As “right to repair” laws gain traction in states including New York, which passed legislation last year, tech firms are girding to battle back against consumer rights to buy parts and access information about how to implement DIY fixes. Forced obsolescence being part of virtually every hardware manufacturer’s business plan, the rapid pace of device disposal and replacement has proven taxing on the environment, as well as costly for consumers. Some companies are said to design software that performs inadequately with replacement parts, or update software to intentionally degrade product performance with age. Continue reading Tech Firms Push Back as ‘Right to Repair’ Gains Momentum

Apple is gearing up to make a big play for the smart home market, according to reports that put it on a trajectory to challenge Google and Amazon. This week, the company released a new HomePod smart speaker with superior audio, enhanced Siri capabilities, and better security. But a report surfaced of Apple preparing a dedicated smart home control device to rival the displays for Amazon’s Echo Show and Google’s Nest Hub. Although the iPad currently offers some smart home features, standalone devices are growing in popularity, kickstanding on countertops or mounted on walls. Continue reading New Apple HomePod Signals Big Push in Smart Home Space

Samsung Display has debuted a concept mobile device that both folds and slides, the Flex Hybrid. The company’s “smart mobile device” prototype unfolds to reveal a display on the left side, with the right side sliding outward to expand screen real estate. The Flex Hybrid’s OLED screen expands from a 10.5-inch 4:3 configuration to a 12.4-inch 16:10 display. Samsung Display also previewed two larger displays at CES 2023, the Flex Slidable Solo, which expands in a single direction, and the Flex Slidable Duet, which grows on both sides, from 13 or 14 inches of screen space to 17.3 inches. Continue reading CES: Samsung Flex Hybrid Mobile Device Can Fold and Slide

Connection, collaboration, and cooperation are three words that underscore almost everything we saw during four days at CES 2023. We anticipated this would not be a show of breakthrough innovations. Instead, we expected innovative ways to use recent advances. In broad categories, AR, haptics, and AI were much in evidence. Interesting light field displays and curved screens caught our eye. There were fewer cars but way more commercial vehicles and components driving “software-defined mobility.” TVs were secondary to connected ecosystems in Samsung and LG’s displays, while creators took center stage for Sony, Canon, and Nikon. Clear across the show, innovation may come from startups but to scale it takes giants. Continue reading CES: Show Floor Reveals the Ups and Downs of Tech Trends

Samsung has introduced its 8K Premiere ultra-short throw projector that CNN calls a “first-of-its-kind.” The projector, and update to the company’s 4K Premiere, supports a maximum picture of 150-inches for a massive screen. Native 8K remains a ways off, but the system artificially up-rezzes 4K content while future-proofing. Sitting just inches from a screen or wall, with Dolby Atmos, the unit minimizes wires and auxiliary equipment, which has been a trend at CES 2023. Due for release later this year, pricing was not announced, but the 2020 model that this one builds upon started at $3,500. Continue reading CES: Samsung 8K Premiere Projector Marks an Industry First

Last year we told you about VideowindoW, a high resolution clear-glass display that transforms windows, including the entire glass curtain of a skyscraper, into a black and white video screen. This year at CES, Superimaging Display showcased a proof-of-concept demo of a simpler approach to transparent window displays. The company has developed a thin film embedded with nanophosphors that display visible RGB images when excited by ultraviolet light from a DLP projector. The thin film can be attached to any glass surface, and the image is visible but translucent in daylight. Continue reading CES: Superimaging Creates New Clear Window Display Tech

Displace is a new wireless TV that promises to take the pain out of mounting a flat screen. Powered by a proprietary hot-swappable battery system, the 55-inch 4K flat screens are under 20 pounds and can be affixed “to any surface” using an active-loop vacuum technology. Transportable and configurable, multiple Displace TVs can be used in combination “to form any sized TV,” according to the startup, which debuted the system at CES 2023. Each Displace TV comes with four rechargeable batteries, each averaging about a month of life for an average usage of six hours per day. Continue reading CES: Displace Demos First Totally Wireless OLED Flat Screen

The most impressive feature of the Magic Leap 2 demo at CES 2023 involves Global and Segmented Dimming. Global Dimming is a feature that dims the entire display without dimming digital content to make text and images more solid and precise. Segmented Dimming dims specific portions of the display to enhance legibility and clarity of selected content, and can also be used to focus attention to areas or components of interest. Both of these features produced outstanding visual results during our CES demo. Segmented Dimming produced very bright digital objects in front of a well-lit room, while Global Dimming could be used for VR immersion. Continue reading CES: Magic Leap 2 Exhibits Impressive Dimming Capabilities

