Less than a week to go. CES 2026 is right around the corner, and the pre-show hype cycle/ early reveals suggest, yes, there's going to be an awful lot of AI-powered insert-product-category-here alongside, thankfully, some major announcements from the likes of Intel, Sony and NVIDIA. Intel is finally unveiling its Panther Lake (Core Ultra Series 3) chips. The first chips built on Intel's 2nm process could offer a 50 percent performance boost, which is sorely needed amid intense competition. NVIDIA's Jensen Huang is taking the stage for a keynote expected to feature a lot of AI hype, while AMD's Lisa Su will likely counter with new Ryzen 9000-series chips and the latest on AI upscaling tech.

Why Are Car Software Updates Still So Bad? Over-the-air upgrades can not only transform your ride, they can help carmakers slash costs. Despite years of effort and the outlay of billions of dollars, none of the world's automakers have yet to match Tesla's prowess in delivering over-the-air (OTA) software updates. Just like with your phone and laptop, these operating system refreshes allow owners to upgrade their cars remotely. Tesla introduced OTAs in 2012, but now Elon Musk's company pumps out these updates like no other automaker. "Tesla once issued 42 updates within six months," Jean-Marie Lapeyre, Capgemini's CTO for automotive, tells WIRED. But for many other automakers, says Lapeyre, OTAs ship "maybe once a year."

Tours of electric vehicle factories have quickly become the hottest ticket in Beijing, with tens of thousands of people signing up each month for the chance to win a free visit. Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi, which has reinvented itself as an EV maker in recent years, started offering the one-hour tours in January to visitors interested in seeing its factory up close and getting a race car experience in a Xiaomi EV. As Chinese EV brands expand from competing on low prices to promoting premium features and sleek designs, they are increasingly putting their factories in the spotlight. At least two Chinese EV brands, Xiaomi and Nio, offer regular tours for the general public this year, and three more automakers have announced plans to follow suit. "More and more Chinese EVs are using factory tours as an important channel of communication between the brand and the outside world. It offers a chance to not only see the production line up close, but also experience the human side of the brand," says Freya Zhang, a research analyst at the investment consulting firm Tech Buzz China, who has been organizing tours for foreign investors to visit Chinese electric vehicle startups for two years.

Mobile World Congress is taking place in Barcelona this week, offering manufacturers an opportunity to show off new gear without needing to hold their own splashy event. So far, we've learned about some new laptops and phones, as well as upcoming AI updates to Android. Here's a look at everything announced at Mobile World Congress that caught our eye. We'll update this story throughout the week. Among the bigger-name manufacturers, Lenovo has arguably had the busiest MWC so far.

In Tuesday's newsletter, I laid out how to watch (and what to expect from) Amazon's Alexa press event. But aside from unveiling what Alexa will be capable of, there was no silly hardware and no upgraded Echos, but lots of demos. We learned Alexa will be included with an Amazon Prime subscription, and the company will also offer the enhanced digital assistant separately, for 20 per month. Meanwhile, Apple's new entry-level iPhone, the 16e, launches online and in stores today. The 599 phone is arguably 100 too expensive, but it packs a processor that can deliver Apple Intelligence to the masses.

You more than likely know Xiaomi, so-called Apple of China, as a maker of smartphones that offer a decent alternative to Samsung. You might also know about its smartwatches, robotic vacuums and electric scooters. Good, if often unoriginal design, sold at a competitive price. But did you know it also sells cars? Xiaomi Auto leapt into the packed EV market only in March 2024, yet already has a hit on its hands with the SU7.

Google's Chrome has long featured the ability to launch the browser in Incognito mode, offering a seemingly blank slate for your internet browsing, away from your usual cookies, forms and web history. But that seemingly didn't mean Google wasn't keeping an eye on where you were browsing. The company faced a lawsuit in 2020 that accused it of tracking Chrome users' activities even when they were using Incognito mode. Google has now agreed to settle the complaint that originally sought $5 billion in damages, after failing to get the suit dismissed. The plaintiffs said Google used tools like its Analytics product, apps and browser plug-ins to monitor users.

China's Xiaomi announced its first electric vehicle Thursday, predicting it is the first step toward overtaking Tesla. The SU7 will have a range of up to 500 miles, and it will compete for customers with the Tesla Model S, which has a range of 320 to 410 miles. The Chinese-made vehicle will also feature self-driving, an entertainment system that is fully compatible with Xiaomi's smartphones, and blistering acceleration that will take it from 0 to 62 miles per hour in 2.78 seconds. Pricing has yet to be announced, but CEO and co-founder Lei Jun said at the unveiling that it could be anywhere between $14,000 and $56,000 - the Model S starts at $74,990. With this move, the smartphone maker joins the ranks of other electronics companies like Apple and Foxconn that have been trying to break into the transportation business.

Xiaomi, a Chinese brand once synonymous with affordable smartphones, is now attempting to make an even bigger splash with its first-ever electric car. Unveiled at a Beijing event earlier today, the Xiaomi SU7 -- pronounced "soo-chee" in Chinese -- is a sedan based on the company's very own Modena Architecture with HyperEngine electric motors of up to 21,000rpm, as well as chassis stamped by its die casting machines with a clamping force of 9,100 tons -- beating that of Tesla's apparently. The line will come in two flavors: the dual-motor all-wheel-drive SU7 Max, and the single-motor rear-wheel-drive SU7. It'll be a few more months before Xiaomi announces the prices, but it's already claiming that the SU7 Max has a range of up to 800km (497 miles; according to China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle aka CLTC), as well as a 0-100km/h acceleration of just 2.78s, both of which apparently beating Tesla's Model S and Porsche's Taycan Turbo. This is partly thanks to battery maker CATL's generous 101kWh 800V high-voltage platform, which offers a 220km range with just a 5-minute charge, or 390km in 10 minutes, or 510km in 15 minutes.

From the creepy to the downright bizarre, the world's most ingenuous robotic creations are on display at the eighth World Robot Conference in China this week. The annual event, a platform for promoting business in the robotics sector, is taking place at Beijing's Etrong International Exhibition and Convention Center. Among the machines on show are realistic humanoids with synthetic skin, four legged'dogs' and hospitality robots serving customers food and drink. Meanwhile, agile robotic arms with multiple joints for use in factories show off their abilities amid local concerns of machines taking over human's jobs. Among the Chinese public there's been a growing sense of unease about the reliance of technology for public-facing roles that used to be taken by humans.