For years and years, I attended the giant Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas for a week of nonstop boozing.
Ostensibly, I was there to cover the show as a reporter for Wired.com and then Cult of Mac, but between banging out blog posts, it was a long week of free buffets, comped cocktails and a never-ending hangover.
The show was never a big showcase for Apple — it tended to conflict with Macworld Expo, when that event was still running.
But in recent years, lots of Apple accessory manufacturers make the annual pilgrimage to the desert for CES, showcasing add-ons and peripherals and a lot of iPhone cases.
This year, there’s a bunch of interesting gadgets — like a new car stereo head unit that brings Apple’s magical Spatial Audio to a ton of older vehicles — and possibly a sneak peek at one of Apple’s biggest upcoming products ever.
In the Samsung booth, you can go hands-on with a folding display with no visible crease. It’s likely the same technology that’s going to be used in the first folding iPhone, rumored to make its debut later this year.
So confident is Samsung about its new screen, the company put it directly next to an older screen to let showgoers directly compare the two, and clearly see and feel the lack of a showstopping crease.
I skipped CES this year, but now I wish I’d gone. Partly to see this new screen in action — I think the iPhone Fold (or whatever it’s called) is going to be a slow-burn blockbuster — but mostly to see Public Enemy, which is performing at a party thrown by Yahoo.
One of the great perks of being a reporter is that it’s usually pretty easy to blag tickets to these kinds of events (Yeah boiii!!!). I probably wouldn’t have remembered the show, though!
Also in today’s newsletter:
Up-and-coming audio brand Soundcore has some interesting new earbuds that can switch between an open- and closed-ear design.
Aqara’s new deadbolt is one of the first smart locks to use ultra-wideband technology to automatically unlock your door as you approach — no keys, codes or fingerprints required, just your iPhone or Apple Watch.
Edifier’s new M90 speaker system is designed for all the tasks modern speakers are required to do: streaming music, playing TV and computer audio, and more.
Thin is in — for MagSafe battery packs.
This teeny SSD for your iPhone adds a whopping 2TB of storage and packs a fingerprint security scanner to boot.
At the other end of the scale, Satechi’s got a new tower of power USB hub that adds up to 8TB to your desktop Mac.
One of the best things about Espresso’s new portable monitor is the clever stand that elevates it above your MacBook’s screen.
My New Year’s resolutions are already off to a great start — I’m not boozing it up at CES! — but I’ve yet to start mood tracking, which is a good way to figure out the things that bum you out (like, well, boozing).
I’m no Warren Buffett, but over the years, I’ve invested a bit of spare change in stocks, and I’ve advised my kids to do it, too. It’s a wonderful casino, if you don’t mind losing every now and again — which is why I’ve only ever invested small amounts I could afford to lose. But compounding pays off — and this AI stock picker looks very interesting.
— Leander Kahney, EIC.
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One more thing ...
If you really look at the ones that ended up, you know, being “successful” in the eyes of society and the ones that didn’t, oftentimes, it’s the ones that were successful loved what they did so they could persevere, you know, when it got really tough.
Today’s poll
What types of new products debuting at CES get you the most excited?
Results from yesterday’s poll: What's the biggest upgrade coming to an iPad in 2026?
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