Sony’s Project Leonardo is a controller kit to help people with disabilities play PS5

Sony is building a better PlayStation 5 controller with Project Leonardo, a kit that promises to make games easier to play for people with limited motor control. In initial images, Project Leonardo is a set of circular gamepads lined with buttons and directional input methods, all of it customizable. Sony says the system will work “out of the box” with the PS5, allowing players to craft their ideal gamepad by mapping buttons, swapping out hardware bits and creating distinct profiles.

Project Leonardo can be used on its own or paired with DualSense controllers — up to two Leonardos and one DualSense can be read as one gamepad by the PS5. This grants players flexibility and also allows other people to help control games.

Project Leonardo
Sony

The hardware includes four 3.5mm AUX ports to accommodate a variety of existing accessibility accessories and switches. The controller itself lies flat on a table or can be mounted on a tripod; it doesn’t need to be held. Sony partnered with a handful of organizations, including AbleGamers, SpecialEffect and Stack Up, while designing Project Leonardo.

With Project Leonardo, Sony is taking clear cues from Microsoft, which has been a leader in accessibility tech, particularly in the gaming space. Microsoft released the Xbox Adaptive Controller in 2018 and it had many of the same selling points as Sony’s new endeavor, but in a longer and flatter package. Microsoft has a new laboratory focused on building inclusive hardware and a five-year plan to improve the technology landscape for people with disabilities.

One of the major draws of the Xbox Adaptive Controller is its price, which was also designed to be accessible: $100. There’s no word on how much Project Leonardo will cost; there’s also no release window.

On the PlayStation Blog, Sony designer So Morimoto described Project Leondardo as follows: “Our team tested over a dozen designs with accessibility experts, looking for approaches that would help address key challenges to effective controller use. We finally settled on a ‘split controller’ design that allows near free-form left/right thumbstick repositionability, can be used without needing to be held, and features very flexible button and stick cap swapping.”

There was more positive news for the PS5 out of Sony’s CES press conference today — PlayStation head Jim Ryan declared an official end to the PS5 shortage, saying, “Everyone who wants a PS5 should have a much easier time finding one at retailers globally starting from this point forward.” That should is doing a lot of heavy lifting, of course.

This wireless 55-inch OLED TV sucks… onto any wall or window

One of the biggest reasons I don’t have a wall mount for my TV is because I don’t want to deal with the mess of installation. The dust, the drilling, the permanence — all of that gives me stress (I know, I know, I’m more sensitive than most people). So when I heard that the Displace wireless TV can be attached to any wall or surface without a mount, I was very excited. This is a 55-inch 4K OLED screen that uses active-loop vacuum technology to suction itself into place, and the company built handles into the frame to make it easier to hoist. The Displace also has four onboard batteries that eliminate the need for a power cord, and they’re hot swappable so you don’t have to wait for one to recharge before you can watch your TV again.

Because the prototypes we saw in Vegas were custom designed for CES, the company says details about battery size and charge time aren’t available yet. But they did say that they expect users to get a month of runtime if they watch six hours of TV a day. Part of the reason the Displace can do without a power cord is because it doesn’t do very heavy processing onboard. It’s basically streaming media from a base station that comes with the device and performs the rendering. 

My favorite thing about the Displace TV is the ease of setup. I wasn’t allowed to try this out myself since the prototypes were fairly precious, so I could only watch as the company’s CEO slid his hands into the two slots and lifted the screen. According to Displace, each unit weighs less than 20 pounds, which is impressively light. 

The CEO took the TV over to a window, and when the vacuum loops on the back detected it was in contact with a surface, the mechanism whirred to life and began sucking itself onto the glass. After about 8 seconds, it was quiet, which indicated that it had affixed itself and was secure. I was then able to try jiggling the unit and see if I could pry it out of place. I didn’t try very hard, since I was afraid of damaging the prototype, but I will say the screen seemed pretty securely attached. I’d say I used the equivalent force of opening a refrigerator door to try and get the suction to budge and it did not. 

To dismount the TV, you’d have to press and hold a button on either side, and wait for the vacuum loops to slowly disengage. The company said this mechanism works with any flat surface — even if there is some slight texture like drywall. We tried to put the demo unit up on another wall, but couldn’t find a spot wide enough to accommodate the 55-inch panel.

The Displace TV also has a pop-up 4K camera built into the top of the frame, and it doesn’t just facilitate high-res video calls. The company’s custom software powering the TV also allows for some gesture control, which is the only way to interact with the TV as there isn’t a separate remote. For example, holding up your palm during playback will pause your show, while using two hands to mimic a stretching action can zoom in and out of items on the screen. If you have multiple Displace TVs, you can arrange four of them into a square and zoom into the feed from a specific quarter, for example.

