The classic real-time strategy franchise Command & Conquer has been largely neglected by its caretaker EA in recent years, but modders have used open-source tools like OpenRA to carry the torch for almost a decade, regularly patching and improving the original Command & Conquer and its sequel Red Alert with new quality-of-life features. In some cases, dedicated fans have even managed to use the engine behind the games to make something unique. One such mod, Combined Arms, a project which has been in development for almost four years, recently received a new update from developer Inqubi, and has enough content to be considered an original entry in the C&C franchise.The full list of changes and additions is too massive to summarize here, but Combined Arms features all five factions from across the Command & Conquer franchise, each with their own sub-factions, which have unqiue powers, units, upgrades, and other bonuses. For instance, playing as the USA sub-faction for the Allies grants you enhanced airborne capabilities, while the Psi-Corps for the Soviets gives you access to mind-control units.The mod utilizes some content from the original Command & Conquer and Red Alert, but also folds in assets from Red Alert 2 and Tiberium Wars, while pairing them with a wealth of new sprites all rendered in the original, chunky C&C style.Combined Arms 34-mission campaign summarizes plot points that bridge the timelines of various C&C titles. In a similar spirit, Combined Arms also features nine new tracks that mash-up the original songs from series composer Frank Klepacki.Unfortunately, Combined Arms lacks some of the polish that came packaged with the Command & Conquer Remastered Collection back in 2020, but it showcases many of the quality-of-life improvements the OpenRA engine has added to the base game, including new accessibility options, ultrawide monitor support, build queues, and more.At the time of writing, Combined Arms is the fourth most popular mod on Moddb, and after trying it myself, Id encourage any Command & Conquer fan or RTS aficionado to give it a go. The mod is available as a self-contained download. Just download and install the package from Moddb.

With 2025 promising a number of highly anticipated releases, the second edition of Paizos flagship sci-fi setting Starfinder is among the most exciting new additions to the tabletop landscape. Polygon recently sent some questions to Starfinders senior developer Jenny Jarzabski to learn how this new iteration of the game will distinguish itself in a crowded year and what major updates players should expect.This interview has been edited for length.Polygon: In a year of big releases, how do you design a cover that distinguishes its unique identity while maintaining a sense of familiarity?Jenny Jarzabski: The Starfinder team collaborated with Kent Hamilton, Paizo concept artist, to create an iconic illustration showcasing how fantasy and sci-fi elements harmonize in Starfinders high-tech, magical hyperspace-traveling setting. What could be more iconic than an adventuring party battling a dragon? For the dreadful foe we chose the laser-eyed Akashic dragon, a new creature designed for Starfinder Second Edition. For the battles setting we selected a futuristic museum full of artifacts from the era of Paizos other game, Pathfinder. Theres even a few easter eggs that longtime Pathfinder players might recognize!With a universe as expansive as Starfinders, how do you keep a cohesive identity and vision through the larger art direction?One of the best things about collaborating with real people (and not generating images using a computer program, for instance) is that they always bring their own personal style and perspective to an art piece. Every illustration you see in a Paizo book is a collaboration, which is part of why its so good!The characters fighting that Akashic dragon on the Player Core cover are our iconic characters. All of them have their own names, backgrounds, and personalities. All the art youll see features situations that can happen in the game, whether its Zemir the iconic witchwarper casting a reality-shattering spell or iconic soldier Obozaya making it rain bullets on a pack of laser wolves. Hopefully those scenes inspire players and give GMs a piece of art they can show off at a key moment in the campaign.What major updates should we be expecting from these new books, both for players and GMs? Was there a guiding philosophy for you when shepherding these new editions into existence?Starfinder is now fully compatible with Pathfinder Second Edition, meaning if you already know how to play one game, you just need to learn about the new ancestries, classes, gear, and other options (like computers and starships) to play the other. You can even mix and match them if you want, creating an epic time traveling campaign or your own magnificent world of magitech.The teams philosophy is to streamline Starfinders rules for new players who enjoy playing PF2, while keeping the essence of Starfinder alive. The rules are changing (and you can get a sneak peek at those changes at www.starfinderplaytest.com), but weve followed a different approach to Starfinders setting. We are some of Starfinders most avid players, so preserving the original lore is important to us as stewards of the setting. The goal is to keep First Edition books like Pact Worlds and Near Space relevant in Second Edition while updating the galaxy to reflect big events like the Drift Crisis. Starfinder first launched in 2017 and a lot[has] happened in-game [since]. Adventurers have saved worlds, elder gods have hatched from planets, rebels won their independence, and galactic war broke out in an unexpected place. Galaxy Guide is your primer for all these exciting changes and more.

