The Morning After: Wednesday, January 4th, 2017

This is not a prototype, apparently
Faraday Future unveils an actual car

Faraday Future’s high-tech electric FF 91 SUV has finally been unveiled. What can early adopters expect for putting down a $5,000 deposit? Well they can expect to wait, for one. The car still isn’t expected to ship until sometime in 2018. But when they do finally get behind the wheel, they should expect a staggering 1,050 horsepower to push them at least 378 miles. However, half the appeal of FF’s electric car is the sheer amount of embedded technology. There’s no shortage of displays and cameras inside, and a Lidar puck will pop out of the hood when it’s doing it’s self-driving thing. Read all about it — even if there’s still no price for the car.

There’s even some love for the desktop faithfulIntel’s next generation of PC chips are here

Only a few months after debuting its seventh-generation CPUs for ultraportables, Intel is rounding things out with new processors for more powerful machines. There’s the “H-series,” targeted at “performance laptops and mobile workstations,” and the “S-series,” which are meant for more traditional desktops. They’ll complement the two other lines of seventh-generation CPUs, which cover ultra-thin designs and faster ultraportables. However, these new chips are definitely more compelling if you’re upgrading from a system that’s a few years old. They’re hardly revolutionary when compared with last year’s model.

It’s not an OLED TV, but…Samsung’s QLED 4K TVs look better thanks to metal Quantum Dots

Another CES, another new acronym to attach a TV series. The magic behind Samsung’s new 4K QLED line — which includes the Q9, Q8 and Q7 sets — is a refined metal Quantum Dot material. That lets the TVs show off a wider range of color. Samsung says the QLED sets can display 99 percent of the DCI-P3 color space for you image nerds. Plus they can also show off full color volume at any brightness.

Budget bokehThe Honor 6x does the iPhone’s portrait trick for $250

Smartphones with dual cameras are about to become the norm now that Apple has jumped aboard the bandwagon. Budget phone maker Honor has just unveiled the $250 Honor 6x, which the company says is the first smartphone “in its price range” to sport two cameras on the rear.
Cherlynn Low is still skeptical that a sub-$300 smartphone can deliver pictures that look as good as those taken with the iPhone 7 Plus, but this at least allows those with tighter budgets to achieve similar effects on their photos.

M-2 may be your go-toEarin’s latest wireless earbuds have AirPod-like controls

Earin is introducing its second set of wireless earbuds, the M-2, and they promise a taste of AirPod-like control in a more subtle design. You only have to tap an earbud to pause your music or answer a call. They may not be as sophisticated as the AirPods (you won’t be talking to Siri as easily), but Earin reckons that simplicity is half of the draw. The new earbuds should hit shelves near the end of the first quarter, although there’s no price tag just yet.

No thanksLG’s Tone Studio neck speakers aren’t as ridiculous as you might think

When LG announced its neck-worn earbud/speakers, a collective groan rose from the Engadget team. But when Chris Velazco strapped on a pair to test at CES 2017, he found them a lot less ridiculous than he expected. Important caveat, though: he owns (and regularly wears) Snapchat Spectacles. Please be aware.

Your old Lego kits can still be made into robotsLego Boost teaches kids how to bring blocks to life with code

If you’ve ever wished your childhood Lego creations could come to life, your dreams are inching closer to reality. Lego’s Boost promises to do just that. The base set contains a combination of sensors, motors and a unique companion app that teaches kids how to code so that they can program their new robot friends.

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