Month: January 2025
Constellation Energy to Buy Power Producer Calpine
Constellation Energy’s deal to buy Calpine is being driven by fast-rising demand for electricity by the technology industry.
Constellation Energy’s deal to buy Calpine is being driven by fast-rising demand for electricity by the technology industry.
The Morning After: Introducing the best of CES 2025 winners
As we finish up our live coverage of all things CES, it’s time to pick the best in show. So many of the new things we saw this year had an AI component, with a noticeable uptick in AR glasses, hearing aid earbuds, solar-powered tech, emotional support robots and robot vacuums. (Why this year, robovacs?)
Our list of CES 2025 winners covers various categories, ranging from typical Engadgety things like PCs, home entertainment and gaming to themed winners in sustainability and accessibility.
In fact, our best-in-show winner was an accessibility pick: the WeWalk Smart Cane 2. A high-tech version of the mobility cane for people who are blind seemed like the best helpful application of AI. With a new voice assistant powered by GPT, users can speak directly to the cane to get navigation guidance, with sensors that alert the user of upcoming obstacles. Since the cane can handle things like turn-by-turn navigation, users don’t have to worry about holding a smartphone while trying to get around.
There were plenty of other winners too. Which laptop beat the rest? Read on for more!
— Mat Smith
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The biggest tech stories you missed
The CES gadgets you can actually buy right now
Ropet is the cute-as-hell emotional robot that the modern Furby wishes it could be
Sony’s XYN mixed-reality headset is being used in very different ways at CES 2025
Sony Honda Mobility’s Afeela 1 feels like a PlayStation 4 in the PS5 era
As the EV approaches the finish line, it’s time to get critical.
Engadget
The automotive talk of CES was the Sony Afeela 1 — again. The company has been showing off some variation of this EV for five years at this point. Now, the car is almost ready to launch, and the more specifications we hear, the warier we’re getting. The maximum charge rate of the Afeela 1 is 150 kW for its 91 kWh battery, which provides an estimated 300 miles of range. Compare that to a cheaper Lucid Air, which can charge twice as quickly and cover over 400 miles on a charge, you begin to see the problems. All of this in a car that’s a heady almost-$90,000. The charming Tim Stevens takes Sony Honda Mobility to task — and not just for the company name.
Continue reading.
The weirdest tech of CES 2025
Sloth-koala robots? Sure.
Engadget
We’ve curated all the crazy (and sometimes useful) devices we spotted out in the wild of the show floor at CES. Weird doesn’t necessarily mean bad — it just might not have the might of a multinational corporation… or the desire to change the world. Still, solar sun hat? Yes, please.
Continue reading.
Samsung’s The Frame Pro is a big upgrade for the art TV series
Better screen, a better premise.
Samsung’s The Frame TV lineup was a success. It doesn’t just look like a black box when you’re not using it, but rather blends in with your home decor by showing art on the screen, with a single-cable build that tidies the usual mess of the back of TVs. It inspired many imitators, but Samsung is finally back with a pro iteration. Most importantly, The Frame Pro now has a Neo QLED display — the same Mini LED tech that powers the company’s high-end QN900 series TVs.
Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121506805.html?src=rss
As we finish up our live coverage of all things CES, it’s time to pick the best in show. So many of the new things we saw this year had an AI component, with a noticeable uptick in AR glasses, hearing aid earbuds, solar-powered tech, emotional support robots and robot vacuums. (Why this year, robovacs?)
Our list of CES 2025 winners covers various categories, ranging from typical Engadgety things like PCs, home entertainment and gaming to themed winners in sustainability and accessibility.
In fact, our best-in-show winner was an accessibility pick: the WeWalk Smart Cane 2. A high-tech version of the mobility cane for people who are blind seemed like the best helpful application of AI. With a new voice assistant powered by GPT, users can speak directly to the cane to get navigation guidance, with sensors that alert the user of upcoming obstacles. Since the cane can handle things like turn-by-turn navigation, users don’t have to worry about holding a smartphone while trying to get around.
