Tag: apple

Inside the Stream: A+E For Sale, Netflix Still #1, HBO Max is Back and Apple-F1

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 17:32:17 +0000

First up this week, A+E Global Media, which is co-owned by Disney and Hearst, is the latest group of cable TV networks for sale or spinoff, as media companies rush to divest themselves of troubled assets. We discuss the reasons behind the divestments, including the steep drop-off in viewership over the past four years.

Next, Netflix is once again the number one ranked “must keep” brand in TV according to research from The Strategic Counsel. We explore what Netflix doing so well to keep retaining the top slot.

Rounding out, HBO Max is, HBO Max again, after a two year distraction as Max, a branding no man’s land. And Apple is eyeing F1 streaming rights, another potential foray into sports.

Listen to the podcast to learn more (25 minutes, 16 seconds)

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Rumble Launches Wallet to Power Direct Crypto Payments

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 15:37:03 +0000

The post Rumble Launches Wallet to Power Direct Crypto Payments appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

Rumble has rolled out a native crypto wallet that allows users to directly tip creators using Bitcoin and USDT, marking a major shift toward decentralized monetization on video platforms. Backed by Tether, the new Rumble Wallet is embedded directly into the platform, removing reliance on banks, ad networks, or third-party payment processors. The launch reinforces Rumble’s positioning as a creator-first alternative to traditional tech platforms while deepening its alignment with crypto-native infrastructure.

What the Rumble Wallet Brings to Users

At launch, Rumble Wallet supports Bitcoin, USDT, and Tether Gold (XAUT). The wallet is fully non-custodial, meaning users maintain full control over their funds rather than trusting a centralized entity to hold their assets. This design allows fans to send tips instantly and globally, without intermediaries taking fees or imposing restrictions.

To make onboarding easier, Rumble has partnered with MoonPay to handle on- and off-ramps. This enables users to move seamlessly between crypto and traditional payment methods such as credit cards, Apple Pay, PayPal, and Venmo, lowering the barrier for mainstream adoption.

Why This Is a Big Deal for Creators

For creators, the wallet introduces a direct and flexible revenue model. Instead of depending on ads, sponsorships, or platform-controlled payouts, creators can now receive direct financial support from their audiences. This approach also reduces exposure to demonetization risks, payment freezes, or regional banking limitations.

Rumble’s leadership frames the wallet as a tool that shifts financial power back to users and creators, allowing monetization to happen peer-to-peer rather than through centralized systems that can change rules overnight.

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Also Read :
Morgan Stanley Files for Ethereum ETF With SEC, Signaling Major Institutional Push
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Tether’s Push Into Consumer-Facing Payments

For Tether, the Rumble Wallet represents a meaningful expansion beyond exchanges and DeFi platforms. Built using Tether’s Wallet Development Kit, this is its first large-scale consumer deployment within a mainstream content platform. The integration introduces stablecoin payments to everyday users in a practical, real-world setting, especially within the U.S. market.

A Broader Strategic Vision

The wallet launch builds on a deepening partnership between Rumble and Tether. Tether became a major shareholder in Rumble following a $775 million investment in 2024, while Rumble has since adopted a Bitcoin treasury strategy. Their collaboration now spans payments, infrastructure, and AI, including cloud initiatives tied to Northern Data.

Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski positions the wallet as a direct competitor to Coinbase and Venmo, emphasizing its non-custodial nature and resistance to account shutdowns. Meanwhile, legal commentator Viva Frei highlights the wallet’s broader appeal, pointing to its ability to combine Bitcoin, gold, and creator support into a single tool focused on independence.

Overall, Rumble Wallet signals a clear push toward crypto-native creator economies, where value flows directly between users without centralized gatekeepers.

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Subscribe to News FAQs What is the Rumble Wallet?

Rumble Wallet is a non-custodial crypto wallet letting users tip creators directly with Bitcoin, USDT, and Tether Gold.

Which cryptocurrencies does Rumble Wallet support?

At launch, it supports Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT), and Tether Gold (XAUT) for instant, direct tipping to creators without intermediaries.

Can I buy crypto in the Rumble Wallet with fiat?

Yes, thanks to the MoonPay partnership, you can easily buy crypto using credit cards, Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo, or other fiat methods right inside the platform.

