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Mentra’s first smart glasses are open-source and come with their own app store

Mentra’s first smart glasses are open-source and come with their own app store

Mentra will soon start shipping its first smart glasses , the Mentra Live. At first glance, there’s nothing obvious setting Mentra’s glasses apart from its more well-known competitors , but they come with their own dedicated app store, and employ an open-source OS with an SDK that developers have had access to since early 2025. Mentra says the MiniApp Store is the first app store of its nature for smart glasses, and it will be available to iOS and Android users through the Mentra app. It might be a bit of a reach to call it the smartphone-ification of smart glasses at this early stage, but that seems to be Mentra’s aim. Apps might do something as simple as saving hand-written notes on the fly, but a more specific example is "Chess Cheater," which will use the front-facing camera and AI to analyze your position and literally whisper a suggested next move to you. Mentra As for the glasses themselves, they’re powered by a Mediatek MTK8766 chipset and feature a 12-megapixel camera with a 119-degree FOV. There are three microphones and built-in stereo speakers. The front-facing camera also does HD video, with livestreaming functionality supported to the likes of X, YouTube, Twitch and Instagram. You can also listen to music and take calls from WhatsApp, FaceTime and any other calling app you might use. At 43 grams, Mentra says its specs are among the lightest smart glasses you can buy, while battery life is said to be more than 12 hours, with 50+ hours of additional charge stored in the 2,200mAh charging case. The Mentra Live smart glasses are prescription-ready and cost $299. 1,000 pairs were made available for the first batch, which will ship on February 15. Batch two will include a limited amount of glasses available to ship on February 28th. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/mentras-first-smart-glasses-are-open-source-and-come-with-their-own-app-store-150021126.html?src=rss

Samsung’s refreshed Mobile Gaming Hub is trying to make it easier to discover new games

Samsung’s refreshed Mobile Gaming Hub is trying to make it easier to discover new games

During CES 2026, Samsung unveiled plenty of new TVs, monitors and other hardware. However, the company is also looking to expand further into video games and has announced a significant refresh to its Gaming Hub on smartphones. Engadget spoke with Samsung’s Jong Woo, VP of Game Services, who explained that the update will offer more personalized, faster ways to play and place greater emphasis on up-and-coming titles. Now available on Galaxy devices, with further updates planned, the new hub wants to be a more active space for the latest mobile games. "We believe that gamers want to find new content that is personalized to them," said the VP of Samsung Games Services. He continued: "We want to bring content to users and make it immediately available for them to play. We have instant plays where, through our cloud streaming technology, we can take Android-native games and put them in the cloud, so that when users want to try them, they don't have to go through the friction of downloading them first.” According to Samsung, the mobile Gaming Hub attracts over 160 million users across smartphones and other devices. However, the VP of Game Services at Samsung believes that, despite the vast library of games across many genres available to mobile users, "mobile game discovery is broken." Samsung Initially, the mobile Gaming Hub was a supplemental app for all purchased games, allowing users to track their collection. With this update, all games purchased from both Google Play and the Galaxy Store are stored in the Gaming Hub. It's designed to be a single place for players to view their owned games, find recommendations, access cloud streaming for select games and even watch highlights from content creators. According to Woo, the larger goal of the new Samsung mobile Gaming Hub is to personalize and guide the mobile gaming experience for players, which has remained nebulous compared with gaming discovery experiences on PC and consoles. “We're getting a lot of feedback from the users, a lot of it from focus testing and beta testing, and what we're finding is that we believe we are solving pain points for mobile gamers," said Woo about rebuilding the Gaming Hub. "We're getting an idea of gamer preferences at the individual, personalized level. Based on all of that, we're able to provide different types of recommendations." Another reason for the new changes to the Samsung Gaming Hub was to help foster a community for mobile gamers, including players and developers. In addition to sharing YouTube videos and content from gaming creators and streamers, the company plans to add more social elements to the Gaming Hub to make mobile gaming feel more active and less isolating. "Mobile is a very personal experience, right? It's your personal device, and oftentimes when you play games on mobile, it feels like a solitary experience,” said Woo. Currently, the revamped Mobile Gaming Hub is only available for Galaxy smartphones and tablets. Users on non-Galaxy devices will still use the previous version of the Gaming Hub, for now. Compared with PC and console online hubs like Steam and PlayStation Network, it's clear that mobile platforms are still figuring out how to create an equally compelling space for engagement. Even with the vast user base, mobile game hubs tend to be a go-between for users to get to the products. There's more work to do, but the new Gaming Hub could be the first step in the right direction. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/samsung-refreshed-mobile-gaming-hub-150010632.html?src=rss