There were plenty of other winners too. Which laptop beat the rest? Read on for more!
— Mat Smith
Get this delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!
The biggest tech stories you missed
The CES gadgets you can actually buy right now
Ropet is the cute-as-hell emotional robot that the modern Furby wishes it could be
Sony’s XYN mixed-reality headset is being used in very different ways at CES 2025
Sony Honda Mobility’s Afeela 1 feels like a PlayStation 4 in the PS5 era
As the EV approaches the finish line, it’s time to get critical.
The automotive talk of CES was the Sony Afeela 1 — again. The company has been showing off some variation of this EV for five years at this point. Now, the car is almost ready to launch, and the more specifications we hear, the warier we’re getting. The maximum charge rate of the Afeela 1 is 150 kW for its 91 kWh battery, which provides an estimated 300 miles of range. Compare that to a cheaper Lucid Air, which can charge twice as quickly and cover over 400 miles on a charge, you begin to see the problems. All of this in a car that’s a heady almost-$90,000. The charming Tim Stevens takes Sony Honda Mobility to task — and not just for the company name.
The weirdest tech of CES 2025
Sloth-koala robots? Sure.
We’ve curated all the crazy (and sometimes useful) devices we spotted out in the wild of the show floor at CES. Weird doesn’t necessarily mean bad — it just might not have the might of a multinational corporation… or the desire to change the world. Still, solar sun hat? Yes, please.
Samsung’s The Frame Pro is a big upgrade for the art TV series
Better screen, a better premise.
Samsung’s The Frame TV lineup was a success. It doesn’t just look like a black box when you’re not using it, but rather blends in with your home decor by showing art on the screen, with a single-cable build that tidies the usual mess of the back of TVs. It inspired many imitators, but Samsung is finally back with a pro iteration. Most importantly, The Frame Pro now has a Neo QLED display — the same Mini LED tech that powers the company’s high-end QN900 series TVs.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-121506805.html?src=rss
Leaked Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim benchmark hints at the phone’s key specs
We now think we know the specs of the fourth Galaxy S25 phone in the flagship series that’s about to launch.
The Galaxy S25 Slim has leaked again
A Snapdragon 8 Elite CPU and 12GB of RAM are expected
The phone could launch later in 2025
Among the many Samsung Galaxy S25 leaks we’ve heard over the past few months, there have been consistent rumors of a fourth ‘Slim’ model that’s joining the range – and benchmark scores for said phone have just appeared online.
As spotted by well-known tipster @Jukanlosreve, the phone is listed as having a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset and 12GB of RAM. The stated operating system is Android 15 – which will be Samsung’s One UI 7.
The single-core and multi-core scores for the handset are somewhat underwhelming, but that’s to be expected: work on software and hardware optimization is likely still ongoing, so the phone’s actual performance will be several levels above what’s shown here.
There’s no doubt the Snapdragon 8 Elite is an impressive piece of silicon, and will be powering numerous flagship Android phones this year – head to our OnePlus 13 review to read about the first of them.
How slim is slim?
S25 Slim Geekbnech (US version)SD 8 Elite12GB RAM pic.twitter.com/X47mAIHSAnJanuary 9, 2025
As the name suggests, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Slim is expected to be slimmer than the other models in the range. Previous leaks have suggested we’re looking at something between 6-7mm in thickness, front to back.
That’s significantly thinner than the 7.6mm thickness of the Samsung Galaxy S24, though of course we don’t know the dimensions of the standard Galaxy S25, the Galaxy S25 Plus, or the Galaxy S25 Ultra just yet.
Despite the thinness, the phone could well pack some high-end specs: we’ve heard that the phone could have a better rear camera setup than the standard Galaxy S25, while this benchmark leak hints at a very decent processor and RAM combination.
Samsung has confirmed its next Unpacked event will be happening on Wednesday, January 22, and the invite shows four phones – though there have been rumors that the Slim model will go on sale later than the others.
