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CES 2026: What to expect from tech’s big January conference

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The pre-show events are already up and running at CES 2026 — the tech world’s biggest annual conference — and the news is already flowing. While the CES show floor doesn't officially open until Tuesday, January 6, Las Vegas is already abuzz with various pre-show events, including the CES Unveiled mini show and Samsung's First Look press conference, scheduled for late Sunday. Nearly all day Monday will be comprised of more press conferences from the likes of LG, Intel, NVIDIA and Sony. And that doesn't include the product demos, announcements and networking that will be happening at the Las Vegas Convention Center and other hotels all over the city. Engadget is covering the event in-person and remotely, bringing you news and hands-ons straight from the show floor.

More specific details and pre-announcements are already trickling out as CES approaches, and thanks to the schedule of the Consumer Technology Association (the trade organization that runs the show) we have a full itinerary of press conferences. We’re also using our experience and expertise to predict what tech trends could rear their heads at the show.

The CES 2026 schedule

Press conferences and show floor booths are the bread and butter of CES. The CTA has already published a searchable directory of who will have an official presence at the show, along with a schedule of every official panel and presentation. However, the press conference schedule gives us a more digestible rundown of the first 48 hours of big events.

On Sunday, January 4, Samsung will kick-off CES with "The First Look," a presentation hosted by TM Roh, the CEO of Samsung's DX Division, on the company's "vision for the DX (Device eXperience) Division in 2026, along with new AI-driven customer experiences." Ahead of that, though, Samsung has already outlined a variety of more specifics (scroll down for details). Concurrent with the Samsung presentation will be the official CES Unveiled mini-show, which is generally comprised of smaller and start-up vendors.

That'll be followed by multiple press conferences throughout Monday, January 5. The LG CES 2026 press conference, titled "Innovation in Tune with You," is ostensibly to share "its vision for elevating daily life through Affectionate Intelligence." But, like Samsung, this fellow Korean giant has already spent the three weeks leading up to CES pre-announcing many of its new products, so this may be more of a summary than breaking news.

Following LG, we’ll also see press conferences from Bosch and Hisense, as well as the first-ever CES appearance from Lego. As the Las Vegas afternoon rolls around, we get the first of three chip giants: NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang takes the stage on January 5 at 1PM PT (4PM ET) and, according to the website, his presentation will last about 90 minutes. Based on the description on the listing, the presentation will “showcase the latest NVIDIA solutions driving innovation and productivity across industries.” NVIDIA’s presser is concurrent with one from Hyundai, where the Korean automotive company will focus on in-cabin car tech and robotics.

Later in the day, we get to hear from NVIDIA frenemies Intel and AMD. Intel’s 3PM PT (6PM PT) event will ostensibly feature its new Core Ultra Series 3 processors, and AMD CEO Lisa Su will cover AMD's upcoming chip announcements at a keynote address that closes out the day. But expect both of them to be very heavy on AI applications, of course. Sandwiched in between those chip manufacturers will be Sony Honda Mobility. The joint venture will be offering yet more details on its Afeela EV.

Finally, on Tuesday, January 6, Lenovo CEO Yuanqing Yang will host Lenovo's Tech World Conference at the Las Vegas Sphere, using the large and decidedly curved screen to share the company's "commitment to delivering smarter AI for all by constantly redefining how technology can engage, inspire, and empower." It’s worth noting that Lenovo is the parent company of Motorola, which still makes phones and foldables that feature AI tools, so it’s possible those devices feature in the presentation as well.

Here’s a handy cheatsheet for easy access to all of Engadget’s coverage:

Samsung (Sunday, Jan. 4, 10PM ET)

Samsung CES liveblog and livestream

LG (Monday, Jan. 5, 11AM ET)

LG CES liveblog and livestream

Bosch (Monday, Jan. 5, 12PM ET)

Bosch CES livestream

Hisense (Monday, Jan. 5, 1PM ET)

Hisense CES livestream

Lego (Monday, Jan. 5, 1PM ET)

Lego CES liveblog

NVIDIA (Monday, Jan. 5, 4PM ET)

NVIDIA CES liveblog and livestream

Hyundai (Monday, Jan. 5, 4PM ET)

Hyundai CES livestream

Intel (Monday, Jan. 5, 6PM ET)

Intel CES liveblog and livestream

Sony Honda Afeela (Monday, Jan. 5, 8PM ET)

Sony Honda CES liveblog and livestream

AMD keynote (Monday, Jan. 5, 9:30PM ET)

AMD CES liveblog and livestream

Lenovo (Tuesday, Jan. 6, 8PM ET)

Lenovo CES liveblog and livestream

Samsung and LG vie for pre-show publicity

As noted above, both Samsung and LG have continued their recent trend of spoiling nearly all of their respective CES announcements in the days and weeks before the show. LG, for example, has said it will debut its first Micro RGB television at CES. While details are scarce, the company’s press release for the LG Micro RGB evo did confirm it has received certifications by Intertek for 100 percent color gamut coverage in DCI-P3 an Adobe RGB, and that it has more than a thousand dimming zones for brightness control.

