver higher-quality and crisper images than any of TCL’s previous TVs were capable of. Notably, too, the 115QM89 has 20,000 dimming zones, which is important for a bigger display so that shadows and highlights appear more defined, making moody movies and TV shows appear more vividly on screen.
Aside from that showstopper 115-inch TV, TCL the company debuted the premium Q6-Pro in 50- to 85-inch screen sizes, with improved local dimming for a 33 percent boost in display brightness at 600 peak nits. It also added the QM7, another Mini LED device to its lineup — which offers better processing speeds and display brightness as well as overall image quality.
In TCL’s lower-end to midrange S line, the company announced the new S5, which offers 4K UHD resolution in 43- to 85-inch screen sizes. The company also says these TVs will be 25 percent brighter than the previous generation and will offer improved color depiction thanks to that new TCL AIPQ processor. Additionally, the S5 will include HDR PRO+ along with Dolby Vision for overall improved image quality.
Lastly, TCL introduced some new S and Q class soundbars. At the top of the line, these include the S55H, a new 2.1 Channel Dolby Atmos soundbar, and the Q85H, which offers 7.1.4 Channel Dolby Atmos sound and can wirelessly connect to rear speakers for what TCL describes as a more immersive sound experience.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tcl-came-to-ces-2024-with-a-115-inch-miniled-quantum-dot-tv-190047876.html?src=rss
TCL is going for different with its new pro tablet, revealed at CES 2024. There aren’t that many premium tablets beyond the annual updates from Apple and Samsung, and TCL plans to make its new 14- and 10-inch slates stand out with their display tech, featuring its next-gen NXTPAPER 3.0. It's aimed at striking a middle-ground between e-readers and tablets. It’s not about them being sharper or faster, but gentler on our very human eyes.
The TCL NXTPAPER 14 Pro’s display features heavily focus on eye comfort, with a new VersaView interface that can switch between a black-and-white reader mode and the standard tablet views. The 14-inch 2.8K display (2,880 x 1,800) features the company’s new NXTPAPER 3.0, aimed at better reflecting, literally, how the human eye reads natural paper, but on a digital display. NXTPAPER is TCL’s display tech that tries to offer a tablet experience with a paper-like reading surface. We’ve written about earlier iterations found in devices like the NXTPAPER 11 tablet and even some of its recent budget smartphones.
The company says its next family of phones – no fewer than seven, including the TCL 50 XL NTXPAPER 5G and 50 XE NTXPAPER 5G – will also feature NXTPAPER 3.0 technology. The NXTPAPER 14 Pro is powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 8020 chip, with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which is fine if unremarkable. It’s truly all about the screen.
Photo by Mat Smith/Engadget
TCL says its NXTPAPER series continues to filter out up to 61 percent of blue light to ease the effects on users’ eyes. Version 3.0 is brighter, hitting 700 nits on the 14-inch matte display. A new Circularly Polarized Light (CPL) screen should also light up text more naturally, while being easier to read in sunlight. TCL claims this creates a reading experience closer to reading books in natural light. There’s also DC dimming, which should also lower flickering effects experienced on some lower-refresh rate screens. In tablet mode, the NXTPAPER 14 Pro can reach up to 120Hz refresh rates, and the new CPL tech also means it maintains legibility even if you’re wearing polarizing lenses.
Meanwhile, the Tab 10 NXTPAPER 5G packs some of the same display technology (NXTPAPER 3.0) but on a 10.4-inch, 2K (2,560 x 1,440) screen. And no dedicated viewing mode button. It does, however, feature 5G support.
To really make sure you get it, TCL also created an Eye Health Assistant to nag remind you to reduce screen brightness or perhaps not stare at your new tablet at midnight. The NXTPAPER 14 Pro also has a dedicated physical button for switching between three different viewing modes. The tablet’s VersaView UI means users can switch between a standard tablet mode and NXTPAPER mode.
Photo by Mat Smith/Engadget
The latter is an e-ink style (but not e-ink!) monochrome mode, which rarely features on devices headed to the US. However, this isn’t just the tablet processing the Android interface into grayscale. The interface includes stripped-down icons, like line drawings, that can still be differentiated from each other and a lot more blank space and white backdrops for reading ease. It feels like a concentration mode, which I appreciated. You’ve probably heard of the ‘hack’ of turning your smartphone system into black-and-white to make everything less compelling. This simplifies everything 2even more aggressively while ensuring that some content, like video, can still be played in full color. Swiping around the tablet, or using TCL’s stylus on the screen in both modes was fluid, and refresh rates seem much improved from the earliest NXTPAPER hardware
There are no prices for either of TCL’s new tablets yet, but the company has confirmed that the NXTPAPER 14 Pro will be coming to the US in early 2024. In the meantime, these are our reigning picks for the best tablets you can currently buy.
We're reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tcls-nxtpaper-14-pro-is-somewhere-between-a-tablet-and-a-giant-e-reader-190047895.html?src=rss