Software
* Key Takeaways: * Google’s Phone app beta (v204.0.852029473) includes a new "My Calling Card" feature. * Users can set a personal call screen image, font, size, and color, and choose visibility (Everyone or Contacts). * If a contact has already set a calling card for you, that card
Gadgets
* Key Takeaways: * Apple plans to adopt Samsung’s CoE (Color Filter on Encapsulation) OLED in its foldable iPhone, promising a thinner display stack and higher brightness. * CoE removes the traditional polarizing film by applying color filters directly to the OLED encapsulation, improving light efficiency. * The iPhone Fold could arrive as
AI
• Larian Studios will not use generative AI for any concept art in the upcoming Divinity game. • CEO Swen Vincke clarified the change in a Reddit AMA after earlier comments that caused confusion. • The studio will still experiment with generative AI internally to speed workflows, but any in-game assets would be
AI
* Google is rolling Gemini AI features directly into Gmail for more AI-driven overviews and composing assistance. * The change is being pushed broadly but users retain the ability to disable Gemini features in Gmail settings. * The integration was reported by The Register (Brandon Vigliarolo) on Jan 8, 2026; Google’s rollout
Gadgets
• Robot vacuums that climb stairs and laptops that expand into 23.8" monitors. • A toilet-mounted computer analyzing bowel data and menstrual pads with microfluidics. • Companion robots with removable memory, electric color-changing nails and overclocked pleasure tech. Standout oddities at CES 2026 Dreame Cyber X robot vacuum Dreame’s Cyber
AI
* Key Takeaways: * Google’s Danny Sullivan warns creators not to fragment content into “bite-sized chunks” to game LLM rankings. * He told Search Off the Record engineers and listeners that this approach may work short-term but won’t endure. * The advice: write for users, not for specific ranking systems; systems will
Research
* Key takeaways: * NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman says he has "full confidence" in Orion’s heat shield for Artemis II after a half-day review with engineers and outside experts. * Engineers traced the Artemis I char-loss issue to trapped gases in non‑permeable Avcoat and validated fixes through arc‑jet
Research
• $1 million Navier‑Stokes prize remains unclaimed; researchers instead hunt simpler models. • Physics‑informed neural networks (PINNs) uncovered multiple new singularity candidates, many unstable. • Teams including Tristan Buckmaster, Javier Gómez‑Serrano and Google DeepMind produced high‑precision approximate solutions in Euler, porous‑medium and CCF models. • Candidates are unproven but
AR/VR
* Key takeaways: Even Realities' Even G2 smart glasses feel and look like ordinary frames while packing AI features like Conversate, Translate, and Navigate. * Lightweight design with discreet touch pads, optional prescription lenses, and a clip-on sunglass adapter; carrying case doubles as a wireless charger. * Controls are simple: double tap
Gadgets
* Key Takeaways: * IXI’s prototype glasses use cameraless infrared eye tracking and liquid‑crystal lenses to automatically switch prescriptions. * The system consumes around 4 milliwatts and uses battery cells similar in size to AirPods for a full day’s use. * Lenses integrate with existing prescriptions (including astigmatism correction) and still
Games
* Xbox will host a Developer Direct in January that highlights several first-party and partner projects. * Confirmed showcases include Forza Horizon 6, the Fable reboot, and Game Freak's Beast of Reincarnation. * Each title is listed for 2026 releases across PC and Xbox Series X/S; console specifics vary by
Games
* Avowed will launch on PS5 on Feb. 17, Obsidian confirmed. * The PS5 release coincides with a free anniversary update adding New Game Plus, Photo Mode, new races, a weapon type, and more. * Pre-orders for the PlayStation version go live today; the update is free for existing owners on other platforms.
