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Who among us hasn't looked at the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 and said, "That's great and all, but what if it had more Hideo Kojima?" Well, our cries have been heard. Behold, the ROG Flow Z13-KJP, a collaboration between ASUS and Kojima Productions.On the inside, this model is no different than the standard version we reviewed last May. The device takes a Surface Pro-like form factor and beefs it up into something thats more like a gaming laptop. (Ergo, ASUS's pitch of the product as a "gaming tablet.")But on the outside, you'll find a design "for Ludens who dare." The Death Stranding influence is evident, but you may pick up on some Metal Gear-adjacent touches as well. The tablet's gold color, symbols and integrated carbon fiber conjure Kojimas Ludens mascot. This variant is slightly larger than the standard one, most noticeably in the detachable keyboard.ROG Flow Z13-KJPASUSThere will also be matching accessories available, including a mouse, case, headphones and a desk mat. Depending on your region, those may or may not be bundled with the device. (We'll update this story when we find out more.)Fortunately, once the design novelty wears off, you're left with a fairly powerful gaming machine. The Copilot PC has a 13.4-inch IPS touchscreen with a 180Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of brightness. Its port selection is surprisingly generous: two USB 4 Type-C ports, one USB-A port, HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm audio and a microSD slot. The Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chip inside has integrated graphics that punch above what you'd expect. You can configure it with up to 128GB LPDDR5X 8000 RAM.More Kojima than you ever expected from a "gaming tablet"ASUSASUS hasn't yet revealed pricing or availability for the ROG Flow Z13-KJP. You can read more about the standard version in Sam Rutherford's review.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/ces-asus-made-a-special-hideo-kojima-version-of-the-rog-flow-z13-000000768.html?src=rss
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After years of testing its humanoid robot (and forcing it to dance), Boston Dynamics' Atlas is entering production. The robotics company says the final product version of the robot is being built now, and the first companies that will receive deployments are Hyundai, Boston Dynamics' majority shareholder, and Google DeepMind, the firm's newly minted AI partner.This final enterprise version of Atlas "can perform a wide array of industrial tasks," according to Boston Dynamics, and is specifically designed with consistency and reliability in mind. Atlas can work autonomously, via a teleoperator or with "a tablet steering interface," and the robot is both strong and durable. Boston Dynamics says Atlas has a reach of up to 7.5 feet, the ability to lift 110 pounds and can operate at temperatures ranging from minus 4 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. "This is the best robot we have ever built," Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter said in the Atlas announcement. "Atlas is going to revolutionize the way industry works, and it marks the first step toward a long-term goal we have dreamed about since we were children." Boston Dynamics has been publicly demoing its work on humanoid robots since at least 2011, when it first debuted Atlas as a DARPA project. Since then, the robot has gone through multiple prototypes and revisions, most notably switching from a hydraulic design to an all-electric design in 2024. Later that year, Boston Dynamics demonstrated the robot's ability to manipulate car parts, which appears to be one of the first ways Atlas will be put to work.Hyundai plans to use Atlas in its car plants in 2028, focused on tasks like parts sequencing. In 2030, the car maker hopes to have the robot's responsibilities "extend to component assembly, and over time, Atlas will also take on tasks involving repetitive motions, heavy loads, and other complex operations," Hyundai says. Google DeepMind, meanwhile, is receiving Atlas robots so it can work on integrating its Gemini Robotics AI foundation models into Boston Dynamics' system. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/boston-dynamics-announces-production-ready-version-of-atlas-robot-at-ces-2026-234047772.html?src=rss
