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There are a slew of AR glasses, VR headsets, and other high tech eyewear at CES 2025. Almost every device has some sort of AI implementation or camera embedded into the glasses, which provides the users with an array of capabilities – probably more than they would ever intend to use on a regular basis.
But, the keyword here is "almost." And that's because of Chamelo Eyewear, a smart glasses company that's focusing on practicality.
SEE ALSO: CES 2025 highlights: What we've seen so farChamelo brought a number of its latest products to CES, but all of the company's smart glasses focus on one main feature: Changing the tint on your sunglasses.
Also at CES was Chamelo's Chief Brand Officer, former New York Knicks player and two-time NBA All-Star Stephon Marbury. Unlike some other celebrity endorsements or collaborations, you can tell Marbury really uses Chamelo glasses. As you can see in our video interview above, Marbury broke down how Chamelo smart glasses work and their use cases with the passion and knowledge of a startup founder.
Chamelo offers your standard sunglasses, smart glasses for athletes, and its latest prescription lenses product Aura Rx. There's no camera screen, no audio recording, no fancy AI capabilities. The smart glasses can simply adjust the level of tint and the color of your smart glass lenses with the push of a button. Anyone who regularly wears glasses will actually use these tint features for everyday practical use.
The company also has an audio version of its product called the Music Shield, which simply adds an audio speaker to Chamelo's tint-changing glasses. Only the individual wearing the glasses can hear the music being pumped out of the handles.
This feature appeared to work well when Mashable tried it out on CES' showroom floor. Though Chamelo's glasses were playing music, I couldn't hear it until I placed the device on my head. Similarly, I couldn't hear the music playing on the pair Marbury was wearing either. The showroom floor is admittedly a loud environment, so it may have been difficult to pick up any sound leakage, but if there was any it seemed minor.
At an event where many companies try to outdo others with complex, never-before-seen features, it's good to see companies like Chamelo focus on the practical use-cases for their products.
Mashable is on the ground live at CES 2025! We’re covering all the wildest and most important developments this week, so please keep checking back in with us. Want to submit a product you represent for our teams’ consideration as we identify the Best of CES? Here’s more info on how to do it.
Self-driving cars are one thing. At this point, we've been there, seen that.
But, driverless tractors are a whole other thing entirely.
You may not think of John Deere, best known for manufacturing farming and other agricultural equipment when you think of the Consumer Electronics Show. But, John Deere has been leading the charge when it comes to technological advancements in the farm, construction, and other heavy machinery industries.
At CES 2025, John Deere delivered another set of innovations in the space: A fleet of autonomous vehicles.
While you can check out the John Deere CES 2025 press conference in full here, Mashable went over to the John Deere booth to check out John Deere's "autonomy journey" ourselves.
Credit: MashableJohn Deere's autonomous 9RX tractor for large-scale agriculture uses "16 individual cameras arranged in pods to enable a 360-degree view of the field," according to the company. John Deere says that its autonomous tractor can help farmers "step away from the machine and focus their time on other important jobs."
The autonomous vehicles can also help farmers with improving safety and can help manage labor shortages, according to the company.
The autonomous 5ML orchard tractor for air blast spraying features Lidar sensors to help cover the more dense areas found in orchards. The 460 P-Tier autonomous articulated dump truck (ADT) can be used to handle repetitive construction tasks found in quarry operations like transporting building material around a site, according to John Deere.
Credit: MashableThe autonomous battery electric mower can take care of mowing the lawn without an operator. It features two cameras on the front, left, right, and rear. This provides 360-degree coverage for commercial landscaping needs, according to the company.
Credit: Mashable
Mashable is on the ground live at CES 2025! We’re covering all the wildest and most important developments this week, so please keep checking back in with us. Want to submit a product you represent for our teams’ consideration as we identify the Best of CES? Here’s more info on how to do it.
"Mark, Meta, welcome to the party," said X CEO Linda Yaccarino in response to Tuesday's announcement that Meta is replacing fact-checkers with Community Notes.
