https://techxplore.com/rss-feed/consumer-gadgets-news/ en-us Tthe latest news on consumer electronics, electronic gadgets and electronics. People become more suspicious of a humanoid robot that makes errors, especially when the robot is an expressive conversation partner. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-humanoid-robots-awkward-people-wary.html Consumer & Gadgets Sat, 08 Aug 2026 15:40:01 EDT news704987469 In recent months, American drivers have felt the pain of increased prices at the gas pump. There's some evidence that higher prices may be fueling interest in greener ways of getting around. Battery electric cars, more commonly called electric vehicles or EVs, can be cheaper to own and operate than gas-powered internal combustion engine cars, and they offer considerable sustainability benefits. But just how much better for the planet are electric vehicles, really? https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-car-ev-compelling.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 06 Aug 2026 14:00:05 EDT news705155941 Last year, Melanie Walsh, a University of Washington assistant professor in the Information School, wrote an article examining how 300 popular children's books gendered their animal characters. Of the 13 most common animals, most were male—unless they happened to be cats, ducks or birds, which trended slightly more female. But a frog, a wolf? More than a 90% chance it was a "he." https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-ai-erase-female-characters-kids.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 05 Aug 2026 16:20:06 EDT news705165248 You search online for a pair of sneakers. Minutes later, similar shoes appear on social media feeds. A shopping site offers a limited-time discount and suggests a matching jacket. This is no longer just an ad shown to millions of people. Increasingly, artificial intelligence is helping decide not only what you see but also which sales pitch is most likely to persuade you. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-ai-buy-mindfulness.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 05 Aug 2026 13:19:35 EDT news705154721 People gave the highest ratings to AI-generated stories they were told had been written by humans and were unable to tell the difference between human- and AI-created stories, according to new research published in Judgement and Decision Making. The study, led by researchers at Villanova University, U.S., adds to the growing body of evidence that many people's ability to spot AI-generated content is limited. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-people-stories-written-ai-told.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 04 Aug 2026 19:10:03 EDT news704970841 From doctors diagnosing symptoms to judges intervening in court cases, humans make complex decisions every day. Increasingly, artificial intelligence tools are being used to help with those decisions. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-decision-overreliance-ai.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 03 Aug 2026 13:20:06 EDT news704980861 The human eye, as good as it is, misses out on so much of the world because it is limited in what it can perceive. It can't see X-rays, ultraviolet rays or infrared light. While X-ray goggles are still the stuff of science fiction, we may be moving closer to wearable glasses that make infrared light look almost like everyday vision. Scientists at the Beijing Institute of Technology have developed a device that transforms infrared light into a full-color visible image. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-prototype-glasses-infrared-vision.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 03 Aug 2026 10:00:04 EDT news704969949 Research published in the International Journal of Web-Based Communities has looked at how digital identity might be governed online, specifically in the so-called metaverse. The study found that current frameworks for digital identity are ill-equipped for emerging immersive online environments, which sit under the umbrella term "metaverse." The work argues that regulators must move from a privacy-focused approach to one that is broader and rights-based. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-08-current-privacy-frameworks-fall-short.html Internet Mon, 03 Aug 2026 09:00:01 EDT news704966098 Improving how crowdsourced information is shared across mobile platforms by incorporating a user penalty-and-reward system could curb long lines caused by inefficient human queuing behavior, a new study suggests. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-rewarding-consumer-choices-advance-gen.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 28 Jul 2026 16:40:01 EDT news704475181 Consider these scenarios. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-older-people-media-literacy-boosted.html Internet Mon, 27 Jul 2026 10:00:50 EDT news704364482 Imagine a world where you could ask a book a question as you read it. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-ai-tools-readers.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 27 Jul 2026 03:30:01 EDT news704339488 Researchers have created a wearable patch that can detect hazards in the environment—such as dangerous gases or heavy metals in water—and then notify wearers by vibrating against their skin. The researchers have also extended the work to create an "e-skin" for robotic devices, allowing robots to detect and avoid hazards in their environment. The paper is published in the journal Device. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-wearable-patch-vibrates-environmental-hazards.html Consumer & Gadgets Fri, 24 Jul 2026 14:40:08 EDT news704114278 Since November 2022, generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been rewriting billions of emails, student assignments, reports and breakup text messages. Alongside these mundane uses, we've seen a proliferation of chatbots as AI "companions". https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-china-ai-companions.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 23 Jul 2026 19:00:01 EDT news704030618 New research led by The University of Manchester in collaboration with Durham University has found that AI chatbots such as ChatGPT can match—and in some situations outperform—humans as a source of everyday emotional support. However, the advantage depends on the emotional context, and a key ingredient for effective support—offering specific, actionable guidance—can boost the quality of support from both humans and AI alike. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-ai-chatbots-effective-humans-emotional.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 22 Jul 2026 19:00:01 EDT news703777081 When a robot offers you candy, it is hard not to be curious. In an experiment conducted by ethologists at ELTE, visitors at public events noticed an autonomous service robot more often than a human server, and the candy on the robot's tray disappeared faster. The study also suggests that the presence of robots may influence the way people behave in social situations. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-attitudes-autonomous-robots-real-life.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 22 Jul 2026 14:40:01 EDT news703948261 South Korean technology giant Samsung unveiled new, sleeker smartphone models Wednesday priced higher than previous models as artificial intelligence raises component costs. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-samsung-expensive-foldable-smartphones.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 22 Jul 2026 13:03:11 EDT news703944147 The huge popularity of AI chatbots can be explained by their accepted role as fictional characters in people's lives—in the same way as those found in films, TV and books, a new study shows. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-fictional-chatbots-popularity-artificial-intelligence.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 21 Jul 2026 15:20:08 EDT news703864921 Webtoons are coming to life in the physical world, ushering in a new era in which comics are not merely viewed but experienced. A KAIST research team has developed the world's first next-generation extended reality (XR) comics platform that enables a wide range of readers to enjoy immersive, three-dimensional comics in physical space. By expanding webtoons beyond the screen and into the real world, the team has opened up new possibilities for the future of comics. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-source-xr-webtoons-3d-comics.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:40:04 EDT news703853761 When right-wing commentator and social media influencer Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on a university campus in September 2025, graphic videos of the assassination quickly spread online. Many of those images also appeared before teenagers worldwide. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-canadian-teens-graphic-violence-online.html Internet Mon, 20 Jul 2026 13:40:02 EDT news703773002 Tech firms are racing to roll out advanced smartphones that use artificial intelligence to do everything from ordering food to composing messages with a simple voice command. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-pocket-size-ai-powerful-star.html Consumer & Gadgets Sun, 19 Jul 2026 04:50:02 EDT news703654773 Consumers are more likely to buy cryptocurrencies when they see them as easy to use, trustworthy and beneficial, according to research published in the International Journal of Blockchains and Cryptocurrencies, which used the Technology Acceptance Model as a framework to examine perceptions and adoption. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-factors-consumers-buy-cryptocurrencies.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:00:02 EDT news703427447 Martin Scorsese recently announced that he will be joining generative artificial intelligence (AI) company Black Forest Labs. He said he would embrace AI for storyboarding—the practice of creating a visual outline in the early stages of developing a movie or TV show. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-gen-ai-future-isnt-written.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 16 Jul 2026 10:00:01 EDT news703410694 Companies are increasingly using artificial intelligence in their hiring processes. It's not just CVs that are evaluated automatically. AI tools can also conduct job interviews—usually in the form of avatars, which are animated characters—and make hiring decisions. An important reason for this, aside from saving time, is that AI is said to be less biased than humans. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-ai-job-felt-fair-avatars.html Consumer & Gadgets Fri, 10 Jul 2026 10:40:03 EDT news702897476 People are increasingly choosing to limit or reject the use of AI tools, according to a new report published by the Digital Futures Institute at King's College London and Responsible AI UK. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-reveals-people-limiting-ai-popularity.html Consumer & Gadgets Fri, 10 Jul 2026 07:00:03 EDT news702879481 Almost half of Australian adults have used generative artificial intelligence (GAI), with most users reporting it improves how they do their jobs or study, according to new research by the Australian National University (ANU) in partnership with Google. The report, "AI Adoption in Australia," finds that concerns about personal data and a lack of training and skills are barriers to some Australians using GAI systems. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-australian-adults-generative-ai.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 09 Jul 2026 09:20:08 EDT news702805681 Beyond bendable and foldable displays, the era of stretchable displays—whose screens can expand freely like rubber—is now emerging. KAIST researchers have developed a core technology that allows text, images and other on-screen information to retain their original shape even when the screen is stretched by up to 15%. The achievement is expected to help solve the problem of image distortion and accelerate the commercialization of next-generation, high-quality stretchable displays. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-core-display-technology-image-distortion.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 08 Jul 2026 09:29:30 EDT news702721728 The amount of time young people spend playing video games is not enough to judge whether gaming is linked to cognitive difficulties. A new study of several thousand adolescents shows that gaming time and symptoms of Internet Gaming Disorder are associated with cognitive performance in opposite ways. While dysregulated gaming—marked by loss of control, craving or continued play despite problems—was consistently linked to lower performance across cognitive tests, gaming time itself showed small positive associations with selected skills. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-links-cognitive-difficulties-compulsive-gaming.html Internet Tue, 07 Jul 2026 14:00:03 EDT news702647074 When Vietnamese athlete Nguyen Thanh Hien Linh stepped into her first virtual taekwondo competition in Singapore in 2024, she had little idea what she was doing. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-virtual-taekwondo-debut-asian-games.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 07 Jul 2026 04:11:32 EDT news702616276 You're in a dance club bathed in a neon-purple glow, surrounded by ghostly silhouettes that sway to the music. A stranger at the bar greets you with a flirty wave: "Hey, you look so cute!" Sparks fly. It's all part of a virtual reality game called Rekindle, but the narrative seems real enough that you feel giddy. You break into what's known as a genuine Duchenne smile—the kind where your mouth corners lift and your eyes squint a little. The biometric software in the headset you're wearing scans your face and checks your muscle movements against the 70 that are involved in typical expressions. You're happy, and your gaming PC knows it. You sink deeper into the story. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-vr-game-tracks-player-emotions.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 06 Jul 2026 18:40:01 EDT news702552980 More and more people are turning to AI when they feel stressed or worried. Researchers at Leiden University studied how and why people use chatbots for emotional support. Their conclusion: AI meets a real need, but also raises serious concerns. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-ai-ear-risky.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 06 Jul 2026 14:40:01 EDT news702563480