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Last year when Dell decided to kill off the XPS name, it felt like a big mistake. In fact, we said so multiple times. But at CES 2026, Dell is righting wrongs by bringing back its iconic laptop brand and it feels like the right move for both the company and its flagship consumer devices. Even more than the words the letters XPS are meant to represent (Extreme Performance Systems), over the last decade, Dells signature laptop brand stood for excellent design, quality engineering and top notch performance. And it was precisely those laptops that landed the company at the top of nearly every best Windows laptop guide every year for the last decade. So to replace XPS with a generic tag like premium felt like a big step backwards. Now if you were living under a rock (at least when it comes to Windows laptops), you can sort of squint your eyes and see the reasoning behind Dells misguided rebranding. Premium means good, typically something much better than average. By putting that word in front of its top-tier systems, theres no way anyone could be confused about what kind of device they were buying, right? Take for example the Dell Premium 14, which was the new moniker for what was previously called the XPS 14. A laptop like that has to be decent. I mean, its right there in the product name. The issue is that XPS already meant good. Actually, way better than that, if we were just going by the sheer number of accolades previous-gen models got, like Dells 2020-era machines which we called practically perfect (which it was). Going away from that wasnt just reductive, it was throwing the best part of Dells consumer business in the trash for no real reason. The first two new XPS machines will be the XPS 14 and XPS 16. Sam Rutherford for EngadgetAdditionally, Dells new naming strategy was intended to simplify its product portfolio, and it failed to deliver on that original goal. COO Jeff Clarke was refreshingly honest about this when announcing the return of XPS at a CES media preview in early December. Not only did Dell lose its signature XPS brand last year, it actually made things more confusing for consumers when it simultaneously created a full range of Dell Pro and Pro Max systems. Unlike Apples MacBook Pros and iPhone Pro Maxes, those devices were actually meant for enterprise customers instead of regular Joes. Another photo of the new XPS 14 and 16, which have a bunch of welcome changes and then some. Sam Rutherford for EngadgetAmidst its rebrand, the company also eliminated a lot of its budget and entry-level models. That left a lot of people turning to more expensive mid-range Plus systems or waiting for a proper redesign of its top tier Premium laptops, which werent expected to arrive until 2026 anyway. So where is Dell going from here? Well as Clarke put it quite succinctly, Were getting back to our roots. Starting in 2026, the company is planning to create its broadest PC portfolio ever including, a full line of XPS laptops. This includes an all-new version of the XPS 13, which is going to be the thinnest and lightest model to date, along with complete overhauls for the XPS 14 and XPS 16. But Dell isnt stopping there because on a slide it showed at its press event, there were two additional placeholders for future XPS systems coming at some later date. Dell wouldn't let me take photos of the XPS 13 prototype model, but here's a teaser it provided for CES. DellEven when it comes to specific features and components on individual models, Dell is finally acknowledging some of the criticism it has received over the past few years by returning to segmented touchpads instead of seamless all-glass slates and ditching capacitive function keys for good ol buttons. Dell isnt just bringing the XPS line back, its kind of on a revenge tour (even if the original wound was self-inflicted). On top of that, the consumer device team will be reporting directly to Clarke while the company retools itself internally. Dell is also updating its naming scheme to finally deliver on the promise of making things clear and simple. XPS will once again be the companys flagship consumer brand with the XPS logo (not Dells) front and center on the lid of every laptop, while everything else will fall under the general Dell umbrella. Alienware will continue to do its own thing for gaming and the Dell Pro family will remain aimed strictly at enterprise businesses, professional services (like first responders) and education. No more confusion. And underlying all of that is a very straightforward motto from Clarke that great products win. After ditching the XPS brand, Dell is now bring it back for 2026 in its rightful spot at the top of the company's consumer portfolio. DellIn the end, even thoughDells big plan from last year ended up being a mess, I appreciate when a company is self aware enough to know it messed up and has come up with a plan to fix things. Regardless of whether it's a corporation or a single person, admitting mistakes is always hard. Oftentimes, what you learn in the process is the real prize and from what Ive seen Dell and its iconic XPS line is poised for a major comeback. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/it-took-guts-for-dell-to-admit-its-mistake-heres-how-xps-will-make-its-big-comeback-233248173.html?src=rss
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