CES 2024 dominated the tech world this week, like a mega-robot with arms composed of smart showers and smart telescopes, a transparent OLED TV body, neural headphones for ears, and (of course) an AI brain. There was plenty to see.
We’ve compiled a list of our favorites from the Las Vegas show in a separate 20 best gadgets of CES 2024 piece, albeit a few are included below, but there has been other news this week as well.
So, if you need a fast catch-up, keep reading for your weekly digest, which magically travels from our brains to your screen and into your brain.
The OnePlus 12R came into view
The smartphone world may be focused on Samsung Unpacked next week, but there’s another huge launch on the way.
OnePlus will launch the OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 12R globally on January 23, and while we already know everything about the former (it was unveiled in China last year), the latter remains a mystery.
Or at least it did until this week, when a pair of leaks revealed additional details about its specifications, including as 100W charging, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, and a triple-lens camera with a 50MP primary sensor. Given that we already knew it will have a variable refresh rate screen and a big 5,500mAh battery, it appears well-equipped – yet it will apparently start at $499 (about ₹4119531.56 / AU$750). If confirmed, this might be OnePlus’ inexpensive Samsung Galaxy S24 competitor.
The Mandalorian deserved a movie sequel
We’ve been fans of Disney’s Star Wars cartoon The Mandalorian since it premiered in 2020, but we were worried that Din Djarin and Grogu/Baby Yoda’s adventures would come to an end after season 3 last year. We were mistaken, because the two are getting their own Mandalorian spin-off movie.
The Mandalorian & Grogu will begin full production later in 2024, with Jon Favreau directing and executive producing, though no release date has been set. But we do know that it will be the first of several new Star Wars films currently under development at Lucasfilm.
Rumors claim that season 4 of The Mandalorian is also in the works for a future Disney Plus release, implying that the Star Wars saga will continue for a few more years.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 continues leaking
We’re only days away from the big announcement of the Samsung Galaxy S24 series, but frankly, we don’t think there’s much left to discover about the flagship phones.
This week alone, we’ve seen a large leak of every single spec for every Samsung Galaxy S24 model, learned about major features on all three S24 phones in a separate leak, and heard whispers regarding a possibly critical S24 display improvement. And they all come after weeks of teasing about the trio, which includes the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus, Galaxy S24 Ultra, and the vanilla variant.
In short, we don’t expect many surprises at Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2024 next week. However, that does not mean we aren’t enthused about it. Based on what we think we know, the S24 Ultra will be another fantastic phone – but not a particularly well-hidden one ahead of its launch.
Apple Vision Pro received a release date and its first video advertisement
Apple doesn’t do CES, of course, so it did what it usually does in similar situations and announced some huge news of its own instead. Hello, everyone! Over here! I’m Apple! Look at me…
To be fair to Apple, the story was rather huge; the Cupertino company revealed that the Apple Vision Pro will go on sale in February, with pre-orders beginning soon.
It also released the first Vision Pro video advertisement, which revealed several more facts about the mixed-reality headset, including which accessories it will come with. And that marketing budget may be required, because the Vision Pro, with a starting price of $3,499 (about ₹ 291007.93 / AU$5,225), is unlikely to be purchased on impulse.