Valve started selling refurbished models of its Steam Deck OLED handheld last month, but quickly went out of stock. If you missed your chance to save over $100 on a Steam Deck OLED, refurbished models of Valves handheld are currently back in stock, but only while supplies last. The refurbished 1TB model of the Steam Deck OLED is available for $519 ($130 less than a new model), while the refurbished 512GB model is available for $439 ($100 less than a new one). This is an easy way to save on the sticker price of the Steam Deck OLED, but only if you move quickly. Stocks for refurbished models are limited, and theres really no telling when more will become available, as each refurbished model undergoes the same testing and inspection process as new units.The Steam Deck OLED represents a substantial upgrade over the original LCD model. In addition to a modest improvement to the processor, the OLED is also equipped with a larger battery and a slightly bigger OLED display thats not only more power-efficient but is also capable of a 90Hz refresh rate.While weve never inspected a refurbished Steam Deck first-hand, according to Valves FAQ, there is no functional difference between a refurbished unit and a factory mint model. Thankfully, refurbished Steam Decks are entitled to the same warranty as new models. If there is ever an issue with your refurbished model that cant be resolved within a year of purchase, it will be replaced free of charge with another refurbished Steam Deck OLED.

Decluttering is its own kind of an art form. You have to do it consistently enough that it becomes a habit, and you'll have greater success if you subscribe to a particular decluttering approach or technique that helps you constantly evaluate the things you have, determine whether you need to hold onto them, and if so, where you'll put them.Before you can get organized for the long term, though, you need a place to start. I recommend starting off the new year by giving your whole home a once-over using the decluttering checklist below. Your New Year decluttering checklistTrue decluttering is a process that takes place over weeks or months. You need to build a habit of getting rid of what no longer serves you and constantly organizing what you choose to keep. But before any of that happens, you may be faced with an overabundance of junk that makes it difficult to know where to start. It's worth setting aside some time to do a broad sweep, focusing on some key areas. As you begin, toss or donate anything in these categories:Get rid of anything defective, malfunctioning, or outdated. This includes broken things you swore you'd get around to fixing as well as odds and ends like random device chargers and cords clogging the junk drawer. If you haven't used that old MacBook charger since 2011, you probably won't need it again.Get rid of any duplicates. Consider redundant kitchen utensils, that tote bag stuffed with tote bags, or anything else that can be consolidated.Toss anything expired, from spices to makeup to gift cards, and trust that if you ever need that exact thing again, you can get a fresh one.Donate any clothing or linens you haven't worn or used in recent memory. Toss any old paperwork or documents you find, from holiday cards to years-old bank statements. Take pictures of anything essential first, or store them in your filing cabinet. (You still keep a physical filing cabinet, right? You should.)Throw out or donate anything mismatched, like a mug that's missing its saucer or a sock missing a mate. You might find it later, but it's probably not worth keeping around until you do.Donate any single-purpose items you don't use, like art supplies, sporting goods, or kitchen tools.These all might seem like common sense, but this is also the kind of stuff we all tend to keep, and it's what makes up the clutter in our homes. Next, find your personal decluttering methodA lot of decluttering techniques encourage easing into the process, debating over what you need and whether it sparks joy. I don't necessarily believe that's helpful, since it gives you a little too much room to make excuses about why you "need" to hold onto something you don't actually need, and I am especially against it if you've made decluttering your new year's resolution.There is no better time than the start of a new year to commit to making quick, objective decisions about what stays and what goes. Capitalize on those "new year, new you" vibes by being decisive and freeing yourself from what no longer serves you. That said, after your initial sweep, you need to turn decluttering into a habit, and the easiest way is to find a method that works for you. In honor of the new year, I advocate establishing a "one in, one out" mindset. Resolve that for everything you buy, you'll throw out one (or more) similar items. I had great luck last year adopting this philosophy with my wardrobe: When I wanted something new, I listed its corresponding peer in my existing collection for sale, then only allowed myself to buy the new thing once the old one had sold (as a bonus, this was like getting a discount on the new item too). Doing this kept me from collecting an overabundance of sweaters, handbags, and shoes, kept my look fresh, and allowed me to share some cherished but no longer wanted pieces with others. You don't have to sell the things you get rid of, but do commit to not rebuying things you already have. Otherwise, you'll find yourself right back where you started this time next year.

