The Z-Wave Alliance—an organization that promotes the development and use of the open-source Z-Wave standard in smart homes and smart buildings—is celebrating the growth of the standard’s latest iteration: Z-Wave Long Range (ZWLR). Earlier this week, the consortium announced the milestone of 125 Z-Wave Long Range certified devices being available on the market. While Z-Wave is not part of the Matter smart home standard, the technology offers an impressive set of features and benefits, starting with its ability to communicate directly with a Z-Wave Long Range hub over distances up to 1.5 miles (line of sight, that is). The 2GIG GCTouch touchscreen control panel supports Z-Wave Long Range.Xthings Z-Wave Long Range devices can operate on a star network, where each device communicates directly with the hub, reducing latency and simplifying network behavior. A single Z-Wave Long Range hub can support up to 4,000 network nodes on a star network, enabling much larger networks than were possible with the previous-generation technology, which is limited to 232 nodes. This factor alone renders ZWLR attractive for commercial deployments as well as in very large smart homes. And since ZWLR devices dynamically adjust their transmit power based on their distance from the hub, they exhibit much more conservative energy consumption; that’s great for battery-powered devices such as sensors and smart locks. The Alliance says sensor-type devices can operate on coin-cell batteries for as long as 10 years. Z-Wave Long Range is backward compatible ZWLR devices are also backward compatible with the earlier generation of Z-Wave products, and the two device classes can coexist and interoperate on either a star or a mesh network. This means you can mix and match old and new Z-Wave devices on the same network, whether that network’s hub is based on ZWLR or previous-generation Z-Wave technology. The Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2 bring ZWLR connectivity to smart homes operating in the DIY-oriented Home Assistant ecosystem.Xthings There are a few caveats: First, the Z-Wave hub must have a ZWLR chip to deliver all the benefits of Z-Wave Long Range. Second, regardless of which type of chip is inside the hub, ZWLR devices won’t route traffic for classic Z-Wave mesh-network devices, and classic Z-Wave devices likewise don’t participate in ZWLR star network communications. So, a classic Z-Wave device can operate on a Z-Wave star network–and a ZWLR device can operate on a Z-Wave mesh network–but non-ZWLR devices won’t deliver the same extended range that ZWLR devices can. And when you add ZWLR devices to a Z-Wave mesh network, you remain limited to the older technology’s 232-node limit (versus the 4,000-node limit on a ZWLR star network). For the typical smart home, however, 232 nodes should be more than adequate. Developer decisions While Ring has rolled out an entire new generation of smart home sensors and other devices engineered to use Amazon’s Sidewalk network, where its earlier sensors relied on  Z-Wave technology, the company isn’t rendering those older devices obsolete; they’ll continue to operate as legacy devices in home security systems based on its Ring Alarm and Ring Alarm Pro smart home hubs. The Ultraloq Bolt Z-Wave provides long-range wireless coverage (up to 1,300 feet with a ZWLR hub), one-year battery life, and support for up to 250 user codes.Xthings Other companies, including ADT, are standing by Z-Wave. The new ADT Smart Home Security System I reviewed in October 2025, for example, is engineered with Z-Wave and ZWLR, and ADT supports many third-party Z-Wave devices, including the Yale Assure Lock 2 Touch with Z-Wave 800 smart lock that I discussed in that review. Meanwhile, Silicon Labs, the fabless semiconductor manufacturer that owned the Z-Wave specification and source code (via its acquisition of Zensys, the company that invented Z-Wave), and then open-sourced it in 2019, is at CES demonstrating how developers can design for both ZWLR and Amazon Sidewalk ecosystems with a single solution; namely, the company’s ZG28 system-on-a-chip (SoC) platform. A sampling of new and recently launched ZWLR devices You can upload custom alarm sounds to the plug-in Zooz ZWLR Siren & Chime.Zooz Here are a few of the new products that support Z-Wave Long Range (you can see photos of some of these above): 2GIG GC Touch Security Panel: A ZWLR-powered smart home hub with a 7-inch touchscreen aimed at custom installers. Aeotec SmokeShield: A smoke detector for the European market that boasts wireless range of up to 1 kilometer (3,281 feet). It works with Home Assistant, LG Homey, and Samsung SmartThings smart home hubs (note that is not compatible with the SmartThings Station, which doesn’t have a Z-Wave radio). Alfred DB1 Pro Smart Door Lock: Like the Yale Assure Lock 2 Touch mentioned above, Alfred’s smart locks—including the DIY-oriented DB2S model—are equipped with sockets that can accommodate various types of radio modules, including Wi-Fi and ZWLR. Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2: A ZWLR adapter with a 12-inch antenna for adding Z-Wave devices to Home Assistant-based smart homes. Jasco Slim Door and Window Sensor: A thin contact sensor for home security that senses whether a door or window is open or closed that can withstand being installed outdoors, and the Jasco Z-Wave Long Range (800LR) In-Wall Smart Dimmer for smart lighting control. Ultraloq Bolt Z-Wave: One of the most discrete smart locks we’ve encountered, the Ultraloq Bolt Z-Wave boasts wireless range of up to 1,300 feet when paired with a ZWLR smart home hub (it’s also backward compatible with earlier Z-Wave hubs). Zooz ZWLR Siren & Chime: Users can upload custom sounds to this smart home gadget and use sensors and other triggers play them on its 90dB onboard speaker. Read...

