Tech Boys

Last year Razer showed off Project Ava as a digital assistant that lived inside your computer to help adjust settings or provide gaming tips. But now at CES 2026, the company’s AI companion platform has gotten a major glow-up while moving into some new digs.  Now, in lieu of being constrained entirely to your PC’s screen, Razer has given Project Ava a real home in the form of a small tube that can display a 5.5-inch animated hologram of the AI’s avatar. You’ll still need to connect it to your computer via USB-C to provide Ava with the power and data it needs. However, all of your companion’s other components are built into its abode, including dual far-field mics so you can talk to it, a down-firing full-range speaker so it can talk and an HD camera with an ambient light sensor so the AI can see and react to its surroundings.    View this post on Instagram But perhaps the biggest upgrade to the project is that instead of jus...

YouTube introduced some new filters to its advanced search tools today. Possibly the most exciting change is that Shorts are now listed as a content type, so the three-minute-or-less videos can be excluded as results in your searches. This is a welcome update for any of us who have been on the hunt for a long-form explainer only to wade through dozens of ten-second clips before finding anything close to our goal. Especially with the addition of even more AI slop last year thanks to the Google Veo 3 engine, an option to exclude Shorts may look even more appealing. The other updates include a pair of renamed features within advanced search. The "Sort By" menu will now be called "Prioritize." Likewise, the "View Count" option has been renamed to "Popularity;" this will allow YouTube's algorithms to account for other metrics such as watch time to gauge how much other users are engaging with a particular video. A pair of former filter options ...

Fender Audio may have announced its new headphones and speakers right before CES, but Las Vegas afforded us the first opportunity to see the brand’s new lineup in person. Fender Audio is a Fender-owned brand from Riffsound that’s designing and making new devices after licensing the name. It’s been a while since the guitar and amplifier company made any general-use speakers of its own, and this new arrangement is similar to what Zound was doing with Marshall for a spell . Logistics out of the way, let’s get down to what the Mix and Ellie are like in the flesh. First, the Mix headphones offer a modular construction that allows you to replace nearly every piece as needed. The ear cups detach from the headband and the ear pads are replaceable. You can also swap out the battery, thanks to an easy-to-access slot behind one ear pad. And on the other side, a USB-C dongle for wireless lossless audio is stowed for safe keeping (wired lossless audio over USB-C is also available). Fender Audio...

TVs are a staple of CES, and so far, manufacturers have not disappointed with their announcements at CES 2026 . Companies including Samsung, LG and others came to the event ready to show off updates to existing display tech and some genuinely new technologies. OLED and Mini LED remain central to most lineups, while Micro RGB has emerged as one of the most talked-about developments at the show so far, especially at the higher end of the TV market. Below are the TV announcements that stood out most from the pre-show events and early press conferences, with more expected as CES continues. Also, be sure to check out our best of CES 2026 list. Samsung Micro RGB TVs Samsung's flagship Micro RGB TV Engadget Samsung’s Micro RGB push at CES 2026 isn’t just about big screens — it’s also about how the technology tries to redefine color accuracy and brightness in LCD-based TVs. Unlike traditional Mini LED backlights that rely on white LEDs and filters, Samsung’s Micro RGB TVs use micr...

CES turns Las Vegas into the epicenter of the tech world every January, bringing together industry giants and scrappy startups alike to debut the ideas that will shape the year ahead. From cutting-edge AI and robotics to TVs , laptops , and some truly weird tech , CES 2026 delivered no shortage of bold claims and ambitious hardware. Now, we’re excited to announce our official Best of CES 2026 finalists . Selected on the ground in Las Vegas, these finalists represent the most compelling, innovative, and forward-thinking products at the show. They were hand-picked by more than 40 expert journalists from CNET , Mashable , PCMag , ZDNET , and Lifehacker , with additional input from Ziff Davis sister sites Everyday Health and IGN . To qualify, products had to be official CES 2026 exhibitors and stand out by introducing a meaningful new idea, solving a real consumer problem, or raising the bar for performance, design, or quality. The result is a finalist list that spans 22 categories,...