Nature study projects 2B wearable health devices by 2050

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 10:42:07 +0000

Tech companies at CES 2026 in Las Vegas unveiled wearable health devices including glucose monitors, blood pressure trackers, and fitness trackers. A Cornell University and University of Chicago study projects annual demand reaching 2 billion units by 2050, or 42 times current levels, generating over a million tons of electronic waste and 100 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions if production methods remain unchanged.

The study, published in Nature, examines the environmental impact of these devices. Researchers analyzed the lifecycle contributions to waste and emissions, focusing on components that drive the majority of the footprint.

Printed circuit boards, described as the device’s “brain,” account for 70% of the carbon footprint. This dominance stems from intensive mining and manufacturing processes required for rare minerals used in their production.

To address these issues, the researchers propose two strategies. First, develop chips using common metals such as copper in place of rare minerals like gold. Second, design devices modularly to enable reuse of the circuit board while replacing only the outer casing.

Strategy 1: Develop chips using common metals such as copper instead of rare minerals like gold.
Strategy 2: Design devices modularly so the circuit board can be reused while only the outer casing is replaced.

A co-author of the study stated, “when these devices are deployed at global scale, small design choices add up quickly.” The projections highlight the scale of demand growth from current levels to 2 billion units annually by 2050.

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Built to Bend: How Companies Are Shouldering Tariffs

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 09:00:36 +0000

The entrenched volatility of the United States’ ever-shifting tariffs strategy has become part of the structure of the nation’s economy, with major implications for consumer spending. So have ambiguity and unpredictability. Will certain levies increase further? Decrease? Be delayed? Scrapped altogether? What new tariffs might unfold?

The sure bet that uncertainty is now feature, not a bug, means that companies have had to pivot quickly to cope with sudden changes in demand, higher capital costs and supply chain reconfigurations.

The nation’s average effective tariff rate rose to 10.65% in September, up from 2.2% since the start of last year, according to the most recent analysis from the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model. Amid that nearly fivefold increase, with Chinese imports bearing the brunt, the PYMNTS Intelligence Certainty Project tracked how middle-market companies coped with tariff-related uncertainty over the course of the year.

As of November 2025, it found that nearly 6 in 10 CFOs at middle-market firms reported facing at least a medium level of uncertainty about the state of their business operations. The majority (52%) said their firm’s performance last year fell short of expectations.

So what has success looked like so far? First and foremost, it has required building an operating system capable of absorbing shocks quickly.

Certainty as a Capability

When companies today think about certainty, it’s in terms of the ability to operate now. That means fast decision-making, strong control of liquidity and measures to protect margins. That’s why the most resilient firms have prioritized near-term visibility (by mapping their exposure across suppliers, products, shipping lanes and currencies), optionality (creating backup plans for sourcing, logistics and production), and governance (centralizing information and giving teams access to the same real-time data).

One major way companies are creating more certainty for themselves is by rethinking their supply chains.

Apple began a push in April to shift production toward India away from China to reduce its exposure to tariffs. By the end of this year, the technology giant aims to have all U.S.-bound iPhones coming in from the South Asian subcontinent.

Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Asus said in an earnings call in August that it had moved more than 90% of its production of personal computers and motherboards destined for the U.S. market outside of China, relocating to Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.

In June, General Motors announced a $4 billion investment to move production to the United States over the next couple of years.

Proactive firms aren’t just leaving China — they’re also designing multinode supply and manufacturing footprints so they can redirect flows as policy shifts.

Of course, not every company can afford, logistics- or cost-wise, to move factories. Still, many can pull trade-structure levers that materially change their exposure to the duties, expense timing and magnitude. For example, they can use duty drawback to recoup up to 99% of duties levied on products later exported or destroyed, according to trade lawyers.

Targeted Pricing Actions

Stanley Black & Decker implemented a high-single-digit price increase in April, planned a second increase and paired these pricing actions with shifts in its supply chain. On its most recent earnings call, the company said it was focusing these increases on affected product families rather than its entire portfolio.

Toymaker Hasbro has its own targeted pricing actions. CEO Chris Cocks said in October that the company has been “pretty surgical” in how it applies increases, focusing on keeping about half its product prices under $20.

All of those pricing shifts require faster data on-demand elasticity, channel behavior and inventory positioning.

Smarter Scenario Planning

Amid the shift in global trade policy, companies are tapping into artificial intelligence. Walmart Chief Accounting Officer David Chojnowski told Deloitte that the retail giant has been stepping up its scenario-planning capabilities. “We’re able to use AI to understand market trends and correlate those trends and other competitors’ decisions with ours in a way that we haven’t been able to in the past.”

