Technology

At the Nvidia keynote at CES 2025, CEO Jensen Huang didn't waste anytime showing off the new GeForce RTX 50 Series. Huang walked onstage carrying the graphics card to a round of applause.

This was the most anticipated moment of the Nvidia event, but not the only big announcement. The AI computing company integral to the rise of generative AI had many more cards to play at the Las Vegas tech conference. Nvidia is now building its own AI models, fueling robotics and autonomous vehicle development, and bringing some of the most powerful computing tools to the masses. Here's everything that was announced at the Nvidia keynote.

GeForce RTX 50 series

The big news of course was Nvidia's new GPUs, the GeForce RTX 50 Series. The graphics cards are underpinned by Nvidia's new RTX Blackwell architecture and consist of the flagship GeForce RTX 5090 as well as the GeForce RTX 5080, 5070 Ti, and 5070. The RTX 50 series is powered by 92 billion transistors, which gives it 3,352 trillion AI operations per second (TOPS) and boasts 1.8TB/s of memory bandwidth. Mashable's Chance Townsend and Alex Perry have the full details on specs, availability, and pricing, but rest assured, it's "just a beast," as Huang put it.

Cosmos World Foundation Models

The graphics card giant is getting into the world model game with the introduction of Nvidia Cosmos. World models are the underlying technology for robotics training. And Nvidia has made its Cosmos World Foundation Models (Cosmos WFM) available as an open license platform available on Github, granting broader access to robotics developers that previously lacked these resources or expertise. "The ChatGPT moment for general robotics is just around the corner," said Huang.

AI foundation models for RTX AI PCs, Llama Nemotron

Nvidia also introduced AI foundation models for LLM development. AI foundation models for RTX PCs are "offered as Nvidia NIM microservices" and use the GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs. Additionally, Huang shared the top manufacturers are launching PCs that support NIM with its new graphics cards, adding "AI PCs are coming to a home near you."

Another NIM microservice announcement introduced Llama Nemotron family of LLMs. Llama Nemotron uses Meta's open-source Llama models are primed for agentic capabilities and "excel at instruction following, chat, function calling, coding and math, while being size-optimized to run on a broad range of NVIDIA accelerated computing resources," according to the announcement. Llama 3.1 Nemotron 70B is now available in Nvidia's API catalog.

Project Digits

In keeping with the theme of empowering developers with access to powerful computing tools, Nvidia unveiled Project Digits. The device is a supercomputer about the size of a Mac mini that easily sits on a desk and plugs into a keyboard and monitor. With its GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip, Digits can run up to 200-billion-parameters LLMs without the need for cloud infrastructure. And it's $3,000 a pop, which in the grand scheme of things, is a pretty accessible price point for small businesses and solo developers. Project Digits is expected this coming May.

DRIVE Hyperion AV platform

Nvidia has also been working hard in the autonomous vehicle department, introducing the DRIVE Hyperion AV platform, powered by the AGX Thor system-on-a-chip (SoC). DRIVE Hyperion is an "end-to-end autonomous driving platform," that includes the SoC, sensors, safety systems, and a DriveOS operating system that car manufacturers can use to build their autonomous vehicles. Nvidia also shared that Toyota joins its growing list of partners that includes Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar Land Rover, and Volvo using its AV platform.

Mashable is on the ground live at CES 2025! We’re covering all the wildest and most important developments this week, so please keep checking back in with us. Want to submit a product you represent for our teams’ consideration as we identify the Best of CES? Here’s more info on how to do it.

Samsung has revealed the Galaxy Book5 Pro and Galaxy Book5 360 at CES 2025. The new laptops have Intel’s latest processors, with the usual assortment of generative AI-powered features.

Does your Windows laptop take ages to charge? Slow charging can be frustrating. Unless your laptop battery is near the end of its lifespan, you can follow a few simple practices to get your laptop powered up faster. So what are these practices, and how do they boost charging speed?

MSI has announced the Cubi NUC AI Series, which includes the Cubi NUC AI+ 2M and the Cubi NUC AI 1UM. These are small but powerful mini PCs that come with built-in AI features.

LG has always commanded an audience at CES with their latest televisions and displays. Last year, they stole the show with their transparent TV screens. (The transparent TVs are back this year too, by the way).

This year, LG cemented itself as the king of CES by having so much to show, they didn't even bring one of their new most-anticipated products, the LG UltraGear GX9 series bendable OLED gaming monitor, to the public show floor.

The LG 45GX990A, better known as the world's first 5K2K bendable gaming monitor, has already scored three Innovation Awards at CES 2025. And Mashable scored a sneak peek from LG at CES and we got to bend the bendable screen ourselves.