When to choose 2.0 over 2.1 speakers — sometimes less is more

When to choose 2.0 over 2.1 speakers — sometimes less is more

When it comes to selecting a speaker system for your PC audio setup, you’ll often come across the options of 2.0 and 2.1 speaker configurations. Here I discuss the differences and help you decide which setup is best suited for your specific audio requirements. Be sure to also check out our list of the best budget computer speakers for under $100. Understanding 2.0 speaker systems A 2.0 speaker system consists of two main speakers or channels. These are usually referred to as left and right speakers. They’re responsible for reproducing sound in the entire audio spectrum including bass, midrange, and treble frequencies. Because they’ve only got two channels these speakers are valued for their simplicity; they’re straightforward and easy to set up, which makes them ideal for users who prefer a clean and clutter-free audio solution. With only two speakers, 2.0 systems can have a wide stereo soundstage which can enhance the listening experience for movies, music, and games. These speakers are also cost effective, and often more budget friendly than their 2.1 counterparts because they don’t have a subwoofer. See the excellent Creative Pebble , for example, an excellent 2.0 system for just $23.50. The only downside with 2.0 speakers is that they have limited bass. For that reason, they may not provide the kind of listening experience that a lot of users desire, especially for movies and games. Therefore, you should choose a 2.0 system if you mostly listen to music without a deep emphasis on the bass. You should also choose a 2.0 speaker if you prefer a simple and compact audio setup. Or if your space is limited, and you can’t accommodate a subwoofer. mentioned in this article Creative Pebble Read our review Price When Reviewed: 23,99 Euro Best Prices Today: 21,60 € at Proshop.de | 22,99 € at Creative Labs | 23,79 € at OTTO Office A 2.1 speaker system is all about the bass A 2.1 speaker system consists of two main speakers (left and right) and an additional subwoofer. The subwoofer is responsible for reproducing low frequency bass sounds while the main speakers handle midrange and treble frequencies. Pexels: Fernando Arcos The inclusion of a subwoofer delivers significantly improved bass performance compared to a 2.0 system. That makes 2.1 systems ideal for users that enjoy deep impactful bass in their audio. The sound is also well balanced because the subwoofer and the two main speakers split the frequencies being reproduced. The enhanced bass response makes 2.1 speakers well suited to a wide range of audio content including movies, music, and games. These systems are generally more expensive than 2.0 systems due to the inclusion of a subwoofer. They also require more space than a 2.0 system which may not be ideal for users with limited space or that require a minimalist setup. You should therefore choose a 2.1 system if space allows for a subwoofer and if you enjoy entertainment with deep impactful bass. In the end the decision of whether to go with a 2.1 or 2.0 speaker system comes down to personal audio preference and how you plan to use the speakers with your audio setup. Each configuration has its strengths and choosing the right one will mean you get best from your audio setup. Related content: Best budget computer speakers: PC audio for less than $100 I ditched my PC speakers for a soundbar and never looked back Buying PC speakers? Avoid these 5 common mistakes