The changes reflect a quickening by some companies of the decision-making process protect cash and margins now. In 2026, certainty will look less like confidence and more like capability.

At PYMNTS Intelligence, we work with businesses to uncover insights that fuel intelligent, data-driven discussions on changing customer expectations, a more connected economy and the strategic shifts necessary to achieve outcomes. With rigorous research methodologies and unwavering commitment to objective quality, we offer trusted data to grow your business. As our partner, you’ll have access to our diverse team of PhDs, researchers, data analysts, number crunchers, subject matter veterans and editorial experts.

The post Built to Bend: How Companies Are Shouldering Tariffs appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

You can find your missing iPhone with one text message thanks to Apple Shortcuts — here’s how to set it up

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 08:30:00 +0000

Learn how to set up an iPhone shortcut that locates your phone and takes a photo when you text it a specific keyword.

First the iPhone 17 Pro, now the Galaxy S26 Ultra? Why phone makers may be turning their backs on titanium

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 07:00:00 +0000

A rumor claims that Samsung may be dropping titanium from the Galaxy S26 Ultra, which would follow Apple's move with the iPhone 17 Pro models. Why is titanium falling out of favor as a smartphone material?

Inside the Stream: NAB Show 2025: Live Global Distribution, AI, Audio Innovations

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 02:39:58 +0000

Colin was at NAB Show this past week and on today’s podcast we discuss some of the things that caught his attention. One is how Eluvio is enabling global distribution of live content using its new release. An early user example is European Pro Club Rugby. Next we discuss several AI innovations Colin saw in action. Last up are audio innovations from Xperi DTS without a soundbar.

Listen to the podcast to learn more (31 minutes, 10 seconds)

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Motorola’s latest smartwatch promises 13-day battery life and Polar-powered health tracking

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 01:00:00 +0000

The Moto Watch will be available on January 22nd.

At CES, Motorola announced its latest smartwatch, the Moto Watch. According to Motorola, the Android watch offers up to 13 days of battery life, alongside Polar-powered health tracking, open-source software, and dual-frequency GPS - a combination that helps set it apart from Apple's and Google's flagship wearables.

Battery life is easily its most notable feature. Motorola says the 47mm watch can last up to 13 days on a single charge, or around seven days with the always-on OLED display enabled. If those claims hold up, it would put the Moto Watch well ahead of rivals like the Apple Watch Series 11, Google Pixel Watch 4, and even Fitbit's Ch …

Read the full story at The Verge.

AI Startup Hark Hires Ex-Apple Designer Abidur Chowdhury

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 23:49:07 +0000

Artificial intelligence (AI) startup Hark reportedly hired former Apple designer Abidur Chowdhury as head of design.

Chowdhury joins 30 engineers from companies like Google, Meta and Amazon who have moved to Hark, which is working on AI models and plans to release its first one this summer, Bloomberg reported Tuesday (Jan. 6), citing Hark Founder and CEO Brett Adcock.

Chowdhury, who helped create the iPhone Air, left Apple in November, according to the report.

Bloomberg reported in November that Chowdhury had stepped down from his role at Apple to take a job with an AI startup. He had been with Apple since 2019.

The report said that Chowdhury starred in a video about the iPhone Air’s features and design process, and that appearing in such a video for Apple is considered a “high-profile assignment.”

Adcock, who also runs robotics startup Figure AI, funded Hark with $100 million of his own money and expects the two businesses to grow alongside each other, the report said.

The Information reported in December that Adcock launched the new AI lab with $100 million in funding, and reporter Stephanie Palazzolo said in a December post on X that Hark aims to build “human-centric AI.”

Meanwhile, Figure AI announced in September that it achieved a post-money valuation of $39 billion in a Series C financing round in which it raised more than $1 billion.

The company said it would use the funding to scale humanoid robots into homes and commercial operations, build next-generation GPU infrastructure to accelerate training and simulation, and launch advanced data collection efforts to improve how robots understand and operate in dynamic settings.

“This milestone is critical to unlocking the next stage of growth for humanoid robots, scaling out our AI platform Helix and BotQ manufacturing,” Figure AI said when announcing the financing round. “Support from new partners, alongside the continued backing of our existing investors, reflects both Figure’s position as the market leader and a shared belief in a future where this technology becomes a natural part of daily life.”

