• Anduril’s Palmer Luckey thinks the future of tech is in the past

    January 9, 2026

    You might think it’s pretty weird to hear the founders of a VR company and a social media platform publicly complaining about how things used to be better back in the dial-up days. Nevertheless, that is what happened at CES on Wednesday, when Oculus creator Palmer Luckey and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian gave a joint talk about the joys of “tech nostalgia.” Luckey, who initially made his fortune in VR and now runs the defense contractor Anduril, and Ohanian both seemed to agree: Stuff was better in the old days. The catch, however, is that Luckey and Ohanian weren’t really…

  • Hands-on with Fender Audio’s headphones and speakers at CES 2026

    January 9, 2026

    Fender Audio may have announced its new headphones and speakers right before CES, but Las Vegas afforded us the first opportunity to see the brand’s new lineup in person. Fender Audio is a Fender-owned brand from Riffsound that’s designing and making new devices after licensing the name. It’s been a while since the guitar and amplifier company made any general-use speakers of its own, and this new arrangement is similar to what Zound was doing with Marshall for a spell. Logistics out of the way, let’s get down to what the Mix and Ellie are like in the flesh. First,…

  • OpenAI to acquire the team behind executive coaching AI tool Convogo

    January 9, 2026

    OpenAI is kicking off the new year with yet another acqui-hire. The AI giant is acquiring the team behind Convogo, a business software platform that helps executive coaches, consultants, talent leaders, and HR teams automate and improve leadership assessments and feedback reporting.  An OpenAI spokesperson said the company is not acquiring Convogo’s IP or technology, but rather hiring the team to work on its “AI cloud efforts.” The three co-founders — Matt Cooper, Evan Cater, and Mike Gillett — will join OpenAI as part of what a source familiar with the matter called an all-stock deal. Convogo’s product will be…

  • 2026 Toyota GR Yaris Morizo RR revealed as even more hardcore hot hatch

    January 9, 2026

    The Toyota GR Yaris Morizo RR has been shown at the Tokyo Auto Salon, with the special edition featuring several performance and visual upgrades. Toyota says the GR Yaris Morizo RR was created using lessons learned from the 2025 Nürburgring 24 Hours race in Germany, with an “exclusive suspension setting” created for the hot hatch. A carbon-fibre rear wing created for the Nürburgring event has also been fitted to the Morizo RR, along with a carbon-fibre bonnet, body kit, and several exclusive additions like a unique radiator grille and paint highlights. Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda competed in the GR Yaris…

  • Big auto brands are losing share as Australia’s new-car market fragments

    January 9, 2026

    Australia’s new-vehicle market might be bigger than it was a decade ago, but it’s also more fragmented. Total sales rose from 1,155,408 deliveries in 2015 to 1,241,037 in 2025, a gain of 85,629 vehicles. Yet over the same span, the top end of the market ceded meaningful share to a growing ‘long tail’ of smaller and mid-size auto brands. The clearest measure is concentration. In 2015, the top 10 marques accounted for 75.9 per cent of all new-vehicle sales. In 2025, the top 10’s share fell to 67.3 per cent. In other words, nearly one in three new vehicles sold last year came from outside the 10 biggest brands, up from one in four back in 2015. CarExpert…

  • YouTube will let you exclude Shorts from search results

    January 9, 2026

    YouTube introduced some new filters to its advanced search tools today. Possibly the most exciting change is that Shorts are now listed as a content type, so the three-minute-or-less videos can be excluded as results in your searches. This is a welcome update for any of us who have been on the hunt for a long-form explainer only to wade through dozens of ten-second clips before finding anything close to our goal. Especially with the addition of even more AI slop last year thanks to the Google Veo 3 engine, an option to exclude Shorts may look even more appealing.…

  • I watched LG’s new home robot CLOid do laundry but I have questions

    January 9, 2026

    CES is always chock-full of robots, and this year electronics giant LG announced a new bot, dubbed CLOid, that it claims will revolutionize household chores (as in, you won’t have to do them anymore). CLOid is described as an AI-powered home robot, designed to assist its user with a wide variety of domestic tasks — from folding laundry to making breakfast to patrolling a home for signs of trouble. The company says that, eventually, it envisions the device “evolving into an ambient-care agent that supports everyday life.” The bot was announced during LG’s keynote earlier this week, but it was also available…

  • Zeekr 8X breaks cover as a big, posh plug-in hybrid SUV

    January 9, 2026

    Zeekr is launching its second plug-in hybrid (PHEV) SUV, and it could come to Australia. The new 8X slots between the 7X mid-size electric SUV launched here late in 2025, and the 9X PHEV flagship SUV that debuted in China last year. Car News China reports the 8X will launch in China during the first half of 2026, offering both five- and six-seat configurations. Zeekr Australia has previously indicated it’s considering offering PHEVs locally, thereby opening the door to either the 8X or 9X. CarExpert can save you thousands on a new car. Click here to get a great deal.…

  • Kia Carnival and Sorento lose V6 due to new Australian emissions regulations

    January 9, 2026

    Kia Australia is killing off pure petrol versions of its Carnival MPV and Sorento SUV, as local emissions regulations tighten. The entry-level front-wheel drive V6 powertrain in the Carnival and Sorento is now “limited to dealer stock”, according to a notice published to the brand’s local website. A Kia Australia spokesperson told CarExpert the move is due to the Australian Government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES), and that stock is expected to be cleared out by the end of March – meaning if you want a V6 Carnival or Sorento, you’d better get in quick. CarExpert can save you thousands…

  • Boston Dynamics unveils production-ready version of Atlas robot at CES 2026

    January 9, 2026

    After years of testing its humanoid robot (and forcing it to dance), Boston Dynamics’ Atlas is entering production. The robotics company said at CES 2026 that the final product version of the robot is being built now, and the first companies that will receive deployments are Hyundai, Boston Dynamics’ majority shareholder, and Google DeepMind, the firm’s newly minted AI partner. This final enterprise version of Atlas “can perform a wide array of industrial tasks,” according to Boston Dynamics, and is specifically designed with consistency and reliability in mind. Atlas can work autonomously, via a teleoperator or with “a tablet steering…