There are certain things you can’t really demonstrate in the same way as other pieces of consumer electronics. A WiFi-connected urine analyzer that sits in your toilet and samples your pee for analysis is one such gadget. That’s why I had to go to a be…
CES 2023 Day 1 recap: Catch up on the biggest news from the year’s biggest tech show
We’re back in Vegas for CES, and while the show doesn’t officially open until tomorrow, many exhibitors have already unveiled their new products at various press conferences and media events. Today, we’re starting to see some of the early car news that frequently dominates CES, as well as more from TV makers, gaming laptop brands, smart home companies and more. If you haven’t fully caught up yet, here’s a recap of the biggest news from Day 1 of CES 2023.
From last night
But first, even though we already recapped most of yesterday’s launches in another video, there was still more stuff unveiled last night that was announced after we had shot that. For example, Withings showed off the U-Scan, a $500 toilet computer that will… scan your pee.
It’s a 90mm block that you place inside your toilet bowl like a deodorizer, and uses a litmus-test-like microfluidic system to detect what substances are in your urine. You’ll have to choose which specific tests you want to be running in your module, though Withings is making a consumer-centric version that will analyze your nutrition and hydration levels, while also predicting your ovulation and period cycles. It’s still waiting on US regulatory approval before bringing this stateside, and will launch first in Europe.
In less… icky news, we also saw the Fufuly pulsating cushion by Yukai Engineering. A vibrating cushion might sound straight out of an anime, but the idea is really that hugging something that can mimic lifelike pulsing could have calming effects. Something else that could relieve anxiety? Watching a video of birds being cute! Bird Buddy also launched a new smart feeder that comes with a camera so you can spy on your feathery friends while they nest up. The latest model is designed for hummingbirds and uses AI to understand what breeds are within view and, together with a motion sensor, determines when they’re ready for a snack.
Speaking of snacks, there was plenty of food-related tech news last night, including GE Profile’s $1,000 stand mixer that has a digital scale and voice controls built in. We also saw OneThird’s freshness scanners that use near infrared lasers and proprietary algorithms to tell if produce is fresh. It can even calculate an avocado’s shelf life in real time, and help reduce food waste!
We also saw Loreal’s robotic lipstick applicator for those with limited hand or arm mobility, Valencell’s blood pressure monitor that clips onto your finger and Wisear’s neural earbuds that let you control playback by clenching your jaw. There were smart lights, smart speakers, smart pressure cookers, smart VR gloves and more. Make sure to go to Engadget.com to get all the details!
Now, onto the news that came out today. We had a small trickle of car news ahead of the outpouring is likely to come tomorrow. Volkswagen unveiled its upcoming ID.7 EV sedan, teasing us with a general body shape and the name, but not much else. BMW, meanwhile, shared more about its futuristic i Vision concept vehicle program by revealing the i Vision Dee, or “Digital Emotional Experience.” It’s a pared-down concept featuring a heads up display running the full width of the front windshield. Many of the Dee’s features are also expected to make their way into production models, specifically BMW’s new NEUE KLASSE (new class) EV platform, starting in 2025. The Dee will also feature BMW’s Mixed Reality slider to control how much digital content appears on the display.
TVs
Samsung also waited till the evening to reveal its premium 2023 TVs, focusing on MiniLED and 8K technologies for this year’s series. It also brought more sizes to its portfolio and introduced new soundbars that offer Dolby Atmos support on both the entry level and the highest end. Meanwhile, rival LG showed off a 97-inch M3 TV that can wirelessly receive 4K 120Hz video so you can deal with fewer wires in your living room, as well as… more soundbars. Leave it to LG and Samsung to basically do the same things as each other.
Relatively smaller TV competitor Hisense today unveiled its UX Mini LED TV, an 85-inch set that can hit 2,500 nits at peak brightness and features more than 5,000 local dimming zones. Meanwhile, startup Displace showed us a new wireless 55-inch OLED TV that attaches to any surface via vacuum suction, eliminating the need for a wall mount or stand altogether. Plus, thanks to its four onboard batteries, you can do without a power cord, too. This is essentially a complete, standalone portable TV.
Laptops
We also saw more laptops from ASUS, MSI and HP. ASUS made a laptop with glasses-free 3D, a large Zenbook Pro 16X with plenty of room for thermal dissipation, as well as a Zenbook 14X with a ceramic build. Both the latter Zenbooks also come with OLED screens. Meanwhile, HP launched a new series of Dragonfly Pro laptops that are supposed to make the shopping process easier for consumers by eliminating most configuration options. The Dragonfly Pro Chromebook has an RGB keyboard and Android-like Material You theming features, while the Windows version exclusively uses an AMD chip and has a column of hotkeys on the right of the keyboard that offer shortcuts to camera settings, a control center and 24/7 tech support. The last of these buttons is programmable, so you can map it to launch your favorite app, file or website.
Finally, we’re seeing the first of some audio news, starting from JBL. The company unveiled its 2023 soundbar lineup, all five models of which will support Dolby Atmos. It also launched new true wireless earbuds with a “smart” case that has a 1.45-inch touchscreen on it that offers controls for volume, playback, ANC and EQ presets. Almost coincidentally, HP also showed off the Poly Voyager earbuds that also have a touchscreen on the carrying case and offers similar controls to the JBL. But the Voyager also has a Broadcast mode that lets you use the included 3.5mm to USB-C cable to connect the case to an older device with a headphone jack (like when you’re on an airplane), so you can watch movies during a flight without needing to carry a second set of headphones around.
There’s plenty more news coming out of CES not just today but the rest of the week. I didn’t even get to tell you about Samsung’s new budget-friendly Galaxy A14 smartphone, or Citizen’s new smartwatch. For all the details on anything you might have missed today, check out our comprehensive coverage on Engadget.com or our YouTube channel. And stay tuned for all of the news from CES 2023.
ThinkPhone hands-on: Moto’s attempt to woo big business
While Lenovo has been a huge force in the enterprise laptop space thanks to its long line of ThinkPads and ThinkBooks, Motorola is now hoping to leverage its parent company’s expertise by bringing some of Lenovo’s best features over to its newest mobil…
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…
Tech that can help you stick to your New Year’s resolutions
Regardless of how 2022 went for you, 2023 is another chance for all of us to make the new year better than the one that came before it. We set New Year’s resolutions with the best of intentions, but it’s no wonder that so many people fail after just a …
Google Search results now continuously scroll on desktop
Google is giving its search results on desktop the “continuous scrolling” treatment over a year after launching the feature on mobile. Continuous scrolling will eliminate the need to click “Next” or the page numbers at the bottom of your search results…
The original 1997 ‘Berserk’ anime is coming to Netflix on December 1st in select regions (updated)
Berserk, the long-running manga that married fantasy and, well, violence, is coming back to the small screen. The original 25-episode 1997 anime series based on the manga and directed by Naohito Takahashi is coming to Netflix for select markets on Dece…