Eargo's latest smart hearing aid adapts to your environment

Eargo has been reliably announcing a new model of its smart, near-invisible hearing aids at CES for the last few years now and 2022 is no exception with the introduction of the Eargo 6. As usual, the small black buds take the same completely in canal (CIC) form factor which is what allows them to remain almost entirely out of sight. The “new” stuff is on the inside.

The flagship feature with the Eargo 6 is called “Sound Adjust.” No prizes for guessing what this does, but the company claims its proprietary algorithm can automatically sense your surroundings and the hearing aids will automatically optimize themselves to give you the best settings for it. Profiles are a fairly standard feature on most hearing aids, but automatic switching is usually something reserved for the pricier models, and they all do it with different levels of success, in my experience at least.

The difference here is that the Eargo 6 is much smaller than most of the other products that offer similar technologies. Being tiny is great, and the main selling point here, but it also means there’s much less real estate to fill with sensors and chips. Regardless, Eargo seems to be figuring out clever ways to bring their offerings up to feature parity with their (physically and metaphorically) larger competition.

Of course, it wouldn’t be CES 2022 without a few COVID-related influences. For the last two years, those with hearing loss have faced a new challenge: Conversing with people who are wearing a mask. Not only does this remove any visual feedback, it also muffles sound — a double blow for those struggling to understand you. As such, the company has introduced a “mask mode” that aims to resolve some of the changes in sound that face coverings create.

Other tweaks this time around include revised noise reduction with the company claims further reduces background noise allowing the voice to punch through. The Eargo 6 is also rated IPX7 for water resistance. This means they can be submerged for 30 minutes at a depth of one meter without water damage. In practical terms, this means you can probably leave them in while you shower or go for a quick swim. Or, more logically, you can get them a bit when while cleaning them.

As we’re not physically at CES this year, we haven’t been able to test them like we normally do, but if previous years are anything to go by the plucky little hearing aid is only getting smarter and more useful. As usual, the Eargo 6 is being sold direct to consumers and will retail for $2,950. In hearing aid terms that’s about the going rate for higher-end models, though the company does offer financing options too.

Follow all of the latest news from CES 2022 right here!

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The Federal Trade Commission has a message for companies that aren’t taking the threat posed by log4j to heart: Patch up or lawyer up. Consider yourselves warned.

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Hyundai Motor’s Plug & Drive Robotic Module Will Enable Mobility of Things (MoT)

Hyundai Motor is coming to CES 2022 with a couple of new concepts:  ‘Metamobility’ and the Mobility of Things (MoT). According to the automaker, the Mobility of Things (MoT) will provide “movement of traditionally inanimate objects through the company’s robotics technology.” 

Metamobility is a concept that encapsulates Hyundai’s vision for the future of robotics and mobility, in which mankind will develop a device-metaverse connection to expand mobility to virtual reality (VR). According to Hyundai, robots “will act as a medium between the real world and virtual spaces, enabling users to make changes in the metaverse to be reflected in reality.

“The idea behind Metamobility is that space, time, and distance will all become irrelevant. By connecting robots to the metaverse, we will be able to move freely between both the real world and virtual reality,” said Euisun Chung, the Group’s Executive Chair, during his presentation, “Going one step further from the immersive ‘be there’ proxy experience that the metaverse provides, robots will become an extension of our own physical senses, allowing us to reshape and enrich our daily lives with Metamobility.”

We all hope that humans will still be relevant in this bright future!

Following Hyundai’s recent acquisition of Boston Dynamics for nearly $1 billion ($880M), Hyundai Motor focused its announcements on robotics and unveiled a range of robots at CES 2022.

Hyundai showcased the Plug & Drive (PnD) modular platform, an intelligent mobility solution that combines steering, braking, in-wheel electric drive, and suspension hardware.

Thanks to its steering actuator, the single-wheel device can turn 360 degrees, a feature that allows holonomic movement, so the unit acts as a figure skater. As shown in the photo below, the PnD is equipped with LiDAR and camera sensors for autonomous motion.