Elsewhere in the TV space, LG is throwing its hat into the “art TV” ring that Samsung pioneered with its Frame TVs: The LG Gallery TV will debut in 55- and 65-inch screen sizes, and it will of course show off various artwork when it’s not otherwise in use. And if PC gaming displays are more your speed, LG will have that covered, too, with a new line of 5K-capable gaming monitors on deck with built-in AI upscaling.

But LG’s not just showing off displays. The Korean multinational will also introduce a Dolby-powered modular home audio system, a new line of its xboom speakers (developed with will.i.am) and the company will flex its automation muscles with a humanoid home automation robot named CLOiD. We’re also looking forward to checking out the company’s new ultralight Aerominum laptops.

Of course, Samsung refuses to be outdone by its hometown rival, and has also released a pre-CES press release document dump. Samsung will be launching its own lineup of Micro RGB TVs at CES, for starters. The company already introduced its first Micro RGB TV at CES 2025, which was a 115-inch model available for a cool $30,000. Next year, Samsung is expanding the range with 55-, 65-, 75-, 85-, 100- and 115-inch models that use the next evolution of the company’s Micro RGB technology.

Samsung is also countering LG’s 5K monitors with a 6K model that aims to deliver glasses-free 3D (another long-time CES staple). It’ll be one of several new displays in the company’s Odyssey gaming line. And the company is also updating its Freestyle projector for 2026, too.

And on the audio front, Samsung has teased several new soundbars and speakers, including Sonos-style Wi-Fi streaming models call the Music Studio 5 and Studio 7.

Outside of the formal introduction of new products and initiatives, reading the tea leaves of what was announced last year and what companies are reportedly working on, we can make some educated guesses at what we could see at CES 2026.

New chips from AMD, Intel and Qualcomm

CES is frequently the start of a cascade of new chip announcements for a given year, and one of the first places new silicon appears in real consumer products. AMD will likely use its keynote to introduce new versions of its Ryzen chips, including the recently spotted Ryzen 7 9850X3D, which is expected to offer better single-threaded performance, and the Ryzen 9000G series, which could be built with AMD's Zen 5 architecture. The company might also use its CES stage to go over its new FSR Redstone AI upscaling tech.

Intel has already publicly announced that it'll launch its Panther Lake chips at CES 2026. The officially titled Intel Core Ultra Series 3 chips fit into Intel's overall "AI PC" push, but are specifically meant for premium laptops. Based on a preview from October 2025, Intel says the first chip made with its 2-nanometer 18A process will offer 50 percent more processing performance than previous generations and for the chip's Arc GPU, a 50 percent performance bump from last generation.

Qualcomm is also rumored to be targeting laptops at the show, building on the work it's done moving its Snapdragon chips out of phones and tablets and into other types of computers. The company's Snapdragon X2 Elite and X2 Elite Premium chips should start appearing in laptops at CES 2026, offering a look at the improved speed and AI performance the company promised in 2025.

Brighter, "truer" screens

As noted above, Samsung and LG appear to be going all-in on Micro RGB display tech for TVs. Expect that to be a huge buzzword at CES, with Hisense and Sony debuting new models, too.

Sony announced a collection of new Bravia TVs in April 2025, replacing the company's flagship, filling in its midrange options and adding a new budget model to the mix. The star of this updated Bravia lineup is the Bravia 9, which features a QD-OLED panel, but Sony appears to be prepping entirely new display tech for 2026. In March 2025, Sony introduced a new RGB LED panel that uses individual Mini LED backlights colored in red, green and blue to produce even brighter, more accurate colors. In contrast to a QD-OLED, which filters a layer of blue organic light emitting diodes through quantum dots that change color, Sony's "General RGB LED Backlight Technology" can get as bright as a Mini LED panel without needing an extra filter layer or worrying about OLED's problems with burn-in. 

The company has already trademarked the name "True RGB," which could end up being what Sony calls this new flavor of display if it decides to show them off at CES. It seems entirely likely, because CES is nothing if not a TV show — it’s a sure bet that we’ll see new TVs from the likes of LG and Samsung in addition to Sony. If the company doesn't introduce new display tech for its TVs, it does have a new 240Hz PlayStation monitor coming in 2026 that it could show off at CES instead.

