#NewsBytesWeeklyRecap: Big CES announcements, security issues, and more in tech
The second week of January was all about consumer tech, thanks to the biggest tech fest of the year - the Consumer Electronics Show. Held in Las Vegas, the event marked the unveiling of several new products, ranging from fancy concept devices to real, market-ready gadgets and everything in between. Let's look back at the biggest developments in tech from this past week.
New phones: OnePlus Concept One, S10 Lite, Note 10 Lite
In the category of smartphones, OnePlus Concept One with disappearing cameras and Samsung's Galaxy S10 Lite and Note 10 Lite drew most of the attention. Beyond that, TCL showcased three new 5G phones, and Cat unveiled a new rugged device dubbed S32, while Realme 5i and X50 debuted with impeccable camera capabilities. Notably, LG G9 also surfaced in new renders this week.
New notebooks from HP, Acer, Asus, Lenovo, and even Flipkart
Like phones, many laptops were also unveiled this week. Samsung launched Galaxy Book Flex Alpha, a high-end Chromebook, Acer showcased new Spin 3/5 convertibles and Predator gaming monitors, while Asus launched ROG Zephyrus G14 gaming notebook and affordable 15 and 17-inch laptops. Other notebook launches included Flipkart's Aerobook, Dell's Concept UFO, HP Elite Dragonfly, Spectre x360, and Lenovo's Legion Y740S and ThinkPad X1 Fold.
Then, it was the quirky stuff
In addition to the usual stuff, CES also hosted some quirky gadgets, like a robot that delivers toilet paper, a toothbrush that tells how clean your teeth are, and a smart virtual visor for cars. Notably, there was even a headband that could train your brain to sleep better and a smart harness that tells what your pup might be feeling.
Updates from Twitter, Uber, and Google
Along with all the fancy gadgets, there were some updates from Google, Uber, and Twitter. First, Google introduced several new 'home-focused' features into Assistant, including speed-dialing, article reading, sticky notes, and action-scheduling. Meanwhile, Twitter and Uber focused on improving safety, with the former announcing a way to restrict who can reply to tweets, and the latter adding in-car recording, OTP verification, and other features.
Finally, there were some security scares
Amid all the launches and announcements, TikTok faced flak for letting a bug risking user data slip into its app, while Homeland security raised alarms over an active zero-day vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox (fix now available). Even ACT Broadband faced criticism due to the poor security practice of using the same default router password for many of its customers.