A PnD module with a 5.5 inch wheel

A PnD module with a 5.5 inch wheel

A broad range of objects or platforms can attach to the PnD modules, from tables to containers, and users will be able to choose various drive configurations and unit sizes.

Dong Jin Hyun, Ph.D., VP and Head of Robotics Lab, Hyundai Motor, and Nicole Scott, Producer, Beyond Innovation on stage.

“The PnD Module is adaptive and expandable to match human needs. Because in the world to come, you won’t move your things — they will move around you,” said Dong Jin Hyun, VP and Head of Robotics Lab, Hyundai Motor. “PnD makes normally inanimate objects mobile. It’s this ability that makes changing practically any space possible. It’s a way to configure spaces on demand.”

Hyun mentioned how office spaces could be configured and reconfigured on-demand, so people always work in an optimal environment designed for a specific project.

CES offers Hyundai the opportunity to demonstrate four PnD concepts reflecting several aspects of MoT, including Personal Mobility, Service Mobility, Logistics Mobility, and L7 (a modified Personal Mobility pod).

Personal Mobility

Service Mobility

Logistics Mobility

Such wheeled platforms can be customized into any other kind of MoT module. Although Hyundai talked about four applications, they point out that MoT possibilities are unlimited.

For example, the Personal Mobility concept is a cabin on four PnD modules. It could transport someone over short distances controlled by a simple joystick, no pedal or steering wheel required. Personal Mobility modules could be envisioned attaching and detaching from a “mother shuttle” for efficient “last-mile” transportation.

Below, the L7 concept pushes things to the extreme and features 12-inch PnD modules, and shows how another, more comfortable, type of Personal Mobility design could be envisioned.

At the roundtable after the conference, Dong Jin Hyun, VP, and Head of Robotics Lab at Hyundai Motor, and Marc Raibert, Chairman and Founder of Boston Dynamics, explained, among other things, that next-gen robots will not replace human workers but instead will enhance human capabilities to help unlock millions of new employment opportunities. During the session, I was wondering when we will see PnDs in our streets or if we would have to build new cities around that concept…

The L7 personal mobility concept

Hyundai Motor’s Plug & Drive Robotic Module Will Enable Mobility of Things (MoT)

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Acer Predator Triton 500 SE & Helios 300 Gaming Laptops Updated at CES

Acer has announced a hardware refresh of some of its most popular gaming laptops. I’ve previously reviewed the Acer Predator Triton 500 SE, so you can read what that model is capable of prior to this update.

The freshly announced Intel 12th gen Core processors for laptops is the primary reason for this hardware refresh. In our Intel coverage, we’ve pointed out that Intel expects significant game performance gains with the new CPUs (if you’re playing at 1080p resolution), so that’s good news.

Overall I expect these processors to behave very much like the desktop versions we reviewed recently, minus the performance to du power and cooling constraints. For more information about the changes and benefits of the Alder Lake 12th generation Core processors, read our Intel Gen 12 Alder Lake overview.

The Predator Triton 500 SE

According to Acer, buyers of the new Predator Triton 500 SE can select between Core i7 and Core i9 (the most powerful) while Predator Helios 300 (15.6” and 17” as featured in the first photo of this article) models have Core i5 and Core i7 CPU options. Processor aside, the DDR5 RAM also greatly contributes to the extra performance. Although DDR4 is technically supported, I haven’t yet seen system shipping with it.

The NVIDIA RTX GPU options remain the same, and in the past, I was very impressed with the RTX 3080’s performance and I’m very curious to see how high these new laptops can score in benchmarks.

The new Triton 500 SE will be available in March starting at $2300 while the new Helios 300 will arrive in May starting at $1650.

Acer Predator Triton 500 SE & Helios 300 Gaming Laptops Updated at CES

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Acer’s 16-inch Swift X Will Feature The Use Of Intel’s ARC GPU

If you need a boost in graphics processing, whether it be for a video you’re rendering or playing games, then you might be better off using a discrete GPU instead of the integrated graphics that companies like Intel include. However, back in 2021, Intel decided that they would try to challenge the discrete GPU market with the Intel ARC.