In a keynote interview with journalist Catherine Herridge at CES 2025, the first thing Herridge asked about was Meta's pivot to the feature that allows users to add notes to posts that might be misleading or inaccurate.
"Think about it as this global collective consciousness, keeping each other accountable at global scale in real time. And it couldn't be more validating than to see that Mark and Meta realized that," responded Yaccarino.
"When you think about Community Notes, Mark and Meta realized that it's the most effective, fastest fact-checking, without bias... also it inspires great behavior. Human behavior is inspired because when a post is noted, it's dramatically shared less, so that's the power of Community Notes," she continued before welcoming Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to the proverbial party.
Despite Yaccarino's depiction of Community Notes as a success story for X, the reality of the program is much different. A 2023 Mashable investigation found several posts with accurate Community Notes were seen by a fraction of users. A 2024 report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) came to a similar conclusion finding "74 percent of accurate community notes on U.S. election misinformation never get shown to users" and that "posts without Community Notes promoting false narratives about U.S. politics have garnered billions of views, outpacing the reach of their fact-checked counterparts by 13 times."
SEE ALSO: I read all the community notes on Elon Musk's X account. Here's what I learned.So while Community Notes may be a good idea in theory, it hasn't effectively decreased the rampant spread of misinformation and toxic content on X.
Yaccarino said she's excited for Meta's content moderation pivot, but not everyone shares that sentiment. Groups like the aforementioned CCDH, Free Press, and the Real Facebook Oversight Board have spoken out about Meta's shift, saying it's a regressive approach to content moderation and will lead to more misinformation and hateful content on the platform.
"By abandoning its fact-checking program in favor of a discredited 'community notes' system, Meta is turbocharging the spread of unchallenged online lies, worsening the spread of hate, and creating more risks to our communities, democracy, public health, and the safety of our kids," CCDH founder and CEO Imran Ahmed said in a press statement on Tuesday.
"Meta is now saying it’s up to you to spot the lies on its platforms, and that it’s not their problem if you can’t tell the difference, even if those lies, hate, or scams end up hurting you. Rather than stepping up to the challenge of responsible platform governance, Meta is retreating from accountability. This is huge step back for online safety, transparency, and accountability, and it could have terrible offline consequences in the form of real-world harm."
UPDATE: Jan. 8, 2025, 7:00 p.m. UTC Added statement from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH).
Instagram recently blocked teen users from viewing the results for numerous LGBTQ+ terms by accident, according to a spokesperson for Meta, the platform's parent company.
The restrictions were reported by User Mag, which found that teen users searching for content related to dozens of hashtags including #lesbian, #bisexual, #gay, #trans, #queer, #nonbinary, #Tgirlsarebeautiful, and #lesbianpride were instead shown a blank page with a message directing them to the platform's sensitive content policy.
That policy prohibits content "that impedes our ability to foster a safe community," and includes material that may be "sexually explicit or suggestive."
SEE ALSO: Instagram announces new tools to fight sextortion and help teen victims"These search terms and hashtags were mistakenly restricted — an error that has now been fixed," a Meta spokesperson told Mashable. "It's important to us that all communities feel safe and welcome on Meta apps, and we do not consider LGBTQ+ terms to be sensitive under our policies."
Meta attributed the issue to technology that helps limit user exposure to sensitive content mistakenly misclassifying several LGBTQ+ terms, making them temporarily restricted.
Instagram's new teen accounts limit sensitive content by default. Teens between the ages of 13 and 15 need parental permission to change the setting.
Mashable previously reported on claims made by adult LGBTQ creators that Instagram has shadowbanned their content. The platform has tried to address general concerns regarding "non-recommendable" content, with mixed reviews from affected creators.
Meta told Mashable that LGBTQ content isn't considered sensitive and is eligible for recommendation, provided the content doesn't violate any other platform policies.
LGBTQ youth advocates criticized Instagram for the search restrictions.