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Meta Goes MAGA Mode + a Big Month in A.I. + HatGPT
“I think this set of changes that the company announced this week are the most important series of policy changes that they have made in the past five years.”
“I think this set of changes that the company announced this week are the most important series of policy changes that they have made in the past five years.”
NFL Wild Card Weekend: How to Watch Broncos vs. Bills
Sunday’s NFL playoff slate begins in Buffalo on CBS and Paramount Plus.
Sunday’s NFL playoff slate begins in Buffalo on CBS and Paramount Plus.
Panasonic came back for TV glory at CES 2025
The company hasn’t been back in the US TV market for long, but the Z95B OLED proves that Panasonic can hang with Sony, LG, and Samsung at the very high end. Panasonic returned to the US TV market last year, and only a matter of months later, I’ve convinced myself that its latest flagship OLED is the best TV of CES 2025. It’s an impressive resurgence for a brand that many home theater enthusiasts remember for producing superb plasma sets back when those represented the crème de la crème of display technology for the living room. After a long hiatus, Panasonic is back in the game and squaring off with Sony, LG, and Samsung in the very premium (and very pricey) TV category.
The company’s new OLED, the Z95B, will come in three sizes: 55 inches, 65 inches, and 77 inches. It uses the latest and greatest OLED panel from LG Display, which is a new four-layer tandem structure that beats out the brightness of last year’s LG G4 even without the micro-lens array technology that squeezed as much brightness as possible out of that TV. Last year’s Z95A from Panasonic also used MLA, but the new approach gets better results and is cheaper to produce.
So the panel is top tier and should be a formidable alternative to the QD-OLED display used in Samsung’s respective 2025 flagship, the S95F. OLED TVs just keep getting brighter, more vivid, and dazzling — and consumers really can’t go wrong with any of them. The Panasonic stopped me in my tracks on the show floor and looked phenomenal. I couldn’t help but stare at it for several minutes. The Z95B also offers support for gaming at up to 144Hz, so it’s a strong contender there as well, though both LG and Samsung stepped it up to 165Hz this year.
Technics (another Panasonic brand) handled the audio tuning of the Z95B.
Another thing that sets the Panasonic apart is its built-in Dolby Atmos speaker array. The drivers and sound performance have been tuned by Technics, with a badge that advertises as much. I really dig the fabric sides of this TV; it’s a classy way of concealing the side-firing and upward-firing speakers.
Yes, that audio hardware results in this being a thick set by 2025 standards — especially for an OLED. Panasonic didn’t hold back in making the Z95B a hulking beast of a TV. But the good news is that many people won’t need to bother with a separate soundbar since this system will (likely) sound so good. As noted by the excellent Caleb Denison at Digital Trends, the company has also reworked the TV’s cooling system with a new heat dissipation technique that should help keep that four-layer OLED panel in tip-top shape over the long term.
The TV has a built-in woofer and revamped heat dissipation system.
This is not a thin TV. But in exchange, you might be able to skip a soundbar.
But there is one glaring dilemma with Panasonic TVs: they run Amazon’s Fire TV OS. That’s rather unfortunate. It’s my least favorite TV platform among the pack, and I’d argue Amazon has crossed the line when it comes to pushing ads on customers — even if the most egregious examples can be disabled in settings. Fire TV has some good ideas here and there; the ambient mode widgets are something Google has taken note of. But I really hope that Panos Panay and the Fire TV team take a sledgehammer to this software and come back with something much sleeker, more intuitive, and worthy of a TV that’s certain to be very expensive if the Z95A is anything to go by.
Even so, I know plenty of people who mostly ignore their TV’s default software and use an Apple TV, Nvidia Shield, or some other streaming player as their preferred entertainment interface. With Samsung and LG both being very aggressive with the AI gimmicks this year, I anticipate seeing even more of that. The LG G5 will feature an LLM-powered chatbot, has an AI button on its remote, and even ships with Microsoft Copilot built in. It’s getting to be a little much, no?
