Category:
Investing
Category:
Investing
Category:
Investing
2026-01-07 18:00:00|
Engadget
Im fascinated by AI cooking robots which, as far as Im concerned, automate the one fun bit of cooking. Sadly, its far easier to make something that can stir a pan of ingredients as they cook compared to building something that would successfully peel a carrot. Nosh is the latest unit to use CES to announce itself to the world, gearing up for its launch in the next few months. Like its many rivals, you load ingredients into the unit and then Nosh will assemble them for you. Unlike its many rivals, you can have more than one ingredient tray, opening up the possibility that you could prep multiple meals at the same time.Even if youre not familiar with the category you can guess how this thing works: Youll select a recipe from the hardwares 500-dish strong repertoire. Then youll prepare the necessary raw materials and slide them into individual compartments in the trays. Once done, youll be able to push the tray into the unit when youre ready to eat and let it get on with the job of cooking. There are water and oil reservoirs, a spice rack mounted in the top, and a camera that uses computer vision to keep an eye on the meals as they cook. As each morsel is added, a mixer arm spins to ensure the food never stays in one place for too long. From the marketing materials (as well as my own common sense) its clear Nosh works best with sauce heavy meals. Pasta dishes, soups and curries will work pretty well in the system, which may limit how often youll want to use it across a regular week. That said, the idea of having this as a low-effort alternative to pre-prepared meals from the oven or microwave is preferable. Im just not sure how engaged Ill be in finely julienning carrot batons after an 18-hour day at the content factory.Nosh is launching in the near future but early birds can already put some cash down to get the unit for $1,200, a deep discount on its $2,000 retail price. And, for all my snootiness about the utility of AI cooking robots in general, Ill admit I am looking forward to trying one of these out. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/nosh-is-an-ai-cooking-robot-for-the-meal-prep-crowd-170000610.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
2026-01-07 17:43:25|
Engadget
CES 2026 is in full swing, but you dont have to wait months to get your hands on everything announced in Las Vegas this year. A surprising number of products are already up for pre-order, if not outright available to buy today, from new chargers and docks to projectors, keyboards and smart home gear. CES is still a showcase for concepts and big promises, but these are the gadgets that have real pricing and an order button ready right now. Check out all of the CES 2026 gadgets you can buy right now below.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/17-ces-gadgets-you-can-buy-right-now-164325644.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
2026-01-07 17:35:13|
Engadget
It's been six years since Sony first rolled out its prototype car at CES 2020. It was called the Vision-S back then, and I remember everyone endlessly debating just how serious the consumer electronics powerhouse was about making a car. Over the subsequent half-decade, Sony has proven it is not only serious, but absolutely hell-bent on making this thing a reality.At CES 2026, we're still somehow about 12 months away from that car hitting the roads. Now called the Afeela 1, instead of being built by Sony proper it will come from the joint venture Sony Honda Mobility. It will start at $89,900, offer around 300 miles of range, and wear an exterior design so sedate that even the 31.5-inch-wide "Media Bar" micro-LED integrated into the nose barely makes an impact.With the Afeela up on stage again this year, what's new in 2026? I'm fresh from getting a closer look at the sedan here in Las Vegas and, sadly, there's little more to see than what so underwhelmed me last year. From the outside, 2026's Afeela looks nigh identical to 2025's, save for one change: I'm happy to report that the unfortunate seam running down the middle of last year's nose-mounted Media Bar has been fixed. It now appears to be a single, contiguous panel.On the inside, the interior seems to have a higher degree of fit and finish than last year's. To get in, you either push on a little button hidden in the trim or pull out the smartphone app and request that the door open automatically. There are no door latches as such, something that might raise a few eyebrows given Tesla's current door handle woes. (I was told there are physical door releases hidden below the car on the outside, and low in the door card on the inside.)Sony Honda Mobility at CES 2026Tim Stevens for EngadgetThe door closes automatically once you're inside, instantly hushing the manic drone of the crowd on the always-packed CES floor. This creates a great soundscape for the whopping 28 speakers Sony is deploying here. The car's interior shape was actually designed to optimize the placement of those speakers, and the few moments of music I heard were impressive.There's Dolby Atmos support, so you can take full advantage of the spatial audio features in the cockpit. You can even toggle the sound on or off for individual seats, perhaps helping a little one stay asleep in the back seat or simply sparing your kids from the depths of your guilty pleasure playlist.The most noticeable feature inside the car, though, is the sweeping display that runs across the dashboard. There's a 12.3-inch LCD gauge cluster on the left conjoined with a 28.5-inch display that goes all the way to the right. Sony's infotainment software effectively splits that rightmost panel in two, enabling you or the passenger to drag apps left or right as needed.Media or other distracting apps running on the