SEE ALSO: 12 new gadgets from CES 2025 that you can actually buy right now

First off, just as an ordinary computer monitor, it's massive as a 45" OLED display with a 5K2K resolution and 21:9 aspect ratios for incredible picture quality. The screen also features LG's Dual Mode, which lets users easily switch between aspect ratios and picture size with the push of a button.

But, LG wasn't done when it came to the 45GX990A because this is the model that's bendable. Here's the part you were waiting for.

This LG UltraGear GX9 model bends automatically, converting the monitor from a flat screen monitor into a curved one and back again. And it's all done with the push of a button, no manual bending required.

At the demo, LG had two big red buttons on the table that bent the screen back-and-forth. However, the model that consumers will be able to purchase will come with a remote that lets users bend the screen with the push of a button.

SEE ALSO: CES 2025 highlights: What we've seen so far

And with that push of a button, the flat screen LG monitor bent and turned into an 800R curved display. The difference is stark in-person. LG had both a flat screen and curved monitor next to the bendable display during the demo too, which really helped accentuate the changes when the bendable screen worked its magic.

Now, a curved monitor isn't for everyone, and it's mostly used to give gamers a more immersive playing experience. This LG monitor fills a niche for users who may want both a flat screen and curved monitor for different use cases or just can't decide between the two.

SEE ALSO: A look at LG's award-winning bendable 5K2K gaming monitor

It's obviously not quite ready yet as the company didn't even have the remote at the event. However, it was shown alongside the company's other soon-to-be-released consumer products, so this certainly isn't some far-out prototype on display either. However, LG currently does not have any release date or price point to provide for the bendable gaming monitor.

It's tradition to poke fun at Apple for adopting features from Android, but if there's one feature Apple stubbornly doesn't want to adopt, it seems to be Android's volume mixer. This leads to some very annoying and un-Apple like frustration, so where's my volume mixer Apple?

HMD, the manufacturer behind the Barbie Flip Phone and many Nokia-branded smartphones, just released the HMD OffGrid. It’s designed to add two-way satellite messaging capabilities to any phone or tablet.

Maybe you’re a busy content creator in need of a website but have zero design skills. Or maybe you have a Cajun-fusion catering side gig and are struggling to create a site that nails your branding. Whatever is stopping you from putting yourself out there, it’s Squarespace to the rescue. 

Squarespace’s new Design Intelligence AI tools are a sure-fire way to build and launch a fully customized website, fast. Squarespace is even offering new subscribers 10% off with code MASHABLE10 right now, so let’s get building — here’s what you need to know to get started.

Opens in a new window Credit: Squarespace Squarespace $172.80
$192.00 Save $19.20 Take 10% off with the code MASHABLE10 Get Deal What is Design Intelligence?

Design Intelligence is a bundle of automated processes, AI-powered tools, and one-click design options in Squarespace that makes it a snap for you to create a branded, impactful website. From AI website builders that generate web pages based on your text prompts to landing-page creators and instant layout switchers, just choose Squarespace’s stylish lineup of easy-to-edit templates, and the Design Intelligence toolkit will show you what’s possible. 

Let Blueprint AI do the art directing

The newest iteration of the Squarespace Blueprint AI tool is a dream if you have a creative vision but don’t know how to bring it to life. Just answer a few questions about your industry, goals, and brand personality, and you’ll receive AI-curated content and recommendations for your site’s structure, color palette, and font pairings. Just like that, each of your pages will be populated with premium AI-generated imagery that’s been designed using your own prompts.

Give your copy a boost

In addition to the art direction recs, Squarespace Blueprint AI will automatically flow in generative text copy that matches your website’s category, goal, and tone. A separate Squarespace AI writer tool can help you draft anything from a short headline to an email campaign. Whether you keep the generated text or use it as a jumping-off point, this tool is awesome if you have a hard time nailing the copy tone you want.

Squarespace has upped its game when it comes to AI tools that can help you create a head-turning website. Add in the mobile capabilities, the robust scheduling and hosting perks, and the 10% off deal with code MASHABLE10 — and Squarespace is a no-brainer for 2025.

SensorySoothe just might be the ultimate anti-"sad beige baby" tech.

Launched this week at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, SensorySoothe is the latest offering from the children's products company Evenflo. It's a first-of-its-kind car seat handle with built-in speakers and a color-changing light bar, and it's supposed to distract and calm infants on the go when Mom or Dad are busy driving. It's also plugged as a new alternative to traditional car seat toys, which can turn into dangerous projectiles in the event of a car crash.

Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

SensorySoothe will be available on some of the company's premium car seats and travel system strollers this February, and we got to check some of them out at Tuesday's ShowStoppers media showcase. IRL, they looked like the perfect places for one-baby raves.

SEE ALSO: 12 new gadgets from CES 2025 that you can actually buy right now

Geared toward preemies and infants from three to 30 pounds, SensorySoothe seats and systems can be controlled using on-device buttons, voice commands, or with the Evenflo mobile app. The light bar has presets for a variety of different colors and effects to suit infants' preferences and specific developmental stages. (As newborns, for instance, we really only see red.) Evenflo Product Manager Matt Lewis told Mashable that the app can send parents push notifications to change a setting if their baby may have grown out of one. There's also an ambient nightlight option.

Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Speaking as a 386-month-old, I liked the rainbow preset the best — it made the car seats Evenflo was demoing look like Razer Chroma gaming devices.

Parents are also able to pick different pre-loaded sounds for the SensorySoothe to play, including white noise, lullabies, bird chirps, and common children's songs, which can be synced to the light bar's patterns. (Spoiler: There's no "Baby Shark." You're welcome.) Lewis said the speakers meet standard regulations for safe levels of noise.

Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

The SensorySoothe is powered by four AA batteries and should last 15 to 30 hours before it needs new ones — great for road trips.

For parents interested in adding one to their registry, SensorySoothe products will start at $259 for a car seat and $649 for a travel system. Look for them at retailers like Babylist, Amazon, Target, and Walmart in a few weeks.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was served with a lawsuit this week from his sister, Ann Altman, alleging he sexually abused her beginning when she was 3.

The suit was filed in Missouri, the site of the Altmans' childhood home where the alleged abuse took place from 1997 to 2006. Ann Altman says the alleged conduct began when her brother was 12 years old and he inappropriately touched her. She says he later sexually abused and raped her. Ann Altman says the abuse continued while her brother was a legal adult.

"At all times relevant herein, Defendant, Sam Altman, groomed and manipulated Plaintiff, Ann Altman, into believing the aforementioned sexual acts were her idea, despite the fact she was under the age of five years old when the sexual abuse began and Defendant was nearly a teenager," part of the lawsuit alleges. "The foregoing level of childhood sexual abuse continued for a period of approximately eight or nine years."

SEE ALSO: OpenAI launches new internal safety team with Sam Altman in control

The Missouri Childhood Sexual Abuse statute allows plaintiffs to file suit against their alleged abusers within a decade of turning 21; Ann Altman is 30.

Ann Altman says the alleged abuse caused her PTSD, severe emotional distress, mental anguish, and depression, and forced her to incur numerous health costs, including mental health care. The suit claims the younger Altman is seeking a sum in excess of $75,000 for punitive damages and the cost of the suit.

Responding to the suit, Sam Altman released an open letter, along with his father, mother, and two brothers, on X. The family claims "Annie" faces "mental health challenges" and they have long supported her personally and financially, and that she continues to demand money from them. The family also acknowledged that the lawsuit is not the first time Ann has accused her brother of abuse, but her lawsuit prompted their public response. They added that Ann has claimed the Altmans have hacked her WiFi and shadowbanned her from X and ChatGPT, the latter of which is the AI-enabled chatbot offshoot of Sam Altman's OpenAI.

"All of these claims are utterly untrue," the Altmans claim in their letter. "This situation causes immense pain to our entire family. It is especially gut-wrenching when she refuses conventional treatment and lashes out at family members who are genuinely trying to help."

Tweet may have been deleted

Altman is one of the original founders of OpenAI, along with Elon Musk and others.

My attempts to build healthier habits every year have been met with mixed success, but using a few iPhone apps to help tick every box in my plan has been a life-saver. Here's how you can benefit from these apps, too.

Jackery is rolling out XBC curved solar shingles, which are meant for installation on residential rooftops. These shingles build solar power but blend in with the roof.

Many gaming PC owners (or potential owners) would prefer to build their own systems, but MSI is hoping you'll reconsider with a unique feature: a giant touchscreen on the front of its new prebuilt gaming PC.

Not everything at CES has to be some complicated technological marvel. Sometimes, there's a low tech device that figures out a new way to do something even better than what has come before it.

Take the Intake, for example.

Mashable came across Intake, which bills itself as the "only magnetic nasal dilator" at CES' Showstoppers event, where startups pitch their brand-new products. How did we find out about Intake? Well, because roughly half the attendees at the event were walking around wearing a little black strip across their nose. So, naturally, we had to check out what was going on.

