What better way to beat the January blues than with one of the year's biggest tech shows? CES 2019 has seen tech companies of every size descend on Las Vegas to show off all their newest innovations, with keynote speeches from AMD, IBM and more. As usual, there was also a range of smaller announcements. We've collected all the most interesting news and announcements from the show, from the important to the odd.
AMD serves up some new chips
AMD is really swinging for the fences this year; the company has already announced a range of products based on its new 7nm manufacturing process, including a new Radeon VII GPU and the third generation of its Ryzen chips. We don't yet know how much the new processors will cost, but they're set to arrive later this year, while the Radeon VII will cost $699 and will be available from 07 February.
Apple's TV play
One of the most significant announcements at this year's CES was the news that Apple is going to start making its AirPlay and HomeKit technology compatible with smart TVs from the likes of Samsung, Sony and LG, as well as bringing its iTunes service to Samsung's TVs. This marks the first time in years that Apple has started opening up its ecosystem to third-parties, and could herald a new era of cooperation for the company.
LG rolls out a roll-up TV
On the subject of TVs, LG launched a roll-up TV at the show, which disappears into its stand when not in use. This is cool enough on its own, but what's really exciting about this is that it means a world of widespread flexible displays may not be all that far off - soon you may be able to roll up your tablet to fit it in your bag!
The connected loo
There's usually some underwhelming technology showcased at CES, too. However, it's not usually quite as literal as this: a 'smart toilet', which includes mood lighting, surround-sound speakers and even Alexa. This porcelain throne is called the Numi 2.0, and it'll set you back by a cool $7,000 should you wish to purchase it. An internet-connected toilet does raise the risk of giving hackers access to one of your most private moments...
Laptops galore
Aside from weird gadgets, there was also the usual slew of new laptop launches. Asus revealed a giant 4.7kg gaming convertible, HP announced an updated Spectre X360, Razer upgraded its excellent Blade 15 with an Nvidia RTX GPU and LG showed off a 17in version of its super-light Gram laptop. Our favourite, however, is the stalwart Dell XPS 13. It may only have received some minor tweaks, but it still looks set to retain its spot as one of the best laptops around.
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