The CES keynote will never be the same. 

This is my 12th CES, so there aren't many things that surprise me at this point, at least in terms of press conferences. All of the big companies used to try to one-up each other (celebrity appearances were the main method, although it's not as common now). However, the venue itself has now become the battleground for CES addresses. 

This week, Delta was the first company to host a CES press conference, or as the emcee called it, "a show," at the Sphere in Las Vegas. You've likely heard about the high-tech venue at this point, which usually hosts immersive concerts rather than trade show events. Debuting in 2023, the "multi-sensory experience" is known for having both the interior and exterior draped in LED displays and offering 4D effects like wind and smells. 

Three different credentials were required to attend the event in the venue which holds 18,600 people, one of which required a special trip to obtain. Once inside, Delta had various installations to celebrate its 100th anniversary and lines for the company's merchandise were absurdly long. People even skipped the Lenny Kravitz performance at the end to queue up for those goods. 

Billy Steele for Engadget

There was also food that may have been similar to what the airline serves in-flight, and snacks that you'd expect on a Delta trip, like Biscoff cookies. Of course, the company stacked the audience with employees and guests, plus it trotted out a couple of celebrities — Viola Davis and Tom Brady — which I saw as a throwback to the CES keynote days of old. Then there was the full-blown concert at the end: Lenny Kravitz with a full band. This gave the attendees the experience of coming to a concert at Sphere, where U2, Dead & Company, Phish and more have performed in the past. 

But, as you might expect, the most interesting aspect of the whole thing is how Delta took advantage of the Sphere's 4D capabilities. Video of each speaker was projected on the interior of the venue set on various backdrops that transformed the hall into spaces ranging from a dome to an observation deck and an airplane cabin. Several times during CEO Ed Bastian's address there were interactions with planes where the seats rumbled and blown air provided a sense of flying, complete with directional, immersive audio. There was also a cameo by Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi where an Uber Eats delivery arrived at the stage with a hazelnut-flavored coffee for Bastian and those aromas were wafted into the audience. 

Perhaps the most dazzling aspect of the whole "show" was the end, where cockpit video of a plane landing was projected on the interior of the Sphere. And when the plane landed, everyone's seats rumbled just liked they do when you hit the tarmac in real life. This was quickly followed by my first indoor fireworks show, designed to cap off Delta's 100th anniversary. I will say the immersive audio of the Sphere really enhanced this, and I doubt I'll experience anything like it again. I feel confident I'll never see indoor fireworks unless I return to this very venue. 

Billy Steele for Engadget

Of course, there was news. It wouldn't be a CES press event without some. Delta announced its AI Concierge, an assistant inside the Fly Delta app that the company built to relieve travel stress. The airline first announced the concierge concept at CES 2020, but now it's working to make it a real thing that anticipates travel needs. Beginning this year, customers will be able to interact with Delta Concierge via text or voice. Eventually, the platform will be able to do things like hail a Joby VTOL aircraft to drop you off at the airport to avoid traffic.

The AI tech can recognize both departure and arrival needs, including arranging a rideshare pickup for transport to a hotel. At the airport, you won't have to go through a TSA checkpoint, you just keep walking to your gate thanks to PreCheck Touchless ID. If you're wearing AR glasses during your trip, wayfinding then becomes a breeze with the travel assistant lighting your path. And once you're on the plane, the Delta Concierge will eventually automatically connect you to Delta Sync Wi-Fi and the seatback entertainment system to display customized info and content recs just for you. 

Delta's event was easily the most impressive CES presentation I've attended. And I've been to press events where each person had a PC and a VR headset at their seat. I don't know that any other company will invest what the airline did in the hosting and production this week, but it was immediately apparent that the bar had been raised, and that a ballroom at Mandalay Bay or The Venetian will no longer suffice if you're looking to make a lasting impression.

Billy Steele for Engadget

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/delta-changed-the-game-for-ces-press-conferences-162401293.html?src=rss

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© Billy Steele for Engadget

I don't want or need 99 percent of the stuff on display at CES — don't get me wrong, most of what we're seeing this week is impressive in one way or another, but nothing had seemed like a necessary addition to my life until I happened upon the Copper Charlie, a battery-equipped induction range that plugs directly into a standard 120V outlet. Yes, among the robots, future cars, bionic exoskeletons and AI everything, the thing that's exited me most is a stove (OK, the fluffball robot is pretty great).  

Up until a few years ago, I had no idea natural gas cooktops were bad for your health, not to mention the environment. Unfortunately, if your home is set up on gas, it's not easy or cheap to switch up to electric. Nearly all full-sized induction stoves require a dedicated 240V outlet and if you don't have one where the stove goes, a call to a electrician is likely in your future. 

Charlie is a full-sized oven and range that packs a ceramic glass cooktop, a 4.5 cubic-foot oven and an integrated 5 kWh battery. That battery allows the stove to run off a standard plug by storing up a charge that can bump up the power output when it's time to cook (it can also cook three to five meals during a power outage). 

Amy Skorheim / Engadget

In person, the range looks properly high-end with a large LCD display, wooden dials and handle, stainless steel finish and clean lines. It also has a high-end price tag at $6,000. It should qualify for a 30-percent tax credit as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, so it could end up costing around $4,200 instead. 

A rewiring job for a 240V outlet shouldn't run you more than $500 for the average house, though if you're dealing with an older home with tricky wiring, that price could go up. And if you're in an apartment, that may not be an option at all. Still, after rebates and deducting the cost of an outlet conversion, you're still paying around $3,500 for Charlie. That's cheaper than some induction ranges, more expensive than others — but none of those models have a back-up battery that'll let you make mac and cheese when the power goes out. 

The Charlie from Copper is expected to ship in April of this year and is open for pre-orders.  

