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

Nintendo courts non-gamers in 'about-turn' strategy

Once confined to rectangular screens, chirpy plumber Mario and pointy-eared Princess Zelda are popping up in theme parks and toy stores as Nintendo goes all out to win non-gamer fans.

Consumer & Gadgets

Report reveals future of television consumption in the UK

Around 95% of UK households will be able to watch television over the internet by 2040, new research has revealed. The national proliferation of fast broadband and smart TVs, and the allure of subscription-based services ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Invisible disabilities in social VR: To disclose or not?

Social virtual reality games and apps such as VRChat, AltspaceVR and Rec Room are immersive 3D experiences that let people with disabilities—both visible and invisible—try activities that might not be available to them ...

Consumer & Gadgets

New earplug can protect hearing while preserving sound quality

Hearing loss is irreversible and the most common work-related injury worldwide. Prevention is the only way to tackle this issue. But who has not been annoyed by how foam earplugs make a rock concert sound muffled and bass-heavy? ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Study explores the impact of LLMs on human creativity

Large language models (LLMs), AI systems that can process human language and generate new texts in response to written prompts, are now widely used by people worldwide to complete various tasks. These systems can be used ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Health monitoring devices at risk of being hacked, study shows

Billions of people around the world are using internet-connected medical devices to monitor their health, but could be putting themselves at risk of hackers using their data for unhealthy reasons, according to a new cybersecurity ...