Dolby Vision 2: A big HDR boost for cheap TVs

Dolby Vision 2: A big HDR boost for cheap TVs

When Dolby Labs announced Dolby Vision 2 in September 2025, I didn’t really get it. The original Dolby Vision was easy to understand: If your TV and streaming content supported it, you’d get a brighter picture with more color detail, particularly in shadows and highlights. I remember being blown away by the technology when it first debuted at CES 2014, especially compared to the 4K displays and curved panels that TV makers were hyping up at the time. The improvements Dolby Vision 2 promises aren’t as straightforward. While Dolby’s initial press release uses all kinds of jargon to describe the new format (with terms like “Content Intelligence” and “Authentic Motion”), the tangible benefits are tougher to parse. Fortunately, CES 2026 provided an opportunity to see Dolby Vision 2 up close, compare it with the original Dolby Vision, and get some questions answered. While Dolby Vision 2’s benefits are a bit murkier, they at least address some annoyances with streaming video today. Dolby Vision 2 deals with HDR’s darkness issues HDR (high dynamic range) is a feature in many modern TVs that allows for greater differences between the darkest and brightest parts of an image, with more color detail in between. With HDR, for example, a scene depicting an explosion will exude more vivid reds and oranges, instead of blown-out whites, while HDR in a shadowy scene will be rendered with evocative blue and green hues, instead of just depicting a muddy gray. At least that’s how it’s supposed to work. But with every HDR format—the original Dolby Vision along with HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG (Hybrid Log Gamma)—a common complaint is that dark scenes can look too dark. Dolby’s solution is to gather more data about how the content was made—for instance, the creator’s choice of reference monitor, or how much ambient light was in the color-grading room—and adjust brightness on playback accordingly. The idea is to compensate for the difference between what creators see in their expensive editing suites and what viewers see on their TVs at home. Jared Newman / Foundry “We know exactly what shadows were meant to be seen, and not,” said Dolby’s director of business strategy, Jonas Klittmark. Dolby Vision 2 aims to make HDR look better on cheaper TVs While the original Dolby Vision typically required a mid-range or better TV, Dolby is optimizing this new version for cheaper sets through a new tone-mapping engine. This combines additional metadata from creators with local tone mapping, which makes more granular adjustments to the colors of each pixel. Local tone mapping is the process of analyzing the wide range of color of brightness in an HDR image, and then compressing that data into a form that the TV you’re watching can actually deliver. In a demo at CES, the result was a noticeable difference on what Dolby claimed was a $250 TV that didn’t have any local dimming zones. Next to a comparable set running the original Dolby Vision, the new version produced more vivid colors. Jared Newman / Foundry “The new engine is just much more capable of holding onto the goodness of the original HDR source, even on a display that’s quite limited in its capabilities, like this,” Klittmark said. That same tone-mapping engine also gives Dolby Vision 2 a neat new trick: It’ll let users control the intensity of the HDR effect through a slider in their TV settings. Users might want to increase the effect in a window-lit room with lots of reflections, for instance, or dial it back if the picture seems too eye-searingly bright. Dolby Vision 2 allows for smoother motion (without overdoing it) One of the most intriguing Dolby Vision 2 features has nothing to do with HDR at all. Instead, it’s a feature called “Authentic Motion,” which makes for a less jerky picture in scenes with fast motion (the industry refers to this visual jerkiness as “judder”). Unlike the much-maligned motion smoothing effects on most smart TVs, which can be so smooth that it looks like you’re watching a soap opera, Dolby’s feature applies just a small amount of frame interpolation in certain scenes, based on metadata delivered by content providers. In a CES demo, Dolby showed a movie scene in which the camera swept across the room without the usual judder, but in a way that still felt cinematic. “In Dolby Vision 2, we’re dynamically through metadata setting the de-judder just enough to take the edge off of the judder, so that it doesn’t bother you anymore,” Klittmark said. Dolby Vision 2 Max Alongside the standard Dolby Vision 2, there will also be a fancier version called Dolby Vision 2 Max. While both versions will have mostly the same features, Dolby Vision 2 Max will further adjust the picture based on a TV’s ambient light sensors; for example, it will help to avoid scenes that look overly dark. This is effectively an evolution of Dolby Vision IQ, an extension of Dolby Vision that is available in many of today’s mid-range to high-end TVs. More importantly, Dolby believes Max will serve as an overall indicator of TV quality, in the same way it believes Dolby Vision once did. When Dolby Vision first arrived in the mid-2010s, many TVs promised HDR compatibility, but weren’t bright or colorful enough to make HDR video look good. Dolby Vision support became a useful proxy for knowing if you’d get a decent HDR picture. Now that Dolby Vision 2 is heading to lower-end TVs, Dolby hopes the “Max” label will help delineate TVs with superior picture quality. “Dolby Vision 2 Max is for premium TVs, and it will basically replace Dolby Vision in the market,” Chris Turkstra, Dolby’s vice president of home devices, said. “Dolby Vision 2, which you can think of as a standard version of Dolby Vision, that will attach to new TVs that don’t have Dolby Vision today.” It’ll be a while before Dolby Vision 2 matters While it’s worth being aware of Dolby Vision 2 as more TV makers and streaming services get on board, it’s still early days for the format. So far, only three TV makers have committed to supporting Dolby Vision 2: Hisense will offer it in its top-shelf RGB MiniLED TVs for 2026, TCL will have it in its high-end X11L SQD Mini LEDs and mainstream C series sets, and Panasonic will bring it to several new OLED TVs. In other words, the promise of Dolby Vision 2 in low-end TVs isn’t materializing anytime soon. Meanwhile, three other major TV manufacturers–LG, Samsung, and Sony–have not announced their Dolby Vision 2 intentions. Samsung, for one, doesn’t support any version of Dolby Vision today–most likely because it doesn’t want to pay royalties to Dolby. On the content side, Peacock is the only streaming service on board with Dolby Vision 2, which it will support along with the original Dolby Vision for live sports . Given that content makers must also support Dolby Vision 2 in the editing process, it might be a while before more streamers decide to throw their weight behind it. Dolby Vision 2 probably won’t be a factor for anyone thinking of buying a new TV in 2026. But as the format becomes more common in the years to come, it’s something you’ll want to think about, especially if, like me, you finally understand it. Sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter for more streaming TV advice.