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/someone-please-buy-me-this-battery-powered-plug-in-induction-range-from-ces-160250464.html?src=rss

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© Amy Skorheim / Engadget

Meta is expanding Facebook Marketplace to include eBay listings. A test will launch in the US, France and Germany, allowing users to browse eBay offerings on Marketplace. Sellers on eBay can list products as usual and "as long as your account is in good standing, your listings could appear on any of these partners, including Facebook Marketplace, based on user interest, shopping trends, and listing quality," eBay states. The company will continue to handle all product inquiries and transactions.

The decision by Meta comes as an attempt to placate the European Union, which fined the tech company €797.12 million ($821 million) last November. The European Commission charged Meta with violating antitrust regulations as "Meta tied its online classified ads service Facebook Marketplace to its personal social network Facebook and imposed unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers," Margrethe Vestager, then European Commission's executive vice-president in charge of competition policy, said at the time. "It did so to benefit its own service Facebook Marketplace, thereby giving it advantages that other online classified ads service providers could not match." 

Meta's decision to showcase eBay listings on Facebook Marketplace is far from an admission of guilt. "While we disagree with and continue to appeal the European Commission’s decision on Facebook Marketplace, we are working quickly and constructively to build a solution which addresses the points raised," Meta stated in its announcement. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/meta-test-will-bring-ebay-listings-to-facebook-marketplace-153958205.html?src=rss

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© Meta

T-Mobile is once again being sued by Washington state over the 2021 data breach which exposed sensitive information for over 79 million people, The Verge reports. The lawsuit filed on Monday alleges that T-Mobile had been aware of various security loopholes in its systems for years but didn’t take any action. As a result, a hacker managed to breach T-Mobile in March 2021 and was undetected until August of the same year when an “anonymous cybersecurity threat intelligence firm” told T-Mobile what was happening.

Beyond alleging that T-Mobile knew about these flaws and took inadequate action to fix them, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson also claims T-Mobile’s notifications to customers affected by the breach were inadequate and misleading. The text messages were brief and didn’t reveal the full scope of the breach, only telling customers that debit and credit card information wasn’t exposed while failing to mention their social security numbers and other personally identifiable information were compromised.

The breach's victims included two million Washington residents. Information from T-Mobile's databases was later on the dark web for sale to the highest bidder. T-Mobile even supposedly hired a third party to buy exclusive access to the data.

In more than one sense, this isn’t T-Mobile’s first rodeo. The company was already sued by AG Ferguson over a decade ago over "deceptive" ads. It has also been the target of a breach since 2021 — specifically 2024 “Salt Typhoon” attacks on commercial telecommunications companies. T-Mobile claims that its systems and data weren’t impacted significantly.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/t-mobile-is-under-fire-again-over-its-2021-data-breach-143007400.html?src=rss

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© T-Mobile

NASA will analyze and explore two different landing options for its Mars Sample Return program, though it will take almost two years to do so and is expected to announce its decision in late 2026. The agency had to temporarily hit pause on the program after an independent review found that it could cost between $8 billion and $11 billion, which is way above budget.

The first method NASA is evaluating is called the "sky crane," in which a vehicle will head to Mars, get close to the surface with the help of a parachute, pick up the samples the Perseverance rover had collected using cables or other mechanisms and then fly away. NASA previously used this method to place the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers on the planet. 

Meanwhile, the second option requires the help of commercial space companies. Last year, the agency asked SpaceX, Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin and other companies to submit proposals on how to get the collected Martian samples back to Earth. Whichever option the agency chooses will carry a smaller version of the Mars Ascent Vehicle than originally planned. The Mars Ascent Vehicle is a lightweight rocket that will take the samples from the planet's surface into Martian orbit. It will also have to be capable of transporting a container that can fit 30 sample tubes. Once the sample container is in orbit, a European Space Agency orbiter will capture it and bring it back home. 

Early last year, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory had to lay off 530 employees and cut off 100 contract workers mainly due to budget issues related to this mission. NASA requested $950 million for the program, but only $300 million was allocated for it. The independent review that found that the mission would cost above budget also found that it might not be able to bring the samples back to Earth by 2040. According to a previous report by The Washington Post, the US government found the return date "unacceptable."

In a teleconference, NASA administrator Bill Nelson revealed either of the two methods the agency is now considering would cost a lot less than what it would originally spend. The sky crane would reportedly cost NASA between $6.6 billion and $7.7 billion, while working with a private space company would cost between $5.8 billion and $7.1 billion. Either option would also be able to retrieve the samples and bring them back sometime between 2035 and 2039. Scientists believe the samples Perseverance has been collecting could help us determine whether there was life on Mars and whether its soil contains chemicals and substances that could be harmful to future human spacefarers. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/nasa-will-decide-how-to-bring-soil-samples-back-from-mars-in-2026-141519710.html?src=rss

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© NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

As Engadget's chief The Last of Us correspondent, I was pretty pumped to find out during Sony's CES 2025 press conference that season two of the HBO show would come out in April. But Naughty Dog head Neil Druckmann also teased an "location-based experience exhibit" that would transport participants into the tunnels of Seattle filled with Infected. That's an area straight out of The Last of Us Part II, and today I got a chance to try the proof-of-concept experience. It was short, minimal, and a little rough, but it was also another good example of how Sony is trying to take its tentpole franchises from PlayStation and put them in entirely different experiences.

Unfortunately, Sony had a strict "no cameras or videos" policy for this experience, so you'll have to rely on my words and a little video the company showed about the tech behind it.

I entered the experience with three other participants after a quick run-down of the gear we'd use: two of us got shotguns, and two got flashlights (sadly I was stuck with a flashlight). Both have a bunch of small sensors attached to the front so that they could interact with the environment we entered; the flashlight felt like a real flashlight with some sensors on the end, but the guns were crude tubes with a handle and trigger; the trigger felt pretty good from my quick test of it before we got started. There are also sensors on the barrel of the gun that detect a "pump" motion to reload it.

