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NVIDIAs Reflex technology just got a massive upgrade, as announced at CES 2025 in Las Vegas. The companys Reflex 2 kicks things up several notches, thanks to some software wizardry. The end result? A promise to further reduce gaming latency by up to 75 percent. In this case, latency refers to how quickly a game displays the reaction from a player's inputs. Heres how it works, and its pretty wild. Reflex 2 combines the pre-existing Low Latency mode with something called Frame Warp. This tech tasks the CPU to calculate the position of the next frame as the current frame is being rendered by the GPU. The CPU uses player input, typically via mouse, to calculate the upcoming camera position. The tools then sample the upcoming camera position and graft it onto the current frame, waiting until the very last moment to ensure the latest input is shown on screen. This glimpse into the near future should allow players to improve their aim and tracking of enemies. But how can a pre-rendered image exist on top of the current frame without creating all kinds of visual inaccuracies? NVIDIA developed a latency-optimized predictive rendering algorithm that uses data from prior frames to fill in any obvious gaps, so players will see a new frame with the updated camera position without any weird holes. It is, quite literally, warping the frame (thus the name.) The company showcased this technology with Embark Studios The Finals, which will be one of the first games to support the toolset. The proof is in the pudding. With the game running on an RTX 5070 GPU at 4K with max settings, the latency was 56ms. The first iteration of Reflex reduced the latency to 27ms, while Reflex 2 dropped it all the way down to 14ms. In addition to The Finals, NVIDIA says that Valorant will soon support the tech. The company notes that it has used Reflex 2 with Frame Warp to reduce the latency to an average of under 3ms. Reflex 2 will debut as part of the forthcoming GeForce RTX 50 series GPUs, with support for other RTX GPUs coming sometime in the future.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/nvidias-reflex-2-predicts-milliseconds-into-the-future-of-competitive-games-182213650.html?src=rss
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Audio-Technica typically produces excellent sound quality on its headphones and earbuds even though it may not always build a complete package. The company has also been ahead of the competition on battery life at times, and at CES 2025, it's making some bold claims about its latest set of active noise canceling (ANC) earbuds. On the ATH-CKS50TW2, Audio-Technica says you can expect up to 25 hours of battery life on a charge when ANC is disabled, or 15 hours when you're trying to block distractions. There's another 40 hours in the charging case (25 with ANC on), but the other big feature on the ATH-CKS50TW2 is... magnets. Audio-Technica calls it Magnetic Switch Technology, and the tool snaps the earbuds together to turn them off before you toss them in a pocket without returning them to the case. If you're ready to use them again, they'll turn on when you pull them apart. Hybrid active noise cancellation is also on the spec sheet and 9mm drivers power the sound profile. Multipoint pairing is here too, as is Qi wireless charging and an IP55 rating for dust and water. There are touch controls on the earbuds as well, offering access to playback, volume, calls, voice assistant and noise control settings. The ATH-CKS50TW2 is available now in black for $149 and a beige color option appears to be on the way. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/audio-technica-debuts-earbuds-with-a-whopping-25-hours-of-battery-life-at-ces-2025-175430830.html?src=rss
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I knew I had found my favorite computer of CES 2025 early last December, long before I had a chance to see what most other PC makers were cooking up. That was the Zenbook A14, a system that ASUS had joked about calling the Zenbook Air. That name would have been fitting: It weighs less than 2.2 pounds (or 1kg), half a pound lighter than Apple's smallest MacBook Air. In almost every respect, the ZenBook A14 outclasses Apple's ultraportable, with specs like a 14-inch OLED screen and up to 32 hours of battery life. The only downside is that it's running Qualcomm's Snapdragon X and X Elite chips, which limits compatibility with older Windows apps (along with some devices). What's most remarkable about the Zenbook A14, though, is that it simply feels great to hold. The light weight is a big part of that, but its also covered in ASUS's unique Ceraluminum material, which feels markedly different than a typical metal case. ASUS has deployed Ceraluminum across its premium lineup for years, but this is one of the first times we've seen it on practically every surface of a laptop (the top lid, keyboard desk and bottom). The Zenbook A14 also features plenty of thoughtful design elements. It's easy to open up one-handed, thanks to a refined hinge that counter-acts the laptop's tiny frame. It also has a surprising amount of ports, including one USB Type A connection, two USB C ports, HDMI 2.1 and a headphone jack. That's all connectivity we'll never see on a MacBook Air. In my short time with the Zenbook A14, its keyboard and trackpad also felt relatively comfortable. ASUS says the keys offer 1.3mm of travel, and while they could always be deeper, they seemed fine for casual typing. The laptop also sports a 1080p IR camera, speakers with Dolby Atmos support and Wi-Fi 7. Basically, it has everything we'd want in a premium laptop in 2025. The ASUS Zenbook A14 starts at $900 with a Snapdragon X Plus CPU and 16GB of RAM (in a slightly chunkier 2.4 pound case). The lightest 2.18 pound model is available for $1,100 with a Snapdragon X Elite chip and 32GB of RAM. ASUS This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/the-asus-zenbook-a14-is-the-macbook-air-competitor-ive-been-dreaming-of-173026012.html?src=rss
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