Lenovo is the world’s largest PC maker with roughly 25 percent of the market, having stolen the title from HP near the end of the last decade. Often, companies that take the top spot mellow out and focus on tried-andtrue products, but not so with Lenovo. As it finds more success, Lenovo seems to lean more and more into the experimental—a trend I’m excited about and fully on board with. At CES 2026, Lenovo brought a number of laptops (and a desktop) with unusual features. The company added new spins on its rollable OLED laptop (still the only such laptop to hit store shelves), introduced a laptop that opens with a knock, and debuted an all-in-one desktop with a display that’s nearly square, among other things. Here are the weirdest designs I saw from Lenovo at this year’s CES and why they have me looking eagerly ahead to the future. Lenovo’s rollable OLED rolls on The Lenovo ThinkBook Rollable was the big surprise at last year’s CES, not just because it has a rollable OLED display that expands at the touch of a button, but also because it quickly became a real product you could buy (though in limited quantities, as it quickly sold out). At CES 2026, Lenovo doubled down on that laptop with not one but two new rollable OLED concepts. Lenovo ThinkPad Rollable XD at CES 2026Matt Smith / Foundry The ThinkPad Rollable XD is basically Lenovo’s next-gen ThinkBook Rollable, and it has a rad new spin on the concept. The original ThinkBook Rollable tucked the OLED panel into and out of a compartment in the keyboard. But the ThinkPad Rollable XD spins that 180 degrees so the OLED rolls around the top of the display and across the top of the display lid. When retracted, this portion of OLED panel becomes a “world facing display” that can show calendar appointments and notifications—among other things—similar to how external displays work on many folding smartphones. Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable at CES 2026Matt Smith / Foundry The other rollable Lenovo brought to CES 2026 is a gaming laptop: the Legion Pro Rollable. Here, the display rolls out horizontally in each direction. The display is a 16-inch widescreen when retracted, but can transform into a 24-inch ultrawide display when fully unfurled. A laptop must normally have a chassis at least as large as its display, but the Legion Pro Rollable defies that rule. While the two laptops have very different intents, they both show how Lenovo is experimenting with rollable designs. The ThinkPad Rollable XD concept is made possible by a new rolling mechanism stored in the display lid, not the keyboard. (It’s also visible thanks to a transparent window in the lid, which is clever.) The Legion Pro Rollable, meanwhile, expands in two directions instead of one, effectively doubling the mechanisms needed to handle the rolling action. Both also change how the OLED panel folds. Before, it made a roughly 90-degree turn as it slid beneath the keyboard. Now, the OLED panel folds 180 degrees around the top or sides of the laptop. The ThinkPad Rollable XD even uses this edge as a control surface for extending or retracting the display. While the ThinkPad Rollable XD could be considered a second-gen version of the ThinkBook Rollable, I actually think it’s the stranger of the pair. The “world facing display” and transparent mechanism are both attention grabbing but arguably impractical. (Lenovo has tried putting a display on top of the display lid before, but it never really caught on.) Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 7 Auto Twist Lenovo’s rollables are unique and weird, but the basic idea isn’t hard to understand. Big screen good. Have more screen. Happy user. But the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 7 Auto Twist? This one’s harder to explain. The Auto Twist has a hinge designed to support both tilt and rotation. That’s nothing new, as Lenovo has already sold a variety of Twist laptops, and companies like HP and Fujitsu had such designs nearly two decades ago. But the Auto Twist adds spice with a motor that can tilt and rotate the display for you. Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 7 Auto Twist at CES 2026Matt Smith / Foundry Lenovo showed off a couple examples. Knock on the lid of the laptop when it’s closed and it will automatically open. Once it’s opened, the lid can automatically follow you while you move around the room. That might be useful if you’re trying to watch a video while doing chores, for example, or it could be used to keep you in frame while you’re recording video with the laptop’s webcam. Lenovo also showed an AI assistant mode complete with cutesy animated eyes that follow you around the room. Unfortunately, the demonstration was glitchy when I tried it, as the AI assistant often failed to respond to commands and mysteriously swapped languages mid-demo. However, this isn’t merely a concept. The Auto Twist is set to release in June 2026 at $1,649. Hopefully, that will give Lenovo enough time to sand down the laptop’s rough edges. Lenovo ThinkCentre X AIO Aura Edition The Lenovo ThinkCentre X AIO Aura Edition is the answer to a question I’m sure has kept you up at night: “When is someone going to turn the LG DualUp into an all-in-one PC?” No? Just me? Okay. Seriously, though: I adore the LG DualUp display, so an all-in-one with the same type of display sounds great. Lenovo ThinkCentre X AIO Aura Edition at CES 2026Matt Smith / Foundry If you’re unfamiliar, the LG DualUp 28MQ780-B (which was first shown at CES 2022 and released later that year) has an unusual 16:18 aspect ratio, which means it’s taller than it is wide. The Lenovo ThinkCentre X AIO takes that display and pairs it with Intel Core Series 3 processors to create the most unique AIO of 2026. The Lenovo ThinkCentre X AIO also has a built-in quad-speaker setup and quad-microphone array, plus a detachable 4K webcam with physical privacy shutter, which should make the AIO great for video calls and conferences. The webcam can be used with Lenovo DeskView software to digitize documents placed in front of the PC, too. Obviously, this isn’t going to be a high-volume seller, but that’s why I like it. The ThinkCentre X AIO targets a very specific niche of home and corporate office users who need lots of vertical display space and solid built-in video conferencing. It provides something that’s one of a kind. Lenovo’s Space Frame is great, but also a missed opportunity Lenovo’s newest ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition as well as the X1 2-in-1 came to CES 2026 touting a new Space Frame chassis design. Contrary to how it may sound, it’s not meant to handle a zero-G environment (and, actually, ThinkPads have seen use on the International Space Station for years). Rather, the Space Frame creates more space for internal parts by placing them on both sides of the mainboard and also makes it easier to repair and replace components. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Aura Edition at CES 2026Matt Smith / Foundry I was excited when Lenovo made the announcement. Most ThinkPad models are already relatively easy to repair, but a more specific focus on a repairable, modular design would be outstanding. The USB ports, speakers, fans, keyboard, and other components can be swapped with relative ease. I imagined the Space Frame could be Lenovo’s answer to Framework’s highly modular, user-serviceable laptops. My enthusiasm was dampened, however, when I spoke with Lenovo reps about the design. It turns out the focus is not on user repairs but rather on field service by qualified technicians. Yes, the USB ports can be swapped out and the keyboard can be replaced, but Lenovo isn’t making those parts (or most others) available for owners to purchase for at-home replacement. The battery is the only piece meant to be user-serviceable. Replacing any other component will void the warranty. That’s a shame. And given the recent wave of interest in user-serviceable and repairable consumer electronics, it’s a missed opportunity. ThinkPad has a loyal community of tinkerers and enthusiasts who I’m sure would love to see more ways to repair and upgrade their machines. So, Lenovo, I challenge you. Sell us replacement USB ports! Lenovo’s Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition has the Force(pad) Last, but not least, is the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition with a Forcepad that’s compatible with a Lenovo stylus that includes Wacom technology. It’s basically a drawing tablet and a touchpad in one. The Yoga Pro 9i isn’t the only laptop at CES 2026 that provides a touchpad with a drawing surface. Acer’s Swift 16 AI also has this feature. However, Acer’s version doesn’t claim Wacom technology and, in my brief time trying both laptops, I felt the Yoga Pro 9i’s touchpad was far more responsive to touch input. The Swift 16 AI has a haptic touchpad with support for stylus input, but it seemed a tad floaty and disconnected compared to the Forcepad. Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition at CES 2026Matt Smith / Foundry I doubt the Forcepad will replace a Wacom tablet for professional artists, but it seems like a great option for people who want a digital drawing surface that’s easy to take on the go, or want to get familiar with the basics before splurging on a “real” drawing tablet.Importantly, adding this unusual feature doesn’t seem to have compromised the touchpad. The Forcepad is large, responsive, and worthy of a high-end Windows laptop like the Yoga Pro 9i. Users who don’t need the optional stylus input aren’t giving anything up. Lenovo’s dual-screen Yoga was absent While Lenovo came to CES 2026 with a number of weirdly excellent PCs, one model was notably absent: the dual-screen Lenovo Yoga Book 9i. The Yoga Book 9i is a dual-screen laptop. Both the top and bottom halves of the clamshell have a display. A detachable keyboard can be placed on the lower half, which converts the device into a laptop. Or the keyboard can be used on a desktop while the displays are supported by a kickstand, effectively turning the device into a small all-in-one. Asus has its own version of this idea—the Zenbook Duo—and it came to CES 2026 with a new design that has several big upgrades: a larger battery, a small gap between the two displays, and a new exterior design with the company’s unique ceraluminum material. Lenovo, however, had nothing new to say about the Yoga Book 9i, which is a shame. The first-generation Yoga Book 9i felt competitive with the Asus Zenbook Duo, but Asus’ newer iterations have swayed me towards recommending it over the Yoga Book 9i now. I’m eager to see how Lenovo plans to improve on the idea. An exciting CES for Lenovo this year I think it’s fair to say that CES 2026 might’ve been Lenovo’s biggest show yet. This wasn’t just because it brought weird laptops to the show flow. It also had a massive event at the Las Vegas Sphere that ended in a Gwen Stefani concert. No, seriously! So, it’s nice to see that even while Lenovo entrenches its lead in the PC market, it’s still willing to experiment. In fact, the company’s success seems to have emboldened its efforts, which become stranger and more aggressive with each year. And I’m okay with that. Further reading: The best of CES 2026 that blew us away Read...