Once we were outfitted, an actor playing a member of an unnamed militia briefed us on the mission: some of our fellow mercenaries disappeared in the Seattle subways — perhaps kidnapped by the WLF, perhaps taken down by Infected. Our job was to find him... what could go wrong? 

Our guide directed me and the other flashlight-holder to start lighting up the subway station — which was created by three giant screens surrounding us. The walls of the room were made of LED panels, and the sensors on the flashlights interacted with them to track my moment. I needed to be pretty close to the screens for it to recognize my flashlight, but it was pretty cool to be lighting up a virtual environment in real time. 

Nathan Ingraham for Engadget

Then, of course, a clicker scream puts the group on high alert — and given that it came from a specific location we all swing our flashlights in that direction to identify the threat. Just as in the game, though, the disgusting infected creature shambled closer to us, let out another scream and came charging forward, at which point the shotgunners blasted away with abandon. That noise brought more Infected charging into the space; I would light them up with the flashlight and my partner shot them down. 

Things calmed down, momentarily — then a massive subway car started sliding out of its precarious place, which trigged one of the demo's coolest effects. The floor was rigged for haptic feedback, and while we had felt it rumble at various disturbances, this was by far the biggest impact. The combo of the visuals, audio and haptics all made it feel, well, immersive. I certainly didn't forget I was in a demo, but it was cool nonetheless. Beyond the floor haptics, Sony says that there are even scents pumped into the room to further the atmosphere, but I wasn't able to detect anything myself.

Then we got the obligatory cameo from The Last of Us Part II co-protagonist Ellie and her companion Dina, as they scrambled away from Infected who start chasing them down. One knocked Ellie down and started ripping at her throat until Dina caught up and pulled it off her, at which point they sprinted away. Unfortunately, the disturbance brought a massive swarm of monsters coming at us, which brought on the big battle of the experience. I started illuminating the hordes and my companion blasted them down, but then dozens started overwhelming the screens and the screams got more and more intense until everything cut to black as our crew was overrun. That's that! 

I'm not judging the experience too harshly, because Sony was clear both in its press conference and before we tried it that this is a very early proof of concept. The main thing that pulled me out of it was that the space we were in is static — there's no way to run away or move beyond the boundaries of what we were presented with. And then, as I mentioned, you needed to be relatively close to the "walls" for them to recognize the flashlight or gun, which meant that if you backed up to take in the scope of the space you gear might not work. 

The other thing is that I think the barrier to it being truly scary or more immersive is that I couldn't ignore the fact that the threat was on a screen rather than in the room with me. There's no doubt that having full control in an environment like this would be a wild way to play a game like this, but it was all just a little too on the rails and removed from the space I was in.

I'm trying to track down anyone from Sony who can tell me more about the genesis for this idea as well as where they see it going in the future. But Sony and Naughty Dog have already brought The Last of Us to a variety of other media, and this feels like a more high-tech vision of what Sony did in conjunction with Universal Studios when it brought the franchise to the Halloween Horror Nights that happens at the theme parks. Whether this is a one-off curiosity or something we see down the line in a more complete fashion, though, remains to be seen.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/sonys-immersive-the-last-of-us-experience-at-ces-2025-dropped-me-into-a-subway-filled-with-zombies-140010550.html?src=rss

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Last year, Honda teased its first two homegrown EVs with the Series 0 Saloon and Space-Hub. But now at CES 2025, those vehicles are getting one step closer to production by graduating from concepts to prototypes while getting updated names along the way: the Honda 0 Saloon and 0 SUV.

But while we wait for them to officially hit the road sometime in 2026, I wanted to take a closer look at the evolved styling of Honda’s upcoming electric cars. Particularly the 0 SUV, not only because it’s gotten a much larger facelift, but lets admit it, it’s what we in the crossover-hungry US really want.

Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

On the outside, the Honda’s 0 SUV looks like a mix between the Polestar 3 and the Hyundai Ioniq 9. It’s got a really minimalist, almost spaceship-like design that eschews that teardrop shape you see in a lot of other EV SUVs for something slightly boxier. This gives you more headroom for rear seat passengers and tons of extra vertical cargo space in back. The SUV’s pixelated headlights help reinforce its digital pedigree while I think Honda did a much better job in back of trying to make a clean and simple rear end without ending up a huge blank slate like on the Ioniq 9.

The 0 SUV’s overall proportions almost make it look like a tall, lifted wagon, especially when sat next to the 0 saloon. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Inside, Honda continues with the clean lines, though I wouldn’t necessarily read much into the general placement and look of its screens and dash. Like a lot of pre-production cars, those details are very much subject to change before its design is properly finalized. Same goes for those side-view cameras, which due to US laws, still don’t comply with regulations. However, Honda’s streamlined cabin does line up with the company’s “Thin, Light and Wise” design philosophy, which includes the move to a steer-by-wire driving system instead of relying on more traditional physical linkages.

But enough talking, let’s check out the cars.

The Honda 0 SUV prototype

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

The Honda 0 Saloon prototype

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

Photo by Sam Rutherford

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/a-closer-look-at-the-slick-honda-0-suv-and-saloon-prototypes-at-ces-2025-134550129.html?src=rss

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© Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget

A spinning VR gaming chair sounds like it would be an at-home vomitron. The virtual reality environment tends to make some people (like me) queasy as it is, so adding synchronized full-body rotation seems like a recipe for disaster. I was kind of prepared for the worst when I decided to try out the $800 Roto VR Explorer at CES 2025, which uses a head-tracker that attaches to the top of Meta Quest devices and other headsets to make a swivel chair turn in whatever direction you’re looking. But against all odds, I ended up having a pretty good time.

In addition to enhancing the experience of seated VR gaming, the chair is actually supposed to help with issues like motion sickness, because, according to the press materials, “the signals from your inner ear will match what your brain is expecting from the visual cues.” Still, I was a little nervous, and it didn’t help that as we approached the booth, the first thing we saw was an empty chair spinning on its own in the corner like an omen.

