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There are few things that piss me off more than having a spotty Wi-Fi connection at home, and it seems MSI agrees because the company brought a rather clever router to CES 2023 featuring antennas that dynamically follow specific devices as you walk around your house. 

Dubbed the RadiX BE22000 Turbo, MSI’s top-spec Wi-Fi router is packed with pretty much every feature you can think of (and probably some you haven’t) to ensure you get the fastest wireless speeds possible. That’s because while the standard is still being finalized, not only is the RadiX designed to support Wi-Fi 7 it also includes MSI’s AI QoS tech which can reduce your ping while gaming or prioritize different types of content like streaming video at the touch of a button. And with channel bandwidths of 320MHz, MSI claims the BE22000 delivers 4x faster throughput when compared to a typical Wi-Fi 6 router. 

But clearly, the RadiX’s standout party trick is its antennas, which unlike pretty much every other router out there (aside from TP-Link’s Archer AXE200 Omni), have the ability to automatically adjust their position to follow a specific device as it moves around your home to deliver optimal wireless coverage at all times. And I can tell you, after seeing the router in person, it’s kind of mesmerizing. 

Unfortunately, before anyone gets too excited, it’s important to note that even MSI doesn’t expect the BE22000 Turbo to go on sale until sometime in 2024. That’s because there are a couple important hurdles like waiting for the Wi-Fi spec to be finalized, along with other challenges like ensuring the motors for the router’s antennas can handle months and years of constant operation. Even during the short time the RadiX was on display at CES, I noticed the speed at which its antennas moved became a bit sluggish due to increased heat.

For people who still care about wired internet connections, the RadiX BE22000 Turbo also includes two 10 gigabit Ethernet ports along with four 2.5 gigabit jacks.

On top of that, I still have other questions like how does the router know which device (or devices) to prioritize in a home filled with multiple gadgets. And what’s the repair process like if one of its antenna motors dies? After all, under ideal conditions, routers should be something you can set and forget. And at this point, I’m sure some of you are wondering what kind of person this robo router is really for?

Is the BE22000 Turbo over-designed? Sure. And while MSI hasn’t announced pricing for it either, you can bet this thing won’t be cheap. But you can’t say MSI isn’t trying, and when compared to rival products, a router with automatically adjustable antennas is exactly the type of thing I like to see at CES. 

 

Well CES is officially underway. The floor is open and hordes of PR reps, journalists and eager entrepreneurs are coursing through the arteries of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Of course even before the LVCC opened its doors today there’s been plenty of news coming out of CES 2023.

Sony

Sony held its big press conference Wednesday night, covering everything from high-end cinema cameras and nano satellites, to video game movies and accessible controllers. The company’s Project Leonardo controller will offer a variety of customizable buttons and other hardware in a kit built for those with limited motor ability. Like Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive controller, Project Leonardo reflects a growing trend in tech, especially in the gaming industry, to better serve those living with disabilities.

The Sony announcement that made the biggest splash though, might have been that the endlessly delayed Gran Turismo movie is coming out in 2023. Personally I’m not a big fan of the Gran Turismo series, or racing games in general, but even I got a bit excited watching the trailer. The camera work in the upcoming Neill Blomkamp film is shaping up to be pretty intense.

And in a weird bit of synergy, Sony also unveiled a car of its own, the newly christened “Afeela” concept which was born out of partnership with Honda. The first Sony Honda Mobility vehicle won’t be ready for the road until 2026 at least.

AMD

AMD also made a splash two CPUs and a GPU. The beefiest of the bunch is definitely the new Ryzen 9 7950X3D CPU which packs an insane 144MB of cache using the company’s 3D V-Cache technology and reaches boost speeds of 5.7GHz. The other two AMD announcements focused on the mobile side, including the first RDNA 3 GPUs for laptops and a lineup of performance-focused Ryzen HX CPUs.

Razer

Another company focusing on raw power this CES was Razer which announced two new laptop models – the Blade 16 and Blade 18. They’re loaded to the brim with high-end components like Intel Core-i9 HX chips and NVIDIA’s top-of-the-line RTX 4090 graphics cards.