It was reported in April that Figure AI and UPS were considering a partnership in which the robotics startup’s humanoid robots would perform some tasks in the logistics company’s operations.

The post AI Startup Hark Hires Ex-Apple Designer Abidur Chowdhury appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

I saw Satechi’s new Thunderbolt 5 CubeDock at CES and it felt like I was holding a Mac mini M4

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 20:28:48 +0000

Satechi’s new Thunderbolt 5 CubeDock draws design inspiration from Apple's Mac mini M4 — and at $399, it costs nearly as much too.

AI Lab Hark Hires Leadership from Apple, Meta

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 19:30:55 +0000

Hark, the AI lab that Figure AI CEO Brett Adcock recently founded, has hired over 30 engineers, including Head of Design Abidur Chowdhury, who previously designed phones and laptops for Apple, according to a copy of a memo Adcock sent to senior Figure employees and investors on Tuesday seen by ...

The best laptop deals you can get right now

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 19:20:42 +0000

The Razer Blade 16 (RTX 5060) is currently on sale for $1699.99 ($700 off) | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

If you want a great laptop, you’re going to have to fork over a ton of money, right? Not necessarily. There are dozens of good laptops on the market at various price points, with even more coming in 2026. However, it can feel overwhelming to find the right one for your needs (some are better suited for, say, college students, whereas others are ideal for gamers).

That’s why we’ve come up with this list of some of the best laptop deals available right now. In addition to the discounts listed below, we’ve noted each model’s best features (and downsides), providing you with more clarity during your shopping journey.

MacBook deals M1 MacBook Air 2020 MacBook Air with M1 (256GB) Where to Buy:

$649 $599 at Walmart

Apple itself no longer sells the 13-inch MacBook Air with M1 — and hasn’t for years — but you can still get this solid laptop for $599.99 ($50 off) at Walmart. The 2020 model is available in one configuration, with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, but it’s still capable of handling basic tasks like a champ, including streaming video, browsing, and dealing with documents. You can also use the M1 MacBook Air for creative work in Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Logic, and Pixelmator, though you may experience slowdown due to its low 8GB of memory.

The laptop’s battery lasted between eight and 10 hours when we originally reviewed it, and those figures should be mostly accurate, barring some differences likely caused by operating system updates. In addition to offering great performance for its price, the laptop also comes with other nice-to-have features, including a comfortable keyboard and an excellent trackpad. Just note its 720p webcam isn’t particularly good, so if a high-resolution webcam matters a lot to you, you may want to buy one separately. Also, be aware that, due to the limitations of the M1 chip, you can only use one external display at a time, and port selection is also more limited than in newer models.

M4 MacBook Air 13-inch Apple MacBook Air 13 (2025, M4) Where to Buy:

The 13-inch MacBook Air with M4 remains Apple’s latest thin and lightweight laptop, and it’s our top pick in The Verge’s guide to the best laptops right now. It’s not a MacBook Pro, but Apple’s M4 processor in the Air is still mighty capable. In our tests, it only throttled under heavy load from creative applications, which is understandable given its fanless design. The machine comes with 16GB of RAM as standard rather than an optional upgrade, but the base configuration still comes with just 256GB of storage, so be mindful of that limitation if you work with a lot of larger files.

Apple hasn’t increased the number of ports on a MacBook Air since reintroducing MagSafe to the M2 model in 2022, but this generation has Thunderbolt 4 ports rather than Thunderbolt 3 for faster file transfer speeds. Another notable addition is the 1080p Center Stage camera from the MacBook Pro, so you’ll stay in frame if you move around on a video call. Battery life should last all day, though your experience will vary depending on how hard you push this machine.

You can currently get a configuration of the 13-inch with M4 with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and a 10-core CPU and GPU for $799 ($200 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. If you need a larger screen, you can get the 15-inch MacBook Air with the same specs for $999 ($200 off) at Amazon and Best Buy.