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is always a big deal for consumer and gaming monitors, and 2026 was no exception. The highlights this year included a new type of Samsung QD-OLED panel with improved text clarity, which has found its way into several new monitors. That same panel technology will also bring a wave of new 34-inch ultrawide OLED monitors with a 360Hz refresh rate. That’s not all from Samsung. The company also introduced the world’s first 1,000Hz monitor (actually up to 1,040Hz). Though it’s regrettably not an OLED display, and can only achieve that at 720p resolution, it’s a sign of where monitors are going. Refresh rates are up across the board, and 120Hz is starting to look like the new 60Hz. LG also went hard, though it put an emphasis on resolution with several new 5K2K ultrawide monitors. Dell also had several huge displays, including a gigantic 52-inch Ultrasharp display with support for Thunderbolt and Ethernet. I got to see it all on the show floor and there were some clear winners among them. Here are the best monitors at CES 2026. Acer ProDesigner PE320QX: 6K resolution at a reasonable price Matt Smith / Foundry Acer came to CES 2026 with the ProDesigner PE320QX, a 31.5-inch 6K display for creative professionals and prosumers who want superb pixel density. It packs an IPS-LCD panel with 6016×3384 resolution. That works out to almost 220 pixels per inch, which is a massive upgrade over the roughly 140ppi of a 32-inch 4K display. The monitor also has excellent connectivity thanks to a USB4 port with 100 watts of power delivery. That connects to downstream USB4 with 15 watts of power delivery. Other features include dual 5-watt speakers and a proximity sensor that can dim or turn off the monitor when you step away. It’s also VESA DisplayHDR 600 certified. Acer says the monitor will retail for $1,499.99 when it arrives in North America, though it won’t hit stores until Q2 2026. Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27UCWM: Tandem OLED at 4K and 240Hz Matt Smith / Foundry The Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27UCWM is the company’s new flagship tandem OLED gaming monitor. It has a 26.5-inch tandem OLED panel with 3840×2160 resolution. It’s also a dual-mode display with support for a refresh rate up to 240Hz at 4K, or up to 480Hz at 1080p. If you’re thinking “Wait, didn’t Asus just release a tandem OLED monitor?”, you’d be right. PCWorld’s review of the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W went up right before CES 2026. That monitor sticks to 1440p resolution, however, and offers a higher refresh rate up to 540Hz at 1440p, or 720Hz at 720p. The new PG27UCWM targets lower refresh rates but offers the crystal clarity of 4K. The new PG27UCWM also offers a USB-C port with up to 90 watts of power delivery, a feature that wasn’t often found on Asus’ ROG monitors in 2025. Other features include a Neo Proximity Sensor (which can dim or turn off the display when you’re away to prevent OLED burn-in) and DisplayPort 2.1a video input. While most of the monitors on this list are wider or larger, the humble 27-inch monitor is the practical choice for many gamers. And if that’s the size of monitor you want, the PG27UCWM will be hard to beat. Pricing and availability remains to be announced. Asus ROG Swift OLED PG34WCDN: A new ultrawide with all the tricks Matt Smith / Foundry If you want a wider monitor than 27 inches, Asus has you covered with the new ROG Swift OLED PG34WCDN. It has a 34-inch ultrawide OLED panel with 3440×1440 resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 360Hz. That’s a nice bump from prior generation OLED ultrawides, which often topped out around 240Hz. That’s not all. The PG34WCDN has Samsung’s new 5th-gen QD-OLED panel with RGB Stripe. This changes the QD-OLED subpixel arrangement from its prior triangular shape to a more traditional striped arrangement (with the red, green, and blue subpixels in a row) to improve clarity of some objects and fine text—a struggle for past QD-OLED monitors. I saw the monitor first-hand and, to my eyes, it was a noticeable improvement. I didn’t see obvious color fringing around text, and while small text still wasn’t crystal-clear, that appeared to be due to the limits of 1440p resolution rather than any issue inherent to the QD-OLED panel. Like its 27-inch cousin, the PG34WCDN will have a USB-C port with 90 watts of power delivery, DisplayPort 2.1, and a Neo Proximity Sensor. This monitor’s pricing and availability remains to be announced. Dell Ultrasharp 52 Thunderbolt Hub Monitor (U5226KW): The ultimate command center Michael Crider / Foundry Dell’s Ultrasharp 52 Thunderbolt Hub Monitor is a command center for multitaskers who have nearly as many devices on their desk as tabs open in their web browser. My colleague Michael Crider even thinks it might replace his triple-monitor setup altogether. To that end, it includes an impressive Thunderbolt 4 hub. Connectivity spans a Thunderbolt 4 port with 140 watts of power delivery, as well as two more USB-C ports with 27 watts each. The hub also includes USB-A ports, 2.5Gbps Ethernet, and a KVM switch for up to four PCs. The monitor also has an IPS Black panel with 6K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate. Other features include an ambient light sensor. Interestingly, the monitor lists support for not only Windows and macOS but also Linux Ubuntu and ThinOS. Dell’s Ultrasharp 52 Thunderbolt Hub Monitor will be available on January 6th, 2026 and will retail for $2,899.99 with an adjustable VESA stand, or $2,799.99 without the stand. Dell Ultrasharp 32 4K QD-OLED (U3226Q): An OLED for creative professionals Matt Smith / Foundry The majority of QD-OLED monitors target gamers, but an increasing number now also target professionals and prosumers. The Dell Ultrasharp 32 