PCWorld tested Microsoft's Auto SR, a DLSS rival exclusive to the Asus ROG Ally X, finding it delivers only marginal 10% performance gains in games like Borderlands 3. The technology currently works only in docked mode at 720p resolution and produces notably degraded visuals described as'muddy' and'swimmy' compared to native resolution. Auto SR remains in Preview status with significant usability issues including incorrect scaling and required game restarts, making it inadequate for handheld gaming improvement. Last week Microsoft announced the arrival of Auto SR, its Windows-branded alternative to upscaling tech like DLSS, with great fanfare. After being semi-exclusive to Snapdragon laptops, it came to the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X and nothing else. Not even the non-X variant, since it needs an NPU to run. And also it only works in docked mode, not handheld mode.

Steven Soderbergh, who has voiced interest in using AI in his films. Steven Soderbergh, who has voiced interest in using AI in his films. Why are respected film-makers suddenly embracing AI? I n Steven Soderbergh's beguiling new movie The Christophers, a reclusive artist (Ian McKellen) tangles with the quiet art forger (Michaela Coel) who his greedy children have hired to secretly finish further entries in a well-known painting series. The movie is smart and provocative about the nature of artistry and authorship, exploring what it means to create - and to stop creating.

The golden era of the tech industry is dead--leaving 1.2 million laid-off workers like me scrambling in a job market that no longer wants us. On Feb. 10, 2025, at 7:32 a.m., the dreaded email hit my inbox. After nearly six years at Meta as a content strategist, one total company rebrand, and three previous mass layoffs, I got the axe. My time was bound to come. I often joked darkly that I was a cat with only so many lives left.

Stuck in regulatory limbo, the self-driving-vehicle developer is encouraging residents of Washington, DC, to message public officials to help get its robotaxis onto roads. Waymo needs some help, according to an email message the self-driving developer sent to residents of Washington, DC, on Thursday. For more than a year, Waymo has been pushing city officials to pass new regulations allowing its robotaxis to operate in the district. So far, self-driving cars can test in the city with humans behind the wheel, but cannot operate in driver-free mode. The Alphabet subsidiary--and its lobbyists--have asked local lawmakers, including Mayor Muriel Bower and members of the city council, to create new rules allowing the tech to go truly driverless on its public roads.

Theresults showthat(1)IRLS canhandle alargernumber ofoutliers thanother methods, (2) it is faster than competing methods at the same level of accuracy, (3) it restores a sparsely corrupted face image with satisfactory visual quality.

The company's robotaxi service is supposed to launch in the US capital this year. But while service rollouts have been relatively smooth in other cities, DC's rules have made things tricky. Waymo, the Alphabet subsidiary that develops self-driving vehicle tech, has picked up speed. The company now operates robotaxis in six cities and has announced plans to launch in a dozen others this year. It j ust raised $16 billion in a new round of funding and says it has served over 20 million rides since the company launched its service in 2020, 14 million of them in 2025 alone.

Technology is being repurposed to find lost animals--and owners who don't clean up after their pets. Apartment complexes are increasingly using DNA analysis to identify which owners leave behind unscooped dog waste. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. It is every pet owner's worst nightmare: their beloved furry friend going missing. In 2025, a dog named Ziggy made a break for it and bolted during a road trip with his human, a California woman named Surely.

AI chatbots can take on many roles in our lives. James Muldoon's Love Machines looks into the relationships we're forging with them Artificial intelligence is now unavoidable - although there are those among us who try. Even if you don't seek out a chatbot, you will see new icons in your current apps to bring them within a single click: WhatsApp, Google Drive, even Microsoft Notepad, the simplest program imaginable. The tech industry is making an enormous and costly bet on AI, and, in turn, is forcing it on users to make good on this investment. Many are embracing it to take over writing, admin or planning, and a minority are going a step further and forming intimate relationships with it.

Cute robots, lightweight EVs and a surprisingly quiet leaf blower are among the tech that stood out as the show winds down. Two OlloBots -- one with a long furry purple neck, making it about two feet taller than the other -- are pictured on a light purple floor, in front of a screen displaying a closeup of a child playing with blocks. Even as CES 2026 wraps up soon, there's no shortage of standout hardware hiding in plain sight. From genuinely quieter yard tools to ultra-light EVs and companion robots that want to remember your family, Day 3 was all about tech that felt a little more considered -- and in some cases, refreshingly practical. If you can't get enough of CES, be sure to check out our picks for best of CES 2026, which highlights the most impressive new tech we've seen in Las Vegas.