M5 MacBook Pro MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5, 2025) Apple’s 14-inch M5 MacBook Pro takes everything we loved about the M4 model — including all-day battery life and a 12-megapixel webcam — and improves upon it with an M5 chip. It also offers faster storage and a 10-core CPU / 10-core GPU that’s up to 3.5x faster at AI tasks. Read our review. Where to Buy:

It’s getting tough to find the M4 version of Apple’s MacBook Pro in stock, but that’s not a major concern to us because its M5 starter model is getting more affordable as the months go on. Buying the entry-level MacBook Pro still gets you a pretty serious machine, with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. It debuted for $1,599, but you can currently snag one at $1,449, a $150 discount, from Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo. The year-over-year improvements in the M5 model don’t make it a worthy upgrade for M4 and M3-equipped laptop owners, and it has almost no new design features. That said, it’s still a great laptop if you need something more powerful than a MacBook Air.

M4 Pro MacBook Pro 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Pro Where to Buy:

16-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Pro Where to Buy:

The M4 generation MacBook Pros are some of Apple’s fastest laptops to date. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 starts with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, and comes equipped with three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI port, an SD card slot, and a MagSafe charging port. It can send video to two external displays simultaneously (the previous generation could only handle one) and has an improved 12-megapixel Center Stage camera with better video quality.

The M4 MacBook Pro and M4 MacBook Air run on the same chip, but the Pro’s cooling system is better, so it handles resource-intensive tasks (including games) without throttling as easily. The laptop’s 14.2-inch screen is bright (up to 1,600 nits when viewing HDR content), and supports the P3 color gamut, both of which are important to professionals who rely on color accuracy when editing photos and video. The display has a 120Hz refresh rate, so scrolling through webpages or moving windows around should appear smoother than 60Hz screens. In our stress test, which included editing 33-megapixel RAW images and working with a large photo library in Adobe Lightroom, the laptop ran for 12 hours without kicking up the fans or feeling hot to the touch.

If you want even more power, you can jump up to the 14-inch MacBook Pro, which runs on a current-generation M4 Pro processor. It comes with 24GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, a 12-core CPU, and a 16-core GPU. The M4 Pro MacBook Pro has over twice the memory bandwidth of the base M4 MacBook Pro, so it should perform better across the board. That said, it might be tough to notice the benefits of its extra memory and processing power during casual use, but it will come in handy when you’re pushing the laptop to the limits while video editing or playing games. It has three Thunderbolt 5 ports, and you can use that extra bandwidth with an external SSD with fast transfer speeds, to name an example. You can also opt for the MacBook Pro with M4 Pro and a 16-inch screen if you prefer working on a larger display.

Right now, the 14-inch M4 Pro model with 24GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, a 12-core CPU, and a 16-core GPU for $1,749 ($250 off) at Amazon. The 16-inch M4 Pro MacBook Pro with 24GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, a 14-core CPU, and a 20-core GPU is currently on sale for around $2,239 ($260 off) at Amazon.

Asus laptop deals Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 Where to Buy:

$1799.99 $1719.99 at Best Buy

Asus’ Zephyrus G14 is the best gaming laptop we’ve tested recently because of its mix of power and portability. It has a 14-inch 120Hz OLED display with a 2880 x 1800 resolution. It retains the design Asus introduced last year, but received some nice spec bumps. The entry-level model comes with 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, an AMD Ryzen 9 270 processor, and an Nvidia RTX 5060 chip with 8GB of video RAM. The G14 can be specced up with a faster processor, more storage, additional memory, and an Nvidia RTX 5080 if you want a little more oomph.

The G14 has a comfortable backlit keyboard with bigger keycaps, a large trackpad, and you can charge the laptop via a USB-C port on either side. You’ll still need to use Asus’ proprietary charger to get the fastest charging speed. We chose it as the best 14-inch gaming laptop because we could play new games on high settings, though doing so would kick up the fan and make the laptop feel warm. When it gets hot, the Zephyrus G14 throttles the GPU to avoid overheating, which will reduce its gaming performance.

The laptop weighs 3.31 pounds, a little over half a pound more than the MacBook Air with M4, which proves you don’t have to carry around a massive machine just to play games on the go. The Zephyrus G14 also features an HDMI 2.1 port to connect it to a 4K 120Hz monitor or TV. Right now, you can get the entry-level G14 on sale for $1,719.99 ($80 off) at Best Buy.

Asus ROG Flow Z13 Asus ROG Flow Z13 Where to Buy:

The Flow Z13 is a convertible gaming laptop that offers impressive performance given its slim profile and integrated graphics card, which earned it a spot in our best gaming laptops guide. It runs on AMD’s Ryzen AI Max 395 processor, has 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, and has a 13.4-inch 180Hz IPS touchscreen display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600. It doesn’t have a dedicated graphics card like our other gaming laptop recommendations, but its 40-core Radeon 8060S graphics chip rivals the performance of Nvidia’s RTX 4060 card in our benchmarks.