There’s also a very Minority Report-esque gesture that involves “grabbing” the content from one screen and “throwing” it at another one nearby. And if you point the thumbs up gesture at the camera, it activates a mode that has your content follow you as you walk around your house into different rooms. Since they’re all streaming from the same base station, the multiple screens can pick up your content where you left it in a different room. 

A close-up of the pop-up camera built into the top of the Displace TV.
Cherlynn Low / Engadget

If you’re feeling baller, you can put four Displace TVs together to create a 110-inch 8K TV. In that scenario, the relatively thin bezels here can help minimize disruption when four screens are playing as one. But Displace told Engadget it was also working on future models that could be bezel-less to eliminate the borders altogether. The company also has many plans, including exploring potential partnerships to build in some form of wireless charging, as well as releasing an API to allow third-party developers to create applications for the hardware. 

For now, though, I’m already pretty impressed by the concept and want one. At $3,000, though, the Displace TV is fairly pricey. Only 100 units are available for pre-order at the moment, and the company said they’ll start shipping in December. I’m anxious to get one to see how well the vacuum system holds up over time — the last thing I want is to wake up to the crash of a $3,000 TV breaking my furniture, hopes and dreams.

JBL Bar 1300X hands-on: Impressive immersive sound via detachable speakers

JBL revealed five new soundbar models at CES 2023, but the Bar 1300X sits at the top of the lineup. The 11.1.4-channel speaker is capable of 1,170 watts of output with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X onboard for immersive 3D sound. Inside, there are 21 total drivers, six of which are upfiring. That half dozen is three times more than some companies offer, a decision JBL says is meant to make the most out of its MultiBeam spatial audio tech. 

In 2020, JBL first debuted a soundbar with detachable rear satellite speakers. On the Bar 1300X those units pack in one upfiring speaker each and can last up to 10 hours on a charge (they charge when you reattach them to the main bar). Being completely wireless, you’re free to position them wherever you like. They also double as Bluetooth speakers, both individually or a stereo pair. Once you remove the speakers, there are snap-on covers included as you’ll expose side-pointing tweeters you’ll want to protect. In terms of connection, there’s one HDMI/ARC to connect to your TV and three additional HDMI inputs. 

During my demo, I was able to watch a chaotic chase scene from Ready Player One. With the rear speakers detached and situated behind me, I was impressed by how immersive the audio was from the 1300X. The footage was loud with lots going on, but the audio remained crisp and clear, and most importantly, the directional audio enhanced the viewing experience. There was also plenty booming bass from the 12-inch wireless subwoofer. 

JBL’s PureVoice is available across its entire 2023 lineup to enhance dialogue when other loud sounds are also part of a scene. This feature is impressive as well, boosting spoken words without taking away from everything else that’s going on. The tech performs equally well on the $400 entry-level Bar 300 too, an all-in-one option that musters great immersive audio from a single speaker. The 300 is the one model in JBL’s 2023 lineup that doesn’t come with a sub, though it does have integrated woofers. The company says you can’t add a wireless sub either as the Bar 300 isn’t compatible with them even if you purchase it separately. 

The $1,700 Bar 1300X, like the rest of JBL’s new soundbars, will be available February 19th.

Hisense’s UX Mini LED TV can produce 2,500 nits of peak brightness

Once you get past the gimmicks, there’s a common thread among the TVs announced at CES 2023. Every manufacturer is trying to produce the brightest possible sets. For Samsung and LG, that has meant doubling down on their respective OLED display technolo…

Signify wants you to pay $130 for an app that syncs Samsung TVs to Philips Hue lights

Signify (formerly known as Philips Lighting) has a new app. It sounds kind of fun. You can use it to sync whatever’s playing on certain Samsung TVs to Philips Hue smart lights, whether you’re streaming a movie, listening to music or playing games. The idea is to make whatever you’re watching feel more immersive by extending the colors to the rest of the room. Neat! Not so neat is how much Signify is charging for the Philips Hue Sync TV app. It costs $130 (or £115 in the UK).

In fairness, that’s still around $100 less expensive than the Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, a device that connects to your TV and syncs your lights to whatever’s playing. The app supports all image formats and you can customize the settings. You’ll be able to tweak the lights’ brightness and how intense the syncing is. You can choose to auto-start the experience and whether the lights should be in video or game mode. There’s the option to pinpoint where lights are in relative to your TV too.

If you’re somehow interested in paying $130 for the app instead of snapping up disco lights for, like, $12, you’ll need a 2022 or newer QLED TV in the Q60 range or above. You’ll find Philips Hue Sync TV on the Samsung TV app store starting on January 5th.

