LG just revealed several new speakers in the xboom line ahead of CES 2026. These speakers are part of an ongoing collaboration with will.i.am from Black Eyed Peas, who is on board as the "experimental architect" involved with "development, design and brand marketing."
These speakers are fairly different from one another, but they all have AI in common. Each speaker includes an algorithm that automatically adjusts the EQ after analyzing the audio content and the listening space. Many also feature an AI algorithm for ambient lighting, which will adjust the lights to match the song being played.
The xboom Stage 501 is intended for parties and karaoke sessions. It features additional AI that can remove vocals from "virtually any song" and even adjust the pitch. The battery lasts for around 25 hours and can operate while plugged in. The speaker delivers up to 220W of power, with dual woofers and full-range drivers. It boasts a five-sided cabinet design that allows for vertical and horizontal placement.
LG
The xboom Blast is a boombox with a 99Wh battery that allows for up to 35 hours of continuous playback. That's a mighty fine metric. This is a modern boombox, so it's designed for durability. There are edge bumpers and a side rope handle for carrying.
LG
The Mini is a tiny doodad that can be placed just about anywhere. It offers ten hours of battery life per charge and a strap for easy placement. The speaker also includes a built-in tripod mount.
LG
The Rock is a, well, rock-shaped speaker that's larger than the Mini but can still be held in the palm of the hand. The battery lasts for ten hours and the design is focused on durability. It has been tested to "seven military standards" to ensure reliability in "challenging outdoor environments." This is an upgrade of the pre-existing XG2 model.
We don't have pricing or exact availability on this stuff yet, though the speakers will be on display at LG's booth at CES. The company has said that all four of these gadgets will come out in 2026.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/lg-announces-new-line-of-xboom-speakers-ahead-of-ces-010052598.html?src=rss
OneXPlayer is quickly establishing itself as a company that isn't afraid to get weird as hell. (Take, for example, its transforming dual-screen gaming portable.) Its latest venture is another retro gaming handheld that, at first glance, looks like a standard dual-screen model. But the Android-powered OneXSugar Wallet uses a single foldable screen instead.The device was teased via a 54-second video on the Chinese video-sharing platform Bilibili. Retro Handhelds reports that the Wallet uses an 8.01-inch OLED with a 2,480 x 1,860 resolution. (That's a 4:3 aspect ratio when unfolded.) The video also shows an asymmetrical analog stick layout with a D-pad and four action buttons.OneXSugar FoldOneXPlayer / BilibiGiven foldable phones long-term durability concerns, we aren't necessarily betting on the OneXSugar Wallet being a wise purchase. We also don't know how much it will cost. (The aforementioned weird dual-screen device retails for a whopping $799.) But at the very least, don't be shocked if the novel form factor ends up sparking a few copycats in the competitive retro gaming industry.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-onexsugar-wallet-is-an-upcoming-retro-handheld-with-a-43-foldable-screen-215528433.html?src=rss
The demand building out AI infrastructure has placed on PC component makers has already led to the death of one consumer-facing RAM brand, but a new report from the International Data Corporation (IDC) suggests it could have an even worse impact on the PC industry at large. In its worst-case-scenario model, the IDC predicts PC shipments could shrink by up to 8.9 percent in 2026 because of the high cost of memory."Instead of expanding conventional DRAM and NAND used in smartphones, PCs and other consumer electronics, major memory makers have shifted production toward memory used in AI data centers, such as high-bandwidth (HBM) and high-capacity DDR5," IDC writes. That's continued to drive up the price of the RAM that is available for PC makers, which has naturally led to them to raise the price of their own products to stay above water. For example, modular PC maker Framework has already had to raise prices on some of its laptops and parts, and says "further cost and price increases are highly likely over the next months." The IDC says prices could rise by 6 to 8 percent in 2026 if its most pessimistic scenario comes true.The timing of this RAM crunch is particularly ironic because selling "AI PCs" computers with neural processing units that can run AI models locally were supposed to be one of the things pulling the PC industry out of its post-pandemic slump. Instead, those computers' larger RAM needs leave them more vulnerable to the effects of the AI industry itself. Computers aren't the only electronics impacted, either. The IDC says the average selling price of a smartphone could grow by 6 to 8 percent in its most pessimistic scenario, and smartphone shipments could shrink by as much as 5.2 percent. Companies like Apple and Samsung, with cash to spare and long-term supply agreements, could weather these higher RAM prices and keep things consistent for a year or two, according to the IDC. For everyone else, though, the near-term is looking much more expensive, and by necessity, much less adventurous.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/idc-warns-of-major-pc-market-downturn-due-to-memory-crunch-214510197.html?src=rss
Xinhua News Agency via Getty Images
Hisense is perhaps best known for its budget-friendly electronics and appliances, like TVs and refrigerators. But at CES 2025, the China-based company showed its high-end chops with a massive 136-inch micro LED TV, which recently became available for a whopping $100,000. So what's on deck for this year's show? New leadership, for starters.