We may earn a commission from links on this page.I own way too much stuff, but I'm always working on decluttering and streamlining what I have. Ironically, my quest to organize the items I do decide to keep often entails buying something newand one recent purchase has been truly beneficial. It's time to talk about how tiered storage has changed my organizing life.How I use tiered storage to organize everythingI've previous written about how much I love acrylic organizers for storing stuff like makeup, since they keep all the tiny objects in order and easy to reach. I've ordered so many of them, my shopping apps have picked up on my proclivities, and a few weeks ago, one of them offered up something different: tiered, acrylic mini-shelving units. The algorithm always knows what I want, even before I do, and it wasn't wrong this time. I dutifully added to cart. When the little units came, I set about reorganizing my perfume shelf to test them out. I ended up loving the resultand buying more. Now, I can see everything in my cabinet without taking anything out, and reach in without knocking anything over. Credit: Lindsey Ellefson What I really like about tiered storage shelvesand why I believe you should add some of your ownis that they helps me follow the Organizational Triangle rules I'm always writing about. Specifically, the rules advise that all similar items must be stored together, and everything must have a place. Typically that means using containers to group items into categories. That works fine in some cases, but for oft-used but varied things like makeup, perfume, and accessories, I like to be able to see what I have while I'm getting ready. Yanking open a storage container and rifling through it is less than ideal. Tiered storage not only allows me to keep everything out on a shelf and grouped together, but makes them easy to see and access. Prior to picking these little stacked shelves up, I had a lot of perfumes lined up precariously on small boxes to create my own tiered effect. It wasn't exactly a stable setup, and it resulted in me breaking a beloved, nowhere-near-empty bottle of Glossier You. (RIP.) These sturdier, use-specific shelves will prevent me from making that mistake again. My favorite tiered storage ideasI used my first round of tiered organizers to manage the delicate glass bottles of my perfume collection, but there are a lot of uses you can put these to. They're great for organizing spices in a cabinet, displaying sentimental items or collections of knick-knacks, managing office supplies littering a desk, or even storing condiments in the fridge. Anything that you have an abundance of and don't want to rifle through when you only need to grab one is a candidate for tiered storage. Because they make use of otherwise-wasted vertical space, these shelves provide better organization in a relatively small footprint, so feel free to get creative.Another advantage of tiered shelving is that it's generally not very expensive. Consider this three-tiered riser stand for $6.99: HENABLE Large Acrylic Display Risers $6.99 at Amazon $8.73 Save $1.74 Shop Now Shop Now $6.99 at Amazon $8.73 Save $1.74 You can get one with four tiers for $12.99. If you want something more stylish than clear acrylic, you have loads of options: Round, black, circular platforms arranged in a tiered circle with storage space for larger items in the middle ($16.90)A wooden, four-tiered stand that would look perfect in a kitchen ($16.99)A decorative, artistic stand with three tiered platforms ($14.99)A clear and black acrylic stand with circular levels to add some dimension (two for $22.99)Whatever you choose, you'll definitely appreciate being able to actually see (and use) al the stuff you've bought to put on them.