But personally I think the most interesting feature is the Blade 16’s dual mode screen that can run either 4K at 120Hz and peak brightness of 1,000 nits or full HD plus at 240Hz and 600 nits, depending on whether speed or resolution are more important at that particular moment.

Razer also finally gave us a release date for its Edge cloud gaming handheld which will land on January 26th.

Lenovo

The biggest dump of news, though, probably belongs to Lenovo. It announced two laptops, a giant tablet, an e-ink notepad and even a “Think” branded phone. The ThinkPhone finally brings some of Lenovo’s enterprise expertise to bear on Motorola mobile devices while the Smart Paper tablet syncs handwritten notes with audio recordings, so you can scrub through a lecture and immediately see the notes associated with that moment.

The most unique device, though, is the dual screen YogaBook 9i. Sure, we’ve seen plenty of concept dual-screen machines before, but the 9i isn’t a pipe dream, it’s an actual product that will go on sale later this year. Lenovo will even bundle all the accessories you need to make the most of its form factor, including a foldable stand, a stylus and a bluetooth keyboard.

You can simply use the foldable as is and pull up a virtual keyboard on the bottom screen, or you can attach the physical one to the screen and use the exposed bit of the display either as touchpad or to show widgets. But you could also set it up as basically a portable dual-screen workstation with the displays either side by side or stacked one over the other.

Google

Switching to the world of automobiles, Google was finally ready to put its major overhaul of Android Auto on display and has started rolling it out to users. The new UI has a split screen mode and puts Maps in easier reach at all times.

And speaking of Maps, Google debuted a new HD version that will be coming to the Polestar 3. These higher-resolution maps will be useful for Pilot Assist, but might prove essential for future self-driving features. Unfortunately, no word on when or if the HD Maps will be coming to other vehicles.

Stellantis

Last, but not least, Stellantis revealed its Ram 1500 Revolution BEV Concept truck. In the grand tradition of truly outlandish concept vehicles showing up at CES the Revolution BEV has an augmented reality heads up display, a collapsable steering wheel, some sort of 3D animated avatar that the driver can interact with and will even follow you around like some sort of sad puppy dog if you want.

On the more practical side it also sports four wheel steering and an 800 volt architecture that would allow it to get up to 100 miles of charge in just 10 minutes. Of course, you’ll never actually be able to buy the Ram 1500 Revolution BEV Concept. But there is supposedly a Ram 1500 BEV coming in 2024 that will be loosely based on this.

And don’t worry, there’s still plenty more to come from CES – We’ve only just begun scouring the floor for hidden gems. So for all the details on anything you might have missed, check out our comprehensive coverage on Engadget.com or our YouTube channel. And stay tuned more from CES 2023.

 

Russian hackers have reportedly targeted three nuclear research laboratories in the US. A group called Cold River carried out a phishing campaign against scientists at the Brookhaven, Argonne and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories last summer in an attempt to obtain passwords, Reuters reports.

The efforts are believed to have taken place in August and September, around the time UN experts visited a nuclear power plant in Russia-controlled Ukrainian territory to help prevent a potential disaster following heavy shelling in the area. Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin has alluded to a readiness to defend Russia-claimed territory with nuclear weapons.

It’s not clear whether the phishing attempts were successful or why the hackers were trying to gain access to the labs’ systems. However, Adam Meyers, senior vice president of intelligence at cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, told Reuters that Cold River is “involved in directly supporting Kremlin information operations.”

Last year, the group leaked emails from the former chief of MI6, the UK’s foreign intelligence service. Cold River is also said to have targeted non-government organizations investigating war crimes. It reportedly conducted such a campaign around the time a UN commission said that Russian forces were responsible for war crimes and human rights violations in the early days of the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

 

Late last year, Meta expanded the limits of consumer mixed reality when it released the Quest Pro. And now at CES 2023, HTC is hitting back with its own take on a flagship headset with the Vive XR Elite.

