HP has updated its popular flagship laptop, the HP Spectre x360, and the early reviews are quite impressive. HP has added Intel Core Ultra processors with neural processing for AI tasks and a 9MP webcam and Wi-Fi 7 capability. The Spectre x360 14 features a 14-inch screen and Intel Arc integrated graphics processing, while the Spectre x360 16 screen is two-inches larger, and includes the option to add an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU. Both OLED screens display at 2,880 x 1,800, 120 Hz, with VESA True Black HDR 400. The 2-in-1 laptops use Intel’s latest H series chips, which are 14th generation, Meteor Lake, integrating both x86 and Arm cores on the same chip. Read more

As part of what it calls “production microservices,” Nvidia is adding an Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE) that lets game developers, as well as those who make tools and middleware, to integrate generative AI models into the digital avatars created for games and applications. The new ACE microservices “let developers build interactive avatars using AI models such as Nvidia Omniverse Audio2Face (A2F), which creates expressive facial animations from audio sources, and Nvidia Riva automatic speech recognition (ASR), for building customizable multilingual speech and translation applications using generative AI,” Nvidia says. Read more

The RayNeo X2 Lite 3D AR glasses were demonstrated for the first time at CES 2024 in Las Vegas last week. Weighing just 60 grams (2.1 ounces), the sleek eyewear was lauded for its microLED optical waveguide display and standalone form factor, which does not require tethering to a computer or smartphone. The RayNeo X2 Lite, releasing in Q3 2024, and the Ray Neo X2, which had a limited launch in China but has not yet been released to the rest of the world, are anticipated as the first microLED display augmented reality glasses which will be available in the United States. Read more

In a Threads post last week, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company’s new frontier is open-source artificial general intelligence (AGI). Meta has united its FAIR and GenAI research teams behind the goal of developing such a platform, which Zuckerberg described as part of the company’s “long-term vision.” “The next generation of services required is building full general intelligence, building the best AI assistants, AIs for creators, AIs for businesses and more,” Zuckerberg said, explaining that will require “advances in every area of AI from reasoning to planning to coding to memory and other cognitive abilities.” Read more

Apple’s Vision Pro launches February 2 with pre-orders starting today. The mixed reality headset will have more than 150 3D movies available at launch, including content from Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, as well as “immersive originals,” Apple says. While the company is positioning the $3,500 headset as “the ultimate entertainment device,” touting mind-blowing specs and a transformative experience, gaming currently drives an estimated 30 percent of immersive hardware revenue and non-gaming entertainment accounts for only 8 to 13 percent. Apple’s announcement focuses more on TV, movies, and sports than the Apple Arcade game hub. Read more