SEE ALSO: 12 new gadgets from CES 2025 that you can actually buy right now

Intake's purpose is simple: The company wants you to breathe better. Whether you're just dealing with nasal congestion or have any ailment that affects your breathing, Intake is aiming to have its nasal dilator externally address that. 

Credit: Mashable

The Intake goes about that in a unique way. The user simply applies two sticky magnets to their nose, one on the side of each nostril. Then, they place the Intake, a small curved black band, across their nose, with each side snapping on to the magnets.

SEE ALSO: CES 2025: Here's how to get your hands on the new Lenovo Legion Go S

And that's it. After putting it on, it immediately worked. You could actually tell the difference. All the Intake does is open your air passageways a little bit more, just enough where you truly don't even feel any pulling. But, that little bit extra makes a difference when you're breathing. 

It wasn't uncomfortable to wear. At times, I completely forgot I had it on. The band is reusable, with only the magnetic strips needing to be replaced with every usage. 

Intake's starter kit is priced at $49.99 and the magnet refills start at around $20.

Xbox Cloud Gaming receives a lot of criticism for its shortcomings, but beyond its flaws it’s a stroke of genius that is often overlooked by seasoned players. In the hands of new gamers, Microsoft's cloud gaming could thrive as a cost-conscious introductory tool.

Rights organizations are warning users of the threats posed by Meta's decision to lift prohibitions against common discriminatory and hateful rhetoric on its platforms — a move that may ingratiate the tech giant with the incoming presidential administration, some claim.

Backtracking on years of digital safety work, the new policy no longer restricts users from language that would formally have been flagged as dehumanizing and pejorative, including likening protected characteristics — which includes "race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religious affiliation, caste, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, and serious disease" — to inanimate objects or property, filth, and diseases.

In a huge blow to protections for LGBTQ users, Meta will no longer flag posts arguing for gender and sexual orientation-based discrimination. And the new policy uses startling outdated terminology to explain its reasoning: "We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like 'weird,'" wrote Meta.

SEE ALSO: Instagram blocked LGBTQ+ content by accident, Meta claims

In a statement to CNN, a Meta spokesperson said the company will still prohibit identity-based slurs and targeted attacks against certain groups, as well as enforce its bullying and harassment and violence policies. But rights groups are still ringing the alarm bells.

"Zuckerberg’s removal of fact-checking programs and industry-standard hate speech policies make Meta’s platforms unsafe places for users and advertisers alike," wrote GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis in an official statement. "Without these necessary hate speech and other policies, Meta is giving the green light for people to target LGBTQ people, women, immigrants, and other marginalized groups with violence, vitriol, and dehumanizing narratives. With these changes, Meta is continuing to normalize anti-LGBTQ hatred for profit — at the expense of its users and true freedom of expression."

GLAAD's annual Social Media Safety Index showed that Meta was already failing to protect LGBTQ users from online hate across its platforms.

The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) called the policy shift a threat to human rights and free speech. "Meta's changes to its policies on gender and immigration content are dangerously vague, and have the potential to allow more transphobic and xenophobic content. As it implements those changes, the company should remember its obligations to human rights and the users that drive its platforms' success, and the ways in which transphobic and anti-immigrant content — though legal — will absolutely chill the speech of members of those important communities," wrote CDT Free Expression Project director Kate Ruane.

Center for Countering Digital Hate CEO Imran Ahmed said in a statement to CNN that the sweeping content moderation changes show the platform is recusing itself of responsibility for the safety of its users. "This will create a tidal wave of unchallenged lies — increasing the spread of hate, threatening the integrity of our communities, our democracy, and potentially harming public health and our kids," said Ahmed.

Interviews with 10 current and former Meta employees conducted by Platformer show those inside the company are also concerned about the policy shift. "I can't tell you how much harm comes from non-illegal but harmful content," claimed a former Trust and Safety employee speaking anonymously. "This is not the climate change debate, or pro-life vs. pro-choice. This is degrading, horrible content that leads to violence and that has the intent to harm other people."

"I really think this is a precursor for genocide," said the employee. Meta platform Facebook has been accused by international human rights bodies like Amnesty International of promoting hateful rhetoric and violence against minority populations, including against the Rohingya people in Myanmar, that resulted in mass violence and even genocide.

Meta announced it was overhauling its Hateful Conduct policy on the heels of another Musk-esque change to its platform: The termination of its fact checking program in favor of expanded Community Notes. A recent report from User Mag found that Meta's content moderation policies were blocking teen Instagram users from seeing posts with LGBTQ-related hashtags, seemingly for violating rules against "sexually explicit or suggestive" content. Instagram has responded that this was done in error.