Sony isn't the only company hyped on bright screens. Samsung is reportedly pushing an updated version of the HDR10 and HDR10+ standards that could be ready to demo at CES 2026. The new HDR10+ Advanced standard would be Samsung's answer to Dolby Vision 2, which includes support for things bi-directional tone mapping and intelligent features that automatically adapt sports and gaming content. Samsung's take will reportedly offer improved brightness, genre-based tone mapping and intelligent motion smoothing options, among other improvements.

And maybe your future TV won’t need a power cord, either: Displace will be showing off a mounting option that includes a 15,000mAh battery to juice up whatever giant TV screen you choose to attach.

Ballie Watch 2026

The ball-shaped yellow robot lovingly known as "Ballie" has been announced twice, first in 2020 and then again in 2024 with a projector in tow. Samsung said Ballie would go on sale in 2025 at CES last year and then shared in April 2025 that Ballie would ship this summer with Google's Gemini onboard. But it's nearly 2026, and Ballie is nowhere to be seen. It's possible Samsung could make a third attempt at announcing its robot at CES 2026, but whether or not it does, robotics will still be a big part of the show.

Robot vacuums and mops were a major highlight of CES 2025, and it's safe to expect notable improvements from the new models that are announced at CES 2026. Not every company will adopt the retractable arm of the Roborock Saros Z70, but robot vacuums with legs for rising over small ledges like the Dreame X50 seem like they could become the norm. Roborock could also show off its new Roborock Qrevo Curv 2 Flow, the first of its robot vacuums to feature a retractable roller mop.

Beyond just traversing spaces more efficiently, improving robots' navigation could also be a major concern at the show. Prominent members of the AI industry are turning their attention from large language models to world models, which aim to give AI a deep understanding of physical space. Those world models could be the key to making robots — like LG’s aforementioned CLOiD — competent at navigating homes and workplaces, and will likely be a significant talking point at CES 2026.

We’ll be updating this article throughout the month as more rumors surface and new products are confirmed — stay tuned for future updates!

Update, December 11 2025, 11:03AM ET: This story has been updated to include detail on Lenovo being Motorola’s parent company and how the latter might have a part in the Tuesday presentation.

Update, December 16 2025, 1:33PM ET: This story has been updated to include the NVIDIA press conference, which was added to the CTA schedule within the last two days.

Update, December 23 2025, 7:28AM ET: This story has been updated to include LG and Samsung’s Micro RGB TV announcements, which were made public in the past seven days. The intro was also tweaked to reflect how soon CES is at this point.

Update, December 29 2025, 11:03AM ET: This story has been updated to include additional details on pre-announcements from Samsung, LG and Displace.

Update, December 31 2025, 12:05PM ET: This story has been updated to include yet more early LG announcements.

Update, January 3 2026, 8:45AM ET: This story has been updated to include still more Samsung and LG announcements.

Update, January 4 2026, 8:45PM ET: This story has been updated to include new links and a press conference schedule.


This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/ces-2026-what-to-expect-from-techs-big-january-conference-120000956.html?src=rss

The best laptops for gaming and schoolwork in 2026

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A good laptop for both gaming and schoolwork strikes a balance that goes beyond raw power. It should handle essays and research during the day, then jump into your favorite games when you are ready to take a break. That mix is easier to find now, with more laptops offering capable GPUs, solid battery life and designs that do not look out of place in a classroom.

Whether you want a budget gaming laptop for lighter titles or a more powerful system that can run demanding games, there is something that fits just about every schedule and workload. We rounded up the best laptops for gaming and schoolwork so you can find a machine that does both without compromise.

As we’ve mentioned, gaming laptops are especially helpful if you're doing any demanding work. Their big promise is powerful graphics performance, which isn't just limited to PC gaming. Video editing and 3D rendering programs can also tap into their GPUs to handle laborious tasks. While you can find decent GPUs on some productivity machines, like Dell's XPS 15, you can sometimes find better deals on gaming laptops. My general advice for any new workhorse: Pay attention to the specs; get at least 16GB of RAM and the largest solid state drive you can find (ideally 1TB or more). Those components are both typically hard to upgrade down the line, so it’s worth investing what you can up front to get the most out of your PC gaming experience long term. Also, don’t forget the basics like a webcam, which will likely be necessary for the schoolwork portion of your activities.