"For many LGBTQ people, especially youth, platforms like Instagram are crucial for self-discovery, community building, and accessing supportive information," Leanna Garfield, social media safety program manager at GLAAD, told User Mag. "By limiting access to LGBTQ content, Instagram may be inadvertently contributing to the isolation and marginalization of LGBTQ users."
During the height of CES 2025, Qualcomm unveiled the existence of its new Snapdragon X processor, which the company says will create opportunities for more budget-friendly Windows laptops as early as this year. We're talking Copilot+ laptops in the $600 range, which we would definitely welcome with open arms. The chip will also be used in at least one mini desktop PC at some point.
The new chipset is being positioned by Qualcomm as a more accessible high-end chip for a much wider audience. “Snapdragon X is an ideal solution for students, freelance workers, and budget-conscious consumers who need a reliable and powerful laptop that can keep up with their busy lives,” Qualcomm said in a press release detailing the announcement. Though the Snapdragon X is technically a downgrade, the company says that it will still offer the same top-notch, AI-focused performance we've seen in the Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus computers that hit the scene in 2024 (which typically cost somewhere in the $800 to $1,000 and up ranges).
SEE ALSO: CES 2025 live updates: Here's what we know, from Nvidia to John Deere announcementsQualcomm also said in the release that we can expect Snapdragon X-equipped laptops from big-name manufacturers like Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo to hit the market starting this month. These will all be part of Windows' Copilot+ line of laptops, which feature advanced AI processing and CPU speeds.
CES 2025 has officially kicked off, and amidst all the news about new graphics cards and very expensive EVs, home and pet owners should be pleasantly surprised by LG's AeroCatTower. Every cat owner knows the struggle of finding functional feline furniture that's not an eyesore, and this sleek cat tower solves that problem.
Part sleek air purifier, part feline-friendly perch, this futuristic gadget not only cleans the air but doubles as a weight-monitoring throne for your furry overlord.
SEE ALSO: CES 2025 live updates: Here's what we know, from Nvidia to John Deere announcementsUnveiled at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the AeroCatTower stood out from the typical CES lineup. The demo setup featured a delightfully bizarre scene: a stuffed cat (decidedly creepy) and two more furry stand-ins (mercifully less creepy) lounging around the device.
Per the reps at the booth, the tower's air-purifying abilities adjust when the cat is sitting on it. When your furry buddy is onboard, the tower can use a lower flow so as not to disturb them, then ramp back up when they're gone.
Mashable / Chance Townsend Credit: Rest in power little buddy.The AeroCatTower cleverly combines functionality with a bit of whimsy. Its dome-shaped seat is perfect for your feline companion. LG might have delivered the CES sleeper hit of the year for cat owners who want to pamper their pets while keeping their air free of dust and allergens.
The AeroCatTower also features a built-in heater and an attachable stepper designed to help older cats easily reach the top. For those interested in its pet health-tracking capabilities, the device integrates seamlessly with LG's ThinQ app. You can also track how long your furry friend sleeps — very fun.
There's no price or release date yet, but be on the lookout for this in the future.
Mashable is on the ground live at CES 2025! We’re covering all the wildest and most important developments this week, so please keep checking back in with us. Want to submit a product you represent for our teams’ consideration as we identify the Best of CES? Here’s more info on how to do it.
CES 2025 is here!
The Consumer Electronics Show is the world’s biggest annual tech conference. Big Tech companies and small startups alike make the trek to Las Vegas, Nevada every January to debut the latest consumer products and tech innovations of the future.
This year, we’re seeing plenty of AI products as well as some big announcements in both the television and computing power space. Companies like LG and Nvidia are debuting some interesting innovations. Tech powerhouses like Samsung and Sony are bringing their own new products to showcase. And, of course, countless startups will be putting their hardware and software in the spotlight for the first time, hoping to be discovered.
Mashable is on the ground live at CES 2025! We’re covering all the wildest and most important developments this week, so please keep checking back in with us. Want to submit a product you represent for our teams’ consideration as we identify the Best of CES? Here’s more info on how to do it.
