Lenovo's Smart Tab M10 and P10 are ready to branch out from their humdrum Android tablet lives. Maybe you'll employ them a few hours a day as a tablet. But if you pair them with their included Smart Docks, they become Amazon Alexa-powered smart displays, expanding their usefulness around your home. The Smart Dock also acts as an auxiliary speaker for its connected tablet, offering better sound than you'd get from the tablet alone. The tablets themselves have front-firing speakers with Dolby Atmos technology, but they can't compete with a fuller-fledged speaker such as the Smart Dock provides.

If current Smart Displays are too big for your liking, Lenovo's new Smart Clock might be your jam. The Google Assistant-powered display isn't just small enough to fit on your nightstand--it's barely bigger than the smartphone in your pocket. With a 4-inch 480x800 touch screen, the Lenovo Smart Clock is the smallest smart display this side of the Amazon Echo Spot. And with a 113.88 x 79.2mm frame, it's sure to fit just about anywhere (as long as there's an outlet within reach). If those dimensions seem super small, they are--by comparison, the smaller Pixel 3 measures 145.6 x 68.2mm.

Google Assistant will soon be able to act as an interpreter, working as a go-between for natural conversations between initially 27 languages. Think of it as your own personal translator in your pocket. It's a pretty neat addition to the increasingly useful Google Assistant and will be rolling out over the next few weeks but I got a chance to try it out at CES in Las Vegas this week. You jump into interpretation mode by asking Google, say, "Hey Google, be my French translator." When I did that, the Google HomeHub smart display at a cafe Google had set up woke up and waited for my first words.

On paper, Google has all the ingredients to deliver a killer streaming TV player. It has a powerful software platform in Android, a first-rate voice assistant in Google Assistant, and a knack for designing slick software and hardware. What we've ended up with instead is Android TV, a platform that's gotten some traction on smart TVs and cable boxes, but hasn't been a hit on standalone streaming players. Devices like the Nvidia Shield TV and the Xiaomi Mi Box S offer some niche appeal, and Android TV has always offered some interesting ideas, but it's never met its potential as Google put more energy into Chromecast as a consumer streaming option. This will change in 2019, says Shalini Govil-Pai, Google's senior director of product management for Android TV.

As CES comes to a close, two things are certain: We won't be able to afford one of LG's jaw-dropping roll-up OLED TVs and Android is poised for another big year. While we might not have gotten a look at Samsung's folding phone yet (though we did get our hands on Royale's), there were plenty of low-key announcements in Las Vegas that could have a big impact on the rest of the year. From Google Assistant to Android TV, here are eight CES announcements that might have slipped under your radar. Google didn't bring its heavily rumored Pixel 3 Lite to CES, but it did bring a bunch of new Google Assistant tricks. Along with a new Interpreter Mode on Google Homes and Smart Displays that offers real-time translation of conversations in dozens of languages, you'll be able to check your flight info and get your boarding pass using Assistant on your Android phone.

Tinder is back online after the love lives of hundreds of users was thrown into disarray amidst reports they were unable to access the site for several hours. The app is the most popular dating platform in the world and users took to social media to seek an explanation for the mystery outage. Singletons complained of being unable to log in and receive or send messages. A peak of more than 800 complaints flooded social media as people scrabbled for an explanation. Users in the UK and Europe as well as parts of the US were having difficulty with the app and found they were unable to swipe left or right.

Google is going all in on its AI assistant. In an elaborate exhibit at CES, complete with a Disneyland-style ride, the firm showed off a slew of impressive new functions for Google Assistant, including Interpreter Mode to translate dozens of languages in real-time, and integration with its Maps app. Google also showed off the new Lenovo Smart Clock, which can set alarms based on your daily habits or calendar appointments, and wake you with a gentle light. The Silicon Valley giant took the wraps off the latest updates to Assistant on Tuesday as it officially opened its 18,000-square-foot booth, which relies on an amusement park-style ride designed in the style of Disney's'A Small World' to illustrate how Google Assistant can make daily tasks simpler. Try out the 360-degree video of Google's Disneyland-style ride below This is only Google's second year exhibiting at CES.

Gus, a 19-year-old homeschooled Christian from Joliet, Illinois, is trawling Facebook. He's just recovered from a debilitating bout of depression, and he's looking for someone to talk to. Through an online personality test, he finds a match: Jiyun, a 20-year-old from Korea, who moved to New York City with her family for her brother's cancer treatment. Gus messages her, and they begin chatting. "I started to fall for him when I saw these tagged videos on Facebook," Jiyun reveals in Nancy Schwartzman's short documentary, xoxosms.

Google made a huge splash at CES 2018, taking over the parking lot with a giant interactive booth. This year, the company was back, and everything was bigger. I mean, the entire second floor of the booth was a Google Assistant Ride, basically the company's version of Disney's iconic "It's a Small World" ride. But, you know, as a marketing stunt rather than inspirational experience. The company will hit 1 billion active Assistant devices by the end of the month, up from 400 million the year before.

How do virtual assistants like Alexa affect children's learning experiences? Some experts say easy answers delivered by technology can hurt the development of problem-solving skills in kids. How do virtual assistants like Alexa affect children's learning experiences? Some experts say easy answers delivered by technology can hurt the development of problem-solving skills in kids. A 6-year-old boy recently asked that question in a video, which went viral on Twitter with more than 8.5 million views.