Right away, the XR Elite matches a number of the Quest Pro’s highlight specs including support for 2K resolution (1920 x 1920) to each eye, a 90Hz refresh rate and full standalone operation. However, weighing 625 grams (versus 722 for the Quest Pro) and with a more comfortable headband, the XR Elite does an even better job of delivering a breezy portable VR/AR experience. Heck, HTC included the ability to remove its battery and stuff the lens inside a relatively compact canister for traveling. That said you’ll still have to find room in a bag or somewhere else to stash its power pack.

But it was only after I got a chance to test HTC’s headset across a number of demos that I really started to appreciate how much has been packed inside such a small package. Like the Quest Pro, the XR Elite features built-in hand-tracking, so you can easily and intuitively use gesture controls in games. And with support for full-color passthrough, you don’t feel like you’re isolated in the lonely void of VR.

Also, despite HTC opting for a slightly older Qualcomm XR2 chip (compared to the XR2+ chip in the Quest Pro) I was able to play games like Hubris (which originally launched on PSVR) without the need for help from a computer. Thankfully, you still have the option of tethering to a desktop when you want to run PC-based games or pairing with your phone to watch videos.

Granted, the XR Elite’s controllers still have a ring around the top, which makes them a bit more unwieldy than Meta’s Touch Pro gamepads. But that’s a trade-off I can live with. The two major drawbacks of the XR Elite compared to the Quest Pro is its lack of sophisticated eye and face-tracking, though HTC says it’s working on modules that should address those shortcomings.

Unfortunately, despite its high points, the XR Elite also shares a lot of the same flaws as the Quest Pro. Sure, starting at $1,099, it’s a bit cheaper than Meta’s $1,500 rival. But that’s still prohibitively expensive for anyone that’s not a bleeding edge enthusiast. But the bigger issue is that with all these new features, it still feels like there’s a lack of content that can take advantage of the headset’s capabilities. Most of the games I played were demos meant to showcase specific features instead of full-fledged experiences.

There are some annoying quirks too. While I found the XR Elite more comfortable than the Quest Pro, I had a harder time dialing in my IPD (interpupillary distance) and getting the optics as tack sharp as Meta’s headset. On top of that, as a side effect to HTC’s quest for streamlined portability, there’s so little space between the XR Elite’s lenses and your eyes, there isn’t enough room for people to keep their glasses on while using it. HTC tried to combat this by including diopters that can account for certain levels of nearsightedness, but those settings only go down to -6. So while I don’t wear glasses myself, the headset is a much harder sell for those who do.

Ultimately, this means that as impressive as HTC’s smaller and more portable MR headset is on a technical level, it still doesn’t do enough to convert metaverse skeptics into willing users, or at least not yet. But just like the Quest Pro, in a way, HTC had to build the Vive XR Elite for that future to even have a chance of becoming reality, both now and long after the headset goes on sale sometime in late February.

 

The most dangerous aspect of a water rescue for first responders isn’t the treacherous environmental conditions, it’s the terrified and panicked victim capable of pulling their rescuer under the waves along with them. Rather than risk national treasures like David Hasselhoff, the U-Safe self-propelled buoy from Portugal’s Noras Performance will brave the waves in their stead.

The U-Safe is an aquatic robot designed to drive out to a swimmer in distress using a pair of turbines mounted in its “legs.” The turbines are omnidirectional and operate regardless of the U-Safe’s orientation in the water. It can reach a top speed of 15km/h and range out to 3.2 nautical miles so long as the first responders can maintain a line of sight. The entire unit weighs just over 30 pounds with induction-charged lithium-ion battery providing power. 

It’s controlled using a one-handed bluetooth remote, itself both buyant and waterproof so there’s little risk of a rescue going sideways because you’ve dropped the control unit overboard. First introduced in 2017, and since adopted by both the Italian and Portuguese coast guards, the U-Safe is being readied for US release later this year.

 

When we first started seeing foldable device concepts a few years back, I was intrigued but not particularly impressed. Many of those early prototypes felt very much like experiments: they were often bulky and the bendy displays seemed fragile. And there were creases.

Thankfully, display tech has come a long way in just a few years. That was particularly evident at LG Display’s booth at CES this year, where the company showed off two new mobile OLED concepts: a 17-inch laptop/tablet and an 8-inch smartphone-like device that can fold in two directions.