That’s especially impressive given the fact that the Flow Z13 can be detached from its keyboard and used as a Windows tablet. Its built-in kickstand makes it easy to prop up on a table without a keyboard. The laptop weighs 3.5 pounds with the keyboard attached (2.65 pounds on its own), and is .59 inches thick with the keyboard (.51 inches without). It’s equipped with two USB 4 (Type-C) ports with Power Delivery, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-A) port, an HDMI 2.1 port, 3.5mm combo audio jack, and a microSD card slot (UHS-II).

In our tests the laptop could play Cyberpunk 2077 at up to 70 frames per second at high settings with FSR3 and frame generation enabled, and Elden Ring ran at around 50fps on the high graphics setting at the laptop’s native resolution. Elden Ring played at up to 60fps when we lowered the resolution to 1200p. Playing Elden Ring drained the Z13’s battery in about 90 minutes, but it lasted 10 hours in our battery rundown test and provided between nine and 10 hours of regular use in power efficiency mode with the battery saver feature enabled. The laptop is currently on sale for its all-time low of $2,169 ($130 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. Read our review.

Lenovo laptop deals Lenovo Yoga Book 9i (2024) Lenovo Yoga Book 9i (2024) Where to Buy:

$2199 at Best Buy

A dual-screen laptop is admittedly pretty niche, but we chose Lenovo’s Yoga Book 9i is the best of the bunch in our best laptops guide. It runs on Intel’s Core Ultra 7 155U processor, and comes with 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and integrated Intel UHD graphics chip. Its key feature is the pair of 13.3-inch 60Hz OLED touchscreen displays, which each have a 2880 x 1800 resolution. The screens have a clamshell design and are attached by a hinge, so the Yoga Book 9i looks like a typical laptop when opened.

You can use the laptop in a few configurations. In clamshell mode, the bottom screen displays a full-sized virtual keyboard with trackpad to give you a traditional laptop experience. Our experience in this mode was mixed because it’s too easy to accidentally minimize apps, or make typos if you’re used to the tactile feel of a physical keyboard.

You can attach the Yoga Book 9i to the included keyboard folio, which props it up and allows you to use both screens independently like a laptop attached to an external monitor (except, in the Yoga Book 9i’s case, they’re built-in). One screen can be folded completely over the other display to use the laptop like a large-screen tablet, or folded partially to prop one screen up if you want to watch a movie at a more comfortable angle.

During our testing, the Yoga Book 9i was difficult to use on a lap with the included Bluetooth keyboard because it would shift around while being used. However, moving apps from one display to another using touch gestures was intuitive thanks to tutorials in the User Center app, which immediately launch upon the first boot. The software also lets you enable and disable gestures, if you find some confusing or unnecessary. Switching from a traditional laptop to a dual-screen model will likely take an adjustment period, so it’s very helpful that Lenovo designed software to help ease you through the transition.

Despite having two screens, the Yoga Book 9i only weighs 2.95 pounds, which was light enough to carry in a backpack without weighing us down. The keyboard folio adds some bulk, but comes with an attached elastic band to keep the laptop and accessory from getting detached while you travel. If you’re dedicated to the dual-screen lifestyle, or you want to give it a try, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i is on sale for $1879.99 ($120 off) at Best Buy.

Razer laptop deals Razer Blade 16 (2025, RTX 5090) Where to Buy:

The Razer Blade 16 is one of our favorite 16-inch gaming laptops, and multiple configurations of the machine are currently on sale. Every 2025 model has a 16-inch OLED display with a 240Hz refresh rate and a 2560 x 1600 resolution. From there you can choose a machine with the mix of CPU, GPU, RAM, and storage options that’s right for your budget. However, only two models of the Razer Blade 16 are currently on sale.

The first is its entry-level configuration with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 processor, Nvidia’s RTX 5060 graphics card with 8GB of video memory, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD, which you can get for $2,199.99 ($200 off) from Razer. For a more powerful option with an RTX 5070 graphics card, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD, that’s $2,599.99 ($200 off) now from Razer. Power differences aside, both laptops are equipped with three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A ports, two USB4 ports, a UHS-II SD card reader, HDMI 2.1 port, 3.5mm headphone jack, and proprietary charging port.