The one big downside to choosing a gaming notebook is portability. For the most part, we'd recommend 15-inch models to get the best balance of size and price. Those typically weigh in around 4.5 pounds, which is significantly more than a three-pound ultraportable. Today's gaming notebooks are still far lighter than older models, though, so at least you won't be lugging around a 10-pound brick. If you’re looking for something lighter, there are plenty of 14-inch options these days. And if you're not into LED lights and other gamer-centric bling, keep an eye out for more understated models that still feature essentials like a webcam (or make sure you know how to turn those lights off).

Not necessarily — it really depends on how you define "last longer." In terms of raw performance, gaming laptops tend to pack more powerful components than standard laptops, which means they can stay relevant for longer when it comes to handling demanding software or modern games. That makes them a solid choice if you need a system that won’t feel outdated in a couple of years, especially for students or creators who also game in their downtime.

But there’s a trade-off. All that power generates heat, and gaming laptops often run hotter and put more strain on internal components than typical ultraportables. If they’re not properly cooled or regularly maintained (think dust buildup and thermal paste), that wear and tear can shorten their lifespan. They’re also usually bulkier and have shorter battery life, which can impact long-term usability depending on your daily needs.

Gaming laptops can last longer performance-wise, but only if you take good care of them. If your needs are light — browsing, writing papers and streaming — a standard laptop may actually last longer simply because it’s under less stress day-to-day.

The GPU plays a big role in how your laptop handles visuals — and it’s especially important if you’re using your computer for both gaming and school.

For gaming, the GPU is essential. It’s responsible for rendering graphics, textures, lighting and all the visual effects that make your favorite titles look smooth and realistic. A more powerful GPU means better frame rates, higher resolutions and the ability to play modern games without lag or stuttering.

For schoolwork, the GPU matters too — but its importance depends on what you're doing. If your school tasks mostly involve writing papers, browsing the web or using productivity tools like Google Docs or Microsoft Office, you don’t need a high-end GPU. But if you’re working with graphic design, video editing, 3D modeling or anything else that’s visually demanding, a good GPU can speed things up significantly and improve your workflow.

Georgie Peru contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/best-laptops-for-gaming-and-school-132207352.html?src=rss

Russia reportedly bans Snapchat and FaceTime

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Roskomnadzor, Russia's federal agency for monitoring and censoring mass media, has blocked access to Snapchat and FaceTime in the country, Bloomberg reports, citing Russian news service Interfax. The bans were reportedly put in place because the platforms were used "to organize and carry out terrorist acts,” and commit fraud.

It's not clear if either service is still accessible by using a VPN, but banning Snapchat and FaceTime fits with Russia’s crackdown on communication and social platforms that started after the country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Facebook and X were blocked in March of that year, and Instagram was added to the ban list not long after. In 2024, the encrypted messaging app Signal was also banned, and more recently in July 2025, Russia threatened to block access to WhatsApp.

Engadget has contacted both Apple and Snap to comment on the Russian bans. We'll update this article if we hear back.

Banning or restricting these platforms is a way to exert control over where and how conversation happens in Russia — and prevent the spread of "LGBT propaganda," if you believe Roskomnadzor's reasoning for banning Roblox — but it might also be an attempt to drive people to use "MAX," a state-run super app that offers services like communication, banking and document storage. The app is part of a long-standing push to rely on Russia's tech industry rather than foreign companies, and could potentially give the Russian government an easier method for surveilling its citizens, The New York Times reports.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/russia-reportedly-bans-snapchat-and-facetime-194906404.html?src=rss

Meta is reportedly going to slash spending on the metaverse

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Meta is reportedly planning steep cuts to its metaverse division, according to Bloomberg. This is happening just a few years after the company changed its name from Facebook to reflect its renewed interest in that same metaverse.

Bloomberg notes that the metaverse department could get hit with significant budget cuts in the near future, with layoffs potentially occurring early next year. The budget cuts could go as high as 30 percent and will likely impact the virtual worlds product Meta Horizon Worlds and the Quest virtual reality headset. The publication did note that this isn't a done deal just yet.

Company insiders say this is all part of Meta's annual budget planning for 2026 and that the cuts were discussed at a series of meetings at CEO Mark Zuckerberg's compound in Hawaii. The metaverse team was reportedly asked for deeper-than-average cuts because the technology hasn't exactly taken the world by storm.

As a matter of fact, the whole metaverse idea has been a dud with investors, who see it as a drain on resources. Consumers aren't exactly keen on the idea either, even if they still buy VR headsets and traditional games. It's one thing to throw on a headset to shoot bad guys for 20 minutes but it's a whole other thing to, well, wander around a fake Abercrombie & Fitch for hours looking to spend real money on fake clothing for an avatar.