The 17-inch device is far from the first foldable tablet we’ve seen, but LG Display claims this one is “almost entirely crease-free.” We looked at it pretty closely, and there was a visible seam along the fold, but it was very difficult to detect when the tablet was fully extended. And there wasn’t any kind of rippling or gap that we sometimes see with foldables. Moreover, LG says the display was tested for up to 50,000 folds, so it should be pretty durable.

The other concept was something LG Display officially calls the “360-degree Foldable OLED,” an 8-inch display that looks a lot like Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, but folds in both directions. So, in addition to folding it closed, you can also fold it outwards, with the two displays in a sort of tent shape.

LG Display says these “360-degree” abilities could potentially allow an eventual device to be used in multiple different modes. Of course it would also depend on hardware makers and app developers to decide how take advantage of the functionality, but it’s interesting to think about how you might want to use a phone when it’s folded in the other direction.

Of course, two-way folding also requires a more durable display and LG says it’s delivered on that as well. According to the company, the 360-degree foldable is rated for 200,000 folds and is stronger than comparable foldable devices currently on the market. So while we don’t yet know for sure if companies like Samsung are going to pursue phones with these two-way folding abilities, LG Display has shown that such a device could be a lot closer than we think.

 

When we weren’t distracted by all the cool stuff at CES, we found some pretty great deals on tech that you can buy right now. Amazon’s just-released Kindle Scribe, with both reading and writing capabilities, saw its first-ever discount and Razer discounted many of their 2022 Blade 15 gaming laptops by $400. Not surprisingly for the new year, fitness tech saw some decent discounts, with both the Beats Fit Pro earbuds and the Fitbit Inspire 3 seeing 20 percent discounts. There were a few deals on storage cards, both from Samsung and a Switch Online subscription bundle with a SanDisk card, making this a good time to add some capacity to your cameras and handhelds. The Apple Watch Ultra also saw a $50 discount. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today.

Amazon Kindle Scribe

Amazon’s Kindle Scribe came out just over a month ago but is already seeing its first discount. This is Amazon’s latest top-of-the-line e-reader that also allows you to take notes with an included stylus. Depending on the configuration, you can save between $45 and $60 on the list price right now. The base model with 16GB of storage and Amazon’s “Basic Pen” is down to $295 from its usual $340. If you’d like that unit with the premium version of the stylus, which includes an on-board eraser function and a shortcut button, you’ll pay $320, or $50 off the going rate. 

If you think you’ll need more storage than the 16GB provides, the 32GB model is $335 instead of $390 and the 64GB model is down to $360 from its usual $420. Both of the higher capacity models come with the Premium Pen. All models include the option of four months of Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited service at not extra charge, which gives you access to the entire Kindle library of audio and e-books as long as you’re paying for the service. Note that the subscription will auto-renew after four months (currently $10 per month) so be sure to cancel if you decide you don’t want to pay for the service.  

Beats Fit Pro earbuds

If getting in shape is on your list of to-dos for 2023, a new pair of activity-focused earbuds might be in order. Right now the Beats Fit Pro are down to $160, which is the same 20 percent discount the buds saw for Black Friday. We named them the best best earbuds for workouts in our earbuds guide and this deal matches the lowest price we’ve seen yet. They’ve got plenty of sweat resistance, along with a secure fit that stays put as you move. As an Apple product, they’ve been given many of the benefits of AirPods, like easy pairing, hands-free Siri and audio sharing. But they’ll work well with Android phones too. 

If you don’t need workout buds, the Beats Studio Buds are also on sale right now, bringing them down to just $100. That’s about $10 over the lowest price we’ve seen, but still a great deal on a comfortable pair of earbuds with balanced sound. The discounts are part of a wider Beats sale at Amazon, which also includes the Beats Studio Buds bundled with a $25 Amazon gift card for $185, which is $40 less than usual. 