This is a developing story. Tune in to our live blog for the latest updates.
Second monitors are a thing of the past: Introducing a new "rollable" laptop from Lenovo that hides a new way to extend your screen size with no additional products.
Unveiled at this week's annual CES event in Las Vegas, Lenovo's ThinkBook™ Plus Gen 6 Rollable AI laptop, is, according to the company, a first of its kind personal device that can instantly increase the laptop's vertical display to make working, coding, and creating content easier and more efficient on-the-go.
SEE ALSO: CES 2025 highlights: What we've seen so farThe device has a flexible OLED display powered by small motors in its hinge, which vertically unrolls a tucked away screen that transforms the 14-inch display into a significantly larger 16.7 inch screen. The rolling motion is powered by a key on the keyboard or even just a hand gesture, according to user preference. Once extended, the display can be used for vertical split-screening as if its a second monitor, or for simply boosting your screen's surface area.
Credit: Lenovo"Engineered for maximum versatility and reliability, the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable combines the portability of a traditional laptop with the expanded workspace of a larger device," writes Lenovo. "With a unique vertical laptop screen experience, the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 also encourages better posture, reducing strain for professionals working long hours."
The design was first introduced as the Lenovo rollable laptop concept two years ago. The fully realized, consumer-ready version will go to market at an eyebrow-raising $3,499 sometime in early 2025.
Mashable is on the ground live at CES 2025! We’re covering all the wildest and most important developments this week, so please keep checking back in with us. Want to submit a product you represent for our teams’ consideration as we identify the Best of CES? Here’s more info on how to do it.
The OnePlus 13 is here and it seems like it might be really good.
That's the vibe you'd get from reading reviews, which dropped on Tuesday. Everyone from CNET to The Verge and TechRadar is singing the praises of OnePlus's $899 flagship, though not without some criticism along the way. Between seemingly fantastic battery life, capable cameras, and a reasonable price, reviews indicate the OnePlus 13 may be "the one to get" if you want to live outside of the Apple, Google, and Samsung ecosystem.
(Note: CNET and Mashable share the same parent company, Ziff Davis)
SEE ALSO: Dell roasted at CES for adopting Apple-like device names OnePlus 13 reviews roundupMost of these reviews are overwhelmingly positive about the OnePlus 13. Let's find out why.
Staggering battery lifeThe most noticeable constant across nearly every OnePlus 13 review is praise for its battery life. Take it from TechRadar's Philip Berne, who flatly called it "the best I’ve ever experienced from a mobile phone."
Under lab testing, TechRadar was able to get nearly three hours of juice more than the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which is a couple Benjamins more expensive than the OnePlus 13. Berne also noted the astonishingly fast charge speeds of the OnePlus 13, whether wired or wireless. According to Berne, wired charging got the phone past 50 percent in 15 minutes, while it could get a full charge wirelessly in an hour.
Quality cameras (for some)The OnePlus 13 sports a stylish-looking triple-camera setup on the rear, with matching 50MP standard, telephoto, and ultrawide lenses. According to most reviews, you can get some gorgeous shots out of this phone, though it may be a step behind the most expensive Apple devices. Interestingly, however, CNET's Andrew Lanxon found that the default camera settings made images look unnatural and, frankly, bad. According to Lanxon, the thing to do is switch the settings to "Master Mode," and then not touch anything else.
Doing so made colors and shadows look more natural, which Lanxon praised as being more "authentic-looking" than what the default settings produced. According to him, the standard settings out of the box is are "quite frankly ruining the images."
Intense durabilityAside from battery life, another thing nearly every reviewer took time to note was the OnePlus 13's high degree of physical durability.
To be more specific, the OnePlus 13 carries an IP69 rating, which in layman's terms means it can withstand high pressure water blasts to some extent. That's...cool, but the bigger worry for most people will be whether or not the phone can survive being submerged underwater. Good news! Thanks to its additional IP68 rating, it can. According to The Verge's Allison Johnson, she could "sleep better at night knowing that my phone will likely survive a dip in a body of water."