Meta might not be the first company that comes to mind when you think of generative AI, but they are a big part of the current artificial intelligence race. The company has its own AI model, Llama, has added "Meta AI" to all of its big productswhether you like it or not (you don't). Meta even wants you to try making your own AI bot. It's safe to say the company is all-in on AI.But even for a company so committed to AI, this latest story is simply bizarre. It turns out the company has been experimenting with AI-generated user accounts on its platforms since 2023. The Instagram versions of these pages are currently going viral, but they're also available on Facebook. The accounts are verified, and each is equipped with a unique personality, but they're completely fraudulent. Each is entirely made up, with posts of AI-generated images. It's all very weird, but also not all that newthe profiles were created more than a year ago, and appear to have largely been abandoned. And now that the profiles are getting a lot of online backlash, Meta is actively deleting their content.Meta's AI users are an off-putting bunchIt's not hard to see why the internet has embraced hating these fake people. Take "Liv" (username "himamaliv"), who purports to be a "proud Black queer momma of 2 & truth-teller." Liv is, of course, not real, nor is the life she posts about on her Instagram. But that doesn't stop Liv: The creator has posts about raising strong girls, ice skating with her family, and "soaking up all the sun and fun" with "the kiddos." Each post sports a corresponding imagethe beach post shows children playing in the sand, while the ice skating post shows skaters on an ice rinkbut all of these images are AI generated. To Meta's credit, each picture sports a Meta AI watermark to denote the image isn't actually real, but it doesn't make these posts any less creepy. Why is an AI-generated "mother" posting an AI-generated image of her "kids" playing at the "beach?" Who benefitted from the AI-generated coat drive she is proud to have spearheaded? Credit: Jake Peterson In her second oldest post, from Sept. 26, 2023, she says "My backyard is my happy place...I've thrown so many birthday parties, cookouts, and girls nights in this space that I've lost count. Forever grateful for the life I live," complete with an AI-generated image of a picnic spread. The thing is, Liv has not thrown birthday parties, cookouts, or girls nights in this space. This space doesn't exist. The life Liv is so grateful to live doesn't exist. Liv is following 18 accounts at the time of writing. Thirteen of them appear to be similar AI-generated pages. For example, there's Becca (dogloverbecca), who posts AI-generated dog content; Brian (hellograndpabiran), who advertises himself as "everybody's grandpa;" and Alvin the Alien (greetingsalvin), who is, um, an alien. But not all the posts are AI-generated. Some of them have videos posted to their accounts as well, and while AI-generated video can certainly be convincing these days, I don't think these videos are AI generatedat least, not all of them. Carter, the AI dating coach, had a cooking video from January 2024 that appeared very much to be real, but it seems Meta nuked all the content. Still, who posted them? To what end? These accounts are not new, but are newly going viralThe oddest thing is, these posts and pages are not new. Liv's latest post, for example, is from March 8, 2024, as are most of the posts from these AI bots. (Carter appears to have posted as recently as June.) For the most part, their profiles are abandoned, although verification badges are still affixed to each. That said, as I'm writing this, Meta appears to be deleting the content on each of the Instagram pages. The Facebook counterparts appear to still be live, but I imagine they'll be gone soon, too. Credit: Jake Peterson The pages are actually tied to AI chatbots Meta developed back in 2023, when it was really kicking its AI programs into gear. The headlines then focused mostly a roster of celebrity AI chatbots, which let you chat with "TomBrady," "Kendall Jenner," and "Paris Hilton." But among these list of non-celebrity chatbots Meta rolled out were names like Liv, Brian, and Alvin the Alien. You can still chat with them if you like: visit Liv's profile, and you can start up a conversation. But just like with any other AI chatbot, you probably won't get very far. It's not totally clear why these accounts are going viral now, a year and a half after Meta initially rolled them out. If I had to guess, I'd say it's because they really are that bad. The accounts are weird, and there are so many layers to their weirdness: The personalities Meta developed are off-putting (and borderline offensive); the posts themselves are creepy (who wants to see AI photos of fake people's kids, complete with a story about their day at the beach?); and the fact that they're verified defeats the purpose of verification altogether. In short, the accounts might be from 2023, but they reflect a raging resentment of AI slop in 2025. As Jason Koebler of 404media writes on Bluesky: The currently viral Meta AI profiles are old and are already inactive because they were such a colossal failure and were indistinguishable from AI spam. This 'inevitable' future Zuckerberg is trying to shove down our throats is being completely rejectedwww.404media.co/metas-ai-pro...[image or embed] Jason Koebler (@jasonkoebler.bsky.social) January 3, 2025 at 12:12 PM