4K QD-OLED (U3226Q) joins these ranks. It has a 31.5-inch 16:9 QD-OLED panel with 4K resolution and a refresh rate up to 120Hz. Because it’s meant for professional creative work, the monitor includes an integrated colorimeter, customizable “direct keys,” and Dell’s color management software, among other features. It’s also a Thunderbolt 4 hub. It has a single Thunderbolt 4 port with 140 watts of power delivery, as well as a 27-watt USB-C port and 10-watt USB-A port. 2.5Gbps Ethernet is available, too. The monitor is compatible with Windows and macOS. It’ll launch globally on February 24th, 2026 for $2,599.99. LG UltraGear EVO 52G930B: It’s even bigger than you think Matt Smith / Foundry Did you ever look at a 49-inch super-ultrawide gaming monitor and think “Hmm, that’s too small”? The LG UltraGear EVO 52G930B is for you. This is a 52-inch monitor with a 21:9 aspect ratio—a stark contrast to the 32:9 aspect ratio used by typical 49-inch super-ultrawides like the Philips Envia 8000. Three extra inches might sound trivial but, due to the difference in aspect ratio, it’s actually a huge deal. The UltraGear EVO 52G930B offers a roughly 56 percent gain in display area. Most of that is vertical display space, as the 52G930B is about 7 inches taller than a 49-inch super-ultrawide. That’s good news if you want a big, immersive display for simulation and first-person games. Size aside, the EVO 52G930B uses a vertical alignment (VA) LCD panel with a maximum resolution of 5120×2160 (which works out to about 106 pixels per inch) and a refresh rate up to 240Hz. It’s definitely not as attractive as an OLED monitor, but it provides decent color performance and better contrast than most IPS-LCD monitors. LG has yet to announce price or availability. LG UltraGear EVO AI 39GX950B: A 5K2K ultrawide for gaming Matt Smith / Foundry The UltraGear EVO AI 39GX950B is LG’s new flagship gaming monitor and, if you ask me, the best gaming monitor at CES 2026. It has a 39-inch curved ultrawide tandem OLED panel. The monitor can reach a pixel-packed 5120×2160 resolution at a refresh rate up to 165Hz, or a more modest 2560×1080 resolution at up to 330Hz. The 5K resolution mode crams about 142 pixels into every inch, a huge upgrade over the roughly 110ppi of a typical 34-inch 1440p ultrawide. LG has thrown a few AI features into the mix. The monitor can upscale lower-resolution content to 5K for improved sharpness, and LG claims the process doesn’t introduce additional latency. The monitor also has built-in speakers with an AI sound enhancement for enhanced clarity. Really, though, this monitor is all about the pixel-dense ultrawide OLED panel. You’ll need a beefy GPU to handle 5K2K resolution, but if you’ve got it, I think you’re in for a treat. Pricing and availability not yet announced. MSI MPG 341CQR X36 QD-OLED: MSI’s new ultrawide flagship Matt Smith / Foundry The MSI MPG 341CQR X36 has a 34-inch ultrawide panel with 3440×1440 resolution and a refresh rate of up to 360Hz. Like the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG34WCDN, the MSI MPG 341CQR X36 has Samsung’s new 5th-generation OLED with V-Stripe, which improves text clarity. It also has a new type of glossy finish (called DarkArmor) that reduces glare and should make the display surface more scratch-resistant. MSI emphasized HDR performance. The MPG 341CQR X36 quotes up to 1,300 nits of HDR brightness, and MSI also provides extensive HDR control features which can be used to adjust the HDR curve to a customized setting (or to one of several preset HDR modes). I suspect this could prove rather useful because HDR content on the PC is often far less optimized than HDR content on an HDTV. The monitor also has a USB-C port with up to 98 watts of power delivery and an AI Care Sensor that can automatically dim, adjust, or darken the display when you turn away or walk away to prevent OLED burn-in. MSI says the MPG 341CQR X36 will be available for $1,099. MSI MAG 272QRF X36: Bringing Nvidia G-Sync Pulsar to the masses Matt Smith / Foundry The MSI MAG 272QRF X36 is a 27-inch widescreen gaming monitor with 2560×1440 resolution and a 360Hz refresh rate. Its real claim to fame, though, is support for Nvidia’s G-Sync Pulsar. Nvidia G-Sync Pulsar is a backlight strobing technology. Backlight strobing is a popular technique used to improve motion clarity, but it’s not usually compatible with variable frame rates. Nvidia G-Sync Pulsar solves this, allowing use of backlight strobing (which MSI calls MPRT) with G-Sync engaged. MSI claims a 4x improvement in motion clarity. MSI’s MAG 272QRF X36 wasn’t the only G-Sync Pulsar display at the show, but earned its place on this list with a second feature: an ambient light sensor. MSI says the sensor can be used to automatically adjust screen brightness and color temperature in both SDR and HDR—a rather handy feature on any display, but often absent on gaming monitors. The MAG 272QRF X36 will hit stores at $649. Samsung Odyssey G6 (G60H): Gaming at 1,040Hz Samsung If you told me 5 years ago that we’d have a legit 1,000Hz monitor in 2026, I wouldn’t have believed you. But Samsung’s latest Odyssey G6 (G60H) is one of several new monitors that make it a reality. There’s a catch, though. The Odyssey G6 is a dual-mode display and it can only achieve 1,040Hz at 720p resolution. That’s definitely going to limit its appeal, but the monitor can still hit up to 600Hz at 2560×1440 resolution, which is nothing to laugh at. Refresh rate aside, the monitor’s specifications are typical for a mid-range gaming monitor. It has a 27-inch IPS-LCD panel and offers support for both AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync. The monitor also supports HDR, HDMI 2.1, and DisplayPort 2.1. The price was not announced but, given the monitor’s cutting-edge refresh rate, I don’t think it will be cheap. Read...

