• CES 2026: Everything revealed, from Nvidia’s debuts to AMD’s new chips to Razer’s AI oddities 

    January 6, 2026

    CES 2026 is in full swing in Las Vegas, with the show floor open to the public after a packed couple of days occupied by press conferences from the likes of Nvidia, Sony, and AMD and previews from Sunday’s Unveiled event.  As has been the case for the past two years at CES, AI is at the forefront of many companies’ messaging, though the hardware upgrades and oddities that have long defined the annual event still have their place on the show floor and in adjacent announcements. We’ll be collecting the biggest reveals and surprises here, though you can still catch the spur-of-the-moment reactions and thoughts from…

  • Dreame’s latest robot vacuum concept has slightly terrifying legs that can climb full-size stairs

    January 6, 2026

    Robot vacuum companies are once again trying to outdo each other at CES 2026. This year, Chinese appliance maker Dreame is showing off a prototype of a device that can climb up and down an entire flight of stairs. The concept, called the Cyber X, was previewed last year at IFA in Berlin. The vacuum sports a somewhat terrifying set of legs with rubber treads that allow it to autonomously navigate multi-story environments. While Dreame has previously shown off vacuums that can move up smaller steps, it says the Cyber X can climb stairs up to 25cm (9.8 inches) high…

  • Mobileye acquires humanoid robot startup Mentee Robotics for $900M

    January 6, 2026

    Mobileye made its name, and money, by supplying automakers with millions of computer vision chips designed to support automotive safety features and advanced driver assistance systems. The Intel subsidiary and publicly traded company later expanded to tackle autonomous driving through its chips and software. Now, co-founder and president Amnon Shashua is taking the company into what he calls Mobileye 3.0. And that means robotics and a hefty acquisition. The Israeli company announced Tuesday during CES in Las Vegas it has reached a deal to acquire Mentee Robotics — a startup co-founded by Shashua in 2022 — for $900 million. Under…

  • Dreame’s robot vacuum with an arm is back at CES 2026 and it can do more than pick up shoes

    January 6, 2026

    Last year at CES, Dreame showed off a robot vacuum prototype with a mechanical arm. But while we were able to see the arm extend and retract, we didn’t see the device, which was described as a prototype at the time, actually grab anything, which was a bit disappointing. This year, though, the company has made its arm-enabled vacuum a reality with the Cyber 10 Ultra. Dreame previewed it recently at IFA in Berlin, but has now confirmed it will be on sale later this year. The vacuum has an extendable arm that looks pretty similar to the prototype version…

  • California lawmaker proposes a four-year ban on AI chatbots in kid’s toys

    January 6, 2026

    Senator Steve Padilla (D-CA) introduced a bill on Monday that would place a four-year ban on the sale and manufacture of toys with AI chatbot capabilities for kids under 18. The goal is to give safety regulators time to develop regulations to protect children from “dangerous AI interactions.” “Chatbots and other AI tools may become integral parts of our lives in the future, but the dangers they pose now require us to take bold action to protect our children,” Senator Padilla said in a statement. “Our safety regulations around this kind of technology are in their infancy and will need…

  • The Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds are on sale for $165

    January 6, 2026

    Google’s Pixel Buds Pro 2 earbuds are on sale for $165 via Amazon. That’s a nice discount of $64, which breaks down to 28 percent. There is a spot of bad news. The deal only applies to the hazel colorway. Other colors are discounted, but they aren’t as cheap. It’s not as if the hazel is hideous. These are standard dark brown-hued earbuds. The device made our list of the best wireless earbuds, and this is particularly true for those tied into the Pixel ecosystem. These earbuds are on the smaller side and, more importantly, comfortable to wear for long…

  • Founder of spyware maker pcTattletale pleads guilty to hacking and advertising surveillance software

    January 6, 2026

    The founder of a U.S.-based spyware company, whose surveillance products allowed customers to spy on the phones and computers of unsuspecting victims, pleaded guilty to federal charges linked to his long-running operation.  pcTattletale founder Bryan Fleming entered a guilty plea in a San Diego federal court on Tuesday to charges of computer hacking, the sale and advertising of surveillance software for unlawful uses, and conspiracy. The plea follows a multi-year investigation by agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a unit within U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. HSI began investigating pcTattletale in mid-2021 as part of a wider probe into the…

  • PNY is releasing slim-sized NVIDIA RTX GPUs just as PC building becomes prohibitively expensive

    January 6, 2026

    If I were building a new PC today, I’d go for a small form factor mATX or ITX build. With companies like Fractal Design and Lian Li making cases that can fit modern GPUs without sacrificing on thermals, you don’t need to settle for the old mid-tower monstrosities of yesteryear. And that’s why PNY’s new “Slim” model RTX 50-series designs caught my eye. All three variants, covering the 5070, 5070 Ti and 5080, are two slot cards with just a pair of 120mm fans for cooling. As a result, even the largest of the three new models, the 5080, is…

  • Threads is developing in-message games

    January 6, 2026

    Threads is exploring games in chats, beginning with a basketball game. A spokesperson for Meta confirmed to TechCrunch that the company is internally prototyping the game and that it’s not available to the public. The game was first spotted by reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi, who often finds unreleased features while they’re still under development. Paluzzi shared a screenshot of the basketball game, which appears to let users virtually shoot hoops by swiping their finger. The idea behind the game is likely to allow friends to compete to see who can score the most baskets, similar to other mobile basketball games. Launching…

  • Pebble’s founder might be just the right person to make an AI ring

    January 6, 2026

    Eric Migicovsky has been thinking a lot about friction. Specifically, he’s been thinking about how too much friction in the way of using a device can put people off wearing it altogether. The founder of Pebble is here at CES 2026 with a few new devices from the company he recently started to bring back the beloved smartwatch brand, including the Pebble Round 2 and the Index 01. That second one is a simple ring with a button on it that you push down to talk to Pebble’s AI whenever you want it to help you remember something. In the…