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Eric Migicovsky, that is, the guy who founded Pebble and is currently rebooting his early smartwatches with even longer battery life. (Weeks, not days.) This one’s staying on Eric’s wrist, unfortunately, but I stabbed the buttons while it was there! I can confirm they do, indeed, click.
Coming into force this year: AI regulations galore, a teen social media lockdown, and “Taylor Swift” laws.
The short teaser video shared through the company’s official X account is light on details, but the folding FlipPad will connect to iOS and Android smartphones through their USB-C port. There’s no analog thumbsticks, but it’s got a D-pad and a total of 12 face buttons. It’s expected to launch in the summer this year.
The DIY blinds cost a flat $429 for any size up to 48 inches wide and 80 inches tall and are available in white or walnut. They join the company’s lower-cost smart shades and feature Natural Light Optimization that automatically tilts blinds throughout the day based on the sun’s position.
Caséta blinds integrate with Apple Home, Alexa, Google Home, and other platforms and are available now on Caséta’s website.
In early 2026, the company’s handheld and earbud translators, including the W4, W4 Pro, and T1, will be getting a software upgrade introducing a new “SOTA Translation Engine Selector” that automatically chooses the optimal AI engine based on what two languages are being spoken. The upgrade should result in translations that sound more natural.
Yukai Engineering has doubled the size of its drink-cooling Nékojita FuFu fan to create a version designed to safely cool kids. It’s expected to launch in mid-2026 for $50 to $60 and features a “slit plate” inside Baby FuFu’s mouth to prevent anything from making contact with its fan blades, including li’l fingies.
Unsurprisingly, considering President Trump’s tendency to post AI slop, the New York Times wasn’t exactly keen on publishing his supposed photo of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima without question. Ultimately, the paper couldn’t verify the image’s authenticity but decided to publish it in the context of his Truth Social post. The Times’ Director of Photography Meaghan Looram detailed their skepticism:
It looked odd: The photo was cropped to an unusual, vertical shape, suggesting that much of the content of the original image had been excluded, and the quality was low. One Times photo editor noted that it looked like a photo of a printout, or a photo of a screen. When run through the same A.I. detector, the image posted by Mr. Trump also left some uncertainty.
[The New York Times]
Rumors that the S26 Ultra would have some anti-snooping tech built into the screen have been circulating for a while. Now we’ve got an animation showing how the feature will work inside of One UI 8.5. There will be a toggle in the display settings, but you’ll also be able to add a Quick Settings toggle, or even automate it based on which app you’re using or if you’re in a crowd.
You know it’s almost CES when Samsung Display announces a few weirdo concepts, including an “AI OLED Cassette” with 1.5-inch round displays and an “AI OLED Turntable” with 13.4-inch round display. It offers zero details to justify their existence which is why our team is headed to Vegas to find out. Stay tuned.
United Airlines interrupted boarding my plane to CES 2026 to say: “This flight to Vegas is special.” Why? Apparently, it’s the inaugural flight from Newark Airport with Starlink. There was a wireless charging pad waiting at our seats.
Also: I can confirm Starlink is so much faster than regular plane Wi-Fi.
Early on Saturday morning, American forces struck multiple sites inside Venezuela, including a large-scale assault on Caracas, and arrested President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. The two are expected to stand trial in New York for drug and weapons charges.
In a press conference later in the day, President Trump said that the US would “run” Venezuela for an indeterminate period of time, though no further detail was provided. He also suggested that American oil companies would be allowed to swoop in and take control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
You can get all the latest updates from The New York Times, NPR, and Reuters.
