67 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
Skip to main content

Tech Archive

Archives for January 2024

Thomas Ricker
Thomas Ricker
Samsung’s got its own transparent display.

Unlike LG’s transparent OLED TV, Sammy’s transparent MicroLED display is still just a prototype, but CES 2024 is the first time Samsung is showing it in public.

As a reminder, MicroLED — first seen in “The Wall” at CES several years ago — has many of the same benefits as OLED (like self-lit pixels) without the organic downsides or chance of burn-in. But MicroLED is still too expensive despite the seamless panels getting smaller and more TV-like in recent years.

I’ve looked through LG’s new transparent OLED TV and seen something special

The Signature OLED T is a 77-inch TV with a very unique gimmick. But it’s hard to imagine the pricey novelty wouldn’t wear off over time.

Chris Welch
Thomas Ricker
Thomas Ricker
LG’s transparent TV is no longer just a prototype.

The Signature OLED T — T for transparent — is a new 77-inch 4K TV that’ll go on sale later this year. It’s not the best TV for the money, but this is something you’d buy just because you can.

Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
Sharge’s newest sci-fi power banks look pretty sweet in person.

I’m a sucker for Sharge’s charging gear because it looks like nothing else, and that continues to be true of the new Sharge 170 model and especially the “Internet Hostkey” in my CES hands-on gallery below. Be warned that the Hostkey comes in a wimpy 40Wh capacity model in addition to its reasonable 72Wh one. Here’s my video with a few earlier Sharge products.

<em>The $119 Sharge 170 is bigger and more powerful than its predecessors — with a nicer screen, too.</em>
<em>Capacity is 86.4W, actually less than the</em><a href="https://thevergetoday.pages.dev/2023/10/6/23906552/sharge-sharegeek-storm-retro-mac-sale-best-price"><em> old Sharge 130</em></a><em>, but it can output faster.</em>
<em>All the input and output specs you crave printed right on the side.</em>
<em>Bet you haven’t seen a battery like this — it’s straight out of sci-fi film The Wandering Earth 2, and tops out at a 72Wh capacity. The buttons either show actual output on the screen, or a list of “passcodes” from the movie.</em>
1/4
The $119 Sharge 170 is bigger and more powerful than its predecessors — with a nicer screen, too.
Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge
Victoria Song
Victoria Song
A wearable gaming glove for stroke patients.

I’m at CES Unveiled, and the Palmplug is a neat little wearable glove. There’s sensors on each finger for hand tracking, haptic feedback, and LED lights so you can have visual cues too.

There’s a lot of potential applications (VR is an obvious one) but the one I found most interesting is TheraPlay. It pairs the Palmplug’s hand tracking with a health tech game that helps stroke patients regain mobility. While the patient gets to play a game, their doctor gets metrics to see how recovery is going.

Person wearing Palmplug at CES Unveiled
The white parts light up too.
Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge
Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
We finally touched Thunderbolt 5 and Qi2 (but not meaningfully).

Here at CES 2024, Hyper, J5Create, and Belkin have items on display with the latest in docking and magnetic charging technology — but sadly, none of it is plugged in. Maybe because we’re still waiting on Windows laptops and Android phones to adopt the tech. (There’s nothing to dock yet, right?)

I’m seriously looking forward to 240W charging and 120Gbps speeds from my USB-C ports, though, not to mention a “MagSafe for Android.”

<em>J5Create’s Thunderbolt 5 Dual 8K60 Display. </em>
<em>It offers 140W charging, not 240W charging, but does support 120Gbps of bandwidth and apparently fits an NVMe SSD.</em>
<em>Full specs for the J5Create. I didn’t see a price but I’ll ask.</em>
<a href="https://www.hypershop.com/products/hyperdrive-next-thunderbolt-5-dock’"><em>Hyper’s Next Thunderbolt 5 Dock</em></a> appears to be $400. It’s got up to 120Gbps data speeds as well and also has room for an NVMe SSD inside.
<em>The front, with two of the three TBT5 ports.</em>
<em>Here’s the NVMe slot.</em>
<em>Belkin’s Q2 charger folds down into a little puck.</em>
<em>The first of Hyper’s two Qi2 chargers.</em>
1/17
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Narwal’s latest robovacs are real dust busters.

The new $1,499 Freo X Ultra and $469 Freo X Plus vacuum mops showcased at CES can internally store collected dust within a disposable dust bag, compressing it down into tight parcels that won’t need emptying for up to 60 days.

It’s not quite self-emptying, but credit to Narwal for developing new ways to make automated cleaning tech even lazier.

The new Narwal Freo X Ultra robovac, with its base station seen in the background.
The Narwal Freo X Ultra (pictured) and Freo X Plus will be available in the US in March 2024.
Image: Narwal