The company has two new hires, including Chief Marketing Officer Sarah Larsen and Chief Commercial Officer James Fishler. In a press release, Hisense said Fishler's experience in home entertainment, appliances and HVAC is important as the company "builds toward a milestone 2026 and its presence at CES."
We'll give you a rundown of what to expect during Hisense's presentation and how you can watch it.
How to watch
Hisense will have a livestream available on Monday, January 5 at 1PM ET on its website. We'll embed the link here once it's available.
What to expect
With its new hires in place, Hisense is clearly aiming to further polish its brand. Between Fishler and Larsen, the new front office is bringing to bear their experience from such high-powered competitors as LG, Samsung and Beats. And in a recent interview with Tom's Guide, Larsen emphasized a continued focus on the company's fast turnaround time from concept to market as a key differentiator for Hisense.
As for actual announcements, while you can expect Hisense to tout its strength in appliances and HVAC systems (really), Larsen's aforementioned interview specifically calls out the emerging RGB TV space as a focus. We expect this year's show will be all about explaining the shades of difference between mini and micro LED display technologies, as both Samsung and LG have already thrown down pre-announcement gauntlets on the latter. Will any of them cost less than six figures? Let's hope Hisense has some good news to share on that front.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/how-to-watch-the-hisense-ces-2026-presentation-live-190040090.html?src=rss
Samsung will have two new inexpensive mobile devices arriving on the US market next month. The Galaxy A17 5G starts at $199 and will be available on January 7. Arriving on January 8, the Galaxy Tab A11+ will retail for $250. The Galaxy A17 5G has a 6.7 FHD+ Super AMOLED display and is powered by the same Exynos 1330 chip found in the Galaxy A16 5G. The photography setup is also unchanged from last year's model, with a 50MP main camera, 5MP ultrawide, 2MP macro and 13MP selfie lenses. The base model has 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, but can be upgraded with up to 2TB of additional storage via microSD. Its 5,000mAh battery also supports fast-charging, a feature we're happy to see becoming more of an industry standard this year. Essentially, this is more of the same from Samsung, but this product line has a solid legacy of decent smartphones that don't break the bank. Don't be surprised if this joins our lineup of best budget Android phones come 2026.The other new entry-level device is the Galaxy Tab A11+, which boasts an 11-inch LCD display. The rear camera is 8MP and the front one is 5MP. It has an option for 6GB of RAM with 128GB in storage, or for 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. Like with the Galaxy A17 5G, the tablet can also be juiced up with additional microSD storage. Performance-wise, you'll top out at 15 hours of video playback on the battery, but fast-charging is also supported here. There are many swankier tablets on the market these days, but if you're looking for a bare-bones option, this Samsung offering is a solid consideration.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-unveils-its-new-200-galaxy-a17-5g-smartphone-arriving-in-january-184846560.html?src=rss
Tomorrow's the big day, and I don't just mean New Year's Eve. The series finale of Stranger Things airs tomorrow, and Netflix has released a trailer for the last episode. We're given only flashes of the final episode, along with a voiceover of an emotional Jim Hopper telling Eleven he needs her to fight one last time.
It's just over 1 minute and 30 seconds long, with what appears to be only about 30 seconds of new footage. There isn't much to go on here, as most of the footage features emotional moments from seasons past. Netflix no doubt is hoping to keep much of the excitement under wraps until tomorrow's premiere.
Warning: Some spoilers ahead for Stranger Things season 5.
Among the new images we briefly see Vecna, hooked up to the ceiling in his gross cave of power on his other world. There's also an explosion at what looks like a military site, plus a few more out-of-context flashes of our heroes.
One particularly ominous moment shows Hopper walking around a smoke-filled room with almost zero visibility, gun drawn, when we see what looks to be Vecna appear behind him. We also see Eleven climb back into the sensory-deprivation tank in the Upside Down, presumably to take the fight to the shows big bad.
The only continuous scene in the trailer shows most of the gang standing atop a radio tower as Vecna's world moves close enough to collide with the tower's tip. Dustin lets out a "mother of God" as the so-crazy-it-just-might-work scheme the group cooked up in Chapter Seven appears to be well underway.