Panasonic’s using the very latest, very brightest LG Display with a four-layer tandem structure.
To me, the “best TV” of CES comes down to what kind of home theater experience it will provide. And Panasonic is already doing an impressive job keeping pace with Sony when it comes to delivering a living room centerpiece that nails both picture and sound. I wish the Z95B (and the company’s 2025 Mini LED TVs) ran, well, any other TV operating system. But I don’t think Fire TV OS is bad enough to sink this high-end set. If you disagree, at least it’s relatively easy to just use something else most of the time.
It’s great to see Panasonic giving Sony, LG, and Samsung some premium TV competition.
I can’t wait to spend more time with the Z95B when it starts shipping later this year. More competition benefits everyone who’s on the lookout for a new TV. Companies like TCL and Hisense have done a great job setting new expectations of what you can get for under $1,500. And now Panasonic’s return is showing us what’s possible for those with the means to splurge on their next big upgrade.
Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge
The company hasn’t been back in the US TV market for long, but the Z95B OLED proves that Panasonic can hang with Sony, LG, and Samsung at the very high end.
Panasonic returned to the US TV market last year, and only a matter of months later, I’ve convinced myself that its latest flagship OLED is the best TV of CES 2025. It’s an impressive resurgence for a brand that many home theater enthusiasts remember for producing superb plasma sets back when those represented the crème de la crème of display technology for the living room. After a long hiatus, Panasonic is back in the game and squaring off with Sony, LG, and Samsung in the very premium (and very pricey) TV category.
The company’s new OLED, the Z95B, will come in three sizes: 55 inches, 65 inches, and 77 inches. It uses the latest and greatest OLED panel from LG Display, which is a new four-layer tandem structure that beats out the brightness of last year’s LG G4 even without the micro-lens array technology that squeezed as much brightness as possible out of that TV. Last year’s Z95A from Panasonic also used MLA, but the new approach gets better results and is cheaper to produce.
So the panel is top tier and should be a formidable alternative to the QD-OLED display used in Samsung’s respective 2025 flagship, the S95F. OLED TVs just keep getting brighter, more vivid, and dazzling — and consumers really can’t go wrong with any of them. The Panasonic stopped me in my tracks on the show floor and looked phenomenal. I couldn’t help but stare at it for several minutes. The Z95B also offers support for gaming at up to 144Hz, so it’s a strong contender there as well, though both LG and Samsung stepped it up to 165Hz this year.
Technics (another Panasonic brand) handled the audio tuning of the Z95B.
Another thing that sets the Panasonic apart is its built-in Dolby Atmos speaker array. The drivers and sound performance have been tuned by Technics, with a badge that advertises as much. I really dig the fabric sides of this TV; it’s a classy way of concealing the side-firing and upward-firing speakers.
Yes, that audio hardware results in this being a thick set by 2025 standards — especially for an OLED. Panasonic didn’t hold back in making the Z95B a hulking beast of a TV. But the good news is that many people won’t need to bother with a separate soundbar since this system will (likely) sound so good. As noted by the excellent Caleb Denison at Digital Trends, the company has also reworked the TV’s cooling system with a new heat dissipation technique that should help keep that four-layer OLED panel in tip-top shape over the long term.
The TV has a built-in woofer and revamped heat dissipation system.
This is not a thin TV. But in exchange, you might be able to skip a soundbar.
But there is one glaring dilemma with Panasonic TVs: they run Amazon’s Fire TV OS. That’s rather unfortunate. It’s my least favorite TV platform among the pack, and I’d argue Amazon has crossed the line when it comes to pushing ads on customers — even if the most egregious examples can be disabled in settings. Fire TV has some good ideas here and there; the ambient mode widgets are something Google has taken note of. But I really hope that Panos Panay and the Fire TV team take a sledgehammer to this software and come back with something much sleeker, more intuitive, and worthy of a TV that’s certain to be very expensive if the Z95A is anything to go by.