The report does suggest that Zuckerberg still believes that people will one day spend the majority of their time in virtual worlds, but these cuts signal that he understands that this idea is still years or decades away from fruition. The metaverse sits within a company division called Reality Labs that has lost more than $70 billion since 2021. Zuckerberg has also largely refrained from mentioning the metaverse in public and in earnings calls.

So what will Meta be spending money on instead? It's reportedly focused on further developing large AI models and chatbots, in addition to hardware products linked to AI experiences like those Ray-Ban smart display glasses.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/meta-is-reportedly-going-to-slash-spending-on-the-metaverse-164547153.html?src=rss

PlayStation teams up with Bad Robot and the creator of Left 4 Dead for a co-op shooter

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Sony Interactive Entertainment has signed a deal to produce and publish a game from Bad Robot, JJ Abrams’ production company. The two sides are keeping most of the details close to their chest for now, but the game is a four-player co-op shooter for PlayStation 5 and PC directed by someone who knows a thing or two about that genre: Left 4 Dead creator Mike Booth.

Bad Robot Games — which is a fully remote studio — was formed in 2018 with the help of Tencent. It has lent a hand on games including Weird West (as an investor and creative consultant) as well as interactive streaming series Silent Hill: Ascension. This new game is the first one that Bad Robot Games is developing in-house.

A few months back, Booth dropped into the Left 4 Dead subreddit to say that he was working on a new co-op game “built on the foundations of what made L4D special. If you enjoyed the teamwork, tension and replayability of my past games, you’ll probably find this one interesting. It expands on the co-op formula in ways I’ve wanted to explore for a long time.” He added that, while the game was still in early development, Bad Robot was opening up a waitlist for access to playtests.

According to a press release, “Bad Robot Games is a dedicated game studio working on new and existing transmedia franchises.” So, this project could well be part of an entirely new franchise, but the prospect of co-op shooter from the designer of Left 4 Dead that’s set in the Cloverfield universe is pretty darn intriguing.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/playstation-teams-up-with-bad-robot-and-the-creator-of-left-4-dead-for-a-co-op-shooter-144637802.html?src=rss

Apple’s AirPods 4 with ANC are back on sale for $99

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If you missed the Black Friday sale on Apple's AirPods 4 with ANC, you're in luck — they're back on sale at the same $99 price for a substantial $80 savings (45 percent). What's more, if you're one who frets about damaging your gear, you can grab them with AppleCare+ for $118, saving 43 percent from the normal price. 

We think that the AirPods Pro 2 are the best AirPods overall, but the ANC-enabled AirPods 4 are also a solid choice, especially at this price. We gave them a score of 86 in our review.

Apple's AirPods 4 come in two variants, with and without ANC. Though the base model is solid, the version on sale here with ANC offers a number of advantages like Conversation Awareness, Adaptive Audio and Transparency mode. They also have a charging case that supports MagSafe and Qi-compatible wireless charging, along with a built-in speaker that emits beeps when you activate Find My. And as Apple recently announced, AirPods 4 with ANC supports the company's Live Translation feature. 

Our main reservation with the AirPods 4 with ANC is that the Airpods Pro 2 are a better noise-cancellation option when they go on sale. At this price, though, the AirPods 4 with ANC are a real bargain if you're looking for new buds — especially if you prefer the open-ears type. As mentioned, for extra peace of mind you can also get the Airpods 4 with ANC plus AppleCare+ protection for $118, or 43 percent off. 

Check out our coverage of the best Apple deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/apples-airpods-4-with-anc-are-back-on-sale-for-99-140903670.html?src=rss

Antigravity A1 drone review: FPV flying unlike anything else

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The Antigravity A1 is what happens when Insta360’s 360-degree cameras are given wings and flying feels like a video game. Spinning out as its own brand, Antigravity’s debut drone is a big swing: a three-piece set with a drone that captures 8K 360-degree video, FPV goggles and a motion controller.

Challenging the dominance of DJI’s (many!) consumer drones is a big ask. Antigravity’s approach is to play to its strengths in 360-degree video and smartphone-first editing. A lot of the appeal comes from how the A1 captures 8K video in all directions, meaning you can edit, cut and swap around your footage — and hopefully rarely miss a moment you’re trying to document. It’s a lot of fun, too, if you can get through the early teething issues, updates and the learning curve.

The drone

Antigravity A1 drone review
Antigravity A1 drone review
Image by Mat Smith for Engadget

The A1 drone is just 249 grams (0.548 lbs). This helps it bypass some drone regulations, though flying permissions vary by region. The pair of cameras mounted on the top and bottom of the drone's body is one of its unique features. It’s difficult to directly compare the A1 against competitor drones, as it offers a mix of features found across different categories and some unique tools of its own.