Nintendo Switch Online membership

Nintendo Switches have been a popular holiday gift since their debut. If you got yours this year, you can add Nintendo’s Switch Online service, plus some extra storage for a tidy 43% discount. Both Amazon and Best Buy have bundled a 12-month Switch Online family plan with a 256GB SanDisk microSDXC card for just $50. That’s an officially licensed Switch microSD card and usually runs for $35 on its own. A year-long family membership to Nintendo’s online service usually goes for $35 on its own, so this deal is really about the storage card. It also usually retails for $35, so with the bundle you’re essentially getting a year of Switch Online plus a 256GB microSD card for just $15. Keep an eye on your subscription if you don’t want to auto renew, it’s set to do just that by default. 

Google Nest WiFi Pro router

Two big things have happened in smart home connectivity recently, the opening of the 6Hz wireless band and Matter support. But you’ll need devices that are designed to work with those advancements, like Google’s newest mesh WiFi routers. Right now Nest WiFi Pro routers are on sale for their lowest price ever, with a 20 percent discount off of all four colors. That brings a single router down to $160 instead of $200. Note that only the white colorway is available in a multi-pack, so if you need three units in, say, the Lemongrass color, you’ll need to add three units to your cart instead of clicking on the three-pack bundle — you’ll still get the 20 percent savings. 

These Nest routers provide access to the potentially faster and less congested 6E WiFi band, which many newer smartphones and some smart home devices are set up to access. They’ll also act as Matter hubs, allowing Matter-enabled devices to connect and work together harmoniously. Matter support has already rolled out to many of the newer Google, Amazon and Apple devices, with more brands coming on board soon.

Samsung Pro Plus MicroSD card

Here’s a great deal on a useful item for your cameras, phones and gaming handhelds. Samsung’s 256GB Pro Plus microSD card has hit an all-time-low price of just $22.50, down from its usual $38. As with many microSD cards, this includes an adapter so you can transfer data from devices with different sized SD slots. The 256GB size can hold up to 15 hours of 4K video or more than 100,000 4K still images. The larger 512GB card is also on sale, for an even steeper 55 percent discount. That brings the storage card down to $50, instead of its usual $110. 

Fitbit Inspire 3

For some people, fitness trackers really do help them stick to goals and keep up their activity levels. (The reminder to take a break from standing or sitting all day is something I certainly rely on.) Here’s a deal on our favorite budget option, the Fitbit Inspire 3. Right now at Amazon, the wearable is down to $80, which is just $10 above its Black Friday prices, and $20 off its usual $100 sticker price. 

We included the Inspire 3 in our fitness tracker guide because it provides excellent activity tracking along with automatic workout detection and smartphone alerts. True, it won’t give you GPS tracking for a run or hike, and there’s no music control or on-board payment capabilities like more expensive devices offer, but for a tracker with Fitbit’s robust activity monitoring and coaching, it’s a good buy. It’s also a great looking wearable, especially with its interchangeable bands.  

Razer Blade 15 

At CES, Razer unveiled their upcoming 16- and 18-inch Blade models. Those are expected in the first quarter of this year and will start at $2,700 for the base configurations. But if you don’t necessarily need the latest release, you can save $400 on a few configurations of 2022 Razer Blade 15 laptops with 12th-gen Intel processors. We think these are some of the best premium gaming laptops out there and said so in our latest laptop guide. 

The version of the Razer’s Blade 15 that we recommend combines bleeding-edge performance and speedy graphics, all wrapped up in a sleek and sturdy aluminum chassis. Usually $3,000, both Amazon and Razer are offering it for $2,600, or 13 percent off the list price. You get a 240Hz QHD display with a GeForce RTX 3070 Ti graphics card and an Intel i7-12800H processor under the hood. It comes with 16GB of dual-channel slotted (upgradable) memory and 1TB of SSD, with an open M.2 slot.

You can also save on a version with Razer’s new 240Hz OLED laptop screen, RTX 3070 Ti graphics plus a slightly faster Intel i9 processor. It’s on sale at both Amazon and Razer for $400 off, bringing the price down to $2,900. Or go for the fully loaded unit we tried out in our review. It’s also $400 off at Razer’s site, bringing the price down from $3,700 to a slightly more managable $3,300. It’s got a 12th-gen Intel i7-12800H processor, a faster RTX 3080 Ti graphics card, and the quad-HD 240Hz display.