The Roto VR Explorer is a Made for Meta product, meaning it’s optimized for Quest, but it’ll work with standalone headsets like those in the HTC Vive family and “soon” the Apple Vision Pro. The chair itself weighs 66 pounds, so it felt really sturdy to sit in, and it has a rumble pack under the seat to bring haptic feedback to the rest of your body instead of just in your hands from the controllers. The head tracker, which looks like a flattened Poké Ball, clips onto the top strap of the headset.

After the Roto team gave me the rundown and got me set up in the chair with a Quest 3, I selected my VR experience — the 2018 interactive documentary about the universe, Spheres — and got going. It was, without a doubt, a little weird at first when I turned my head to follow the path of rippling auroras and felt my body rotate as if I were a spice jar on a lazy Susan. But for the most part, it didn’t have that disorienting feeling of the ground shifting underneath you. (It was definitely lagging a bit on the congested show floor, which did lead to some out-of-sync, jerky movements). It only took a minute or so for me to stop focusing on the fact that I was in motion and just go with it.

Jessica Conditt for Engadget

For something like Spheres, where you’re just sort of moseying through beautiful visuals and curiously interacting with the virtual environment, the Roto VR Explorer is actually really nice. If you’re in a faster-paced setting, like a first-person shooter, it’s only going to ramp up the tension. I tried turning my head quickly to the side back and forth a few times to see how it would work with that sort of movement, and it really goes when it’s running smoothly. The chair moves at max speed of 21 revolutions per minute, but you can reduce this with the controllers if that gets to be too much.

I fully expected to be doing a lot of deep breathing to get through the demo, but there actually never was a point that I felt nauseated. And when I got up out of it and reentered real life, I didn’t feel any more wobbly-legged and confused than I usually do after spending time behind a headset (though I’m sure using it for a few hours straight would change that). I'm mostly just relieved I didn't throw up in front of a bunch of strangers. 

There are plenty of situations in which a person might want or need to do their VR gaming sitting down, and the Roto VR Explorer chair offers a pretty fun way to bring the immersion to another level. It’s available for purchase now, with upgrade packages — including Pro Flying and Pro Racing — expected to follow in August 2025.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/this-spinning-vr-chair-at-ces-2025-somehow-didnt-make-me-feel-like-throwing-up-133040191.html?src=rss

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© Jessica Conditt for Engadget

Ex-employees of Annapurna Interactive who quit en masse last year have reportedly found their next project. According to Bloomberg, the team is taking over the games and franchises of Private Division, a former Take-Two label that published indie games.

A new enterprise that doesn't have a name as yet is said to have been formed and it appears that some of the remaining 20 or so employees of Private Division will be laid off as part of the transition. Take-Two said in November that it had sold Private Division (which published The Outer Worlds and physical copies of Hades) to an unnamed buyer, reportedly a private equity firm called Haveli Investments.

Haveli is said to have brought in the former Annapurna employees in recent weeks and handed them the keys to Private Division's portfolio. That includes an upcoming cozy life sim based on The Lord of the Rings called Tales of the Shire, the Kerbal Space Program series and a new project from Game Freak, which is best known for making Pokémon games.

The entire Annapurna Interactive staff quit last summer after discussions to spin out the publisher from parent company Annapurna Pictures fell apart. The company then set out to replace the team.

Annapurna has a stellar track record in the indie realm, having published a string of highly regarded games such as Stray, Sayonara Wild Hearts, What Remains of Edith Finch, Cocoon and (slightly confusingly) Outer Wilds. So there’s reason for optimism that its former staffers can do great things with the Private Division portfolio. Fingers crossed that this also somehow portends a future for OlliOlli and the brilliant Rollerdrome. Both were developed by Roll7, a now-shuttered studio that was under Private Division’s umbrella.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/former-annapurna-interactive-staff-are-reportedly-taking-over-publisher-private-divisions-game-portfolio-133033714.html?src=rss

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In summer 2023, the Biden administration announced its plan to certify devices with a logo indicating powerful cybersecurity. Now, as Biden navigates his last couple weeks in office, the White House has launched the US Cyber Trust Mark. The green shield logo will adorn any product which passes accreditation tests established by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). 

The program will open to companies "soon," allowing them to submit products to an accredited lab for compliance testing. "The US Cyber Trust Mark embodies public-private collaboration," the White House stated in a release. "It connects companies, consumers, and the US government by incentivizing companies to build products securely against established security standards and gives consumers an added measure of assurance — through the label — that their smart device is cybersafe." Some companies, like Best Buy and Amazon, plan to showcase labeled products for consumer's easy discovery.

Steps to get the program up and running have continued over the last year and a half. In March, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the program in a bipartisan, unanimous vote. Last month, the Commission issued 11 companies with conditional approval to act as Cybersecurity Label Administrators. 

The White House's original announcement included plans to also create a QR code linking to a database of the products — its unclear if this aspect will move forward. The QR code would allow customers to check if the product was up-to-date with its cybersecurity checks. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/devices-with-strong-cybersecurity-can-now-apply-for-a-government-seal-of-approval-131553198.html?src=rss

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© REUTERS / Reuters

RollAway combines the luxuries of a high-end hotel with the freedom of camping, all in a drivable, eco-friendly package. RollAway is a camper-van rental service that offers an on-demand concierge who can plan your trip, direct you along the way, provide tips about the best spots to visit, and keep your space equipped with five-star amenities. The van has a seating area that transforms into a queen bed, a kitchen with a sink and dual-burner stovetop, a shower, toilet, lots of storage, and a panoramic roof. When the van’s rear rolling door is pulled down, it acts as a screen for the included projector.

But that’s just all the built-in stuff. RollAway also comes with a lineup of top-tier amenities, including Yeti coolers and cups, Starlink satellite Wi-Fi, locally sourced breakfast packages, Malin+Goetz toiletries, fresh linens, and a tablet loaded with hospitality services. The tablet gives you access to a live virtual concierge and the Hospitality On-Demand app, which houses your itinerary, room service and housekeeping requests. In the future, RollAway will offer a full housekeeping service, but that feature isn’t live quite yet.