SonyBe it for the Walkman portables and Trinitron TVs of old or the PlayStation consoles, Alpha cameras and superlative headphones of the twenty-first century, Sony has long been a mainstay at CES. But for the past couple of years at the world's biggest electronics trade show, Sony has opted to focus on a different field: Automotive. The Afeela electric vehicle dominated Sony's 2023 and 2024 CES press conferences, and we know that trend will continue for 2025, with an appearance at the Sony event (and a followup press conference) already confirmed.What to expect at Sony's CES 2025 press conferenceThe Afeela is the first product from Sony Honda Mobility, a joint venture between the Japanese electronics and transportation giants. After a surprise rollout at CES 2023, the Sony CES presser teed up additional details on the EV's LiDAR-heavy sensor array and AI-enhanced cabin tech (the latter coming with an assist from Microsoft) at CES 2024. If the car's previously announced scheduling waypoints preorders in 2025 ahead of 2026 availability remain intact, we're hoping to hear which of the Afeela's concept car niceties will actually make the cut once it enters the streets of the real world.Of course, it won't be all Afeela all the time in Vegas. Expect Sony to spend time talking up its imaging, gaming or maybe even its movie studio division. And with any luck, we'll get more info on the company's XR headset, which was shown off at the 2024 show, only to never be seen again. CES 2025 would be the perfect place to show off a meaty update of a possible competitor to the Apple Vision Pro.Sony's CES 2025 livestreamYou can watch the Sony CES press conference as it happens below. The feed will start Monday, January 6 at 8:00PM ET.The separate Afeela press conference will take place on Tuesday, January 7 at 4:30PM PT, and will be streamed on YouTube as well.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/sony-ces-2025-press-conference-watch-it-here-monday-at-8pm-et-212207358.html?src=rss

Meta has nuked a bunch of its AI-generated profiles from Facebook Instagram, the company confirmed, after the AI characters prompted widespread outrage and ridicule from users on social media.The AI-generated profiles, which were labeled as AI managed by Meta, launched in September of 2023, rolling out alongside the companys celebrity-branded AI chatbots (also discontinued). Meta doesnt seem to have updated any of these profiles for several months, and the pages seem to have been largely unnoticed until this week, following an interview published by the Financial Times with Metas VP of Generative AI, Connor Hayes.In the interview, Hayes spoke about the companys goal to eventually fill its services with AI-generated profiles that can interact with people and function kind of in the same way that accounts do. Those comments brought attention to the extant fMeta-created AI profiles and, well, users were not exactly impressed with what they found.With handles like hellograndpabrian, a supposed retired textile businessman who is always learning and datingwithCarter, an AI dating coach, the chatbots were meant to showcase unique interests and personalities for users to chat with. On Instagram, their profiles also featured AI-generated posts that, as 404 Media noted, looked a lot like the AI spam thats become prevalent in many corners of Facebook.MetaAn AI persona called Liv sparked particular outrage. The Instagram profile identified Liv as a proud Black queer momma of 2 & truth-teller. Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah posted a series of screenshots in which she interrogated Liv about how Meta trained the AI, with Liv sharing that it was created by a predominantly white team. Independent journalist Mady Castigan posted another conversation in which Liv said that its creators had been inspired in part by Sophia Vergaras character from Modern Family, a character that is neither queer nor Black.There is confusion: the recent Financial Times article was about our vision for AI characters existing on our platforms over time, not announcing any new product, a spokesperson told Engadget. The accounts referenced are from a test we launched at Connect in 2023. These were managed by humans and were part of an early experiment we did with AI characters."Beyond sparking ridicule for their responses and attempts to appropriate marginalized identities, users found the AI profiles were impossible to block, for reasons unknown. Rather than fix the