Apple Watch Ultra

Apple’s most premium smartwatch doesn’t see a ton of discounts, having only debuted last September but right now the Ultra is down to $749 at Amazon. The lowest price we’ve seen so far was $739, so this isn’t an all-time low, but still a chance to save $50 on a high-end wearable. We gave it an 85 in our review, calling out its durable build, great battery life and suite of geo-locating features that help you to never get lost. While we did note that it’s got a large build and weighs a bit more than a typical watch, it was surprisingly comfortable and didn’t feel clunky. 

The Ultra has tons of activity and tracking features for athletes and adventurers and a bright, always on display with built-in GPS guidance. There’s also health and safety features like crash detection and heart monitoring. Since the watch comes with cellular connectivity, you can even make calls and texts, so you can leave your phone behind on the next adventure.  

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

 

On Tuesday, New York City public schools banned ChatGPT from school devices and WiFi networks. The artificial intelligence-powered chatbot, released by OpenAI in November, quickly gained a foothold with the public — and drew the ire of concerned organizations. In this case, the worry is that students will stunt their learning by cheating on tests and turning in essays they didn’t write.

ChatGPT (short for “generative pre-trained transformer”) is a startlingly impressive application, a sneak preview of the light and dark sides of AI’s incredible power. Like a text-producing version of AI art (OpenAI is the same company behind DALL-E 2), it can answer fact-based questions and write essays and articles that are often difficult to discern from human-written content. And it will only get harder to tell the difference as the AI improves.

“While the tool may be able to provide quick and easy answers to questions, it does not build critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, which are essential for academic and lifelong success,” Jenna Lyle, a spokesperson for New York City public schools, wrote in an email to NBC News. Still, the organization may have difficulty enforcing the ban. Blocking the chatbot over the school’s internet network and on lent-out devices is easy enough, but that won’t stop students from using it on their own devices with cellular networks or non-school WiFi.

OpenAI is developing “mitigations” it claims will help anyone identify ChatGPT-generated text. Although that’s a welcome move by the Elon Musk-founded startup, recent history isn’t exactly rife with examples of big business putting what’s best for society over the bottom line. (Relying on AI powerhouses to self-regulate sounds as foolproof as trusting the fossil-fuel industry to prioritize the environment over profits.) And artificial intelligence is big business: OpenAI has reportedly been in talks to sell shares at a $29 billion valuation, making it one of the most valuable US startups.

Not everyone in the education community is against the AI chatbot. Adam Stevens, a teacher at Brooklyn Tech who spent years teaching history at NYC’s Paul Robeson High School, compares ChatGPT to the world’s most famous search engine. “People said the same thing about Google 15 or 20 years ago when students could ‘find answers online,’” he toldChalkbeat. He argues that the bot could be an ally for teachers, who could use it as a baseline essay response, which the class could work together to improve upon.

Stevens believes the key is to invite students to “explore things worth knowing” while moving away from standardized metrics. “We’ve trained a whole generation of kids to pursue rubric points and not knowledge,” he said, “and of course, if what matters is the point at the end of the semester, then ChatGPT is a threat.”

No matter how schools handle AI bots, the genie is out of the bottle. Barring government regulation (unlikely in the near future, given the US Congress’ current trajectory), AI-powered answers, essays and art are here to stay. The next part, dealing with the potential societal fallout — including the automation of more and more jobs — will be where the real challenges begin.

 

It’s almost time for the 2023 edition of the week-long Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ) speedrunning marathon. This year’s event takes place between January 8th and January 15th. As ever, AGDQ will showcase a bunch of skilled players racing to finish games as quickly as they can. Runners will go head-to-head in some games and we might see world records being broken too.

For the third year in a row, AGDQ will take place entirely online. The event was scheduled to take place in Florida with a live audience, but organizers decided against that plan due to the state’s “continued disregard for COVID-19’s dangers (including anti-mandate vaccination policies) and an increased aggression towards LGBTQ+ individuals.” They said that “we do not believe it is a safe place for our community at this time,” but relocating to a “safer location” wasn’t financially feasible. That means speedrunners won’t have an in-person crowd to cheer them on.