At CES 2026 in Las Vegas, Aiper marked a new chapter in its smart yard ecosystem by officially announcing its brand positioning as the World’s No. 1 Smart Robotic Pool Cleaner, which was credited by Euromonitor* for its innovative products that are smart, reliable and carefree. The company showcased a fourth-generation lineup designed to deliver smarter performance, reliable real-world operation, and the carefree ownership experience modern homeowners increasingly expect. HGTV star and outdoor living expert Chip Wade appeared at the Aiper booth at CES and headlined the brand’s new product launch event. Introduced by Chip Wade, the new portfolio includes three breakthrough innovations: the Scuba V3 series, the world’s first cognitive AI powered robotic pool cleaner series; the IrriSense 2, the world’s first 4-in-1 multi-zone smart irrigation system, and EcoSurfer Senti, the world’s first AI powered skimmer with water quality management. Learn more about Aiper`s full CES 2026 lineup Cognitive AI: A smarter, more autonomous cleaning engine At the heart of Aiper’s next-generation systems is Cognitive AI, a new intelligent engine that constantly loops through four functions—see, interpret, decide, and adapt. Unlike earlier AI-vision systems that simply recognized pool debris, Cognitive AI continuously learns from real-world conditions. It interprets pool size, daily and seasonal weather patterns, and historical cleaning data to optimize routes, frequency, and intensity. This self-improving intelligence allows Aiper devices to deliver a fully automated, carefree cleaning experience all week long without requiring user intervention. Scuba V3 Series: World’s first Cognitive AI powered robotic pool cleaner series Leading the lineup is the Scuba V3 Series, Aiper’s most advanced robotic pool cleaners yet and the world’s first to fully leverage Cognitive AI, including the Scuba V3, Scuba V3 Pro and Scuba V3 Ultra. Aiper The 2026 CES Innovation awards winner Scuba V3 Ultra, the world’s 1st cognitive AI powered 6-in-1 robotic pool cleaner, is introducing 6-in-1 full-coverage cleaning, 20cm shallow-area operation, and the industry’s first dual-camera AI Patrol Cleaning system. Its Cognitive AI Navium™ mode delivers hands-off, week-long automation by analyzing environmental conditions and cleaning history to intelligently schedule and adapt each cleaning cycle. The Ultra also features JellyFloat™ Energy-Smart Lift Engine—an anti-stuck hovering and energy-efficient lift system that helps the robot glide smoothly across varying surfaces. Vertical jet propulsion and active buoyancy let the robot rise, pivot, and reroute freely, escaping obstacles and moving smoothly between deep and shallow zones. The sleek Scuba V3 brings the same core innovations—AI Patrol Cleaning, Cognitive AI Navium™ mode, and feather-light design—along with TÜV-Certified Data Privacy Protection, ensuring the onboard camera collects only cleaning-related data and stores nothing externally. Aiper Together, the Scuba V3 Series offer practical, meaningful benefits for everyday pool owners: Carefree Pool Cleaning: Autonomous scheduling and adaptive cleaning keep pools pristine all week long without monitoring. More Precise Cleaning: AI detection of over 20 debris or object types delivers up to 10× faster cleaning efficiency. Smart Scheduling: Automatic adjustments based on weather, pool size, and historical patterns ensure consistent performance with zero manual planning. EcoSurfer Senti: World’s first AI powered skimmer with water quality management Aiper Aiper also expanded its reach above the pool cleaner with 2026 CES Innovation Award honoree EcoSurfer Senti, the first solar-powered surface skimmer to pair AI vision with water-quality management. Its AI Surface Patrol system uses a high-precision camera with a 2-meter detection range to identify over 20 floating debris/object types. A DebrisGuard™ anti-leakage design and 150µm fine filtration basket maximize debris capture while keeping the system clean and efficient. What truly sets EcoSurfer Senti apart is its built-in water quality testing suite, measuring pH, free chlorine, ORP, and temperature with high accuracy. Combined with an automated management system and real-time safety dashboard, EcoSurfer Senti helps maintain balanced water around the clock. Its solar-powered architecture and anti-stranding engineering enable 24/7 uninterrupted, energy-free cleaning—providing continuous surface cleaning and safer, clearer water with no effort required from the owner. IrriSense 2: World’s first 4-in-1 multi-zone smart irrigation system Aiper Rounding out the lineup, IrriSense 2 extends Aiper’s mission beyond the pool to the entire Smart yard ecosystem. This pioneering irrigation solution combines four traditionally separate components—an irrigation controller, rotor sprinkler, electrical valve, and nutrient feeder—into one single device capable of managing multiple customized zones with intuitive point-line-area mapping. Designed for water-smart outdoor care, IrriSense 2 delivers: Up to 40% water savings through perfect precision with customizable watering zones and automatic weather-responsive system. It maintains consistent pressure for even, efficient watering across all zones, backed by TÜV certification for reliable water pressure stability, plus safety and performance; Nurture the soil and plants: EvenRain™ technology, which simulates natural rain for even watering across up to 4,800 sq. ft, with adaptive Re-Spray to eliminate blind spots and protect soil and seedlings. SoilPulse™ Microbial Organic Soil Amendment enhances soil fertility and moisture retention while breaking down residues, and promoting stronger roots and healthier plants; Easy to use: 15-minute DIY installation and robust app control with smart scheduling and remote Wi-Fi connectivity. It supports up to ten irrigation maps with independent schedules and watering depths, delivering precise care tailored to lawns, flowerbeds, shrubs, and trees.d robust app control with smart scheduling and remote Wi-Fi connectivity. A smarter, more carefree and reliable Smart Yard future With Cognitive AI at the center of its 2026 portfolio, Aiper is transforming the smart yard ecosystem into a seamlessly automated experience—from crystal-clear pools to healthier gardens. The innovative new lineup reinforces Aiper’s leadership as the world’s No. 1 smart robotic pool cleaner while expanding its vision for smarter, more reliable, and truly carefree smart yard experience. To learn more about Aiper at CES and its 4th generation product line, visit aiper.com. World`s Number 1 Smart Robotic Pool Cleaner Learn more about Aiper`s full CES 2026 lineup *Aiper is the No.1 brand of smart robotic pool cleaner in the world in terms of sales volume. Source: Euromonitor International Co., Ltd., in terms of 2025 manufacturer sales volume (units) in the world. Smart robotic pool cleaner is defined as: intelligent service robots integrating mechanical, electronic, software algorithm and sensor technologies. They autonomously or with minimal human intervention perform pool cleaning and maintenance tasks, typically featuring smart navigation, path planning, and multiple cleaning modes. Research completed in 2025/12. Read...

Cricket Australia has already undertaken to review the use of the DRS technology following several controversial instances. Fox is also set to look into whether it should make a change. Read...

From robots to giant TVs, technology expert Trevor Long reveals the latest household gadgets being unveiled at the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Trevor Long travelled to Las Vegas with support from Hisense, LG, Reolink, LEGO and Samsung. Read...