Disappointing support windowLastly, OnePlus has one major, objective disadvantage compared to the likes of Google and Samsung: software support. PCMag's Sarah Lord called it a "missed opportunity" by OnePlus because it only carries four years of software support, as opposed to the seven that Google and Samsung offer. Security updates also only last six years, compared to the seven that Google and Samsung provide.
Only four years of software updates for a flagship-quality phone is sure to disappoint some people who want to buy a phone and use it for a very long time. But, with every other positive quality the OnePlus 13 apparently has, maybe the gamble is worth it.
SAVE UP TO $1,000: Samsung dropped a Pro version of The Frame TV at CES, and Frame TVs are on sale at Samsung and Best Buy for up to $1,000 off now.
Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung 75-inch The Frame QLED 4K LS03D $1,999.99 at SamsungA huge Unpacked event slated for Jan. 22 isn't stopping Samsung from participating just as hard at CES 2025. New versions of Samsung's other flagship tech products are dropping left and right, including several TVs. One release that stands out is the one that's gone viral for blending in: a Pro version of Samsung's artistic TV, The Frame.
Known for its unique usage of ambient light sensors that dim and matte-ify to appear like legitimate framed art (or blend in with the wall it's hanging on) when you're not watching TV, the new Frame Pro features a lighting system never before seen on a Frame model. We don't know the exact pricing yet, but here's what we do know.
SEE ALSO: 5 new gadgets from CES 2025 that you can actually buy right now How is the Frame Pro different from the regular Frame?The Frame Pro is the first Frame model to use Samsung's most premium QLED tech, Neo QLED. "Neo QLED" is Samsung's term of endearment for mini LED, which offer more precise lighting due to their ability to be individually controlled, and the fact that there are more of them (compared to larger LED bulbs).
These baby bulbs allow for deeper, more accurate black tones and more vibrant, more variable bright tones, coming together to produce an image that's not washed out, and much closer to what you'd see IRL. (Better brightness also means HDR support is actually worthwhile.) Note that the mini LEDs of the Pro are only lined up along the bottom of the screen rather than scattered throughout like a true local dimming arrangement, but still, it's more local dimming than what non-mini LEDs can provide.
You'll notice the difference particularly when watching movies in the dark and watching sports in the daylight. When you're not watching TV, your display options are pretty endless. Upload your own photos or use art from MoMA, the estates of Magritte and Basquiat, and more, totaling more than 3,000 curated works of art at your fingertips.
SEE ALSO: CES 2025: Google to bring Gemini to TVs. 3 wild things it can do.For the first time on The Frame, you can also mirror content directly from a console or cable box wirelessly using Samsung's Wireless One Connect box. Because how is it really going to look like framed art if there's a cable hanging from it?
Though Samsung did announce some new 8K TVs, the Frame Pro is still 4K. Samsung did, however, boost the Frame Pro's variable refresh rate support to up to 144Hz, making it a more viable gaming TV than the non-Pro models.
The Frame also wasn't left out of the AI treatment that its other 2025 TVs are getting. Through Vision AI, you can search things on the internet by just clicking on them on screen, enact Live Translate, or control other smart devices in your home.
How much will The Frame Pro cost?Samsung hasn't yet disclosed when The Frame Pro will start shipping, or how much it will cost. But we can guess. Taking prices of the 2024 version of The Frame into account (as well as the fact that the Pro version has an upgraded Neo QLED lighting system), it's likely that the 43-inch The Frame Pro will debut between $999.99 and $1,499.99, the 85-inch The Frame Pro will go for between $4,299.99 and $4,699.99, with the rest of the sizes scattered between.
Speaking of the older Frame models, they're on sale at Samsung and Best Buy. If you're already anticipating The Frame Pro being too pricey for your preferences, the 2024 Frames, which came out less than a year ago, are still solid art TVs. The models marked with a 🔥 are back to their Cyber Monday prices, and the ones that aren't are still within Cyber Monday range by a few hundred dollars.