issue, Meta's solution was to kill the experiment entirely. "We identified the bug that was impacting the ability for people to block those AIs," a spokesperson said, "and are removing those accounts to fix the issue.While this trial run has gone up in flames, the company doesnt seem to be abandoning its plans to bring more AI-generated characters to its apps. Earlier this year, the company teased AI clones of human creators capable of holding lifelike video calls. Creators can already train their own chatbots to respond to followers on their behalf. Meta also began experimenting with inserting its own AI-generated imagery into users Facebook feeds.In an interview last year, Hayes told me that Meta likely will become more proactive about surfacing AI-generated content over time, comparing it to the shift from showing recommended content instead of posts from people you follow.In the beginning of social apps the corpus of stuff that you could see on a given day was sort of constrained by who you followed or were friends with. And over the last like, five or six years, a lot of apps ourselves included have moved to, you know, relax that constraint and start recommending content from accounts you don't follow.I think probably the next leap that's going to happen there is relaxing the constraint of what humans can create, and actually getting to feeds of content that are a combination of things that, you know, humans have created, but also that are entirely machine generated.It may still be awhile before Meta fully realizes that vision. But if the reaction to its early experimentations is any indication, the company still has a lot of work to do to convince people AI personas are worth interacting with in the first place.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-sends-its-ai-generated-profiles-to-hell-where-they-belong-204758789.html?src=rss

Time to get into the habit of writing "2025" instead of 2024, and the year may have just begun, but the Engadget team is already working hard for CES 2025. This weekend, many from the Engadget team will be flying to Las Vegas, where well be covering techs biggest annual conference. We've scoured our bursting inboxes, full of pitches from companies that are planning to be there, and meticulously filled out copious spreadsheets with upcoming launches and appointments for briefings and demos.Based on our experience, as well as observation of recent industry trends, its fairly easy to make educated predictions about what we might see in a few days. Over the years, the focus of the conference has spanned areas like TVs, cars, smart home products and personal health, with a smattering of laptops and accessories thrown in. At CES 2025, we expect to see AI get even more pervasive in all areas of the show floor. But we are also likely to get the usual slew of new processors and subsequent laptops, as well as all manner of wearables, trackers, bathroom appliances and massage chairs. Oh, the massage chairs.What we already know is comingThere's already a lot we know is coming, just by a cursory glance at the lineup published by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). In addition to numerous panels and talks, there will be keynotes by NVIDIA's founder and CEO Jensen Huang, Delta CEO Ed Bastian as well as C-suite executives from companies like Panasonic, SiriusXM, Waymo and Volvo group. We've also seen that Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X (Twitter), will be interviewed by journalist Catherine Herridge at a keynote on January 7, while Snap CEO Evan Spiegel will be speaking about the "future goals of the platform" on January 8.Some companies didn't even wait till January to make their news known. LG, for example, continues its annual tradition of sharing its upcoming CES launches weeks ahead of the show by unveiling the 2025 refresh for its QNED evo line of LCD TVs. The company has continued to release more information, including announcing its 45-inch UltraGear bendable OLED gaming monitor alongside a line of curved OLED screens.In fact, here's a little list of all the other CES 2025 things LG has already shared so far:LGs new projector looks like a stand fanLG updates its Gram laptop line ahead of CES 2025LG slapped a 27-inch touchscreen on its latest microwaveHyundai Mobis, meanwhile, has said it will be giving us a look at its "Holographic Windshield Display," something it's claiming is a world's first. Hyundai Mobis even shared a picture of what its booth at CES 2025 will look like, in case pictures of convention center booths get you excited.Hyundai MobisIf youre already looking ahead to 2025 and are studiously researching what might be coming in January, heres a taste of what our team expects to see at the show.New video cards from AMD and NVIDIATheres no doubt 2025 is going to be a momentous year for PC gamers. NVIDIA is expected to debut its long-awaited RTX 5000 video cards at CES, while AMD CEO Lisa Su has confirmed well see next-generation