NVIDIA has announced that its GeForce NOW cloud gaming service will soon run on virtual and mixed reality headsets, including Apple Vision Pro.

You already have your daily news briefing podcasts, but Google is taking things a step further by providing personalized AI-generated audio recaps of news based on your Search data.

On Wednesday, Google announced Daily Listen, an experiment in its AI-testing ground Search Labs. Daily Listen lives at the top of the homepage in the Google app on Android and iOS. By clicking on the feature, you get a 5-minute or less audio recap of topics you're interested in, generated by AI.

SEE ALSO: Google Search AI Overviews at 6 months: Is the feature getting better? Daily Listen is like a custom mini podcast generated by AI. Credit: Google

If you're familiar with Google's Notebook LM tool that generates a customized podcast from an initial text prompt, Daily Listen is similar to this, except the "prompt" is data collected from Search and Discover, a news feed curated by topics you follow in the Google app. So it's a combination of your browsing history and search interests manually set by the user.

Clicking into Daily Listen starts the mini podcast episode and provides a real-time transcript of the audio. Below that, you'll find links to related stories and ways to explore topics more deeply.

Google has previously tested AI Search Overviews, which provide an AI-generated summary of your query at the top of the page, and Notebook LM, the custom podcast generator in Search Labs, before launching them to the public. Search Labs gives users a sneak peek at what Google will likely soon release to the masses. By opting into Daily Listen in Search Labs, you authorize Google to use your Search data and Discover preferences to generate the audio recap. 

But once AI Overviews were made public, it became a default feature in Google Search, and is cumbersome to opt out of. It's likely Daily Overviews would go the same way if it gets a public launch. So users tired of seeing AI-generated features everywhere won't like what's coming. However, if this sounds cool to you, Daily Listen is available to test out by signing up for Search Labs and accessing the Google mobile app.

SAVE $15: As of Jan. 8, you can get a $15 Target gift card when you spend $50 on select household essentials with Target Circle.

Opens in a new window Credit: Target Free $15 Target Gift Card When you spend $50 on select household essentials Get Deal

Going on a Target run almost always ends up with an overflowing cart and a hefty bill, but what if you could get a $15 gift card just for picking up your usual household necessities?

Right now, Target’s offering a Target Circle reward that gives you a $15 gift card when you spend $50 or more on qualifying household essentials (think: paper towels, toilet paper, disinfecting wipes, laundry detergent, and more).

SEE ALSO: Amazon deal of the day: The USB-C Apple Pencil is back down to just $69

To get the $15 gift card, sign up for Target Circle (it’s free!), then purchase eligible products through the website, app, or in-store. If you’re already a Target Circle member, make sure you’re signed in when you check out (or have your app out at the cash register).

This $15 gift card can be used for whatever you'd like on your next Target run, from home goods and health and beauty to clothes and more. It’s basically free money just for buying things you normally would.

SAVE $100 + FREE $100 GIFT CARD: As of Jan. 8, get the OnePlus 13 smartphone for $899.99 from Best Buy, which is $100 off its normal price of $999.99. Plus, get a free $100 Best Buy gift card delivered via email when your purchase is fulfilled.

Opens in a new window Credit: Best Buy OnePlus 13 smartphone $899.99 at Best Buy
$999.99 Save $100.00 Plus free $100 Best Buy Gift Card with Purchase Get Deal

If you've been waiting for the right time to upgrade your smartphone, it was wise to wait until after the holidays. Because now you can snag one that's available for a great price — made even better by a deal from Best Buy that'll have you scrambling to pick one up – from a brand you might not be expecting.

As of Jan. 8, you can get the OnePlus 13 smartphone for $899.99 at Best Buy. That's $100 off its normal price of $999.99. You'll also get a free $100 gift card from Best Buy with your purchase. It'll be delivered via email after your phone is either delivered or you pick it up in-store.

SEE ALSO: Every foldable iPhone and iPad rumor we've heard so far

This phone boasts a 6.82-inch Super Retina XDR screen with 120 Hz refresh rate and 4500 nits of brightness, and this particular model nets you 512GB of storage. It's getting very positive attention from reviewers, including lasting battery life, fast charge speeds, and quality cameras thanks to is 50MP standard, telephoto, and ultrawide lenses. Plus, it has great physical durability, with an IP69 rating that means it can get wet without you having to worry too much.

If you're ready to take the plunge and get a new Android-based phone for a great price, Best Buy's sweet deal is a good place to start. It's available in two colors, and you'll even get some cash back to buy some accessories.

Buy a phone case. You should always buy a phone case.