Samsung 43-inch The Frame QLED 4K TV — $799.99 $999.99 (save $200)🔥
Samsung 50-inch The Frame QLED 4K TV — $899.99 $1,299.99 (save $400)🔥
Samsung 55-inch The Frame QLED 4K TV — $999.99 $1,499.99 (save $500)🔥
Samsung 65-inch The Frame QLED 4K TV — $1,599.99 $1,999.99 (save $400)
Samsung 75-inch The Frame QLED 4K TV — $1,999.99 $2,999.99 (save $1,000)
Samsung 85-inch The Frame QLED 4K TV — $3,299.99 $4,299.99 (save $1,000)
Curious about what else is going on at CES? Mashable's covering the highlights in all the categories you care about.
Mashable Tech Reporter Matt Binder gave the new Xreal One Pro a test drive at CES 2025. The upgraded model from XREAL features a new chipset, larger FOV, higher max brightness, and a more lightweight design.
At the Nvidia keynote at CES 2025, CEO Jensen Huang didn't waste anytime showing off the new GeForce RTX 50 Series. Huang walked onstage carrying the graphics card to a round of applause.
This was the most anticipated moment of the Nvidia event, but not the only big announcement. The AI computing company integral to the rise of generative AI had many more cards to play at the Las Vegas tech conference. Nvidia is now building its own AI models, fueling robotics and autonomous vehicle development, and bringing some of the most powerful computing tools to the masses. Here's everything that was announced at the Nvidia keynote.
GeForce RTX 50 seriesThe big news of course was Nvidia's new GPUs, the GeForce RTX 50 Series. The graphics cards are underpinned by Nvidia's new RTX Blackwell architecture and consist of the flagship GeForce RTX 5090 as well as the GeForce RTX 5080, 5070 Ti, and 5070. The RTX 50 series is powered by 92 billion transistors, which gives it 3,352 trillion AI operations per second (TOPS) and boasts 1.8TB/s of memory bandwidth. Mashable's Chance Townsend and Alex Perry have the full details on specs, availability, and pricing, but rest assured, it's "just a beast," as Huang put it.
Cosmos World Foundation ModelsThe graphics card giant is getting into the world model game with the introduction of Nvidia Cosmos. World models are the underlying technology for robotics training. And Nvidia has made its Cosmos World Foundation Models (Cosmos WFM) available as an open license platform available on Github, granting broader access to robotics developers that previously lacked these resources or expertise. "The ChatGPT moment for general robotics is just around the corner," said Huang.
AI foundation models for RTX AI PCs, Llama NemotronNvidia also introduced AI foundation models for LLM development. AI foundation models for RTX PCs are "offered as Nvidia NIM microservices" and use the GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs. Additionally, Huang shared the top manufacturers are launching PCs that support NIM with its new graphics cards, adding "AI PCs are coming to a home near you."
Another NIM microservice announcement introduced Llama Nemotron family of LLMs. Llama Nemotron uses Meta's open-source Llama models are primed for agentic capabilities and "excel at instruction following, chat, function calling, coding and math, while being size-optimized to run on a broad range of NVIDIA accelerated computing resources," according to the announcement. Llama 3.1 Nemotron 70B is now available in Nvidia's API catalog.
Project DigitsIn keeping with the theme of empowering developers with access to powerful computing tools, Nvidia unveiled Project Digits. The device is a supercomputer about the size of a Mac mini that easily sits on a desk and plugs into a keyboard and monitor. With its GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip, Digits can run up to 200-billion-parameters LLMs without the need for cloud infrastructure. And it's $3,000 a pop, which in the grand scheme of things, is a pretty accessible price point for small businesses and solo developers. Project Digits is expected this coming May.
DRIVE Hyperion AV platformNvidia has also been working hard in the autonomous vehicle department, introducing the DRIVE Hyperion AV platform, powered by the AGX Thor system-on-a-chip (SoC). DRIVE Hyperion is an "end-to-end autonomous driving platform," that includes the SoC, sensors, safety systems, and a DriveOS operating system that car manufacturers can use to build their autonomous vehicles. Nvidia also shared that Toyota joins its growing list of partners that includes Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, and Volvo using its AV platform.
