CookingPal unveils a connected pressure cooker with an air fryer attachment

CookingPal has revealed what it claims is the smartest and safest pressure cooker on the planet. Pronto is an eight-in-one device and, according to CookingPal, it’s the first pressure cooker with a fixed, hinged lid, an auto pressure release system and an air fryer attachment.

Pronto has a six-quart bowl with handles. There are safety sensors and an automatic pressure release with a steam diverter to help protect users. Along with pressure cooking, Pronto can be used for sauteing, slow cooking, steaming, fermenting, sanitizing, keeping food warm and, thanks to its integrated scale, weighing. The air fryer attachment, which is sold separately, adds air frying, roasting, baking and grilling to the list of cooking methods.

CookingPal Pronto pressure cooker
CookingPal

You’ll be able to monitor the cooking status and control Pronto using CookingPal’s companion app. Alternatively, you can keep an eye on things and adjust settings with the help of the device’s 4.3-inch color screen. A dedicated tablet called the Smart Kitchen Hub (which comes with CookingPal’s Multo cooking system) provides access to hundreds of recipes with step-by-step instructions and nutritional information, as well as the option to book cooking classes with the company’s chefs.

Pronto is hardly the first pressure cooker that offers remote control via an app — Instant Pot has introduced several such models over the last few years. Still, the auto pressure release system and Smart Kitchen Hub integration could make Pronto a more appealing option.

CookingPal says that Pronto will be available in Q3 this year, which is sometime between July and September. It will cost $279. The air fryer attachment will run you $119.

CookingPal Pronto pressure cooker
CookingPal

L’Oréal created a motorized lipstick applicator for people with limited mobility

L’Oréal has returned to CES to unveil two makeup devices. HAPTA is a handheld, motorized applicator that the company created for people with limited hand and arm mobility. L’Oréal’s Lancôme brand will pilot the system this year with a lipstick applicator. Support for more makeup applications is in the works.

HAPTA is based on tech from Alphabet-owned Verily that levels utensils and keeps them stable to help people with limited hand and arm mobility eat independently. The system has smart motion controls and customizable attachments to enable precise application with the help of 360 degrees of rotation and 180 degrees of flexion, L’Oréal says.

L’Oréal's HAPTA makeup application device with lipstick attached.
L’Oréal

The attachments are connected magnetically, with users being able to click them into place. The company added that HAPTA allows for “increased ease of use for difficult-to-open packaging.” Users will get an hour of use out of a single charge, which should be good for 10 or more applications, according to L’Oréal. It’ll take three hours to fully recharge the battery.

“For years, Lancôme has sought to provide every woman with beauty solutions adapted to their needs. Beauty tech has enabled us to fulfill this mission in an even more powerful way, revolutionizing the way we develop beauty products and services and enabling greater personalization,” Françoise Lehmann, global brand president of Lancôme, said in a statement. “With HAPTA we are going one step further by making beauty more accessible to use, because everyone should have equal access to it.”

A person applies eyebrow makeup using the L’Oréal Brow Magic device.
L’Oréal

L’Oréal had another makeup applicator to show off as well. It says that L’Oréal Brow Magic can help folks to achieve a personalized eyebrow look based on their facial features and natural brow.

To create the handheld device, L’Oréal worked with a company called Prinker, which offers printed, temporary tattoos. L’Oréal Brow Magic has 2,400 small nozzles and a printing resolution of up to 1,200 drops per inch. It can seemingly apply a precise brow shape in seconds. Standard remover will take the makeup off.

L’Oréal says the system is based on its Modiface AR technology. Users will need to scan their face using an app and choose their desired shape, thickness and effect — the app will offer microblading, micro-shading and filler recommendations. After the user applies a primer, they’ll need to sweep the device across their eyebrow in a single motion, then add a topcoat. L’Oréal Brow Magic should be available later this year.

L’Oréal's Brow Magic device
L’Oréal

Nanoleaf’s Sense+ Control lighting line can automate itself

Most smart home products promise to save you time by allowing you to create schedules to automate tasks like turning on your lights, but taking advantage of that functionality requires first creating those schedules. Nanoleaf’s newest product line promises to do that work for you. Announced at CES 2023, the Sense+ Control family consists of three products: the Sense+ Smart Light Switch, Sense+ Wireless Light Switch and Nala Learning Bridge. All three are Matter and Thread enabled. They also feature built-in motion and ambient light sensors. The Nala Learning Bridge (pictured above) acts as a Thread Border Router so that you can use it as the hub of your smart home network. You can also use the Nala Learning Bridge as a night light to add a bit of ambiance to a room.