RDNA 4 GPUs early next year. Of the two companies, AMD could use the upgrade more. Its last batch of Radeon 7000 cards were decent mid-range performers, but they lagged far behind NVIDIAs hardware when it came to ray tracing, and AMDs FSR 3 upscaling also couldnt compete with NVIDIAs AI-powered DLSS 3."In addition to a strong increase in gaming performance, RDNA 4 delivers significantly higher ray-tracing performance and adds new AI capabilities, AMD CEO Lisa Su said in an October earnings call.As for NVIDIAs new hardware, a rumor from the leaker OneRaichu (via DigitalTrends) suggested that the RTX 5090 could be up to 70 percent faster than the RTX 4090. (Thats a GPU that I previously described as having unholy power.) They also note that other high level cards could see 30 to 40 percent performance bumps. Those gains might be enough to tempt wealthy RTX 4090 owners to upgrade, but RTX 4070 and 4080 owners might want to skip this generation. For NVIDIA holdouts with RTX 3000 and earlier GPUs, though, next year may be the perfect time to upgrade. Devindra Hardawar, senior reporterAI PCs round 2Last year, I predicted that AI PCs would dominate CES, and that mostly turned out to be true. As 2024 rolled on, we saw even more powerful NPUs in chips from Intel, AMD and Qualcomm. Microsoft also doubled down on AI PCs with its Copilot+ initiative, which gave a big marketing push for artificial intelligence features and premium specifications (like having at least 16GB of RAM).Expect more of the same going into CES 2025, alongside even more AI being stuffed into every category of product imaginable. This year, in particular, PC makers are likely to gear up to take advantage of Windows 10 support ending next year. Instead of just upgrading your old computer to Windows 11, the likes of Dell and HP would rather you buy a whole new AI PC with the new OS pre-installed.While 2024 was a year of endless AI PC hype, 2025 might end up being a year of reckoning. Microsofts long-delayed Recall feature is slowly trickling out to more users, but its already showing some glaring security holes, like failing to scrub social security and credit card numbers from screenshots. Weve also been mostly underwhelmed with Apple Intelligences image generation capabilities. PC makers have been eager to talk up the potential of AI-powered features until now, but in 2025 theyll have to actually prove they can live up to their fantastical claims. D.H.Earbuds that follow Apples lead on hearing healthIm fully aware not every audio company has the ability to build out a clinical-grade hearing test and hearing aid features in their apps. However, Apples recent update for the AirPods Pro 2 should inspire the competition to offer some form of hearing health tools on their flagship products. Jabra was probably the best equipped to do this since parent company GN has extensive hearing aid experience. Sadly, the company announced earlier this year that it wouldnt make earbuds anymore.Samsung and Google could probably integrate something like what Apple made for the AirPods, given both companies existing health platforms. If they did, those announcements are unlikely to be made at CES, as both companies prefer to host their own standalone hardware events throughout the year.That leaves Sennheiser as the biggest audio company that consistently launches earbuds and headphones at CES. Last year, it showcased multiple new models, including one with heart-rate tracking for workouts. Plus, it already offers hearing assistance with dedicated devices like the true wireless Conversation Clear Plus. Those earbuds are more hearing focused than for general content consumption, so it would be great to see Sennheiser bring some features from that product to its flagship Momentum line of earbuds. Perhaps a Momentum True Wireless 4 Pro or Plus is in the cards, but the current model is just nine months old.Of course, theres plenty of room for other companies to innovate here, and there will be no shortage of new earbuds in Vegas next month. We also tend to see a ton of assistive devices and technology launch at CES, from major accessibility companies like OrCam and all manner of smaller brands. I just hope some of the new tech includes more general hearing tools on the models most people will want to use. Billy Steele, senior editorVehicle electrification goes sky highAs the growth of electric cars nears 10 percent of new models sold in the US, its easy to forget that wheeled vehicles arent the only kind of transportation seeing the shift to battery-powered propulsion. Flying taxis have been a mainstay of CES for the past few years, with concept vehicles from brands as large as Hyundai dotting the show floor in Vegas.Granted, these contraptions look more like giant drones with cockpits than anything the Jetsons ever dreamed up. But with companies like Archer Aviation and Joby Aviation pledging to actually launch eVTOL services (electric vertical take-off and landing) in 