We lived through CES 2021 and all we have to show for it is our tired typing fingers. This week, Devindra, Cherlynn and UK Bureau Chief Mat Smith chat about the most notable announcements from the show. Sure, there were tons of TVs, but PC hardware like AMD’s new Ryzen 5000 laptop chips and NVIDIA’s RTX 30-series mobile GPUs will also shape all the systems we see throughout the year. And they also touch on what happened after the US Capitol was attacked by right-wing extremists. It turns out, social media companies finally decided to take action.
CES Highlights: PCs – 7:20
CES Highlights: TVs – 14:10
CES Highlights: Laptops – 22:16
CES Highlights: Weird Stuff – 56:02
•	Moflin, an AI pet – 56:40
•	Razer Project Hazel face mask – 58:52
•	Razer Gaming Chair – 1:03:57
•	Avita Admiror II –1:08:45
The fallout from Twitter banning Trump – 1:19:39
Working on – 1:31:29
Picks – 1:33:27

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Everything that matters at CES 2021

A weekly news show where your favorite Engadget editors tear themselves away from their crippling technology addiction, to discuss our collective crippling technology addiction.

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Humane’s hyped up AI Pin is finally here and, unfortunately, it stinks. This week, Cherlynn and Devindra are joined by Michael Fisher (AKA MrMobile) and Wired Reviews Editor Julian Chokkattu to chat about the AI Pin and the many ways it fails. It’s often inaccurate, it takes crummy photos, and it gets way too hot. Not so great for something you’re supposed to wear all day! Is there any hope for AI-dependent gadgets? Also, Washington Post columnist Christopher Velazco joins to discuss Apple’s approval of used iPhone components for repairs.  




Too much heat, too few features: Humane’s AI pin doesn’t live up to the hype – 1:09

Other News: Apple will allow devices to be repaired with secondhand parts soon – 44:08 

Google’s Next 24 event announces AI video generation tool, ARM-based CPU for data centers, and Google Photos tools for all subscribers – 53:10 

Working on – 1:00:59 

Pop culture picks – 1:05:40

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Does Humane’s AI Pin live up to the hype?

Google has gone from being the go-to search engine to something people are paying to avoid entirely. This week, Cherlynn and Devindra chat with 404 Media co-founder Jason Koebler about his experience moving away from Google and towards Kagi, a $10 a month search engine without ads or data tracking. Funny enough, Kagi is still relying on Google’s index, so it’s a lot like using that site before the onslaught of ads, sponsored posts and AI results. Also, we discuss the company’s lies around Chrome’s incognito mode, as well as the news that it would be deleting user data collected in that mode.




Why Jason Koebler moved from Google to Kagi's paid search engine – 0:45

Google says it will destroy data collected from users using Incognito mode – 15:01

Gurman report: Apple is working on personal home robots – 24:55

Amazon just walked out on its self check-out tech – 30:43

FCC set to vote to restore Net Neutrality – 43:00

Apple adds Spatial Personas to make the Vision Pro experience less lonely – 45:09

Proposed California state law would give tech workers the “right to disconnect” – 47:17

Tekken director responds to fighting game fans’ request for a Waffle House stage – 49:57

Around Engadget – 51:22

Working on – 54:31

Pop culture picks – 59:13

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Why pay $10 a month to get away from Google search?

This week, it’s all about cars and Lucy Liu in VR. Devindra chats with Senior Writer Sam Rutherford about his visit to the New York International Auto Show, where he saw the Polestar 4, a unique new EV without a rear window. Also, Cherlynn pops in to chat with Lucy Liu about her new VR game, The Pirate Queen. We also explore the issues around Florida’s bill banning young kids from social media sites, and Sam tells us why he likes Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation.

Sam Rutherford on what’s new in EVs and car tech from the New York Auto Show – 0:57

Cherlynn Low interviews Lucy Liu about her new VR game The Pirate Queen – 34:39 

Florida Governor signs bill banning young children from social media – 54:55 

Intel confirms Copilot will eventually run locally – 58:33 

There’s finally a version of Chrome that runs well on ARM-based Windows machines – 1:02:43

Canadian researchers have created a camera that takes 156.3 trillion frames per second – 1:05:06 

Working on – 1:07:08

Pop culture picks – 1:12:44

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

NY Auto Show and the state of EVs + Lucy Liu interview

Microsoft finally announced the Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 today, but you won’t find them in any retail stores. You can only buy them on Microsoft’s website and through enterprise resellers. This week, Cherlynn and Devindra discuss why Microsoft is positioning these computers for businesses, and what it could mean for the future of the Surface lineup. The company is hinting that it’ll have consumer devices soon – likely the Pro 10 and Laptop 6 without as much corporate baggage. But there may also be room for an entirely new form of Surface. Perhaps it’s time for a true Surface foldable? (Or maybe not, after seeing how the Duo performed.)




Microsoft announces Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6, but you won’t find them in stores – 0:34

U.S. Justice Department files antitrust suit aimed at Apple’s “walled garden” ecosystem – 14:13

Report: Apple may tap Google for Gemini AI on iPhones – 25:01

NVIDIA claims its new Blackwell chip will power through AI workloads 30x faster using 25x less power – 33:07

Microsoft hires Deepmind cofounder Mustafa Suleyman to lead AI division – 38:00

YouTube reveals new rules for realistic AI video – 43:16

Check your Glassdoor account – real names accidentally tied to some anonymous company reviews – 44:31

Cherlynn finds the tech angle on the Kate Middleton photo debacle. Look at the metadata! – 47:03

Around Engadget – 56:05

Pop culture picks – 59:52

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Surface Pro 10 and Laptop 6 are all about business

Another week, another concerted effort to ban TikTok in the US – except this time, it could actually happen. In this episode, Cherlynn and Devindra chat with Engadget Senior Editor Karissa Bell around the latest TikTok drama. The House passed a bill that could ultimately ban the company if ByteDance doesn’t sell it off within six months. It may face a tougher fight in the Senate, but if it’s approved there President Biden has said he’s willing to sign it into law. 

Is this a justified fight against the Chinese-owned social media company, or is it the sum of our political fears against all things China? (Maybe it’s a bit of both?) We discuss why this potential ban could be a huge civil rights violation, as well as the need for true data privacy laws in the US, which would apply to all social networks.  




U.S. House passes bill that would give Bytedance 6 months to sell TikTok – 0:47

Microsoft’s Surface and AI event preview – 17:04 

Apple will allow EU users to download some apps from websites – 27:38

Five Tesla execs earned $2.5B over the last five years while the company paid no income tax – 34:53 

Around Engadget – 44:57 

Working on – 48:31 

Pop culture picks – 50:17

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Everything that matters at CES 2021

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