After nine years and five seasons, we will finally reach a conclusion for the heroes of Hawkins. The episode premieres at 8PM ET (5PM PT). For those still craving more from the world of Hawkins after the finale, Netflix is releasing a Stranger Things animated series in 2026.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/netflix-has-released-a-trailer-for-the-stranger-things-finale-171204480.html?src=rss
Meta has acquired an AI startup called Manus known for its custom research and website-building agents in a deal valued at more than $2 billion, according toThe Wall Street Journal. It's reportedly one of the largest acquisitions yet involving a startup nurtured in China's AI ecosystem.
Manus arrived in March 2025, shortly after another Chinese AI startup, DeepSeek appeared on the scene. The company (called Butterfly Effect at the time) originally described it as "the first general AI agent" to perform complex tasks autonomously, rather than just generating ideas. It draws from several third-party models, particularly Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet and versions of Alibaba's Qwen.
Manus is designed to automate certain tasks, like market research, coding, sales data analysis and website cloning and creation. (However, one skeptic called it "a product devilishly optimized for influencers, which is why it exploded so much.") The company claims that Manu is "already serving the daily needs of millions of users and businesses" and has an annualized average revenue of more than $100 million only eight months after launch.
Manus laid off most of its Beijing employees this summer before moving its headquarters to Singapore in an effort to expand globally.The company was reportedly seeking a funding round that would have valued it at $2 billion when it was approached by Meta. "Joining Meta allows us to build on a stronger, more sustainable foundation without changing how Manus works or how decisions are made," said Manus CEO Xiao Hong in a company news release.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/meta-buys-startup-known-for-its-ai-task-automation-agents-140045275.html?src=rss
Hot on the tail of Amazon's Kindle Scribe Colorosoft, TCL is introducing its own take on a distraction-free note-taking and reading device. Unlike the new Scribe, however, it doesn't use E Ink. The TCL Note A1 NXTPAPER is the company's latest device to use NXTPAPER, TCL's custom paper-like LCD screen, which offers some of the qualities of E Ink without the limitations.TCL says the 11.5-inch color "NXTPAPER Pure" display on the Note A1 has a 2,200 x 1,440 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, which should mean it looks clearer and feels much smoother to interact with than the color E Ink screen used on something like the reMarkable Paper Pro. The tablet supports TCL's T-Pen Pro for taking notes and drawing on the screen, but also features eight built-in microphones for recording and transcribing audio. The Note A1 also has a 13-megapixel camera for scanning documents, an 8,000mAh battery and 256GB of storage, with the option to access cloud services like Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive if you want it. A diagram of different Note A1 NXTPAPER features arranged in a grid.TCLUnlike TCL's past NXTPAPER tablets, the Note A1 doesn't prioritize media consumption it's a productivity tool first and foremost. TCL says the device runs Android, but hasn't shared whether it'll have access to the Play Store. All the features the company has announced focus on taking notes and using AI to process and organize whatever you've written down. The device will also support real-time translation and "handwriting beautification," among a collection of other AI-powered features. Engadget has reached out to TCL for more information on the Note A1 NXTPAPER's software. We'll update this article if we hear back.There will likely never be one Goldilocks version of these note-taking devices, but the Note A1 NXTPAPER's combination of display and microphones does make it an intriguing, if limited, alternative to Boox's E Ink tablets. Anyone interested in TCL's new device won't have to wait long to try it, either. The TCL Note A1 NXTPAPER is available to order now through Kickstarter (with additional bonuses and discounts) and will officially go on sale for $549 at the end of February.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/tcl-introduces-its-own-take-on-a-color-kindle-scribe-140000207.html?src=rss
CFOTO via Getty Images
At CES 2025, NVIDIA spent the bulk of its presentation touting (what else) its leading position in the artificial intelligence arena. But it also spent time talking up new hardware, including its RTX 5000-series GPUs and Project Digits desktop supercomputer (later redubbed Spark). This year, the company's website says it's "lighting up CES 2026 with the power of AI." To that end, NVIDIA is pulling out all the stops at its Vegas installation, promising hands-on demos in its booth at the Fontainebleau, replete with the "latest NVIDIA solutions driving innovation and productivity across industries."
But don't worry if you're not on the ground in Vegas. Here's how you can watch the livestream of the company's January 5 press conference, and what to expect from NVIDIA at CES this year.
How to watch the NVIDIA CES 2026 keynote
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang will deliver a 90-minute keynote at CES 2026. The event will be livestreamed on January 5 at 4PM ET via NVIDIA's website (and likely on YouTube as well). We'll embed the link here once it's available.
What to expect
NVIDIA's game plan for CES is suitably vague so far, including "cutting-edge AI, robotics, simulation, gaming and content creation at the NVIDIA Showcase." It also notes there will be more than 20 demos. Although we're unsure if all of these will be shown during the keynote, we can at least expect to see them throughout the week of CES.
