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Im seeing a ton of smart bird feeders again this year at CES and Im inexplicably drawn to them. Perhaps because the idea of birds nibbling on seeds and flying away represents a natural purity and freedom that doesnt exist within the halls of CES. Birdbuddy was one of the first smart bird feeder brands, with a wildly successful Kickstarter back in 2020. And this year, theyve added birdsong to their species identification capabilities. Two new feeders, the Birdbuddy 2 and the Birdbuddy 2 Mini both have the new feature, but the latter is a more affordable, starter version. The Bird Buddy 2 is solar-powered with built-in panels. Its slightly larger and has a bigger seed capacity, too. Both have HD cameras you can manually position either vertically or horizontally and both have a mic to help with birdsong IDs. Upgrades to the cameras include a faster wake-up time when a bird lands and the housing for the seed and camera has a more modular design that makes the feeder easier to clean. The lens is now protected by Gorilla Glass, which may seem excessive, but Rhian Humphries, Birdbuddys senior PR manager, said curious birds often peck at the camera looking for more food. The AI Birdbuddy uses was trained on real bird visits and at the end of each day, youll get a postcard, a curated look at the birds that visited your feeder that day. Of course, the app can also alert you each time you have a feathered customer in your yard so you can tune into natures live feed and soothe your soul for a few. The Birdbuddy 2 goes for $199. It sold out during the pre-order phase, and those units will ship in February, but more will be available in mid 2026. The Birdbuddy 2 Mini costs $129 with pre-orders opening in summer. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/birdbuddys-new-smart-bird-feeder-can-id-birds-by-their-songs-122000692.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
Meta is pausing release of its Ray-Ban Display smart glasses to the UK, France, Italy and Canada due to "unprecedented demand and limited inventory," the company said on Monday at CES 2026. There's no new date for the expansion that was originally set for early 2026. "We'll continue to focus on fulfilling orders in the US while we re-evaluate our approach to international availability," Meta wrote on its blog. Since Meta's display glasses first went on sale, acquiring them has been a challenge. They're not available online and can only be found in a limited number of retail outlets including select Ray-Ban, Sunglass Hut, LensCrafters and Best Buy locations in the United States. To buy them, you need to book an appointment for a demo at one those stores via Meta's website. Ahead of launch, Meta said it saw "strong" demand for demos with locations booked ahead for several weeks. There was optimism that availability would increase as the company expected buying options to "expand" the longer they were on sale. However, with the delay of the planned international launch, it appears that the company still has a mismatch between supply and demand. Meta's $799 Ray-Ban Display glasses are its first to incorporate a heads-up display and are also equipped with a camera, stereo speakers, six microphones, WiFi 6 and a finger tracking Neural Band controller. In her review, Engadget's senior reporter Karissa Bell noted that the Ray-Ban display "enables wearers to do much more than what's currently possible with [other] Ray-Ban or Oakley models" provided you don't mind the look of the chunky, chunky frames. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-has-delayed-the-international-rollout-of-its-display-glasses-120056833.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
Meta has been experimenting with EMG technology for years. In 2025, the company commercialized it for the first time in its Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, which users control via a dedicated neural band that is able to interpret subtle muscle movements in the wrist.Now, at CES 2026, the company is offering its first look at how its neural band could be used to control devices outside of its smart glasses lineup. Meta has teamed up with Garmin, as well as a handful of research partners, to explore some intriguing use cases for its wrist-based controller.The social media company has previously worked with Garmin on fitness integrations for its glasses. But at CES, the companies were showing off a very early demo of how Meta's neural band inside of a car to control the built-in infotainment system. The experience is part of Garmin's "Unified Cabin" concept, which explores a bunch of AI-centric in-car experiences. The demo I tried was fairly limited: while wearing a neural band, I was able to navigate two apps on a touchscreen display in Garmin's cockpit setup. In one, I used pinch and swipe gestures to manipulate an onscreen model of a car, much like how I would use the band to zoom in and out of an image while wearing the display glasses. The second demo, somewhat bizarrely, was a game of 2048. I used the same swipe gestures to move the tiles around. Neither of those are the kinds of experiences you immediately think of when you imagine "in-car entertainment," but Garmin, which works with a number of major car brands on infotainment systems, seems to be thinking about some more practical use cases too. The company told me that it will explore using the neural band to control vehicle functions like rolling down windows or unlocking doors. Elsewhere, Meta also announced a research collaboration with the University of Utah that will explore how its EMG tech can be used to help people who have ALS, muscular dystrophy and other conditions that affect the use of their hands.Researchers will work with Meta to test gestures that could enable people to control smart speakers, blinds, thermostats, locks and other household devices using the neural band. "Meta Neural Band is sensitive enough to detect subtle muscle activity in the wrist even for people who cant move their hands," the company explains in a blog post. Researchers will also look at using the band for mobility use cases, like the University of Utah's TetraSki program, which currently uses a joystick or mouth-based controller to help participants ski. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/metas-emg-wristband-is-moving-beyond-its-ar-glasses-120000503.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
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