Battery acting weird? How to calibrate your phone and laptop

Battery acting weird? How to calibrate your phone and laptop

Jumping percentage displays, a suddenly empty smartphone, or unexpected switch-offs despite a remaining residual charge are typical everyday battery problems. These issues are often not caused by a defective battery, but by an incorrect assessment of actual charge level. This can usually be remedied by calibrating the battery. You can find out how this works here. What does battery calibration mean? Lithium-ion batteries normally lose capacity over time. However, the operating system cannot measure this state directly, but calculates it based on charging and discharging cycles. If these reference points become inaccurate, the percentage display will no longer be correct. During calibration, the system re-learns when the battery is truly full or empty. This doesn’t improve the runtime itself, but ensures that the display provides realistic values again and that unexpected shutdowns occur less often. How to recognize an incorrect battery display Typical signs are abrupt jumps in the battery level or a smartphone that simply switches itself off when it’s got ten or fifteen percent left. A rapid drop immediately after disconnecting from the charger can also indicate an incorrect assessment. It’s important to differentiate, though. If the battery lasts significantly shorter than before, this is usually a normal ageing process. In this case, calibration will not bring any noticeable improvement. Calibrating the battery for iPhone and Android Calibration works on the same principle for iPhones and Android smartphones. All you need is a charger and some time. Fully charge the battery to 100 percent. Use the smartphone until it switches itself off. If possible, try switching it on again and continue to discharge it. Once the device is completely discharged, charge it fully to 100 percent when switched off, then leave it connected for an additional 30 to 60 minutes. Disconnect the device from the charger and restart it. Note: Many smartphones automatically limit charging to 80 or 85 percent to protect the battery. This function must be deactivated briefly for successful calibration. Once the calibration is complete, you should reactivate the charging limit as it significantly improves long-term battery health. Does battery calibration also work on laptops? Yes, the battery indicator on laptops can also become inaccurate over time. The principle is identical: fully charge the battery once, then fully discharge it, and finally charge it fully again. Many devices have charging limits in the BIOS or in manufacturer tools. These should be deactivated before calibration and switched back on again afterwards. On MacBooks, this function is performed by battery status management in the system settings. When it is better not to calibrate Calibration is not a routine process. Each complete discharge puts a strain on the battery and can shorten its lifespan, so it’s not recommended without clear signs of an inaccurate charge display. For everyday use, the following still applies: a charging range between around 20 and 80 percent is best for the battery. Calibration should only be reserved for specific problem cases, not for regular use.