If you’re wondering how it will perform, you might be able to find out soon enough because Acer has announced its new Swift X laptops. The laptops will be offered in 14-inch and 16-inch options, with the larger 16-inch model being the first Acer laptop to take advantage of Intel’s ARC GPUs.

The laptops will feature 2240 x 1400 and (up to) 2560 x 1600 resolutions respectively, and will also be powered by Intel’s new 12th Gen Core processors. Both laptops will also come with Windows 11 preinstalled and will feature two Thunderbolt 4 ports, making it easier for users to hook it up to an external display, and fingerprint readers for security.

As for the 14-inch model, customers will have the option of picking between the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 or 3050 Ti, which might actually be better for those who are still unsure about Intel’s ability to compete with NVIDIA in the discrete GPU market. The new Acer Swift X laptops will be shipping towards the end of February or March where they will be priced starting at £1,000.

Acer’s 16-inch Swift X Will Feature The Use Of Intel’s ARC GPU

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Dell Concept Polaris eGPU Supports Full-Sized GPUs With Liquid Cooling

Gaming on a laptop isn’t necessarily ideal. This is because laptops were meant to be portable, which means that the focus is on size and weight, less about thermal management which desktops have no problems accomplishing due to its size and support for larger (and multiple) fan units.

The smaller sizes of laptops also means that some components need to be shrunken down, like GPUs, for example. However, if you work primarily off a laptop but some of the benefits from gaming on a desktop, then Dell’s Concept Polaris could be an eGPU that might be worth looking forward to in the future.

For those unfamiliar, eGPUs are essentially external GPUs that can connect to laptops (or even desktops) to give them that extra boost in performance. With the Polaris, Dell claims that it will be able to fit off-the-shelf 16-inch GPUs and can be further cooled using Dell’s 240mm Cryo-Tech liquid cooling solution.

This isn’t the first time that Dell has attempted to create its own eGPU, but unlike the Alienware Graphics Amplifier, the Polaris will use a Thunderbolt 4 connection that will make it more compatible. It also doubles as a hub where it comes with USB-A and USB-C ports, and supports 2.5Gbps Ethernet connections. As it is a concept, Dell does not mention if they plan to make it a reality, so fingers-crossed!

Dell Concept Polaris eGPU Supports Full-Sized GPUs With Liquid Cooling

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Dell’s 2022 XPS 13 Plus Laptop Has A Brand New Design

Dell’s XPS 13 Plus laptop has been a very popular laptop choice for years. Given its price to performance ratio, not to mention the fact that it is relatively compact, makes it perfect for students who need to take a laptop to their classes, or for people who are on the go often and need a small and compact laptop to bring with them.

That being said, it seems that for the 2022 model, Dell has decided to give the XPS 13 Plus a bit of a face lift on the interior of the laptop. Gone are the chiclet-style keys for the keyboard, where Dell has now opted to create a more seamless-looking keyboard. Some users might prefer the older keyboard where the keys are more spaced out, but this is not a bad look.

Dell has also opted to “hide” the trackpad, so instead of a dedicated space, the entire palm rest becomes the trackpad. It helps to create a seamless and cleaner look, but we imagine that some users could be confused at the start.

Also, what’s very interesting is that Dell has adopted to ditch the physical function keys. Does this look and sound familiar? If this reminds you a bit of Apple’s failed Touch Bar experiment, then you’re kind of right. However, instead of an adaptive display that can change according to the program you’re using, these are fixed so the functions will always remain the same.

As for its hardware, the 2022 Dell XPS 13 Plus will feature the use of Intel’s new 12th gen series of processors and will support up to 32GB of RAM, and up to 2TB of storage. The laptop will be available in the Spring of 2022.

Dell’s 2022 XPS 13 Plus Laptop Has A Brand New Design

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