The Engadget team is on the ground in Las Vegas to cover CES 2024, ready to chase down all the technology news fit for print. Despite the 40 or so articles on our site suggesting otherwise, CES 2024 has still not quite begun. With the show floor set to open tomorrow, January 8 is reserved for press conferences — lots of them.
Things kick off with AMD at 10AM ET, followed by NVIDIA and LG at 11AM, Hisense at 12PM, Panasonic at 1PM, TCL at 2PM, Sennheiser at 3:30PM, Hyundai at 4PM, Samsung at 5PM;cpos:10;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0″ class= »link « >Samsung at 5PM and Kia at 6PM, followed by the day’s final big show, Sony at 8PM. After all that, we still won’t be done — there’s a behind-closed-doors press event this evening where we hope to test out some new tech from less established brands and tell you what’s good and what’s not.
That’s a lot of news for one day, and if you’re not willing to make the commitment to read the dozens of stories we’ll be publishing across 12 hours or so today, we’ll be running our daily liveblog. Expect a taste of the biggest news of the day, with some color commentary, lots of images and videos and links to our more in-depth coverage. Enjoy!
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Sony namechecked Microsoft and Nintendo during its CES press event
Sony at CES 2024 (Sony) PublicitéSony didn’t have new TVs, new cameras, new soundbars or even new headphones during its CES presentation, which was weird. It did have a mixed-reality head-mounted display for creators and lots more details on its car collaboration with Honda.
And while it didn’t have any major PlayStation news, Sony’s CEO mentioned both of the company’s console gaming competitors. Sony boss Kenichiro Yoshida mentioned the movie adaptation of Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda, which is happening in collaboration with Sony Pictures. Moments later, Yoshida then introduced a spokesperson from Microsoft on stage to discuss their collaboration on Sony Honda Mobility. And yes, it was a little heavy on the Azure chat.
youtube.com/watch?v=PMxaYHisuIg » rel= »nofollow noopener » target= »_blank » data-ylk= »slk:Watch Sony’s CES 2024 presentation right here;cpos:4;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0″ class= »link « >Watch Sony’s CES 2024 presentation right here.
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Sony teased a ‘spatial content creation’ headset
Sony Sony’s CES 2024 presentation didn’t have much news for the first 25 minutes, then it revealed a new virtual reality creation headset with… no name so far, aimed at « spatial content creation. » With a matte gray finish, the headset looks like a stripped-down PSVR2, and there appears to be two cameras facing out from the front. There is also a controller-wand and a smaller peripheral similar in size to a ring. The new hardware is apparently aimed at creators and artists who manipulate and craft products in virtual spaces.
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Sony drove its Afeela EV onto the CES stage using a PlayStation controller
Sony Sony’s partnership with Honda around a new concept EV called the Afeela has been a highlight of CES for several years now. And while we’re not any closer to finding out if and when this car will become a reality, Sony had a fun way to show off the latest iteration of the vehicle: they drove it onto the Sony CES stage with a PlayStation DualSense controller. Sure, it was just a fun gimmick rather than any evidence of a PlayStation-controlled vehicle coming down the road, but CES is all about the spectacle.
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The new ROG Phone 8 from ASUS finally puts a good camera in a gaming phone
ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro (ASUS) For years, ROG Phone users had to put up with average camera quality for the sake of mobile gaming experience, and ASUS blamed it on cost reasons. To put it bluntly, it was either ROG Phone for gaming, or Zenfone for photography. Now that we’ve entered 2024, the Taiwanese tech giant finally has a change of heart. Announced at CES 2024, the ROG Phone 8 and 8 Pro essentially blend together the best of both worlds, featuring the usual trove of gaming aids in — at last — a brand new design, along with a set of significant camera upgrades derived from the Zenfone line.
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Kia announced a fleet of cute, modular vans at CES 2024
Kia Kia is back at CES after five years and just announced a new modular EV platform called Platform Beyond Vehicles, or PBV for short. These vehicles are still in the concept stage and aren’t the kind of cars you’re going to go out and buy to get around town or go on vacation — at least, not yet. Instead the PV5, the first vehicle Kia is planning, will focus on business utilities like ride-hailing, delivery and other business utilities.
Probably the coolest thing about the PV5 is how modular it is. Kia showed off four different configurations. The standard is a small van, but you can swap in an extended roof if you need more space. You can also swap the back two thirds out entirely and have it in a pickup truck configuration, and finally there’s a taxi configuration focused on transporting passengers. As you might guess, the inside is completely modular to enable these transformations.
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Watch Sony’s CES 2024 press conference here
Our last show of Day 0 is Sony’s, which, well who knows what to expect? Watch along with us, and we’ll bring you some updates along the way. It kicks off a 8PM ET.