The latest edition of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is already drawing to a close, and once again, we’ve seen some truly impressive smart home and home security innovations—and as usual, some are more likely to ship than others. We’re not counting on the robot lawn mower that picks fruit and lobs tennis balls to canines to actually land in stores, but it certainly counts as one of the biggest attention-getters in Vegas this week. We also saw some far more practical smart products that wowed us, from the smart lock that’s powered by light waves to the new go-almost-anywhere Ring sensors that connect to Amazon’s growing patchwork of Sidewalk neighborhood networks. Read on for the best smart home and home security tech we saw at CES this year, starting with… Govee Sky Ceiling Light  Availability: TBD Price: TBD  Govee Pining for more natural light in your gloomy apartment? A skylight would likely do wonders for your mood, but getting one installed might be either too expensive or completely impractical. Enter Govee and its Sky Ceiling Light, a ceiling-mounted lighting fixture designed to mimic the look of daylight. Equipped with a total of 180 RGBICWW (red, green, blue, and warm white) beads and employing “custom-engineered LED and architectural gradient illumination,” the Sky Ceiling Light can shine at up to 5,000 lumens at a daylight-equivalent 6,500 Kelvin, and you can let the AI-powered DaySync feature adjust the color temperature automatically depending on the time of day. — Ben Patterson, Senior Writer  Read more: Govee’s smart ceiling light doubles as a virtual sky light LG Evo W6 Wallpaper TV  Availability: TBD Pricing: TBD  LG After an absence of nearly seven years, LG’s Wallpaper OLED TV line is back, and this latest entry in the series comes with an ace up its sleeve. While earlier Wallpaper panels such as the W7, the W8, and W9 are somewhat thinner than the new Evo W6—the older models range from 2.57- to 3.8mm in thickness, compared to roughly 9mm for this latest set—the W6 puts most of its electronic in a separate hub that wirelessly transmits 4K video and lossless audio to the TV, leaving just a single power cable connected to the display. The result? The LG Evo W6 can be hung practically flush against the wall, allowing this new Wallpaper TV to truly live up to its name. — Ben Patterson, Senior Writer  Read more: LG’s Evo W6 Wallpaper TV is thin and wireless to win Mammotion Spino S1 Pro robotic pool cleaner Availability: Later in Q1 2026 Pricing: TBD  Mammotion Best known for its robot lawn mowers, Mammotion is looking to make a splash in the robotic pool cleaner market with its second offering: a machine that can lift itself out of the water when its job is done and its battery needs recharging. The Spino S1 Pro comes with a dock that resides on the pool’s deck. The dock has a set of robot arms that can reach down into the pool, retrieve the scrubber, and place it on its charging dock. And since Wi-Fi signals don’t travel far in water, Mammotion’s AutoShoreCharge technology also includes an in-water wireless link that can help the bot find its way back to the dock when its battery runs low. — Michael Brown, Executive Editor  Read more: Mammotion’s Spino S1 Pro robotic pool cleaner lifts itself out of the water Lockin V7 Max light-powered smart mortise lock Availability: U.S. launch slated for August Price: TBD Christopher Null/Foundry This Lockin smart lock/handle caught our attention at CES for a couple of reasons. One, it’s a mortise-style smart lock rather than the far-more-common deadbolt variety. Second, its internal battery isn’t recharged with a cable or a solar panel, but by light waves.  Using a plug-in transmitter placed on a table or mounted to a wall, Lockin’s optical AuraCharge system draws power from a standard wall outlet and beams that energy via light waves to an optical panel on the interior escutcheon and from there to the lock’s battery. The transmitter must be within 13 feet of the lock with clear line-of-sight, so periodic blockage of the beam–when someone stands in front of it or the door is open–interrupts battery charging only temporarily. As with most mortise-type locks, the Lockin V7 Max will require professional installation.  Pretty cool—and good enough for a CES 2026 Innovation Award. – Ben Patterson, Senior Writer Read more: The Lockin V7 Max smart lock is powered by light waves NexLawn Master X robot lawn mower concept Availability: Still in developmentPrice: TBD NexLawn Some of the most eye-popping products at CES are destined to never ship, and this is likely one of them. Alongside its more traditional Navia 6000 AWD robot lawn mower, NexLawn showed off the Master X, a “concept” model that comes with a fold-up mechanical arm that can extend nearly a meter in length while utilizing interchangeable tools. Among the Master X’s various tricks is collecting yard debris (which it can deposit in an attached bucket), picking fruit, and watering plants with a watering can. The robot can even play fetch with a pooch.  Pretty wild, but again, the Master X is just a concept. Don’t count on it show up at Home Depot anytime soon. – Ben Patterson, Senior Writer Read more: NexLawn’s concept robot mower can water plants and play fetch Ring next-generation Sidewalk network smart devices Availability: March Price: $29.99 to $69.99, depending on the device  Ring We must admit that Sidewalk, Amazon’s “neighborhood” network that leverages nearby Echo and Ring devices to connect low-power smart devices–including some third-party products–that might otherwise be out of Wi-Fi range, was a technology that had largely slipped our minds.  So we were caught by surprise—pleasantly—when Amazon-owned Ring announced not one, not two, but more than a dozen new Sidewalk-enabled products, ranging from door/window contact, motion, water leak, and other types of sensors to smart light switches and plugs. There’s even a car alarm that leverages both Sidewalk networks and GPS to track your vehicle’s location. You can place or install these devices practically anywhere in your neighborhood, provided you’re in the vicinity of a Sidewalk network—and more likely than not, you are. — Ben Patterson, Senior Writer  Read more: Ring goes big with sensors powered by Amazon’s Sidewalk Displace TV’s Displace Hub wireless TV retrofit system Availability: TBD Pricing: $1,999 Displace TV We’ve been fascinated with Displace TV’s line of totally wireless, battery-powered OLED TVs that mount to a wall with a suction system without drilling holes in your wall or requiring any other hardware. The company’s new Displace Hub not only brings that same technology to almost any flat-screen TV (screen sizes between 55- and 100 inches and weighing up to 150 pounds), but it also includes the same Intel N-150 quad-core CPU, 16GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage that delivers local AI processing for enhanced privacy. Displace TV says that in the unlikely situation where its suction mount system should fail, an airbag-like safety system will safely lower the TV to the floor to prevent catastrophic damage to the TV. — Michael Brown, Executive Editor Read more: Displace Wireless Pro 2 TVs will feature local AI to enhance privacy Xthings Ulticam HaLow security camera Availability: TBD Price: $249.99  Ulticam HaLow Long-Range Wireless Security Camera Xthings Here’s a camera system perfect for monitoring far-flung spaces. The Ulticam HaLow Long-Range Wireless Security System is built on the new “HaLow” (802.11ah) Wi-Fi specification, which allows signals to go through walls and travel as far as 1.5 miles by tapping into sub-1.5GHz wireless frequences.  