RollAway

Best of all, RollAway is a sustainability-focused, zero-emissions endeavor. The vans are fully electric, courtesy of GM’s EV subsidiary BrightDrop, and they have a single-charge range of more than 270 miles. They also have a fast charging option. The vans have solar panels, a waterless toilet, and low-waste water systems for serious off-grid trips, or they can be fully hooked up at RV sites.

We took a quick tour of a RollAway van at CES 2025 and found it to be as luxurious as advertised. The kitchen table slides into the seating area when it’s not in use, creating a fairly open hangout space at the very back of the van. The kitchen felt plenty large for camping purposes, and the most cramped space was the bathroom, which held a toilet and a sliver of a hand-washing sink. All of the finishing touches seemed sturdy and looked sleek. We were deeply tempted to drive right off the show floor in the thing.

Engadget

RollAway just started booking trips in late 2024, and the service is almost fully reserved throughout 2025. Reservations cost around $400 a night. It’s available only in the San Francisco Bay Area for now, but more cities are coming soon. RollAway had a successful funding round on Indiegogo in 2023, raising more than $47,000 of a $20,000 goal.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/rollaway-is-a-rentable-ev-camper-van-with-a-concierge-service-and-luxury-amenities-130025021.html?src=rss

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© Engadget

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced yesterday that the company is swinging away from its efforts to corral its content. Meta is suspending its fact-checking program to move to an X-style Community Notes model on Facebook, Instagram and Threads. We go into detail on the changes Meta promised, but is the company attempting to court the new Trump presidency?

Well, alongside donating to Donald Trump’s inauguration fund, replacing policy chief Nick Clegg with a former George W. Bush aide and even adding Trump’s buddy (and UFC CEO) Dana White to its board… yeah. Probably.

Meta blocked Trump from using his accounts on its platforms for years after he stoked the flames of the attempted coup of January 6, 2021. At the time, Zuckerberg said, “His decision to use his platform to condone rather than condemn the actions of his supporters at the Capitol building has rightly disturbed people in the US and around the world.”

But who cares about that when you could get some sweet favor with the incoming administration? Zuckerberg, who revealed the change on Fox News, said Trump’s election win is part of the reasoning behind Meta’s policy shift, calling it “a cultural tipping point” on free speech. He said the company will work with Trump to push back against other governments, including China.

He added, “Europe has an ever-increasing number of laws institutionalizing censorship and making it difficult to build anything innovative there.” It’s not innovative to copy everything rival social networks do, Mark. Also, pay your fines, Mark.

Alongside Zuckerberg’s video, Meta had a blog post — “More Speech and Fewer Mistakes” — detailing incoming changes and policy shifts — or more lies and fewer consequences.

— Mat Smith

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Gemini AI smarts are coming to Google Home

Making the assistant a better conversationalist.

Google is integrating Gemini capabilities into its smart home platform via devices, like the Nest Audio, Nest Hub and Nest Cameras, and at CES we finally got to see them in action. The main takeaway is that conversations with Google Assistant will feel more natural. Possibly the most impressive trick we saw was the case of the missing cookies. The rep asked the Nest Hub what happened to the cookies on the counter, and it pulled footage from a connected Nest Cam, showing a dog walking into a kitchen, swiping a cookie and scampering off. Cheeky. These Gemini-improved smarts will reach Nest Aware subscribers in a public preview later this year. Subscribers? Cheeky.

In case you missed it, Gemini is also coming to Google-powered TVs.

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CES 2025: More solar silliness

Put a solar panel on it.

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Following Anker’s thrilling solar beach umbrella, we’re moving onto accessories. EcoFlow’s Solar hat is a floppy number able to charge two devices at a time. EcoFlow says it’ll output a maximum of 5V / 2.4A, so you can expect it to keep your phone or tablet topped up, if not power anything more substantial. Fashion victims can rejoice: It’s already on sale for $129. The Solar hat also marks the start of my favorite part of CES coverage: compromising pictures of our editors looking goofy in tech. Wait until you see Cherlynn Low tomorrow.

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CES 2025: The robot vacuum that can climb stairs

Don’t tell the Daleks.

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I don’t know why this is the year everyone’s going hard on truly innovating with robot vacuums, but here we are. Dreame’s new model doesn’t have an arm, but it can climb stairs. For just $1,699.

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The Lenovo Legion Go S is the first third-party SteamOS handheld

There’s also a Windows 11 version that will arrive earlier.

Ready to supplant the beefy Legion Go, Lenovo is announcing a slightly more portable version called the Legion Go S, supporting two OSes: Windows 11 and SteamOS. The specs on both are nearly identical, with either an AMD Ryzen Z2 Go chip or the Z1 Extreme APU Lenovo used on the previous model, up to 32GB of RAM, 1TB SSD and a 55.5Wh battery. Compared to the original Legion Go, the S features a smaller but still large 8-inch 120 Hz OLED display (down from 8.8 inches) with a 1,920 x 1,200 resolution and VRR instead of 2,560 x 1,600 144Hz panel like on the original. That should translate to a better battery life, but we’ll have to see when we eventually get one to test.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121616843.html?src=rss

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It’s the second day of CES 2025, and I’m sure you’ve spent the whole day with your eyes pointed to our liveblog containing all the news of the day. But I’m sure there are a few folks who might have sneezed, or blinked, and missed something important. Which is why we’ve made this lovely list of all the biggest news from this day of the show, just for those folks who sneezed.

Lenovo blesses us with its presence at CES

There was plenty more PC-flavored news broadcast to the world, including Lenovo’s turn in the spotlight. Most notably, it showed off the ThinkBook Plus, a real version of its flexible OLED laptop from a few years back. At the touch of a button, that 14-inch display will expand to a bit more productivity-friendly 16.7-inches, which might justify the $3,500 starting price.

