Consumer & Gadgets news

Consumer & Gadgets

AI 'CHEF' could help those with cognitive declines complete home tasks

In the United States, 11% of adults over age 45 self-report some cognitive decline, which may impact their ability to care for themselves and perform tasks such as cooking or paying bills. A team of Washington University ...

Internet

WhatsApp data reveal people often deceive themselves

How quickly we reply, how active we really are in chats—many people misjudge their own behavior. Researchers at Bielefeld University have, for the first time, used anonymized WhatsApp metadata to make such misperceptions ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Brew, smell, and serve: AI steals the show at CES 2026

AI took over CES 2026, powering coffee machines to brew the perfect espresso, a device to create your perfect scent, and ball-hitting tennis robots that make you forget it's human against machine.

Consumer & Gadgets

From sci-fi to sidewalk: Exoskeletons go mainstream

Exoskeletons are shedding their bulky, sci-fi image to become lightweight, AI-powered consumer devices that manufacturers hope will become as commonplace as smartwatches, targeting everyone from hikers to seniors seeking ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Dose of uncertainty: Experts wary of AI health gadgets at CES

Health tech gadgets displayed at the annual CES trade show make a lot of promises. A smart scale promoted a healthier lifestyle by scanning your feet to track your heart health, and an egg-shaped hormone tracker uses AI to ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Smart glasses find purpose among blind users

The actual use-value of smart glasses remains keenly debated—but less so among blind people, who are increasingly relying on the latest models to improve their lives.

Consumer & Gadgets

Dead tree, hangover, shovel: What 2025's new emojis are telling us

A leafless, lifeless tree is among the most striking new emojis coming to our smartphones in the coming weeks, as part of the latest batch being released by the Unicode Consortium, which sets the international standard for ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Young Chinese turn to AI pets for emotional relief

At a shopping mall in Beijing, Zhang Yachun murmurs quietly to her closest confidant, a fluffy AI-powered robot whose soothing chirps remind her that she is not alone.

Consumer & Gadgets

Alexa, should voice assistants have a gender?

Studies have long shown that men are more likely to interrupt, particularly when speaking with women. New research by Johns Hopkins engineers reveals that this behavior also extends to AI-powered voice assistants like Alexa ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Video game play gets frisky at CES gadget gala

Video game play met romantic intimacy in a corner of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) on Thursday—but it hasn't always been smooth sailing for sex toys at the Las Vegas gadget extravaganza.

Consumer & Gadgets

What influences trust when conversing with chatbots?

Whether on your bank's website or your telephone provider's help line, interactions between humans and chatbots have become part of our daily lives. But do we trust them? And what factors influence our trust? Researchers ...