Nanoleaf 4D camera system
Nanoleaf

Nala is also the name of Nanoleaf’s new Automations Learning Assistant and what makes the Sense+ Control line interesting. The company claims Nala can learn your routines and eventually know when to turn your lights on or off and adjust their brightness and color to your liking. “Over time, users will be able to have a truly intelligent and hands-free experience with the smart lighting in their home,” says Nanoleaf. The Sense+ Control line will arrive in the second half of the year. Nanoleaf also plans to update its existing Thread Border Routers to support Nala.

Alongside the Sense+ Control line, the company announced several other new products. First, there’s the Nanoleaf 4D, a system for synchronizing your Nanoleaf lights with your TV. Set to arrive before the second half of the year, the 4D Starter Kit will ship with Nanoleaf’s new Screen Mirror Camera and a Matter-compatible Lightstrip that features 50 addressable LED zones and four mirroring modes. With the help of the company’s Sync+ technology, you can synchronize the Lightstrip and all your Nanoleaf lights with the action on your TV. If you want more consistent lighting, the Sync+ platform also supports the usual assortment of pre-made scenes, including Nanoleaf favorites like “Aurora Borealis” and “Vibrant Sunrise.”

Nanoleaf Skylight
Nanoleaf

When installing the Nanoleaf 4D, you can mount the camera on top of your TV or just below it. You’ll find adhesive and snap-on brackets inside the box for attaching the Lightstrip. At launch, Nanoleaf will offer the 4D TV Starter Kit in two sizes: one for 55- to 65-inch TVs and another for 70- to 80-inch sets. No word yet on pricing.

Nanoleaf is also adding a ceiling light to its line of modular wall panels. The aptly named Skylight consists of a set of square RGBW LED panels you can freely arrange to create different patterns on your ceiling. Skylight comes with all the features you expect from a Nanoleaf product, including the company’s screen mirroring technology, music visualizer and support for group scenes. You can use the Nanoleaf app to adjust the brightness, color and color temperature of Skylight’s built-in LEDs. Like the Nala Learning Bridge, Skylight also doubles as a Thread Border router. Nanoleaf says it will launch its latest modular lighting system in the second half of the year. Expect pricing details to arrive around then too.

Nanoleaf Essentials
Nanoleaf

Last but not least, Nanoleaf is updating its Essentials line to add BR30 and GU10 models. The company is also refreshing existing Essentials models, including its original A19 lightbulb, to make them Matter compatible. Owners of existing Nanoleaf products won’t be left out either. The company says it will roll out a software update for its Shapes, Elements, Canvas and Lines lighting products later this year to make them Matter-compatible.

Moen’s smart sprinkler system automatically changes your lawn watering schedule

Moen thinks it can take the hassle out of watering your lawn — and possibly save you some money in the process. It’s introducing a Smart Sprinkler Controller (shown below) that, in tandem with matching soil sensors, can automatically tweak watering schedules on a zone-by-zone basis. Your yard should only get the water it really needs — Moen claims it can reduce the water use of a typical home by 30 percent. Whether or not that’s true, you’ll probably appreciate the season- and weather-based adjustments that can save you from watering in the middle of a rainstorm.

You also won’t have to rip up your lawn to get started. You only have to stick the sensors in the soil, where they can stay flush with the ground. You don’t have to bury cables or watch where you’re mowing. The Sprinkler Controller attaches to your existing irrigation system within half an hour, and the sensors can be ready to go in less than five minutes.

Moen Smart Sprinkler Controller and Soil Sensor
Moen

Not surprisingly, Moen is using this as a chance to reel you into its broader smart home system. If you have the Flo Smart Water Monitor and Shutoff, you can watch out for leaks around the house without worrying that your sprinklers will shut off the home’s water supply.

The initial outlay may be pricey. Moen will release the devices in early February, starting at $180 for an eight-zone controller and $235 for its 16-zone counterpart. Sensors will be available for $70 each, or $180 for a three-pack. However, the company is clearly betting that its system will cut your water bill enough to justify the expense, not to mention spare you constant manual adjustments to watering schedules. The sprinkler tech could also reduce your home’s impact on the environment. That’s particularly helpful in California and other regions where water conservation is frequently important.

Volkswagen unveils its upcoming ID.7 EV sedan at CES 2023

Volkswagen’s ID family of electric vehicles, which already includes the highly-anticipated ID.Buzz and more sedate ID.4, grew by one on Tuesday. The German automaker unveiled its ID.7 electric sedan ahead of CES 2023, in a eye-crossing orange and black camo scheme that hides an illuminating surprise. Yes, it lights up. 