The A1 can capture 360-degree video at up to 8K resolution, and thanks to Insta360’s action cam experience, it can magically remove the drone body from video. This means you can capture video and never see propellers or, well, any part of the drone itself.

Along the base of the drone, two landing gears automatically lower when you attempt to land the A1, although you will have to manually retract them when you’re looking to launch the drone. You can also lower the landing gear from one of the controller’s many buttons.

The removable battery has a handy one-touch gauge to monitor levels and provides over 20 minutes of flight time, depending on conditions and whether you’re recording video. Antigravity suggests it should last up to 24 minutes during normal filming use. My review device came with two spare batteries and a charging dock. It’s very easy to swap out the batteries, and the charging dock can fully charge a single cell in 45 minutes and even charge all three slots at once. There’s a microSD card slot on the rear of the drone, alongside a USB-C port for (slowly) charging the battery.

Antigravity A1 drone review
Antigravity A1 drone review
Image by Mat Smith for Engadget

The cameras have a 1/1.28-inch sensor, f/2.2 lens aperture and an ISO range from 100 to 6,400. To adjust those settings beyond auto, you’ll have to dive into the menu inside the goggles, which can be laborious to navigate with a gesture-based controller. Fortunately, auto ISO and white balance are usually good enough. Pro-level content creators might want to tinker with levels here, and there’s a histogram you can toggle on or even a zebra pattern to highlight overexposed shots and areas. and the A1 can record 8K video at up to 30fps or 4K at up to 100fps. You can also meet in the middle, with a 5.2k recording mode.

There are also three different flying modes, which are easy to select on the controller. Alongside Normal mode, Sport mode increases the maximum flight speed and offers “enhanced flight performance,” improves control sensitivity and turns off obstacle avoidance. Sport mode offers a tangible difference when flying the A1: it doubles the horizontal flight speed compared to Normal mode. There’s also a Cinematic (C) mode, with a lower max speed for smoother video footage.

The controller and goggles

Antigravity A1 drone review
Antigravity A1 drone review
Image by Mat Smith for Engadget

The flight mode switcher is one of many controls, wheels, buttons and sliders that pepper the surface of the A1’s grip controller. Intriguingly, though, the main way to control the A1 drone is through gestures, not joysticks or buttons. Instead of pitching control sticks to the left and right, up and down, it’s more akin to a video game, where you point the controller where you want to go, shown with a reticle, and pull the trigger. The A1 then shoots off in that direction.

The crucial part is that this doesn’t have to be where you’re “looking” from the drone’s POV. This means you can strafe and fly in any direction without your view being constrained by static cameras. It’s a sensation unlike any other drone I’ve flown. It feels more like playing a video game — like piloting a helicopter in GTA 5. You’re able to look in any direction, both while in motion and while hovering stationary.

There are controls for recording video, controlling vertical flight and rotating your POV without turning your head. There’s even a RTH (return to home) function that can be accessed by long-pressing the emergency brake button.

The included goggles deliver a crisp view of everything, with a pair of 1.03-inch micro-OLED displays with a resolution of 2,560 × 2,560 and a 72Hz refresh rate. Other FPV drone goggles typically offer 100Hz refresh rates, but it wasn’t a dealbreaker for me. I feared that latency hiccups could make airsickness an issue while flying the A1, but I didn’t experience it. My take is that being able to fully control your view makes nausea less of an issue.

Another nice touch, especially if you’re flying with friends, is a circular outer display on the goggles, so everyone can see what the A1 sees. Naturally, it can’t encompass the entire view of the drone pilot, but there’s also nothing duller than watching someone else fly a drone. This offers a mild respite. The other eyepiece is a touchpad for steering through menus inside the goggles without having to point and click with the controller.

Performance

Antigravity A1 drone review
Antigravity A1 drone review
Image by Mat Smith for Engadget

While the Antigravity A1 may offer a more immersive drone-flying experience, in pure numerical terms, it lags behind some competitors. For example, even in Sport mode, the A1 tops out at a maximum speed of just under 36 mph, falling behind the likes of DJI’s Avata 2 (60 mph).

I was still pleasantly surprised by how responsive the A1 felt, especially in Sport mode. An additional FPV mode (accessible from the goggles) adds more sensitive controls, although I haven’t been able to test it much since it was introduced in a recent firmware update.

For someone with more gaming experience than drone piloting hours, Antigravity’s central control system fits like a glove. I could fly where I wanted, confident in the controls and in the knowledge that I would capture what I wanted to. According to Antigravity, you can fly the A1 within a 10km transmission range, although I didn’t manage to test that limit in central London.

