Eliana Willis

TCL’s 2024 QM8 photographed in the ZDNET testing lab. Adam Breeden/ZDNETWhat’s the deal?Best Buy is offering new deals for the TCL QM85 (2024) More

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETDell announced a handful of new laptops at CES 2025, and if you’re a little confused looking at their names, you’re not alone. The company rebranded its entire portfolio, consolidating the names of the models we’re familiar with into the Dell, Dell Pro, and Dell Pro Max. The new naming convention might look strangely familiar (Mac or iPhone, anyone?), but Dell insists the original products themselves aren’t going anywhere — they’re just organized now. For example, the XPS line is now housed under the “Dell Premium” label, the Inspiron line is simply “Dell,” and the Latitude devices fall under “Dell Pro,” to name the big ones. Also: CES 2025: The 13 most impressive products so farAdditionally, the Dell Pro lineup occupies devices that previously would have fallen under the Latitude name, which have been further split up into the Dell Pro Plus and Dell Pro Premium products, aimed at the commercial consumer. Beyond its consumer side, Dell announced some sleek-looking new Alienware gaming devices with the Area-51 series: both a 16-inch and 18-inch laptop, as well as a desktop. The new laptops include some big hardware and design updates, so let’s break down what’s new. 1. Dell Pro 14 and Dell Pro 16 More

Kerry Wan/ZDNETThe biggest week in tech is here: the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES). ZDNET is on the ground in Las Vegas and also keeping a virtual eye on the products and concepts that debuted on the show’s first day.Also: The best CES 2025 products you can buy right nowSo far, we’ve seen announcements from big names like Samsung, Abbott, and Dell, as well as new and innovative brands with cool concepts. Here’s the tech gear that has impressed us the most.1. AI-integrated TVs More

Jada Jones/ZDNETAt CES this year, several trends dominate the showcased products, including AI and smart glasses. Despite the fierce competition, Halliday’s smart glasses stood out because of their impressive design and performance, which emphasize comfort.   The Halliday smart glasses unveiled at CES have an invisible display; that is, the display is not built into the lens, but rather integrated into the frame. This is made possible by using what the company calls the world’s smallest optical module. Despite its 3.6mm size, the display provides users with a field of view similar to that of a 3.5-inch screen. Also: CES 2025: The 13 most impressive products so farThe major advantage of such a small display is that the frames are very light, weighing just 35 grams. Compared to the 48-gram Meta Ray-Bans I wore to the event, these felt noticeably lighter. The frames have a classic, sleek design, a battery that lasts up to 12 hours, a microphone, and speakers — and come in three colors: Amber, Black, and Gradient. Enough of the hardware: Here’s the part you’ve been waiting for — the display.  More

It is difficult to find an implementation of AI in a wearable that is truly unique, but I have never heard of anything like the Bee AI-wearable. The wristband listens to your conversations all day, unless manually paused with the button on it, and uses that information to get to know you, provide AI summaries of your conversations, transcripts, and actionable insights. Of course, it wouldn’t be an AI product if it didn’t feature a chatbot, which you can use to chat with to learn more about anything that happened in your day, such as referring to what someone said in an earlier conversation, or even how to improve your own behaviors. It can also be integrated with third parties like Google Calendar and Gmail. Also: This award-winning AI sleep wearable aims to help you focus better – here’s howThe battery lasts seven days, and it feels as comfortable as any other wristband device can. Of course, being listened to 24/7 isn’t for everyone, but Bee reassures users that users are in control of their memories, no human can see the data, the data will not be sold or trained on, and the audio is not saved. The wearable costs $50 and is available for purchase now for iOS only, with an Android offering coming later this month before the official launch.  More

Netgear Orbi 870 Netgear If you have a large home or office space and want to blanket it with fast Wi-Fi, a mesh system is the way to go! This system consists of a series of satellites that create a single Wi-Fi network throughout the entire area. As people move from room to room, their […] More

Audio-Technica/ZDNETAudio-Technica has added a new item to its wireless earbud lineup: the ATH-CKS50TW2. The company promises a competitive battery life of up to 65 hours, combining the battery life of the earbuds and the charging case.When fully charged, the earbuds last up to 25 hours, with an additional 40 hours from the case. However, turning on noise-canceling mode reduces this number to 15 hours with the earbuds and 25 additional hours with the case. A five-minute charge can provide up to 90 minutes of use.Also: CES 2025: The 13 most impressive products so farThe buds are designed to achieve a comfortable and firm fit, with a rounded shape and customizable fit, as well as touch control buttons on the side. The eartips are made with a hard and soft silicone hybrid, helping them stay in your ears. With an IP55-equivalent rating, they are waterproof and dustproof. There is also a dual or single-ear mode for any way you like to listen.The buds feature a high-performance MEMS microphone and beamforming technology for high-quality calls. Their newest feature is Audio-Technica’s Magnetic Switch technology, which turns the device off when not in use, preserving power.”The ATH-CKS50TW2 earbuds feature Audio-Technica’s new patented Magnetic Switch™ technology allows the earbuds to turn off when joined by built-in magnets, helping to preserve power when you’re out and about without the charging case,” said Audio-Technica’s official press release. More

ZDNETDo you like the concept of AI but dislike the idea that a third party could have access to your content and data for the training of their LLMs? I, for one, avoid any instance of AI that could have access to the novels I write, which is why I stopped using Google Drive for that purpose and do not use a word processor with built-in AI.If that sounds like your stance on the technology (but you still wish you could use the tool), let me introduce you to Ollama. Ollama is an LLM you can install on your local machine and use it from there. This way, you don’t have to worry about anyone using your content, queries, or information for other purposes.Also: What is an AI PC exactly? And should you buy one in 2025?Sounds hard, doesn’t it?It’s not.It’s actually easier than you might think.I will say this: What you will end up with is an AI that you access via the command line. There is a GUI that can be installed, but it’s web-based, and most of the other GUIs are either quite challenging to install or shouldn’t be trusted. Don’t worry. If you can use a chat app, you can use the Ollama terminal.Also: How I easily added AI to my favorite Microsoft Office alternativeLet’s get this installed.How to install Ollama on your MacOS deviceWhat you’ll need: To install Ollama, you’ll need an Apple device running MacOS 11 (Big Sur) or later. That’s it. More