We tested the highest-end configuration of the laptop, which has an Nvidia RTX 5090 GPU. That model isn’t on sale and typically retails for $4,499, but we also recommend the more affordable configurations to anyone who wants to play PC games on the go. One of the typical tradeoffs when getting a high-end gaming laptop is thickness and weight, but the Razer Blade 16 is surprisingly slender at 4.6 pounds and .69 inches thick at its thickest point.

Razer even managed to fit in a 1080p webcam that looks good and six-speaker audio system into the laptop’s thin chassis. Non-gaming features, like the Razer Blade 16’s large trackpad and keyboard were a cut above what we’d expect from a gaming laptop.

The laptop’s battery lasted about an hour and a half playing Cyberpunk 2077 and around two hours when playing Elden Ring, so you’ll be able to play games for a bit without plugging it in. However, we needed to turn down both game’s graphics settings to achieve that longevity. We also tested the Razer Blade 16 for creative tasks, and lightly editing roughly 1,000 images in Adobe Lightroom, which took about an hour and drained 25 percent of the laptop’s battery. Read our review.

HP laptop deals HP Victus 15 (2025, RTX 4050) Where to Buy:

HP’s Victus 15 is our top pick for a budget-friendly gaming laptop, and a good choice if you want a laptop with a little more graphical oomph for well under $1,000 on sale. It’s powered by an Intel Core i5-1342H processor and has 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. It has an 144Hz 1080p screen and Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics card with 6GB of dedicated video memory, which shine when playing live service games like Minecraft and Fortnite. You should also be able to play more graphically-demanding games at lower graphics settings. HP equipped the laptop with an HDMI port, one USB-C port, two USB-A ports, an ethernet port, and a headphone jack.

The laptop doesn’t have a touchscreen, and our reviewer wasn’t a fan of its display’s 16:9 aspect ratio (it’s easy to get spoiled with 16:10 these days), but its negative qualities are easier to accept when the laptop is $631 ($429 off) at Walmart. Having a machine with a respectable dedicated GPU along for under $600 is impressive. The laptop is also capable of handling day-to-day tasks like streaming videos, putting together slideshows, spreadsheets, and documents, and video chatting with friends and colleagues.

Update, January 6th: Updated pricing / availability and added a deal for Apple’s latest MacBook Pro.

Meta Pauses International Smartglasses Launch

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 18:25:21 +0000

Meta is pushing back the worldwide launch of its smartglasses amid steep U.S. demand.

“Meta Ray-Ban Display is a first-of-its-kind product with extremely limited inventory,” the company wrote on its blog Tuesday (Jan. 6). “Since launching last fall, we’ve seen an overwhelming amount of interest, and as a result, product waitlists now extend well into 2026.”

Due to this “unprecedented demand and limited inventory,” the Facebook parent says it is pausing its planned global expansion of the glasses to the U.K., France, Italy and Canada, which had initially been scheduled for the early part of this year.

“We’ll continue to focus on fulfilling orders in the U.S. while we re-evaluate our approach to international availability,” Meta added.

The Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, introduced by the company in September, have a starting price of $799, and come with a screen that can display text messages, video calls, photos and the results of queries to Meta’s AI service.

In its blog post Tuesday, the company announced some new features for the product timed to coincide with its appearance at the CES showcase in Las Vegas.

Among them is a teleprompter feature, which provides users with an “always-with-you way to deliver prepared remarks in personal and professional settings.”

The teleprompter is embedded into the display glasses, with “customizable text-based cards and simple navigation with the Meta Neural Band.” Users can copy and paste notes anywhere from their phones and have them displayed as needed.

In addition, Meta is giving owners of Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses and Meta Neural Band in its early access program the ability to send messages on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger by writing with their finger on any surface.

“You can easily jot down messages using only your finger on any surface while wearing Meta Neural Band and have those movements transcribed into digital messages on the fly, or choose from suggested responses based on your conversation,” the company said. “And all of this can be done with your hand resting comfortably at your side or on a tabletop.”

The news comes days after a report that Apple was scaling back the Vision Pro after weak sales. The Financial Times said the company had eased off spending on manufacturing and marketing for the $3,499 headset.

“For the payments ecosystem, it is a sign that ‘spatial computing’ will remain a niche channel for shopping, identity and in-app spending for now,” PYMNTS wrote.