The experience of starting with the drone felt, at times, unnecessarily arduous. Pairing everything together has to be done in a specific order: power up drone, power up goggles, power up controller. And turning off each item isn’t a typical long press of the power button. Instead, you use a press-once-press-it-again-and-hold method that I forget pretty much every time.

Downloading video from the A1 to your phone is also laborious, but that’s not a flaw specific to this drone. Antigravity has attempted some shortcuts, including a microSD card quick reader that connects to your phone or PC via USB-C.

However, at the time of testing, manually connecting the microSD is less of an option and more of a necessity. The drone repeatedly failed to connect to the companion app and reliably transfer video files. Some video files recorded seemingly evaporated between firmware updates, only to reappear later. Another file had been converted to two separate circular views, one from each camera, which made it essentially unusable. Hopefully these intial teething problems have been solved by firmware updates and won't be in retail devices.

It’s a shame everything isn’t more stable, especially when both flying the A1 and using Antigravity’s editing software are bothis so beginner-friendly. It's something I’ve mentioned before with the parent company’s action cams, but the ability to create barrel rolls, tilt rotations with just one tap or click is, again, just fun. And because you can reframe and tinker with video warping, create tiny planet effects or simply crop to a more traditional, cinematic camera view, Antigravity’s software offers almost infinite ways to present your drone footage. Deeptracking can be done both during recording and editing in post, keeping a moving subject or point of interest centered as the A1 zips around.

There are also AI-powered video editing features to chop up your 20 minutes of flying footage into something digestible and engaging with minimal effort. Because it’s a 360-degree video, the footage can be easily cropped to suit both horizontal and vertical formats.

However, with a smaller sensor and 8K resolution spread across a 360-degree view, the A1 is not the best video drone. The video is pleasingly crisp and clear, and while the footage is best recorded in bright daylight or other well-lit locations, murky British November days didn’t affect it much. As the A1 has to stitch together its two sensors, there’s often a visible seam to your video, but it’s usually a very subtle glitch. It might stop some video creators from tapping it for their most polished aerial shots though. Recording video later in the day resulted in more noise and less detail. This is when the A1’s Cinematic mode (and generally slower flying) is a good idea, but it still won’t make up for the fact that this drone’s sensors are covering such wide angles. More video-centric drones will deliver cleaner video and better performance in less-than-ideal lighting conditions.

Wrap-up

Antigravity A1 drone review
Antigravity A1 drone review
Image by Mat Smith for Engadget

The Antigravity A1 is available now, with a standard bundle including the drone, controller and goggles for $1,599. The Infinity Bundle ($1,999) adds two extra batteries, quick reader dongle, sling bag and a charging dock. That does make it substantially more expensive than rival FPV drones like the DJI Avata 2, but the A1 is also a very different kind of drone.

The intuitive controls and ability to look all around you make it unlike anything else currently available. It’s a delightful introduction to drones, FPV or otherwise, but a shame that software issues marred my tests. Plus, pairing all the devices can be convoluted and frustrating at times.

If Antigravity is thinking about what to do next, I’d be intrigued to see a version with the camera bonafides to take on similarly priced DJI drones. But that shouldn’t detract from the company’s debut model since the A1 is arguably the most intriguing consumer drone since the Mavic Pro.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/antigravity-a1-drone-review-140026021.html?src=rss

Proton Sheets joins the company’s productivity suite

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The latest addition to Proton's workplace suite is a spreadsheet tool called Proton Sheets. It will offer real-time collaboration, and users can control who has access to view and edit files. Proton Sheets can also be accessed on any device, including mobile ones. It supports importing CSV and XLS files, and the spreadsheets also support commonly used formulas for calculations.

A big part of Proton's pitch is privacy, promising that users' information won't be used for training AI. The company also protects user data with end-to-end encryption by default; the press release pointedly notes that products like Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel don't do the same.

The Sheets app will be a part of Proton Drive, which already includes a Docs platform with several features similar to those offered by other productivity tools from big tech brands. Proton also offers a VPN and a Mail app.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/proton-sheets-joins-the-companys-productivity-suite-110000344.html?src=rss

Apple design lead Alan Dye is heading to Meta

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Alan Dye, Apple's Vice President of Human Interface Design, has been poached by Meta, Bloomberg reports. The designer played a pivotal role in the look and feel of Apple's products since Jony Ive left the company in 2019, and now he’ll be taking his talents to Meta.

Dye will reportedly work under Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth as the head of a new studio that will oversee the design of hardware, software and AI products. The studio will also include former Apple designer Billy Sorrentino, Meta’s interface design lead Joshua To, an industrial design team led by Pete Bristol, and metaverse design and art teams led by Jason Rubin, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on Threads.