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ASUS debuts its first homegrown NUC at CES 2024 with Core Ultra 9 chips and RTX 4070 graphics
ASUS ASUS just announced a brand-new mini PC at CES 2024 in Las Vegas. The ROG NUC mini gaming PC comes after Intel revealed it would stop making first-party NUC systems, and ASUS was taking over the brand.
For the uninitiated, NUC stands for Next Unit of Compute and refers to a line of ultra-portable desktop PCs and barebones computer kits. These are complete systems that you can hold with one hand, and the ROG NUC is no different. This mini PC, originally codenamed Scorpion Canyon, comes with your choice of Intel Core Ultra 7 or 9 processors and NVIDIA RTX 4060 or 4070 GPUs, allowing for four simultaneous 4K display outputs.
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The ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 and G16 offer a more sophisticated take on gaming laptops in 2024
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget Due to the lack of new GPUs from NVIDIA at CES 2024, ASUS could have refreshed the processors in its flagship gaming laptop line and simply called it a day. But much to my delight, ASUS still went and completely redesigned the ROG Zephyrus G14 and G16 and it feels like the company may have struck the perfect balance between performance and a more sophisticated take on the gamer aesthetic.
The biggest change is the new CNC-machined aluminum chassis with a somewhat boxy frame and clean minimalist lines. Not only is this construction stiffer and more durable than before, both new models are smaller (up to 4mm thinner) and lighter (by up to 0.3 pounds) than the previous generation. Keycaps are also 12 percent larger and on the inside, there’s enough room for 20 percent larger speakers. Meanwhile on the outside, instead of a bunch of RGB lighting, there’s a single white LED strip arranged in a slash across the lid. It looks bold without being too in your face, and you can choose from two colors: Eclipse Gray or a stunning Platinum White. It feels like ASUS has made a stylish machine that adult gamers don’t need to be embarrassed about whipping out in public.
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Philips’ smart deadbolt will unlock a door by looking at your palm
Philips At CES 2024 this week, Philips teased its first-ever smart deadbolt that works using a touch-free palm reading system that allows homeowners to unlock their front doors. The Philips 5000 Series Wi-Fi Palm Recognition Smart Deadbolt, will go on sale in the US early this year and will retail for $360.
The deadbolt will join the Philips home security smart lock product lineup and will integrate with the Phillips Home Access app where users can remotely control the lock system through smart home assistants like Amazon Alexa or google Assistant. It’ll also have built-in Wi-Fi that makes it easier to pair and link to other smart devices.
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Alienware teases a 32-inch 4K QD-OLED gaming monitor
Alienware Alienware is following up its 34-inch ultrawide QD-OLED display with a pair of upgraded models that promise to deliver enhanced in-game visuals: 4K QD-OLED and 360Hz QD-OLED monitors. The company unveiled them at CES 2024 in Las Vegas, and is touting each as a “world’s first” in some regard.
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MSI is going big with three new 18-inch gaming laptops at CES 2024
The Titan 18 HX, Raider 18 HX and Stealth 18 AI Studio headlined MSI’s new gaming laptops for 2024. (Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget) CES often sets the tone for all of a manufacturer’s products that year. And apparently the theme for MSI in 2024 is “big.” It’s kicking things with three new 18-inch gaming laptops at CES 2024, plus one of the best-looking budget systems around.
As usual, MSI’s roster of gaming notebooks is headlined by the Titan series, in this case the Titan 18 HX. For those familiar with the previous generations, you may notice a lack of a two-letter tag in front of the system’s names (e.g., GT, GE, et cetera), a move MSI is making across all of its laptops to simplify its naming scheme.
For more on the Titan 18 HX, Raider 18 HX, Stealth 18 AI Studio and the Cyborg 14, read our full story.
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Alienware m16 R2 hands-on: A sleeker gaming laptop design for CES 2024
When put side-to-side next to last year’s model, it’s clear how much extra bulk Alienware shaved off on the new m16 R2 (right). (Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget) Alienware’s m16 has been on a diet. Unlike the 2023 m16, which could accommodate RTX 4090 cards, the M16 R2 tops out at an RTX 4070. In return for lowered top-end performance, you get a sleeker and lighter laptop with a larger 90 Whr battery, slimmer bezels, and a larger touchpad – all in a package with a 15 percent smaller footprint.