Thanks to Wi-Fi HaLow, the Ulticam HaLow kit can keep tabs on detached buildings, barns, parking lots, warehouses, or any other distant area a traditional Wi-Fi security camera couldn’t reach. The system comes with a hub that supports up to four cameras, while Xthing’s Intelligent Vision technology allows for on-device person and vehicle detection. — Ben Patterson, Senior Writer  Read more: AI-powered Xthings Ulticam security cam series gains a HaLow model  Xthings Ultraloq Bolt Sense smart lock with biometrics Availability: Q2 2026 Pricing: TBD Xthings Xthings announced a bunch of smart locks at CES this year, but we’re most interested in the Ultraloq Bolt Sense. Palm vein and facial recognition are the hot new trends in this category in 2026, but we’ve never seen the technology in a lock this compact. Xthings says the lock will recognize registered palms and faces in as little as 0.5 seconds and can be programmed to automatically unlock when it recognizes either. The lock is also outfitted with Ultraloq’s semi-circle numeric PIN pad, and it connects to your Wi-Fi network with an onboard Wi-Fi 6 adapter. Its planned Matter support will render it compatible with the Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, and Home Assistant smart home ecosystems. — Michael Brown, Executive Editor Read more: Xthings Ultraloq smart lock line gains UWB, biometrics, Z-Wave LR Samsung Micro RGB smart TVs Availability: Some models available for pre-order now Pricing: TBD, will vary according to screen size Samsung Micro RGB television technology marks a significant advance over the current generation of LCD TVs, because it uses red, green, and blue LEDs for backlighting, reducing the need for the color filters that conventional LED-backlit LCD panels need. The new technology resides in the middle ground between the increasingly mainstream mini-LED TVs and the still ludicrously expensive micro-LED sets (which, like OLED, have self-emissive pixels. Samsung says it will ship eight models of its two Micro RGB series: 65-, 75-, 85- and the massive 130-inch monster shown above in the model R95H series, and 85-, 98-, and 100-inch models in the step-down R85H series. — Michael Brown, Executive Editor Read more: Samsung goes all in on Micro RGB TVs at CES 2026 Emerson Smart SmartVoice appliances  Availability: TBD Price: TBD  IAI Smart We’re used to smart devices that respond to our voices with the help of smart speakers, but there’s a growing trend of smart appliances that can hear your commands without the help of Alexa, Google Assistant/Gemini, or Apple’s Siri. Last year at CES, for example, we saw a new range of smart lights with built-in AI microphones.  Now comes smart home manufacturer IAI Smart with a new line of Emerson Smart appliances—including tower fans, space heaters, air fryers, and smart plugs—with built-in SmartVoice assistants that work entirely offline, meaning no need to worry about privacy, Wi-Fi connectivity, or cloud outages. — Ben Patterson, Senior Writer  Read more: These appliances don’t depend on smart speakers for voice control  Beatbot AquaSense X robotic pool cleaner Availability: Now available for pre-order Price: $4,250 Beatbot Robotic pool cleaners handle the grunt work of keeping your swimming pool clean, but until now, they’ve left the dirty work of cleaning the muck trapped in their debris baskets and filters to you. The Beatbot AquaSense X looks to change that situation, with a box-like docking station dubbed the AstroRinse Cleaning Station. When the robot has finished its cleaning run and you retrieve it from the pool, you’ll place it on top of the AstroRinse, which will charge its battery, empty its debris basket into a 23-liter bin below, and flush the AquaSense X’s filter. A bag inside the bin is said to be large enough to last for two months, based on two cleanings per week. What could be better? Why, a robotic pool cleaner that combines Beatbot’s auto-cleaning dock with Mammotion’s auto-retrieving dock, of course. — Michael Brown, Executive Editor Read more: Beatbot looks to raise the bar for robotic pool cleaners—again Check out PCWorld’s live CES blog, with all the must-see tech sights in Las Vegas this week, and don’t miss PCWorld’s picks of the hottest innovations in PCs and other technology. Read...

Intel launched its long-awaited Core Ultra Series 3 “Panther Lake” mobile chips at CES 2026 this week, promising an alluring blend of long battery life and shockingly great integrated graphics performance thanks to its new Arc Xe3 graphics cores. (It’s true! We benchmarked Panther Lake gaming performance ourselves.) Core Ultra Series 3 is looking pretty damned good, and its strengths could help Intel finally establish a stronger foothold in Steam Deck-style gaming handhelds – a segment long dominated by AMD’s bespoke Ryzen Z1 and Z2 handheld chips. The combo led Nish Neelalojanan, senior director of client product management for Intel, to come out swinging about Panther Lake’s potential advantages in tomorrow’s PC gaming handhelds. “They’re selling ancient silicon, while we’re selling up-to-date processors specifically designed for this market,” Neelalojanan told PCWorld’s Mark Hachman in an exclusive interview. Much like Intel’s Panther logo, Neelalojanan has confident swag about Core Ultra Series 3’s handheld performance.Mark Hachman / Foundry Bold words indeed… but ones that may have a ring of truth to them, as AMD’s lower tiers of Z2 chips lean on both older CPU tech and older GPU tech to help keep costs down. Well, it just so happened that Mark also had a roundtable interview scheduled for the very next day with Rahul Tikoo, senior vice president and general manager of the client business at AMD, to discuss all of the compay’s CES 2026 chip announcements. And naturally, he asked Tikoo about Intel’s comment as part of the far-ranging interview. Here’s the excerpt, lightly edited for clarity. Be sure to check out the rest of the interview for insights into AMD’s new Ryzen AI 400 laptop lineup, the just-released Ryzen 9 9850X3D and rumors of a dual-core X3D chip, and more. I just came back from Intel, where they planned to invest heavily in the handheld space, which you’ve dominated. They claim that you’re selling “ancient silicon.” What’s your strategy going forward in the handheld space? “We’re very committed to the handheld [space]. I mean, we created the space, so it’s a space that we’re very committed to. Here’s the beauty, though, of AMD and why we have a much higher chance of success in that space: because of our console business, or how we develop semi-custom silicon for the console business. You can’t just use mobile silicon and put it in the handheld. You can, but the handheld or the consoles, they care about high graphics. They don’t care about as much compute, and they don’t care about the I/O. So, if you’re putting a notebook chip like Panther Lake in there, and you’re not purpose building it, you have all this baggage that Panther Lake is going to carry around its chiplet architecture. You know, the interconnects of the chiplet architecture, the I/O that they have in there. I mean, it’s a Swiss Army Knife, and it’s good for certain things. We can do that, too. In fact, we do that in the handheld space in some segments. But when you think about the core of the handheld space, they want purpose-designed, purpose-built chips that have great graphics technology, great software like FSR, integration with game developers on Xbox, PlayStation, etc. We can have high battery life, good fidelity of content, high frame rate, and we do that very well.” Intel believes their low-power E-cores give them an advantage, as they extend battery life. Does AMD have a response to that? “We haven’t seen any issues there. I’ll tell you this, Intel does play games sometimes, and it’s very interesting. We had a customer. They said the same thing. They’re like, hey, I can get more battery life with Lunar Lake against the 300 series. So, we’re like, okay, let’s do a quick experiment. And we did this in the lab. And actually, Qualcomm did a video on this too, because we didn’t want to go out and do a video and everything. Qualcomm did a video on this: Lunar Lake has great battery life when measured with MobileMark with the power connected. As soon as you go in DC Mode, battery life climbs while performance drops. The Core i7 performs like a Core i3. So, the E-cores are very good for efficiency, very bad for performance. We balance the two, and we’re already making those choices for our customers and saying, hey, you don’t have to worry about it.” But does that hold true for Panther Lake? We were able to benchmark Core Ultra Series 3 both plugged and unplugged, and the frame rates were surprisingly close in the limited testing available during CES 2026. So there you have it – it appears a full-fledged war (or at least a war of the words) is brewing for the CPUs beating in the heart of the PC gaming handhelds that have taken the world by storm. Will Panther Lake’s potent Arc graphics manage to unseat AMD’s stranglehold on this new class of devices? Time will tell, but it seems clear that both Intel and AMD aren’t shying away from a fight. Read...