Mashable is on the ground live at CES 2025! We’re covering all the wildest and most important developments this week, so please keep checking back in with us. Want to submit a product you represent for our teams’ consideration as we identify the Best of CES? Here’s more info on how to do it.
Enron wants to sell you a nuclear reactor for your home — no, of course not really.
The pranksters behind the Birds Aren't Real nonsense "revived" the defunct, famously fraudulent company in December. Now, we've gotten its first "product." Of course, it's something as ridiculous as an at-home nuclear reactor.
The company's X account released a slick, faux launch video for the Enron Egg, an at-home micro nuclear reactor that can power a house for up to ten years.
Tweet may have been deletedThe stilted delivery, pauses for applause, and cringey attempts at being cool do ring true to an actual tech presentation. And you have to give them credit for detail. The product page looks and reads quite similar to the sort of breathless copy you'd find from a tech company describing its latest phone. It promises: "Limitless Power. Perfectly Controlled."
As CNN first uncovered, Connor Gaydos — co-creator of the misinfo parody Birds Aren't Real — had his company purchase the trademark to Enron back in 2020. Now, they're doing fake products, seemingly parodying the tech industry's willingness to package dangerous ideas and products with relentless positivity.
So, no, your home will not be powered by a nuclear egg one day. But it is a good laugh.
American family life has become so challenging that U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory last year, warning that the stressors parents experience take too great of a toll on their mental health and well-being.
Enter Umi, a digital family well-being coach designed by Panasonic Well presented on Tuesday at CES, also known as the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas.
Yoky Matsuoka, CEO of Panasonic Well, told Mashable that Umi aims to improve family wellness with a unique suite of coaching services.
SEE ALSO: 3 must-know tips when using AI to streamline your home lifeImagine a parent who wants to make positive changes, like getting more sleep, eating healthier, or spending more time together as a family, but struggle with brainstorming and executing effective solutions.
Matsuoka said that's where Umi, scheduled to launch later this year, can step in. The conversational AI agent will not only make suggestions, based on the user's specific circumstances, but also offer referrals to the brand's partners, which include the meditation app Calm and the health coaching platform YourCoach. Umi will also help users create "achievable" goals paired with a daily plan and metrics.
"We wanted to build healthy habits through behavior change, to connect those, and make those things into routines," Matsuoka said.
For example, the parent who wants to do less short-order cooking for a child with selective eating tendencies could ask Umi for help, and the agent might respond with a plan to introduce a new food to that child once a month.
But Umi is also meant for multi-generational use, since so many parents are taking care of their aging parents, too. A parent who's also caring for an elder could ask Umi for help with coordinating schedules, finding specific healthcare services, and dealing with burnout. The aging parent could also chat with Umi about their needs.
Umi, however, is not designed to offer medical advice. When relevant, the platform can restrict user functions and share medical and crisis resources when necessary. A parent whose child is experiencing a mental health crisis, for example, will be directed to seek care immediately. Umi also has a built-in safety check identifying violent language.
While Umi can perform certain administrative tasks relevant to helping users set and achieve their wellness goals, it's not a digital personal assistant. Panasonic's Well division has a product for that called Yohana, which can do things like order Halloween costumes, hire a handyman, find a moving company, and research hotels.
SEE ALSO: AI apps can automate your home life, and it's more cool than scaryMatsuoka, who also oversees Yohana, wants parents to feel less overwhelmed. The name Umi means sea in Japanese, and Matsuoka liked the feelings of calmness and centering the word evoked.
Though Umi uses more than one large language model for its AI, Matsuoka specifically touts the brand's partnership with Anthropic. She noted that the LLM excelled at some of Umi's core tasks, and that she valued what she described as the company's commitment to ethical AI.