Even so, I know plenty of people who mostly ignore their TV’s default software and use an Apple TV, Nvidia Shield, or some other streaming player as their preferred entertainment interface. With Samsung and LG both being very aggressive with the AI gimmicks this year, I anticipate seeing even more of that. The LG G5 will feature an LLM-powered chatbot, has an AI button on its remote, and even ships with Microsoft Copilot built in. It’s getting to be a little much, no?
Panasonic’s using the very latest, very brightest LG Display with a four-layer tandem structure.
To me, the “best TV” of CES comes down to what kind of home theater experience it will provide. And Panasonic is already doing an impressive job keeping pace with Sony when it comes to delivering a living room centerpiece that nails both picture and sound. I wish the Z95B (and the company’s 2025 Mini LED TVs) ran, well, any other TV operating system. But I don’t think Fire TV OS is bad enough to sink this high-end set. If you disagree, at least it’s relatively easy to just use something else most of the time.
It’s great to see Panasonic giving Sony, LG, and Samsung some premium TV competition.
I can’t wait to spend more time with the Z95B when it starts shipping later this year. More competition benefits everyone who’s on the lookout for a new TV. Companies like TCL and Hisense have done a great job setting new expectations of what you can get for under $1,500. And now Panasonic’s return is showing us what’s possible for those with the means to splurge on their next big upgrade.
Photography by Chris Welch / The Verge
Linux Foundation brings together top browser makers for more “open” approach
Google, Meta, Microsoft and Opera have already joined the Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers initiative.
The Linux Foundation launches new initiative to look after Chromium browsers
It’s meant to give a “neutral space” for developers to contribute without barriers
Google, Meta, Microsoft and Opera have already joined
The Linux Foundation has declared its support for open-source Chromium-based browsers with the launch of a new initiative.
The ‘Supporters of Chromium-Based Bowsers’ program is designed to help support open source contributions and improve the sustainability of Chromium projects to “drive technological advancement.”
Its goal is to create a “neutral space” where industry leaders, academia, developers, and the broader open source community can come together to contribute to open-source browsers without barriers.
Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers
“This project will provide much-needed funding and development support for open development of projects within the Chromium ecosystem,” Linux Foundation Executive Director Jim Zemlin commented.
Google, Meta, Microsoft and Opera have already committed to supporting the initiative, which is hoped to foster collaboration and distribute resources across Chromium projects.
Like other Foundation initiatives, the Chromium program will focus on transparency, inclusivity and community-driven development to “[meet] the needs of the wider Chromium community.”
The Foundation, which of course supports the Linux operating system, has been spreading its support and positive messaging across the entire tech industry since its inception as a nonprofit in 2000.
In late 2022, it launched the Overture Maps Foundation to create an interoperable mapping data set for the likes of autonomous driving and data visualization, with founding partners including AWS, Meta, Microsoft and TomTom.
Then, in April 2024 it announced the LF AI & Data Foundation to improve the state of generative AI for enterprises.
Speaking about the Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers initiative, Chrome VP Parisa Tabriz commented: “We believe the Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers is an important opportunity to create a sustainable platform to support industry leaders, academia, developers, and the broader open source community in the continued development and innovation of the Chromium ecosystem.”
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Want a cheaper Apple Pencil for your iPad? This $30 alternative comes with Find My tracking
Want a more affordable Apple Pencil alternative? ESR has you covered with the $30 Geo Digital Pencil.
ESR has launched an Apple Pencil alternative that costs $30
The Geo Digital Pencil can fast charge and has Find My support
It lacks many Apple Pencil features, but costs less than half the price
The Apple Pencil is a superb accessory for all the best iPads, but it doesn’t come cheap thanks to its $79 / £79 / AU$139 starting price (which stretches up to $129 / £129 / AU$219 if you want the Apple Pencil Pro). If you’re looking for an alternative pen for your iPad that won’t break the bank, ESR has just introduced a much more wallet-friendly option.