2025, the era of air taxis may have landed for real this time. Sam Rutherford, senior reporterTurning more phones into satellite phonesSince Apple introduced Emergency SOS via Satellite on the iPhone 14 in 2022, we've seen a serious uptick in development in satellite communications. Not only did Apple expand its feature to allow for non-emergency communications, component makers like Qualcomm, too, tried to bring similar capabilities to Android devices. Snapdragon Satellite was announced at CES 2023, as a project between Qualcomm and Iridium, but the initiative did not gain popularity with smartphone companies, and was ultimately ended in November that same year.Since then, Google launched satellite calling in Pixel 9 phones, while SpaceX's Starlink satellite texting service has gone live in New Zealand via telco One NZ. In the US, T-Mobile opened up beta signups for its Starlink-powered satellite cell service this year. The skies are getting more crowded, too, with AT&T and partner AST SpaceMobile launching five satellites in September, as well as Amazon's Project Kuiper looking to boost its satellite internet network with space lasers.This year, Garmin launched the inReach Messenger Plus, which it describes as an "SOS Satellite Communicator with Photo and Voice messaging." Though satellite hotspots like that have been around for years from companies like Iridium and GlobalSat, they've historically cost $800 to $1,000, and haven't had the ability to send much more than a few lines of text. Garmin's product may be an indicator of things to come not only are we likely to see major phone makers embed satellite communication capability into future handsets, but in the interim we're probably going to get a bunch of hotspots so we'll never lose connectivity, not matter how far off the grid we get. And I wouldn't be surprised if CES 2025 is rife with devices that let us tap into satellites to get help and talk to others. Cherlynn Low, deputy editorExpanded dialog improvement features on soundbarsWhen it comes to the main aspects of soundbars, there really isnt a ton of innovation from year to year. Heck, Samsungs biggest update last year was the addition of HDMI 2.1 support to its flagship model, which shouldve been there already. Companies have also been focused on the transition to cable-free everything, whether thats wireless Dolby Atmos or wireless transmission boxes. Audio enhancement features are a place where companies can really rise above the fray, and tools like Sonos TV Audio Swap and Boses Personal Surround Sound are great examples of this. A key area nearly every company can improve is dialog boost, a feature that raises the volume or separates spoken word from background noise and music for better clarity.Sonos made a huge leap in this regard on the Arc Ultra, offering two additional settings for its so-called Speech Enhancement. Previously, this was just an all-or-nothing toggle, which is how most companies handle their versions of this tool. Not only is the Sonos update customizable to a degree, its also just better, thanks in part to the redesigned architecture of its new premium soundbar. This is an obvious area where other companies can improve.LG and Samsung typically announce new soundbars at CES, and there are plenty of smaller companies that will debut some too. Id love to see all of them take dialog enhancements a step further and at the very least give multiple options for how its applied. LG has been using AI Sound Pro from its TVs since 2021 and Samsung offers something called Adaptive Sound on its home theater speakers. I would expect them both to generally improve the quality of their features, but Im hoping theyll expand the capabilities too. B.S.Update, December 17 2024, 12:40PM ET: This story has been updated to include the companies and CEOs that will be making keynotes at the show.Update, December 20 2024, 11:55AM ET: This story has been updated to include LG and Hyundai Mobis' announcements ahead of CES 2025.Update, December 25 2024, 10:00AM ET: This story has been updated to include a prediction about satellite communication devices being everywhere at CES 2025.Update, December 30 2024, 12:00PM ET: This story has been updated to include a section titled "What we already know is coming," that contains newer information about appearances by X CEO Linda Yaccarino and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, as well as updates on LG's UltraGear line. The intro was also updated to be more accurate about the time of year since we first published this piece.Update, January 3 2025, 3:20PM ET: This story has been updated to include a list of announcements by LG, as well as to edit the intro so it is not outdated and reflects that we have, indeed, entered a new year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ces-2025-the-new-tech-were-expecting-to-see-from-samsung-nvidia-lg-and-more-in-las-vegas-200052148.html?src=rss

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