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The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 is the funkiest gadget mashup at CES 2024
It’s the Rutherford hour here at Engadget. Here he checks out Lenovo’s new ThinkBook Plus Gen 5, which is a Windows laptop and also an android tablet and also a mini desktop with a built in keyboard, kinda like a very modern Commodore 64. Confused? I don’t blame you. Here’s how he describes it:
« At first glance, the ThinkBook Plus looks like an ordinary clamshell. However, if you pull up on the display, it lifts right off and becomes a 14-inch tablet while the bottom contains everything needed to power a traditional Windows PC (well, aside from a screen). From there, you can use the tablet as a standalone Android device, a wireless monitor for the laptop base, or a Wacom-like inking display via Lenovo’s Freestyle app. Meanwhile, you can use ThinkBook’s deck as a mini desktop just by plugging in an external screen. »
You can read the full story here, or watch the video below to see this weird thing in motion:
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The Acer Predator Helios 18 has the most mesmerizing hinge on a laptop
Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget Sam’s back again, this time looking at Acer’s new Predator Helios 18, which has a very fancy hinge that definitely won’t make you look like an idiot at the coffee shop:
« Compared to last year’s model, the outside of the Helios 18 doesn’t look that much different. It features a familiar matte black chassis and, at 7.17 pounds and 1.14 inches thick, it’s about the same size and weight as well. But then you get to the back where its new hinge is waiting to dazzle you with a seemingly endless series of RGB lights to gawk at. It’s a cool effect that Acer has dubbed the Infinity Mirror lighting bar, and while I’m not sure that alone would cause me to buy one, it’s certainly fun to stare into. All hail the hypno hinge. »
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Razer’s Blade laptop lineup shines bright with stunning screens
At CES 2024, Razer announced big refreshes for the Blade 14, Blade 16 and Blade 18 including two world’s first displays. (Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget) We’d already heard a little about Razer’s new Blade lineup before CES, but now we’ve seen them for ourselves. Sam Rutherford checked them all out, and came away impressed. Probably the most interesting of the lot is new Blade 18:
« This display is so new, the model we saw at CES has a placeholder lid, so the system I saw was significantly thicker than it will be at launch. The other big claim is that the Blade 18 will feature a Thunderbolt 5 port, which is the first time I’ve heard any company pledge to include this connector. Unfortunately, that’s all we know about the Blade 18 for now, as it’s not scheduled to launch until sometime later this year. »
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Intel’s 14th-gen CPU family includes a powerful 24-core laptop chip
Intel While Intel is leaning heavily on AI PCs with its Core Ultra notebook chips, it still has plenty of new products for gamers and speed demons who demand power above all. At CES 2024 in Las Vegas, Intel revealed its complete 14th-generation CPU family, which includes powerful « HX » series chips like the 24-core i9-14900HX, as well as new mainstream desktop CPUs. And for the other end of the power spectrum, Intel also unveiled the Core U Processor Series 1, which balances performance and efficiency in thin and light notebooks.
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Watch Kia show off five new EV concepts at its press conference
Kia is returning to CES for the first time in five years and the company is set to take center stage for a spell by hosting a press conference. You’ll be able to watch all the Kia CES 2024 announcements on January 8 at 6PM ET by checking out the livestream below. The company says it will offer interested parties a closer peek at several of its concept models including the EV3 and EV4, as well as the EV9 and EV6 GT. Kia is also promising a look at its first so-called « platform beyond vehicle » (PBV) that’s scheduled for mass production in 2025.
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Samsung’s Ballie robot ball showed up at CES 2024 with a new look and a built-in projector
A screenshot from Samsung’s video introduction of Ballie, with the yellow robot ball on the right projecting an image of green leaves onto the floor. Across from it sits a golden retriever looking intently at the leaves. (Samsung (Screenshot)) It wouldn’t be CES without Samsung showing off a strange and strangely lovable robot, and this year is the same. At its CES 2024 press conference today, the company showed off a robot named Ballie that has a projector built in. Interestingly, though, according to a report from The Washington Post, Samsung said the robotic sphere will actually available for sale within the year.
In four years, Ballie appears to have grown up. It’s now « bowling-ball-size » and has a spatial LiDAR sensor and a 1080p projector. The latter has two lenses and allows the robot to display movies, video calls and « greetings » on its surrounding surfaces. In a video shown during the keynote, Ballie greets a user who returns to their home by projecting the word « Welcome, » as well as displaying a conference call, workout video and the contents of a nearby PC, like a secondary screen. In an adorable scene, it also showed the robot projecting a video of greenery on to the floor for a golden retriever sat across from it.
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Ballie is back
Samsung Ballie (Samsung) Remember Ballie? It was a projector-robot concept that Samsung debuted at CES 2020. It’s back, and it’s bigger than ever. We’ll have a full story on it soon.
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Samsung’s CES 2024 press conference is upon us
Samsung’s CES show starts at 5PM ET, and you can watch it here.
We’re reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6-12. Keep up with all the latest news from the show here.