The ESR Geo Digital Pencil is a $30 pen for the iPad that can replicate many of the Apple Pencil’s features. For instance, it comes with tilt sensitivity that lets you easily adjust the thickness of your output by adjusting the pencil’s angle.
As well as that, you can tap the Geo Digital Pencil to quickly interact with your iPad and see the pen’s battery level. That’s similar to the Apple Pencil Pro’s ability to change tools when you tap it and is something that isn’t available on the entry-level Apple Pencil.
ESR says the Geo Digital Pencil is compatible with a range of iPads, including the iPad Air with M2 chip, the M4 iPad Pro, the 10th-generation iPad, and the iPad mini with A17 Pro chip.
What’s missing?
(Image credit: ESR)
One of the Geo Digital Pencil’s most useful features is its Find My integration. This will allow you to connect it to you iPhone and locate it using the Find My app. Find My is an incredibly useful tool for Apple devices, so it’s encouraging to see ESR built it into its iPad pencil.
To charge the pen, you can connect it to a power outlet using a USB-C cable. This enables fast charging, which will get it to full battery power within 30 minutes. You can also magnetically snap the pencil to your iPad, but doing so will not charge it, which is something you can do with the Apple Pencil Pro (but not the regular Apple Pencil).
At $30, it’s unsurprising that ESR’s device lacks some of the Apple Pencil’s features, and it also goes without the hover feature that lets you preview a pen mark before you make it with Apple’s device. You also don’t get the barrel roll, haptic feedback or squeeze functionality of the Apple Pencil Pro, although that pen does cost over four times the price of the ESR Geo Digital Pencil.
Still, at less than half the price of the standard Apple Pencil, you might decide that it’s worth taking a punt on ESR’s alternative – we’ve certainly had some joy previously with more affordable rivals.
We don’t yet know how it compares to the Apple Pencil in terms of precision and latency, but if it turns out to be a solid device, it could take its place among the best Apple Pencil alternatives.
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Record Store Day 2025 has been announced, as if you needed an excuse to buy more records
Get ready for a fresh stack of vinyl this April as Record Store Day 2025’s date is now locked in.
The date for your diaries: April 12, 2025
Over 270 indie shops in the UK and thousands more worldwide
Exclusive releases from established and emerging acts alike
Record Store Day is Christmas for music fans, with a whole host of exciting new releases as artists raid the vaults for interesting ways to celebrate the joys of independent record retailers. And now Record Store Day has a date and a slogan: you can “celebrate the culture” on April 12, 2025.
This year’s RSD, the eighteenth such event, will be supported by long-term sponsor Bowers & Wilkins as well as Miraval wine and the DEYA brewing company, and it’ll be happening in over 270 record shops in the UK as well as thousands more worldwide. And as before, it’s likely to see a whole host of re-releases, rarities and special editions that’ll be worth queuing out the door (yes, at your local bricks and mortar store!) for.
Why Record Store Day is magic for music fans
One of the things we love about RSD, other than the goodies on offer, is that it gives us an excuse to spend tons of money with a clear conscience: it’s all about celebrating and supporting indie retailers as well as artists. In the era of Spotify streams and struggling high streets that feels more important than ever.
Last year’s RSD line-up featured everything from 100 Gecs to 10,000 Maniacs, Black Sabbath to Boogie Down Productions, U2 to Ultramagnetic MC’s and many, many more as record companies re-released classics on heavyweight vinyl and artists went rooting around the vaults for classic cuts and covers. And only some of those releases ended up on eBay for silly sums immediately afterwards…
We’ll be covering RSD 2025, of course, but don’t forget that indie stores aren’t just for vinyl Christmas: many artists release exclusive records to indie shops every month, and this month’s crop includes Maribou State, Manic Street Preachers, Anna B Savage, Mogwai and Lambrini Girls, among others. You can stay up to date with those exclusives on the RSD website. Until then, happy crate rummaging!
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