While Umi will collect highly valuable data from families about their interests, routines, and preferences, including from teens and younger users who have permission to interact with the agent, Matsuoka said that information will not be sold to third-parties. Umi also isn't trained on user data but instead fake data inspired by what real users have shared with the app so far.
When Umi launches to the public in mid-2025, it will be available via an app, then likely on desktop. Umi's pricing isn't available yet, but Matsuoka said the product's cost will be "accessible" to as many people as possible.
"This problem is not a problem of wealthy people, this is a problem of every family out there," she said.
Asus showcased a fresh lineup of AI laptops during its "Always Incredible" virtual launch event at CES 2025, including an all-new notebook called the Asus Zenbook A14.
There's a good reason why its model number looks a lot like the word "Air": Starting at just 2.18 pounds, it's the lightest Copilot+ PC ever. Asus says the Zenbook A14 achieves this feat thanks to Ceraluminum with magnesium, which takes the aluminum-ceramic hybrid released in the Zenbook S 14 and adds magnesium alloys, helping achieve an even more lightweight build overall. Asus also credits this material with the laptop's shock, smudge, and scratch resistance.
Credit: AsusThe Zenbook A14 marks more than one first for Asus, as it's also the Zenbook line's first Qualcomm Snapdragon model, offering both Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X processors, featuring a 45 TOPS NPU. In other words, it's plenty to power a Copilot+ machine, whether you're using AI features like live captions, Cocreator in Microsoft Paint, or super resolution in the photos app. The 32GB of memory on board and 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD are also there to help give you the smoothest experience possible, alongside the dual fan that keeps your machine running efficiently without getting too hot.
SEE ALSO: CES 2025: This AI nature camera wants you to be besties with your backyard plantsPerhaps even more impressively, with all that power the Zenbook A14 is still rated at up to 32 hours of offline video playback on a single charge. (For reference, the longest-lasting laptop that Mashable staff has ever tested lasted almost 23 hours per charge.) The estimated battery life for online video streaming sits at a nearly as impressive 28 hours, with web browsing clocking in last at 19 hours.
Credit: AsusOther notable features on this Zenbook include a 14-inch OLED display with 600 nits of peak brightness, a speaker system with Dolby Atmos support, and a full set of IO ports, including one USB 3.2 port, two USB 4.0 ports, one HDMI 2.1 port, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
On Jan. 13, the Asus Zenbook A14 will be available for purchase in the colorway Iceland gray at the ASUS Store and Best Buy for $1,099, with no preorder period. Another configuration of the laptop in the color Zabriskie beige is projected to become available for $899.99 in late winter or early spring 2025.
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SAVE $30: As of Jan 7, the Soundcore by Anker Q20i Headphones are just $39.99 at Amazon, down from their normal price of $69.99. That's a discount of 43%.
Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Soundcore by Anker Q20i Headphones $39.99 at AmazonIf you're an audiophile, the search for the perfect pair of headphones can feel neverending. But if cash is at a premium and you can't spend an arm and a leg on a pair of cans to listen to your favorite music with, that search can be even more difficult. That's why when you find a great pair of headphones that won't break the bank, you go ahead and lock them in. We've found a pair that aren't just affordable, but actually sound good, too.
As of Jan. 7, you can get the Soundcore by Anker Q20i headphones for just $39.99, down from their normal price of $69.99. That's a discount of $30, or 43% off.
SEE ALSO: CES 2025: How to buy the JLab Epic Lux Lab Edition headphonesThese headphones offer noise-cancelling features that use four microphones to reduce up to 90% of background noise so you get clear, crisp sound no matter where you're at. They feature oversized 40mm dynamic drivers, Soundcore's BassUp tech, and deliciously deep bass with crisp treble.
Listen up to 40 hours per charge with ANC turned on and up to 60 hours with the headphones in their regular mode. If you happen to run low, a quick five-minute charge will get you four more hours of battery, too. And you can customize your sound with the Soundcore app, should you choose to do so.
For less than $50, you really can't beat this deal for a pair of reliable headphones.