“The new studio will bring together design, fashion, and technology to define the next generation of our products and experiences,” Zuckerberg shared in the post. “Our idea is to treat intelligence as a new design material and imagine what becomes possible when it is abundant, capable and human-centered.”

Apple, meanwhile, is replacing Dye with Stephen Lemay, Bloomberg reports, a senior designer at the company who's worked on all of the company’s interfaces since 1999. Considering the secrecy of Apple as a company, it's hard to credit individual breakthroughs to individual designers, but Dye worked on several of Apple's major new platforms and design changes, including things like the interface of visionOS and its new Liquid Glass design language.

Meta has had success with its Quest virtual reality headsets and more recently, its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, but the company clearly hopes to release many more consumer hardware products with Dye and its new design studio’s help. Those will likely include future versions of the Meta Ray-Ban Display and its Neural Band accessory.

Dye isn't the first designer Apple has lost to a competitor. Evans Hankey, the company’s former head of industrial design, left Apple in 2022 to work with Ive. Hankey is now one of several former Apple employees building OpenAI's upcoming hardware device. Dye joining Meta is particularly interesting in this case because Apple is rumored to be working on products that will bring the company in even closer competition to the social media giant. The Vision Pro could be considered to be a high-end competitor in VR, but Apple is reportedly working on its own pair of smart glasses, too.

Update, December 3, 5:54PM ET: Added information from Mark Zuckerberg’s Threads post on hiring Alan Dye and Meta’s new design studio.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-design-lead-alan-dye-is-heading-to-meta-214449944.html?src=rss

How to use Accessibility Reader on Apple devices

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Earlier this year, Apple launched a new tool that makes it easier to read anything on your device’s screen. Designed for people with visual disabilities, Accessibility Reader provides a full-screen view of any on-screen text. (It’s a bit like Safari’s Reader Mode, only for any app.) The feature also lets you listen to your text read aloud.

Accessibility Reader is available for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro. Your device will need to be on iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26 Tahoe or visionOS 26.

It’s a fairly straightforward experience. But since it offers several launch and customization options, here’s a quick breakdown on getting started and tweaking it to your liking.

How to turn on and open Accessibility Reader

The Accessibility Reader settings toggle on macOS.
The Accessibility Reader settings toggle on macOS.

Activating the feature is the same on any Apple device. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Read & Speak, and turn on Accessibility Reader. (It’s at the very top.) Once you’ve done that, there are several ways to launch the tool.

Accessibility Shortcut (iOS / iPadOS / visionOS)

Triple-click the lock button. That’s the side button on iPhone and the top button on iPad and Vision Pro. (On older iPads, triple-click the Home Button.) This brings up the Accessibility Shortcut, which includes a quick-launch item for Accessibility Reader.

If you don’t need the other items in this menu, you can remove them at Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut. Then, using the shortcut will immediately launch Accessibility Reader.

Control Center (iOS / iPadOS)

You can add a Control Center shortcut for the tool. Swipe down from the top-right to launch Control Center. Then, hold your finger on an empty part of the screen. Choose “Add a control” (bottom), and find the Accessibility Reader shortcut. You can now tap that Control Center icon whenever you want to launch it.

Keyboard Shortcut (macOS)

The default Accessibility Reader shortcut on Mac is Cmd-Esc. Or, customize it in Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Reader by clicking the “i” next to the menu item.

Accessibility Shortcut (macOS)

The tool is also available as part of the Mac’s Accessibility Shortcut. You can launch this menu using a keyboard shortcut (Opt-Cmd-F5), by quickly pressing Touch ID three times or with a Control Center shortcut. (However, the above Cmd-Esc shortcut should be the simplest for most people.)

How to listen to text in Accessibility Reader

The tool also includes a text-to-speech (TTS) option. Once you’ve launched Accessibility Reader, listening is as simple as pressing the play button (▶). You can then use the pause (⏸) shortcut to take a break.

Other options include skipping backward or forward using the rewind or fast-forward symbols. There’s also a speed adjustment, which you can change by choosing the 1x button.

If you want the Reader to speak text automatically when it opens, you can do that, too. That option is found under Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Reader. (On Mac, select the “i” symbol next to the menu entry to find this option.)

How to customize Accessibility Reader

It’s easy to adjust the font size, color, theme and more. Once you’ve launched Accessibility Reader, tap the customization (AA) button. There, you can change the theme, colors, font, line spacing and much more.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/how-to-use-accessibility-reader-on-apple-devices-212231319.html?src=rss