The post Meta Pauses International Smartglasses Launch appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

Banks Report Explosion In New Scam Designed To Make Customers ‘Panic’ Before Draining Their Accounts

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:00:12 +0000

Some of the world’s top banks are reporting a sharp uptick in a new form of digital wallet scam that is engineered to push customers into a state of panic before siphoning off their funds via Apple Pay or Google Pay.

Financial institutions, including HSBC and Santander, have seen fraudsters adopt a high-pressure approach in which victims receive calls claiming their account is under attack or their money is at risk, prompting them to approve push notifications or alerts that end up granting scammers access to their digital wallets.

Danai Antoniou, chief scientist at AI-financial services Gradient Labs, told the Guardian that the approach is effective due to its appearance of being harmless, as the fraudsters are only asking fairly innocuous questions.

“This is why most people don’t question it. If the notification says ‘never share this with anyone’ (or similar), they will pre-emptively mention it to the customer that this is a routine comment that comes with every notification – which is true, customers do become immune to warnings if they get warnings frequently…

Victims often describe feeling panicked and pressured during the call, being told their account is under attack, or that their money is at risk. In that heightened emotional state, approving a notification feels like the responsible thing to do. The victim believes they’re protecting their account, when, in reality, they’re handing over the keys…”

Santander reported that digital wallet fraud was the second biggest reason for card scam losses in 2025, and HSBC reported an increase over the past 18 months.

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The post Banks Report Explosion In New Scam Designed To Make Customers ‘Panic’ Before Draining Their Accounts appeared first on The Daily Hodl.

Anker’s display-equipped Nano Charger is on sale following its CES debut

admin — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 15:42:05 +0000

Anker just announced three new chargers at CES 2026, and surprisingly, one of them is already on sale ahead of its launch on January 20th launch. Anker’s latest 45W Nano Charger, the company’s first Nano Charger to sport a built-in display, is available to preorder from Anker’s online storefront in one of several colors for $29.99 ($10 off) when you use promo code WS24D5XT3DV9 at checkout.

Anker Nano Charger (45W, Smart Display, 180° Foldable) Where to Buy:

$39.99 $29.99 at Anker (with code WS24D5XT3DV9)

Anker’s latest single-port charger delivers up to 45W of power, which should be enough to charge an iPhone 17 Pro to 50 percent capacity in as little as 20 minutes. What truly sets it apart, though, is its front-facing “smart display,” which shows the charge level, power flow, and temperature of the connected device. It can also recognize and identify specific iPhone models dating back to the iPhone 15 — as well as iPad Pro models from 2020 onward — and adjust charging based on power needs. For example, it’ll deliver maximum speeds when a phone is nearly dead, then drop to 15W once a device is above 80 percent.

Additionally, Anker’s new Nano Charger features a “Care Mode” that can lower charging temperatures overnight with a simple double-tap. The charger’s folding prongs can also rotate 180 degrees, making it easier to plug in at different angles or in tight spaces. Just bear in mind that, while it does work with non-Apple devices, the built-in display likely won’t provide as much information.

A few more worthwhile deals

Epicka’s Universal Travel Adapter is on sale starting at $15.99 ($9 off) at Amazon, matching its best price to date. The lightweight wall adapter lets you charge up to six devices at once using a single USB-C port, four USB-A ports, and one AC socket. That makes it easy to top off everything from phones to cameras while traveling in more than 200 countries, from Italy to Argentina.
The Nothing Ear Open are available from Amazon and Nothing for around $98.99 ($50 off), which is just $5 shy of their all-time low. The open-style, water-resistant earbuds offer comfort and peace of mind thanks to an over-ear hook that rests just inside your ear rather than within the canal, making it easier to hear traffic and other potential hazards. Despite their unique design, however, they still deliver solid sound with an adjustable EQ, USB-C charging, and multipoint connectivity. They also feature a “Low Lag Mode” for gaming, as well as ChatGPT integration for Nothing phone owners. Read our hands-on impressions.
The Breville Barista Express is currently on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Williams Sonoma for $649.95 ($150 off), which matches its second-best price to date. It’s still on the pricey side, but it may be worth it if you’re the kind of person who enjoys making cafe-quality espresso at home. The machine is easy to use and relatively simple to maintain, and Breville includes most of the tools you’ll need for daily maintenance and deeper cleanings. Read our own Allison Johnson wax poetic about it.