passenger's side of the display will trigger an integrated privacy shield, blacking it out ensuring minimal distraction for the driver. But Sony is still pushing the envelope a bit here in a few other areas. You can dial into Zoom meetings from the driver's seat, for example, and while the Afeela 1 won't be the first car to do this (Mercedes-Benz included the service in the car in its 2024 E-Class), Sony will actually let the driver participate in the video while driving. This seems a little unnecessary to me.Sony Honda Mobility at CES 2026Tim Stevens for EngadgetZoom uses the ceiling-mounted camera, one of 40 sensors in and around the Afeela 1. That includes the pods for a LiDAR sensor and more cameras protruding rather conspicuously from the roof. These sensors will provide Level 2+ driver assistance at launch. Over time, Sony promises to upgrade the car to Level 4, meaning that you, the driver, could theoretically take a nap behind the wheel. The car certainly looks to have enough sensors and processing power to make that work, but as we saw with Tesla's Full Self Driving, these sorts of automotive upgrades have a tendency to take longer than anticipated.Some of that digital processing power comes courtesy of Qualcomm's Snapdragon Digital Chassis, which also powers the infotainment experience. The software that runs the dashboard and rear seat experience looked far more comprehensive than before. That includes a functional AI voice assistant providing advanced routing guidance, like telling you which of the dozen taquerias on your route has the best guac.Personalization is a big part of the sales pitch here, with downloadable packages changing everything from the car's ambient lights to the gauge cluster, engine sound, and even whatever's displayed on the nose-mounted display.The idea here is to give you an emotional connection with the car -- despite its decidedly emotionless exterior design.Sony Honda Mobility at CES 2026Tim Stevens for Engadget"Our brand, Afeela, is built on a vision to redefine the relationship between people and mobility," Izumi Kawanishi, Sony Honda Mobility's president and COO, said. "Being in a car will no longer be about driving. It will be about making the most of your time and space while you move."I got to sample a number of these customizations at the show, including a particularly cool one that replicated the dashboard of Honda's first-ever Grand Prix-winning machine, 1965's RA272. The Afeela even picked up the raspy sound of its 1.5-liter V12.The pre-production car on the Afeela stage had about a dozen such experiences installed, but the plan is for many, many more. Sony Honda Mobility will launch what it's calling the Afeela Co-Creation Program, a set of software developer tools and interfaces enabling third-party developers to not only create their own customizations, but to sell them.Yes, altenate revenue streams are a big part of the equation here, including premium audio and video purchases, but Sony seemingly isn't factoring that in to help make the Afeela 1 more affordable. Again, you're looking at $89,900 to start, a price that hasn't changed from last year.In fact, the biggest change to the Afeela 1 since CES 2025's showing is a delay. The sedan now isn't hitting the road until the very end of 2026, with first, limited deliveries happening in California. Arizona is next in 2027, but it could be years more before it's available anywhere else in the world.Don't call it vaporware, though, because it is coming. Trial production work is already happening at Honda's plant in Ohio. In fact, the Afeela 1 you see here is an early, pre-production machine assembled there.But just because it's going to happen doesn't mean that it will be a compelling product. An EV that costs $20,000 more than a more-powerful, longer-range Lucid Air Touring is a difficult proposition today, never mind 2027 or later, when the Afeela 1 will finally become readily available.Sony Honda Mobility at CES 2026Tim Stevens for EngadgetWith sedans increasingly on the outs in the American market, an SUV shape would make more sense. Sony confirmed that one is coming by rolling out the Afeela 2026 Prototype, but despite its name, it isn't coming until 2028 at the earliest.As much as I respect Sony's stubborn commitment to this project, the numbers are just not working out in the Afeela 1's favor. I asked Sony Honda Mobility America president and CEO Shugo Yamaguchi what would make the car stand out in an EV segment that's increasingly crowded with quality machines, many available for tens of thousands less."We do have that LiDAR, which is expensive, and introduces more safety. We have better entertainment, amazing displays and 800 TOPS of processing power. So, we believe that through our applications and our development, we are going to more than make our customers happy," he said.Will customers pay more for a luxury and safety experience topped off by an expensive sensor that likely won't be fully utilized for years to come? After making a similar pitch in its 2025 EX90, Volvo has decided to delete LiDAR from the 2026 model. I can't say I'm more bullish here.The Afeela 1 was an audacious product when it was announced at CES 2020, but with each subsequent year it feels more and more out of touch. It'll undoubtedly be the ultimate expression of brand loyalty for the true PlayStation fans out there. But with even established luxury brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz shifting their focus to more affordable EVs like the new CLA, a $90,000 sedan with specs that sounded good in 2020 makes it awfully hard to stay excited for this PlayStation on wheels.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/at-ces-2026-sony-honda-mobilitys-latest-afeela-1-still-feels-woefully-out-of-date-163513001.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