Lenovo also showed off a dummy prototype of its Legion Go 2 gaming handheld, and hints as to what specs it’ll be carrying. Alongside that, it announced the Legion Go S, the first third-party SteamOS gaming handheld that’ll offer a legitimate alternative to the Steam Deck. If you’d rather play games in a more traditional way, by which I mean with one leg as an ersatz table while you sit awkwardly on a crowded bus, then you can opt for Lenovo’s new Legion Pro 7i gaming laptop which can be specced with NVIDIA’s RTX 5090 graphics.

Of course, Lenovo also released some normal laptops, including the Yoga Slim 9i, the first laptop to launch with an under-display camera. The tweak enables it to boast a 98 percent screen to body ratio, which should get all of your friends and enemies feeling jealous. The ThinkPad X9, meanwhile, will likely break hearts of longstanding ThinkPad fans, since it has no aluminum chassis and no Trackpoint. Yes, we can hardly believe it too.

Qualcomm brings new chips, while Maingear, ASUS and Razer bring the PC goodies

Qualcomm, with less to prove than Intel right now, has announced its Snapdragon X chips will land in more Windows Copilot + PCs in the near future. A plethora of models are currently in development, with a focus on affordability rather than bells and whistles. Qualcomm and its partners, which include Acer, Dell, HP and Lenovo are targeting a base price of $600. Which should be affordable enough for plenty of entry-level buyers to update their ageing hardware to take advantage of whatever we work out what AI is actually good for.

ASUS’ new ZenBook A14 made its debut in the desert, showing off some pretty lovely industrial design and a spec sheet to match. Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar was delighted with the premium materials used in its construction, and the look and feel. The one downside is that it’s equipped / blighted (delete as appropriate) with Qualcomm’s X or Elite chips, limiting backwards compatibility with older Windows apps.

Maingear, meanwhile, went to town on its fancy-looking water-cooled desktops as it attempts to reassert its dominance in the custom PC space. The range comes with heavy-duty plumbing and a whole bunch of fans and radiators to help keep your planet-burning GPUs cool.

One permanent fixture of CES 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada is gaming company Razer showing off its latest lighting-infused hardware. First up, it debuted its new Blade 16 laptop, which it says is its thinnest gaming laptop ever made. It also showed off Project Arielle, an RGB-clad gaming chair that’ll glow red as it warms you up and blue as it cools you down. And, to round things out, the company also showed off a fancypants monitor stand that, surprise surprise, was also RGB.

Smart Glasses at CES 2025

Smart glasses have always been something of a technological cul-de-sac, but the signs are that the technology is quickly maturing. We’ve seen plenty of specs at this year’s CES that aren’t just a faddy gimmick with a too-expensive price tag. For instance, RayNeo’s new X3 AR Pro frames comes with a built-in camera and the ability to interact with a ChatGPT-powered assistant. Then there’s Even Realities, which brought the G1A and G1B to the show, which impressed me no end. They’re far lower tech than some of the products on offer, but with a more robust feature set that includes real-time translation, teleprompting and turn-by-turn directions. Xreal, too, was able to show off its latest personal cinema-style AR glasses that didn’t make me want to throw up the second I put them on.

The CES Auto Show: New Honda EVs and BMW’s Panoramic iDrive turn heads

Honda rocked up in Nevada to talk up prototype models of the concept vehicles it showed off last year. The 0 Series Saloon sedan, which 100% looks like the car Inspector Gadget would drive, and the 0 Series SUV, which also looks like a car Inspector Gadget would drive. The auto maker said both models will be available to buy at some point next year, harnessing Honda’s brand-spanking new EV architecture.

And BMW was also here, showing off its new Panoramic iDrive system that’ll come to every new BMW. That includes a display running the width of the dashboard with key statistics on your drive, rather than sticking it in an instrument binnacle like a normal person is used to. Of course, the idea here is to give you so many places to stick useful information it’s impossible for you to miss what’s going on. Unless you spend so much time staring at the raft of digital displays that you forget your eyes should really be pointed toward the road.

The rest of the best at CES 2025

Day two of CES is where the focus pivots from the biggest names to everyone else, and there was plenty of interesting stuff on show. For instance, InkPoster uses color e-paper displays as a canvas upon which you can hang digital art on your walls. MCON by OhSnap is a neat magnetic game controller for your smartphone with high-class features like Hall Effect Joysticks. Anker built a solar umbrella that lets you re-juice your gadgets while catching some rays. And, not one to be outdone, EcoFlow showed off a solar hat that’ll do the same thing, but goofier.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-best-tech-and-gadgets-we-found-on-ces-2025-day-two-110005772.html?src=rss

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Choosing the best Android phone can feel overwhelming as there are so many options from so many brands, it’s hard to know where to start. Unlike Apple, which sticks to its sleek lineup of iPhones, Android offers a world of variety. Whether you're eyeing the latest flagship from Samsung, a budget-friendly smartphone from Motorola or something unique with a foldable design, there’s an Android device out there to suit your needs.

The beauty of Android is its flexibility. You’ll find phones with different screen sizes, camera setups, battery life and even quirky extras like stylus support or rugged builds. Plus, Android lets you customize your device to your heart's content – something Apple fans might envy. We’ve tested and researched the top Android phones to help you find the right one for your budget, lifestyle, and tech preferences.

What to look for in a new Android phone

Performance

When it comes to picking our favorite Android phones, the main things we look for are pretty straightforward: good performance (both compute and AI), a nice display, solid design, sharp cameras, long battery life and a significant commitment to ongoing software support. For performance, not only do we look at benchmarks and other metrics, but we also evaluate phones based on responsiveness. Regardless of whether you’re reading, text messaging, scrolling through social media or playing a game, no one wants a gadget that feels sluggish.