Given NVIDIA's sky-high valuation and the fact that the health of the US and global economy seems increasingly linked to infrastructure spending on AI data centers largely powered by chips from NVIDIA and its competitors expect Huang's remarks to be as closely followed by Wall Street investors as technology acolytes, if not more so. Will we get any insight on a successor to the company's Blackwell chip? A more detailed look at how NVIDIA's partners are applying AI to real-world robotics? Time will tell, but you might want to keep your stock portfolio in a split screen while taking in Huang's presentation.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/how-to-watch-the-nvidia-ces-2026-presentation-live-130028065.html?src=rss
CES 2026 is right around the corner, and the pre-show hype cycle/ early reveals suggest, yes, theres going to be an awful lot of AI-powered insert-product-category-here alongside, thankfully, some major announcements from the likes of Intel, Sony and NVIDIA.
Intel is finally unveiling its Panther Lake (Core Ultra Series 3) chips. The first chips built on Intels 2nm process could offer a 50 percent performance boost, which is sorely needed amid intense competition. NVIDIAs Jensen Huang is taking the stage for a keynote expected to feature a lot of AI hype, while AMDs Lisa Su will likely counter with new Ryzen 9000-series chips and the latest on AI upscaling tech.
LG
Over the years, CES has consistently been the show for TV innovation and heady next-gen displays. This year, well be talking a lot about Micro RGB. LG is introducing a new Micro RGB Evo panel with over 1,000 dimming zones, while Samsung plans to launch a full range of Micro RGB TVs from 55 inches to 115 inches. In 2025, Sony introduced a new RGB LED panel that uses individual Mini LED backlights in red, green and blue to produce even brighter, more accurate colors. The company has trademarked True RGB, which could become what Sony calls its spin on RGB displays.
Well be covering all the keynotes, press conferences and big reveals in person. And figuring which of the 100s of AI-branded devices and gadgets are worth reporting on.
Im also taking bets on the most niche celebrity appearance/endorsement at CES 2026. Weve seen 50 Cent, Big Bird, Martha Stewart, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Guillermo del Toro, Justin Bieber and will.i.am (multiple times), so who will join this pantheon of stars?
Mat Smith
The other big stories this morning
CD Projekt co-founder has acquired GOG, the companys game storefront
2025 was the year Xbox died
NASA finally has a leader, but its future is no more certain
Samsungs two new speakers will deliver crisp audio while blending into your decor
The Music Studio 5 and 7 will be on display at CES 2026.
Samsung
It isnt just TVs with Samsung. The company has already teased a pair of new understated speakers. Likely inspired by the Samsung Frame, the new Wi-Fi speakers, called the Music Studio 5 and 7, blend into your living room. The Music Studio 5 has a four-inch woofer and dual tweeters, with a built-in waveguide to deliver better sound. The Music Studio 7 comes with a 3.1.1-channel spatial audio with top-, front-, left- and right-firing speakers. No prices yet. Expect to hear more at CES itself or once the speakers arrive in stores. And as the press image above suggests, we can't wait to sit stoically in front of one, with a glass of water (?).
Continue reading.
Xiaomis 17 Ultra Leica Edition smartphone has a manual zoom ring
And a 1-inch sensor, 200MP telephoto camera and 3,500 nit display.
Xiaomi
Xiaomis latest smartphone is once again a spec beast. It features a 1-inch sensor 50MP f/1.67 main camera and 1/1.4-inch 200MP periscope telephoto camera. And it also has an interesting new mechanical feature: a manual zoom ring. This surrounds the rear camera unit.
Both the regular Xiaomi 17 Ultra and Leica edition come with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage, along with a 6.9-inch 120Hz AMOLED display that can hit up to 3,500 nits of peak brightness.
But the camera features are the standout elements. The 17 Ultra by Leica adds some very, well, Leica touches: a two-tone finish, red dot status symbol on the front, textured edges and film simulations, like Leicas Monopan 50 black and white. Xiaomi says the zoom ring [eliminates] the need for tedious screen taps... and can detect displacements as small as 0.03mm. It can also be reprogrammed for manual focus.
Xiaomis 17 Ultra by Leica and the regular 17 Ultra start at CNY 7,999 ($1,140) and CNY 6,999 ($995), on par with the latest high-end Pixel 10s and Galaxy S25s.
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You may soon be able to change your Gmail address
A Google support page in Hindi says the feature is gradually rolling out to all users.
A Google support page in Hindi indicates the ability to change your Gmail address might be coming. The feature wuld allow you to replace your current @gmail.com address with another. Your old address would remain active as an alias on the account, and all your data would stick around, unaffected. The support page (translated) says the ability to change your Google Account email address is gradually rolling out to all users.
Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121511445.html?src=rss