At CES 2026, AMD and Nvidia both signaled that they’re considering bringing back older chip technologies to battle the sudden shortages and extreme price hikes battering the PC ecosystem right know. I warned y’all this could happen. We were chatting about reports of AMD resurrecting older B650 motherboards in a recent episode of our Full Nerd podcast. And, as part of the discussion, I brought up that chip vendors like AMD and Intel are already mixing older silicon into modern lineups in somewhat sneaky ways. (Remember AMD’s laughable decoder ring?) I suggested we could soon witness the return of older nodes to “new” products to help combat soaring PC costs. “Let’s not get crazy,” fellow Nerd Will Smith said after a sigh. Well, Will, I’m not crazy. It’s the world we’re living in that’s crazy. In a series of roundtable interviews with AMD and Nvidia executives, Tom’s Hardware pressed that exact line of questioning. And the answers Tom’s received may simultaneously cast fear into the hearts of long-term PC enthusiasts and spark hope for more affordable PCs in the hearts of normies. A GeForce RTX 3060. Rest in peace, EVGA.Thiago Trevisan/IDG Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang didn’t sound opposed to the idea when Paul Alcorn posited the question of spinning up older GPUs on dated process nodes. “Yeah, possibly, and we could possibly, depending on which generation, we could also bring the latest generation AI technology to the previous generation GPUs, and that will require a fair amount of engineering, but it’s also within the realm of possibility. I’ll go back and take a look at this. It’s a good idea.” It’s not a tacit confirmation that Nvidia would do so, obviously, but it clearly could be on the table. Earlier this month, rumors started swirling about Nvidia potentially reviving the RTX 3060 — a card that launched in 2021 — in this quarter. The Ryzen 7 5800X3D was the fastest gaming processor ever released for AM4 motherboards, landing in 2022. Adam Patrick Murray / IDG AMD’s David McAfee, the VP and GM of Ryzen and Radeon, had obviously thought of the possibility before Tom’s raised it in another roundtable interview. AMD “[is] certainly looking at everything that [it] can do to bring more supply and kind of reintroduce products back into the [AM4] ecosystem to satisfy the demands of gamers that maybe want that significant upgrade in their AM4 platform without having to rebuild their entire system.” McAfee also added that the concept is “definitely something [AMD is] very actively working on.” AMD’s newer, DDR5-based AM5 motherboards launched alongside the Ryzen 7000 series all the way back in 2022. DDR4-based AM4 motherboards have been around since the first generation Ryzen chips launched in 2017. DDR4 is being phased out and isn’t as cheap as it was a year ago, but still costs far less than DDR5 RAM. You can buy 16GB of DDR4 for around $150 at the time of writing, while 16GB of DDR5 will set you back around $250, depending on the kit – and prices are only rising (rapidly) for the newer gen. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I think it depends on your philosophy. Going backwards is nothing you ever want to see in the technology industry, but with AI datacenters gobbling up all the air (and RAM, and GPUs, and SSDs, and..) in the room currently, PC vendors risk losing mainstream buyers completely if they don’t figure out a way to combat the soaring prices. Either way, it’s definitely a trend to keep an eye on in 2026, where what’s old could apparently be new again. Hopefully you managed to snag a new PC for cheap during Black Friday, because we warned you about that, too. Read...

Nvidia may not have announced any new graphics cards at CES 2026, but it did reveal two stunning technology upgrades: Upgraded G-Sync Pulsar monitors and DLSS 4.5. The problem is it’s damned near impossible to see the advantages each provides in pictures and video — the visual quality differences don’t translate well when captured through a camera lens. The Nvidia promo videos below give good oversight into the new technologies, for example, but you don’t get the full experience secondhand, kind of like VR. Well, friends, I spent two full hours in Nvidia’s booth getting deep-dive, hands-on demonstrations of both G-Sync Pulsar and DLSS 4.5, and let me assure you: They’re amazing. I’m going to try to get my grubby gamer paws on a G-Sync Pulsar monitor after CES to do a deeper analysis, but the upshot? These puppies use technical tricks mixed with complex science to all but solve motion blur. Everything stays crystal clear while you’re panning around without ugly motion blur — the difference is so stark I picked up on it immediately. Gamers who love complex strategy or tactics games (like Civilation or Anno) or esports games like DOTA 2 and LoL should strongly consider picking up one of these 1440P, 360Hz displays over an OLED monitor. Sacrilege, I know, but Pulsar’s IPS display felt that damned good. I also got the chance to poke around with DLSS 4.5, and my demos had a handy toggle that let you switch between DLSS 4 and 4.5 on the fly so you can see the changes instantly. Once again, side by side, the upgrade is clear as day. DLSS 4.5’s new second-gen transformer AI model delivers tangible improvements in some key areas. It damn near solves ghosting, an issue that’s plagued upscaling since infancy, and makes temporal stability — the shimmering effect you might see in small, detailed areas like a ball of yarn or wavering tree leaves — so much better than before. Sharper anti-aliasing also makes imagery more crisp, which was especially noticeable in Outer Worlds 2‘s space scenes and the ornate armor of Black Myth Wukong‘s warrior. Flipping between DLSS 4 and 4.5, the improved visual fidelity was immediately obvious. DLSS 4.5’s new 6x and Dynamic Multi-Frame Gen capabilities make maxing out your monitor’s capabilities seamless, too. Dynamic MFG automatically manages how many AI-generated frames are inserted between traditionally rendered frames, to scale to match your monitor’s refresh rate. I tried it on several systems. In an RTX 5070 desktop attached to a 4K 240Hz display, Dynamic MFG usually ran at 5x or 6x, to be able to match the refresh rate. On a similar system attached to a 4K 165Hz display, it stayed relatively stable at 3x, since you don’t need to create anywhere near as many frames to keep that lower refresh rate fed. Nvidia’s DLSS 4.5 demos had a custom frame rate counter at the top that showed frame rate, latency, as well as the level of Dynamic Multi-Frame Generation. You could also toggle between DLSS 4 and 4.5 with a switch to immediately see and compare differences.Brad Chacos/Foundry Better yet, I felt zero judder or jankiness when Dynamic MFG shifted up or down to the next level. That was a worry of mine when the technology was announced; would you feel it when it suddenly changed from 6x to 4x while transitioning environments? Nope. Bonus: Dynamic MFG is smart enough to shut off AI frames completely when sections of a game don’t need brute force, such as pre-generated cutscenes running at a locked 60fps. I’ll be able to dive much deeper into both G-Sync Pulsar and DLSS 4.5 when I’m back at home with my gaming rig — it’s kind of hard to test gaming fidelity when you’re traveling with a work-issued laptop. But I wanted to get this information out there ASAP since DLSS 4.5’s transformer upgrade and the first G-Sync Pulsar monitors are already being sold online.Don’t be scared. Even if you can’t see the advantages of DLSS 4.5 and Pulsar monitors in a web video, they are there — and they look amazing. (Seriously, Civ and League of Legends fanatics should take a long, deep look at investing in a Pulsar display.) Read...