Samsung and Google have new competition in the foldable space. At CES 2026 , Motorola unveiled its first side-foldable smartphone: the Razr Fold. The handheld sports an impressive 6.6-inch external screen and an 8.1-inch flexible main display. Motorola hasn’t provided dimensions yet, so we don’t know how thick it is yet or how it compares to other foldables in that respect. We do know, however, that it'll include support for the Moto Pen Ultra stylus. This is actually a fairly big deal, as Samsung dropped the feature for the Z Fold 7 . Modern foldables basically double as tablets, so a stylus is always appreciated. A phone. Motorola There's a robust camera system here, with a 50MP Sony sensor, a 50MP ultra-wide/macro, a 50MP telephoto, a 32MP external selfie lens and a 20MP internal camera. It also offers the ability to record in Dolby Vision. The Razr Fold will be available in blue and white. We don't have any information regarding internal specs, pricing or avail...

SAVE 40%: As of Jan. 6, the Roborock Qrevo Edge S5A robot vacuum and mop is back to its record-low Black Friday price of $599.99. That's $400 off its usual $999.99. Opens in a new window Credit: Roborock Roborock Qrevo Edge S5A robot vacuum and mop $599.99 at Amazon $999.99 Save $400   Get Deal Roborock's 2026 spread of robot vacuums just dropped at CES on Jan. 6. While exact prices haven't been revealed yet, we can expect the flagships to sit near the $1,599.99 price point of Roborock's 2025 CES robot vacs . If you're looking for something a little more budget-friendly, Amazon has an amazing $400 off deal on another solid 2025 Roborock: Get the Roborock Qrevo Edge S5A for a record-low sale price of $599.99 , matching its Black Friday price. The Roborock Qrevo Edge's 18,500 Pa of suction power isn't far off from the 22,000 Pa seen in all three of Roborock's Saros vacuums from last year. Those numbers have since been upstage...

If OpenAI were to buy Pinterest, it would be a big shift for lots of folks. Now, to be clear, there doesn't seem to be much smoke — at least for now — about OpenAI actually buying Pinterest. The idea surfaced in an article from The Information where staffers predicted what could happen in 2026. Reporter Ann Gehan predicted that OpenAI would buy Pinterest, which is obviously just a bit of prognostication and not a report that a deal was imminent, or even on the table. Wrote Gehan: "OpenAI would be most interested in the bones of Pinterest’s business, like its trove of image data and its existing advertising business, as well as relationships with merchants. Pinterest’s digital scrapbooking features could also complement OpenAI’s image- and video-generation tools and help it fend off competition from other AI heavyweights like Google, which launched a Pinterest-like feature in 2025." So, what would that mean for users and, well, everyone else? For ChatGPT users, ...

There's a good chance you spend more time talking to your phone's virtual assistant, or dictating text with your voice, instead of actually calling people these days. But, as convenient as voice input can be, you don't want to be the obnoxious person shouting commands to Siri or ChatGPT in a quiet library. And you probably won't have much luck dictating an email in a room with toddlers screaming and Peppa Pig blaring on the TV. (Ask me how I know.) At CES 2026 , the startup Subtle is unveiling its solution to those issues: Voicebuds. While they look like a typical pair of wireless earbuds, they feature a custom AI model that lets you dictate text below the sound of a whisper. Additionally, they can also filter out noisy environments so that you don't have to shout for dictation and voice commands. The Voicebuds seem similar to the WHSP ring we saw at CES 2024 , which let whisper to your phone, and they also compete with other AI earbuds like the Notebuds One . S...

LG has unveiled its humanoid robot that can handle household chores. After teasing the CLOiD last week, the company has offered its first look at the AI-powered robot it claims can fold laundry, unload the dishwasher, serve food and help out with other tasks.  The CLOiD has a surprisingly cute "head unit" that's equipped with a display, speakers, cameras and other sensors. "Collectively, these elements allow the robot to communicate with humans through spoken language and 'facial expressions,' learn the living environments and lifestyle patterns of its users and control connected home appliances based on its learnings," LG says in its press release .  The robot also has two robotic arms — complete with shoulder, elbow and wrist joints — and hands with fingers that can move independently. The company didn't share images of the CLOiD's base, but it uses wheels and technology similar to what the appliance maker has used for robot vacuums. The com...