Display

Sam Rutherford/Engadget

When it comes to displays, we generally prefer OLED panels that can produce rich, saturated colors with at least 600 nits of brightness, though many of our top mid-range and high-end phones can hit 1,000 nits or more. And more recently, most of our favorite devices also support screens with fast refresh rates of 90Hz or 120Hz, which adds an extra level of smoothness and fluidity.

Design

Now we will admit there is a bit of subjectivity when deciding which phones look the best, but there are other design aspects like dust and water resistance or screen durability that can make a big difference to long-term survival. It’s also important to consider things like support for wireless charging, power sharing (aka reverse wireless charging) and UWB connectivity, which can have an impact on how your phone interacts with your other devices.

Cameras

Obviously, for photos we’re looking for sharp, colorful shots in both bright and low-light conditions. And we want video clips with high dynamic range, rich audio and smooth image stabilization. Extra cameras for ultra-wide and telephoto lenses are a plus. The best cameras should also include features like dedicated night modes, support for various video recording resolutions, and additional photo modes like timelapse, slow motion and more.

Battery and software

Finally, in terms of longevity, we’re looking for all-day battery life on devices that also delivered great results on our local video rundown test (at least 16 hours on a charge, but more is obviously better). Wireless charging capabilities have become almost ubiquitous over the past few years, and most of our top picks have this extra perk. Fast-charging is available on some Android phones, too. Finally, with people holding onto their phones longer than ever, we like to see companies commit to at least three years of software support, upgrades and regular security updates.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/best-android-phone-130030805.html?src=rss

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It turns out that Roborock isn’t the only company that brought a robot vacuum with a mechanical arm to CES 2025. Rival company Dreame, which unveiled its stair-climbing robot vacuum earlier in the week, is also working on a robot vacuum with an arm for picking up objects.

The device is still a prototype, according to the company, but the as yet unnamed robo vac was on full display at Dreame’s CES booth. Considering it’s still a prototype, the actual arm looked far more substantial compared to the one on Roborock’s Saros Z70. It was much thicker and had a bigger “claw” that looked like it might be able to pick up slightly heavier objects. (Roborock says its vac can pick up object that weigh up to 300 grams.) 

Unfortunately, Dreame wasn’t showing it actually grab anything, but I was able to watch the arm extend and retract several times. It appeared to be on a similar device as the X50 as the prototype vacuum also rocked up onto “legs,” much like Dreame's stair-stepping X50.

A Dreame rep at the booth told me that the company has been working on the prototype for a while, but decided to accelerate its plans for the vacuum at CES. After a quick glance up, I knew exactly what he was referring to: Dreame’s booth is positioned directly across from Roborock, which was displaying a massive replica of its arm-wielding Saros Z70 on top of its booth.

Maybe next year we'll see the two robot vacuum arms wrestle. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/more-than-one-company-brought-a-robot-vacuum-with-a-mechanical-arm-to-ces-2025-014056459.html?src=rss

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We may no longer be at the height of the tiny home craze, but the idea of a resource-light, efficiently built home that can be plonked down just about anywhere still appeals. Today at CES, I got to tour the 2025 model of the microhaus Pro from California-based Haus.me. It was shiny, swankily appointed and, honestly, not as expensive as I thought it'd be. 

The interior of the 120-square foot unit is all wood tones, glass and soft neutrals. It's like you took a shipping container and replaced the hard lines and corrugated steel with rounded corners and floor-to-ceiling windows. The surfaces glint and every part of the space is maximized with an Ikea-like small-space efficiency, like the queen-sized Murphy bed that folds up to reveal a table and two bench seats. The kitchen has a small fridge, microwave and included in the price is a full suite of Villeroy & Boch dishware and there's a full-sized shower in the bathroom.  

The units truly can go just about anywhere with no site preparation required — if the ground is flat, it'll work. The microhaus Pro is also climate agnostic, with the ability to set up in snowy forests, hot deserts and temperate beaches (though hot and cold climate packages are about $10,00 extra each). It's also seismic California fire code and CAT-5 hurricane compliant. 

Amy Skorheim / Engadget

Installation takes usually under an hour and doesn't require any special hook ups — a garden hose and an extension cord is all it needs. And thanks to its size, it falls below the size threshold that would require a permit. The included 3.6 kWh battery can run everything in the home for four days and there's an optional atmospheric water generation and a battery life of four days. Drinking water is reverse osmosis filtered and the waste disposal system "melts" everything into liquid, which can be run out an extendable pipe you can connect to septic or a holding tank. 

The Pro model also features high-end perks like voice control via the Apple HomePod mounted to the wall. During my tour, Max Gerbut, Haus.me's CEO asked Siri to lower the shades, and it complied. You also get the full package, dishes, towels et cetera — I even saw a drawer full of M&Ms in the kitchen and was assured you get those too. 

The Pro model is a more deluxe and robust edition meant for Airbnb and rental use and goes for $89,99. If you don't need the smart home features, the battery backup and the included dishes, you can grab the microhaus Lite for $59,990. There's also a $35,000 shell version that includes just the HVAC system, lights, wiring, bathroom fixtures and plumbing. 

One thing none of the microhaus models include is solar generation. For that, you'll need to switch up to the 400 and 800 square-foot units. Those have the same put-it-anywhere convenience but are fully autonomous and go for $199,000 and $299,000, respectively. Note that none of the prices include delivery. 

It's true — none of these prices are small numbers. But I've helped build yurts, tiny homes and sheds. I've lived in more than one hand-built home and have looked into many other modular, pre-fab options. Comparatively, these prices aren't terribly high, especially when you consider there's nearly no site prep, no installation and no contractor required. 

The microhaus Pro is available to order now from the Haus.me website.  

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/at-ces-2025-i-toured-the-haus-microhaus-pro-a-self-contained-living-pod-you-can-put-just-about-anywhere-011604860.html?src=rss

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Pebble unveiled the Pebble Flow all-electric RV trailer at last year's CES. At this year's show, they've finalized both design and price for the Pebble Flow. Pebble announced that the RV trailer will be go into production at the start of 2025, with deliveries of expected to begin in the spring of the year.