That camo is is not randomly generated, each aspect is specifically designed to “create light effects on parts of the vehicle,” VW stated in a recent press release. “This is an interactive feature and symbolizes the next step in the digitalization of the future flagship model of Volkswagen’s EV family.” In all, some 22 sections of paint, all of which are comprised of more than 40 individual layers of paint and electronics, will light up at the driver’s command, or in time to the sound system’s beats. The QR codes painted on the hood and doors will allow authorized users to control the paint job (that’s so weird to write) through their smartphones.

ID.7 in full digital camo. looks like if you took a picture of it, it'd trigger the qr code scanner on your phone.
Volkswagen

The ID.7 is based on the Aero3 concept sedan that we first saw revealed earlier this year and is expected to achieve an all-electric range of 700 km. “With the new ID.7, we are extending our electric model range into the upper segments. The sedan will offer top-class technology and quality. The ID.7 is one of 10 new electric models that we are planning to launch by 2026,” Thomas Schäfer, CEO of Volkswagen Passenger Cars, said in a statement.

ID.7 in full digital camo. looks like if you took a picture of it, it'd trigger the qr code scanner on your phone.
Volkswagen

Details are still scarce regarding hard performance numbers but the company plans to release the ID.7 with an augmented reality head-up display, 15-inch central infotainment screen, digitally controlled air vents — which can be personalized to each passenger and which respond to voice commands — and illuminated touch sliders. The company has not stated when production will begin but did confirm that when the ID.7 does go on sale, it will do so in the Chinese, European and North American markets. 

Twitter is reversing its ban on political ads

In 2019, Twitter instituted a fairly strict ban on political and cause-based ads, effectively blocking politicians and organizations like PACs from running ads that prop up candidates, promote ballot measures or ask for donations. Now, the company is reversing that policy, announcing through the Twitter Safety account that it will relax those advertising rules.

Previously, almost all political ads were banned, and cause-based ads that covered subjects like climate change or abortion were subject to various restrictions. The latter were barred from being marketed to custom audiences and age groups, for instance — and while raising awareness to topics was permitted, advocating support for specific legislation was not.

The announcement didn’t go into detail about the ad rules, stating instead that the plan is bring Twitter more in line with the political advertising standards of “TV and other media outlets.” Although it’s not completely clear what that means, its worth noting that TV and broadcast markets that use the public airwaves are required to follow certain FCC rules regarding political advertising that Twitter may not be subject to.

Either way, the change could help Twitter make up for the advertisers who left in the weeks following Elon Musk’s purchase of the platform, which saw brands like GM, Audi, General Mills and others pause advertising. As for Twitter, the social media company says that its making the policy change because it believes that “cause-based advertising can facilitate public conversation around important topics.”

Google is making free anti-terrorism moderation tools for smaller websites

Meta isn’t the only tech heavyweight making tools to help root out terrorist content. The Financial Times has learned Google’s Jigsaw is developing a free tool to help smaller websites detect and remove extremist material. The project, built with the help of the UN-supported Tech Against Terrorism, makes it easier for moderator teams to deal with potentially illegal content. The effort has the assistance of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (founded by Google, Meta, Microsoft and Twitter), which offers a cross-service database of terrorist items. Two unnamed sites will test the code later this year.

As with Meta’s open source utility, Google’s tool is meant to assist sites that can’t afford to develop AI detection algorithms or hire a large moderation staff. That may be critical when the European Union’s Digital Services Act and the UK’s looming Online Safety bill will both require that site operators pull extremist content to avoid penalties.

Both Google and Tech Against Terrorism see their project as necessary to close a gap in countering online terrorist activity. Extremists and misinformation peddlers kicked off mainstream platforms frequently turn to smaller outlets that can’t always adequately police users. Ideally, this reduces the chances of terrorists finding safe havens.

There are limitations. Some social platforms have been reluctant to moderate content even when app store operators say it incites violence — Google’s tool won’t be very useful on websites that don’t want it. It also won’t stop terrorists from sharing material over well-encrypted messaging services or the Dark Web, where providers can’t easily snoop on data traffic. This might, however, make it harder to jump to online alternatives.

Roland’s first gaming product is the Bridge Cast streaming mixer

Roland may be a mainstay in the electronic music world, but it also dabbles in the occasional creator product, too. This year at CES the company has unveiled an audio interface aimed squarely at streamers and it’s called the Bridge Cast ($299).Like riv…