LG Electronics has unveiled a 97-inch OLED TV billed as a “zero connect” wireless solution that is generating praise at CES 2023. Capable of real-time video and audio transmission at up to 4K 120Hz, the new OLED TV M3 eliminates the need for HDMI or AV cabling from set-top boxes, soundbars, receivers or game consoles, requiring only a power cord. The LG M3 TV comes with a separate Zero Connect box that sends video and audio signals wirelessly to the 97-inch screen. Because the box can be located away from the television, the result is designed to be a sleeker, distraction-free viewing environment. Continue reading CES: LG Unveils Its Low-Latency Wireless 97-Inch OLED TV

For four days in Las Vegas, CES 2023 becomes the nucleus of global innovation. The Consumer Technology Association (CTA), owner of CES, predicts a show significantly larger than CES 2022, emerging from two pandemic restricted years on January 5. The annual confab will open more than two million square feet of exhibit space with more than 2,400 exhibitors and the expectation of as many as 100,000 attendees, more than double the last show. ETC@USC will have its team in place, on the ground and online, to explore the show floor and over 175 sessions and keynotes. We’ll be reporting on the latest in AI, Web3, multiverses, image displays and other emerging CE tech impacting M&E. Continue reading CES 2023: What to Expect When the Show Opens in January

LG Electronics is touting two world firsts — the “largest OLED TV,” the 97-inch G2 OLED evo Gallery Edition, and the “first bendable 42-inch OLED TV,” the LG Flex. Described as “epic,” and bringing “theater-like viewing” to the home, the 97G2 carries an epic MSRP of $24,999. The outsized OLED Gallery Edition uses LG’s proprietary Alpha 9 Gen5 AI Processor and advanced picture algorithms to deliver a bright and immersive viewing experience. At CEDIA 2022 in Dallas, Texas, LG also showcased a short-throw projector that can display a 120-inch, 4K picture from just 7.2-inches away. Continue reading CEDIA: LG Debuts 97-Inch OLED TV Billed as World’s Largest

Oculus unveiled a new version of its Rift VR headset at GDC 2019 yesterday. The $399 Rift S, available this spring, will feature a new design, higher resolution display (up to 1280×1440 per eye), two updated Oculus Touch controllers, and embedded sensors for tracking (rather than cameras). The current $349 Rift relies on an array of external webcams to sense the environment. The new Rift S will require a PC in order to power its high-res graphics, while the wireless Oculus Quest, also available this spring for $399 will not need additional power. Continue reading Oculus Reveals its Upcoming PC-Connected Rift S Headset

According to a recent note to investors written by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who is known for frequently having inside information on Apple’s product plans, Apple could begin mass production of its augmented reality headset by the end of 2019 and unveil it as early as mid-2020 — although he admitted the timeline is optimistic. In May 2018, however, Loup Ventures founder Gene Munster predicted we wouldn’t see the Apple AR headset until late 2021. Kuo stated his belief that Apple’s first AR device will only be a display, with the iPhone performing all the rendering, data connection and GPS. Continue reading Analyst Predicts Apple’s AR Headset to Launch in Mid-2020

At CES 2019, Alienware debuted its Area-51m 17-inch gaming laptop, touting its power and swappable hardware. Co-founder Frank Azor said the Area-51m counters the current trend of less powerful, more portable gaming laptops with built-in obsolescence. Instead, the Area-51m is basically a desktop PC with built-in battery, screen and keyboard and swappable hard drive, RAM, battery, CPU and GPU. Alienware aids the user in taking it apart with labeled guides in the laptop framework and easily removable screws. Continue reading Alienware’s Powerful Gaming Laptop Allows Swappable Parts

At Computex 2018, Asus announced its ROG (Republic of Gamers) Phone, with gamer-oriented design and a 90Hz display, which means the screen refreshes 90 times per second for smoother animation. The ROG Phone will compete with the Razer Phone, another mobile device prized by gamers. Asus ups the ante by adding a “specially selected 2.96GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip” to each ROG Phone, ensuring it will be the speediest one around. The phone also offers vapor cooling and a special attachable fan accessory. Continue reading Asus Introduces ROG Phone Optimized for Hardcore Gamers