The final design of the trailer includes some new additions to what Pebble introduced in Las Vegas in 2024. The interior has been revised for improved access to cabinets, additional side and rear windows, a bigger door, and larger storage space. The Pebble Flow has also gotten some tweaks to the exterior and the drivetrain system has been re-engineered.

The Pebble Flow is equipped with a 45 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery and a 1.1 kW solar array. According to the company, this can support up to seven days on the road from solar recharging and regenerative braking.

The base model will cost $109,500. The Magic Pack upgrade option adds a dual-motor drivetrain that enables advanced automation features; this model costs $135,500. The Founders Edition model, with a limited-edition color and the complete set of available upgrades, will cost $175,000.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/pebble-flow-all-electric-rv-trailer-will-begin-deliveries-this-spring-003024921.html?src=rss

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Surprising no one, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang isn't too worried about a future filled with robots and superintelligent AI. In fact, he welcomes it. During a CES Q&A session with media and analysts, Huang was asked if he thought intelligent robots would ultimately side with humans, or against them. "With the humans, because we're going to build them that way," he replied confidently.

"The idea of superintelligence is not unusual," Huang continued. "I have a company with many many people who are superintelligent in their field of work. I'm surrounded by superintelligence. And I prefer to be surrounded by superintelligence than the alternative."

Given that the hype around generative AI has been huge for NVIDIA's business — it's currently vying with Apple and Microsoft for the largest valuation in the world — it makes sense that Huang would be all for a future where we're more reliant on smarter AI. He falls short of proclaiming the arrival of god-like artificial general intelligence (AGI) like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Tesla's Elon Musk, instead Huang's vision sounds more task-focused. 

"That's the future, you're going to have superintelligent AI that will let you write, analyze problems, deal with supply chain planning, write software, design chips," he said. "The technology, of course, can be used in many ways, but it's humans that are harmful. I think machines are machines."

During the morning Q&A session, which came after Huang's lengthy CES keynote to a mostly unenthusiastic crowd, he admitted that he did a poor job of conveying his vision for AI in the real world. Huang thinks the combination of NVIDIA's Omniverse technology for visualizing 3D routines, as well as NVIDIA Cosmos for generating photorealistic environments for AI training, will make it easier to train robots for real-world work. That could end up being one small step towards AI superintelligence — or, at the very least, slightly more capable robots.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/nvidia-ceo-jensen-huang-welcomes-the-rise-of-superintelligent-ai-at-ces-2025-002827074.html?src=rss

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Longstanding solar generator company Jackery is leveling up the US’ roof game with the introduction of XBC curved solar shingles. Debuting at CES 2025, Jackery’s curved solar roof tiles come in terracotta or obsidian, designed to match some of the most common house styles in the country. While solar shingles definitely already exist in the US, these are the first with a wavy aesthetic. It sounds like HOA presidents everywhere just lost one more excuse for preventing your rooftop solar installation.

Jackery

The new tiles deliver a cell conversion efficiency of more than 25 percent, and they’re built to withstand extreme weather conditions, including hail, high wind and temperatures between -40 degrees F and 185 degrees F. They’re designed in line with traditional roofing installation practices, featuring a modular setup that allows for flexible, piecemeal maintenance. Jackery provides a 30-year warranty on the tiles, too.

The Jackery Solar Roof system integrates with the company’s existing in-home solar solutions, including the HomePower Inverter, Battery, Hub and Hub Plus, and the Solar Generator 5000 Plus and Smart Transfer Switch Kit.

There’s no word on specific pricing or availability for the new tiles just yet, even though Jackery was highlighting them in a big way at CES 2025. Jackery, founded in Silicon Valley in 2012, is one of the leading names in portable generators and whole-home solar kits, a market that's becoming more accessible by the year.

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Also at this year's show, Jackery showed off its first Solar Generator RV Kit, the new 3000v2 backup generator, and its full-coverage HomePower Energy System. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/jackerys-curved-solar-roof-tiles-are-so-normie-even-your-hoa-might-like-them-000009034.html?src=rss

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You probably didn’t have X CEO Linda Yaccarino praising Meta and Mark Zuckerberg on your CES 2025 bingo card, yet here we are. Speaking during a keynote address in Las Vegas, Yaccarino described Meta’s decision to end its longtime fact checking program and implement community notes as “exciting” and “validating.”

Yaccarino and and X owner Elon Musk have both championed the crowd-sourced fact-checking feature that Meta now plans to emulate on its own services. “I think it’s really exciting when you think about community notes being good for the world … and it couldn’t be more validating than to see that Mark and Meta realize that,” Yaccarino said. “Mark, Meta, welcome to the party.”

Meta and Zuckerberg may find themselves in dubious company at the “party,” however. While X often touts the number of users who contribute to Community Notes, some researchers have pointed out flaws in the feature. A report last year from misinformation researchers at the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) noted that many misleading posts, including prominent posts from Musk himself, can rack up billions of views without receiving a correction.

It’s not surprising at all that Yaccarino would praise Zuckerberg's move to cut ties with the media institutions that have been its longtime partners for fact-checking content on Facebook and Instagram. Like her boss Musk, she’s made no secret of her disdain for “legacy media,” and she spent a significant portion of her time onstage railing against “legacy news that is designed to make you think a certain way.”

Zuckerberg’s move to loosen its content moderation standards is the latest sign of just how far the Facebook founder is willing to go to realign himself with the political right as Donald Trump prepares to take office. He also added a prominent Trump backer, UFC CEO Dana White, to Meta’s board and elevated the company’s most prominent Republican executive to run global affairs.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/linda-yaccarino-on-meta-ending-fact-checking-welcome-to-the-party-231304753.html?src=rss

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