As always, the schedule is full of some intriguing runs. Stray, Cult of the Lamb and Neon White (a game that’s all about speedrunning) are among the recent titles making their first appearances at AGDQ. A bunch of fan-favorite games are in the mix too, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Cuphead and Portal.

I’m looking forward to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge run, as well as watching a crew of six players cleaning a bunch of vehicles in PowerWash Simulator as quickly as possible. I’m also curious about a run for a game called I’m going to die if I don’t eat sushi!, which I simply had to buy after seeing it on the schedule. Unless it’s added as a bonus game, though, there’s no Elden Ring this time around.

AGDQ is once again raising funds for Prevent Cancer Foundation. The 2022 edition brought in a record $3.4 million for that cause. AGDQ and its sibling event, Summer Games Done Quick, have raised more than $41 million for charity since 2010.

The latest marathon will commence at noon ET on Sunday with an any-percent run of Splatoon 3 (meaning the player can take advantage of glitches). You’ll be able to watch the entire event on Twitch via the Games Done Quick channel. The stream is embedded below too. If you miss a run or can’t watch AGDQ live, you’ll be able to catch up on the GDQ YouTube channel.

 

Dolby Atmos for cars was first announced for the Lucid Air and select Mercedes models in 2021. But with the immersive audio making it to luxury automobiles in the US last month, the company is showing off the setup here at CES 2023 with in-car demos. We got our first listening session in the backseat of a Mercedes-Maybach S 580. 

First, let me explain a bit about the car. This Maybach is equipped with a Burmester 4D sound system with 30 total speakers, six of which are in the ceiling. Think of those as playing the role of upfiring drivers in your Atmos soundbar. Amplifiers deliver 1,750 watts of power and both front- and trunk-mounted subs handle the bass (the trunk sub has its own 400-watt amp too). It’s a completely insane setup installed in a $185,000 car.

The immersive sound is so impressive, it even manages to upstage its lavish setting. It’s great for pop tunes like The Weeknd, but much like an Atmos system in your home, the in-car version really shines with genres like jazz. When listening to “So What” from Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, it felt like I was in a club. In the backseat, the drums were to my right while the horns were up by the driver and so on. The sensation was like sitting in the middle of all the musicians while they did their thing. As someone who has tested several Atmos home theater setups, I was still surprised by the results here. Of course, this is a crazy sound system in high-end luxury car, likely the best iteration of this type of Dolby automotive collab.

Right now, the bulk of the content is audio. Simply link your streaming service of choice, so long as it offers Dolby Atmos Music spatial audio, and you’re all set. The infotainment system in the Maybach had all of the compatible tunes clearly labeled as to which were Atmos. Dolby says there are some companies offering a/v uses, so movies and shows with the immersive audio would sync up with an in-car setup just fine. The company’s senior vice president of entertainment John Couling explained during the demo that he anticipated people would watch movies mapped in Dolby Atmos while their EV charged, for example.

Dolby says Atmos was designed to be scalable from the start, so just like it has for soundbars, the audio platform can be configured for more run-of-the-mill speaker setups in more affordable cars. We’re talking four-channel, six-speaker arrangements. It wasn’t so long ago that Atmos was reserved for only premium soundbars and now it’s available on things like the Sonos Beam via virtualization. So even though a family car or minivan may not have the ceiling-mounted overhead speakers a Mercedes does, immersive audio won’t be out of the question. Much like it’s interesting to see how more budget-friendly speakers handle Atmos, I’m looking forward to hearing what a virtualized version sounds like in a Honda Civic. 

Dolby Atmos is currently available on the Lucid Air and Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, as well as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, EQE, EQE SUV, EQS and EQS SUV. Volvo has already announced that Atmos will be available on the Bowers & Wilkins sound system in the EX90 SUV. The EV will be the first Volvo to have Dolby’s immersive audio inside. The Polestar 3 also packs an Atmos-equipped Bowers & Wilkins setup and it’s due to arrive later this year. The Plus pack specifically includes a 25-speaker system for this task. Lotus has also announced a collaboration with Dolby, bringing Atmos to the KEF setup inside the Eletre EV that’s due to debut in 2024.