Philips Hue Resonate downward wall light
Signify

Elsewhere, Signify announced more Philips Hue devices. It will release PAR38 white and color ambiance bulbs for outdoor use on March 14th. They’ll cost $80 for one or $150 for a two-pack. PAR38 white light bulbs were previously available. In the UK, the company will offer a Resonate downward wall light that can brighten up outdoor spaces. It too offers white and color light. Resonate costs £110 and will be available on January 24th. 

You’ll need to wait until March 14th for the latest Philips Hue Tap dial switch, which has a round mini mount that can be placed on magnetic surfaces, such as a fridge. That will run you $50 or £45. Signify has also revealed when the Go portable table lamp it debuted last year will go on sale in the UK. You can snap it up for £140 ($169) on February 21st.

Philips Hue Tap dial switch with mini mount
Signify

Update 4/1 5:23PM ET: Updated US pricing.

Apple fined $8.5 million in France over targeted App Store ads

Apple is the second tech giant today to receive a fine over personalized ads. France’s National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL) has issued an €8 million (roughly $8.5 million) penalty over allegations Apple automatically collected identifying data from App Store visitors using iOS 14.6 without their permission, helping the company target ads. The firm was profiting from violations of data protection law, according to officials.

You could turn off the ad targeting, but it was enabled by default and couldn’t be disabled without wading through multiple menu levels, CNIL added. That reportedly made it impossible for users to give proper consent. Apple has since changed its practices, and CNIL said it conducted “several” checks between 2021 and 2022 to make sure the company was honoring data rules. France launched its investigation in March 2021.

We’ve asked Apple for comment. As 9to5Mac noted, Apple told Financial Times‘ Patrick McGee in a statement that it was “disappointed” with the decision and planned an appeal. The iPhone maker argued that its Search Ads system went “further” than any rival in offering choice over targeted ads, and didn’t track user cross third-party apps or websites.

Apple has had a contentious relationship with French regulators. In 2020, the country’s competition authority issued a fine equivalent to $1.2 billion (now down to $364.6 million) for alleged antitrust abuses in its distribution chain. The company also received a $27.3 million fine over iPhone performance throttling that same year. While the French government defended Apple’s iOS 14 anti-tracking measures against industry pressure, it’s evident that the brand remains under close scrutiny.

JBL Tour Pro 2 hands-on: Putting earbud controls on a touchscreen case

JBL is showing off several models of true wireless earbuds at CES, but perhaps the most interesting is the Tour Pro 2. This premium set comes with a “smart” case that features a touchscreen display on the outside. That 1.45-inch LED panel gives you access to the core features of the JBL One app, including noise cancellation modes, EQ presets, volume and track controls. The display will also show you battery info for each earbud and the case individually, along with the current time. Those four items line the top while the other tools are available by swiping across screens. 

The display turns on when you open the case or when you tap it, and then you unlock it with a swipe. As you might expect, the touchscreen automatically turns off after a few seconds and JBL has thrown in brightness and wallpaper customization for good measure. Another item the Tour Pro 2 case offers is message and social notifications, but the display doesn’t actually show any text for those. It will just let you know you have something waiting. 

The touchscreen case is on the larger side for a set of true wireless earbuds, but not drastically so. It’s noticeably bigger than most of JBL’s lineup, but definitely not the largest I’ve seen. Of course, the larger stature is understandable since the company needed more room to accommodate a bigger battery for the display. Despite the extra power consumption, JBL is still promising battery life you’d expect in active noise canceling (ANC) buds: up to 8 hours with it on, up to 10 with it off. Plus, the case offers wireless charging and the quick-charge feature gives you four hours of listening in 15 minutes. 

JBL is touting the convenience of not having to look at your phone for the “smart” case with the Tour Pro 2. Of course, you’ll still have to carry the case with you and you’ll have to stay within Bluetooth range of your connected device. I think the concept could have potential, but I’ll need to spend some time doing “regular” everyday things to properly gauge the utility. There are things available on the display that you can’t access directly on the earbuds and that you will otherwise have to tap into JBL’s app to change, so it could conceivably save you a few seconds.  

I’ll have to wait until the $250 Tour Pro 2 arrives this spring to judge the audio quality as I wasn’t able to do so during a brief CES demo. However, the company has a solid track record in that department so I expect its latest premium set will handle listening habits just fine. 

Panasonic 發表首款複合自動對焦無反相機 S5II 與 S5IIx

Panasonic 的無反相機多年來都僅有對比偵測自動對焦，讓它們在特定情況下有容易跑焦的問題。這點終於在今天的 S5II 系列上獲得解決，由 Panasonic 首度引進了感光器上的複合式相位偵測自動對焦（PDAF） 。…