2026-01-03 07:06:04
The price for a PS4 copy of the relatively obscure Star Wars racing game, Star Wars Racer Revenge, has dramatically increased in the last few days because of the game’s use in the latest PlayStation 5 jailbreak, Eurogamer reports. The PS2 game was originally released in 2002, and was ported to PS4 by Limited Run Games in 2019. Its role as a key ingredient in the jailbreaking process was announced on December 31.
Interested jailbreakers need Racer Revenge to jailbreak PS5 12.00 firmware because of a bug in the game's Hall of Fame feature, according to Eurogamer. The bug makes it possible to inject new code into Sony's console, and because the PS5 is able to load and play PS4 discs, Star Wars Racer Revenge is an easier method to pull the jailbreak off. Retail releases of games are a common way to execute exploits and hacks because, unlike digital copies, they can’t be directly patched.
While the PS4 version of Star Wars Racer Revenge was available for anywhere between $14.99 to $37.50 when it went on sale originally, used copies are currently listed for as high as $411 on eBay. Sellers are naturally trying to capitalize on the game's new position in the jailbreaking meta and raising the price accordingly. Of course, it helps that there's only a small number of copies to go around.
As the company's name suggests, Limited Run Games releases old games in limited quantities as collector items. The company only ever made 8,500 copies of Racer Revenge per its own data, so the game is already rare in some sense, and now expensive to boot while there's interest in the PS5 jailbreak.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/prices-for-an-old-star-wars-game-have-ballooned-because-of-its-role-in-a-ps5-jailbreak-230604276.html?src=rss2026-01-03 04:46:33
Christmas may be over, but some holiday VPN deals are still going strong. The early days of January are a great time to grab a last-minute subscription for yourself or a loved one. With access to a virtual private network (VPN), you can stream TV shows and events from all over the world, protect your information from hackers and thwart online trackers.
Although we strongly recommend using a VPN, jumping on the first deal that comes along might get you stuck with a substandard app. Beyond that, even otherwise respectable VPNs sometimes frame their prices in misleading ways, with advertised deals not always as available as they seem to be.
Even so, there are some great bargains on the table. Plenty of the best VPNs — including our top pick, Proton VPN — are still running end-of-year deals that can save you anywhere from 67 to 88 percent on annual subscriptions. Most of these discounts only apply if you sign up for a year or more, but as long as you're comfortable with a service before you take the plunge, committing actually makes sense. You pay more at the start, but if you divide the cost by the months of subscription, it's much cheaper over time.
ExpressVPN Basic — $97.72 for a two-year subscription with four months free (73 percent off): This is one of the best VPNs, especially for new users, who will find its apps and website headache-free on all platforms. In tests for my ExpressVPN review, it dropped my download speeds by less than 7 percent and successfully changed my virtual location 14 out of 15 times. In short, it's an all-around excellent service that only suffers from being a little overpriced — which is why I'm so excited whenever I find it offering a decent deal. This discount, which gets you 28 months of ExpressVPN service, represents a 73 percent savings. Be aware, though, that it'll renew at the $99.95 per year price.
ExpressVPN Advanced — $125.72 for a two-year subscription with four months free (67 percent off): ExpressVPN recently split its pricing into multiple tiers, but they all still come with similar discounts for going long. In addition to top-tier VPN service, advanced users get two additional simultaneous connections (for a total of 12), the ExpressVPN Keys password manager, advanced ad and tracker blocking, ID protection features and a 50 percent discount on an AirCove router. As above, note that it renews at $119.95 annually.
NordVPN Basic — $80.73 for a two-year subscription with three months free (74 percent off): NordVPN gets the most important parts of a VPN right. It's fast, it doesn't leak any of your data and it's great at changing your virtual location. I noted in my NordVPN review that it always connects quickly and includes a support page that makes it easy to get live help. NordVPN includes a lot of cool features, like servers that instantly connect you to Tor. This holiday deal gives you 74 percent off the two-year plan, which also comes with three extra months.
NordVPN Plus — $105.03 for a two-year subscription with three months free (74 percent off): In another holiday discount, NordVPN has also taken 74 percent off its Plus subscription. For only a little more, you get a powerful ad and tracker blocker that can also catch malware downloads, plus access to the NordPass password manager. A Plus plan also adds a data breach scanner that checks the dark web for your sensitive information.
Surfshark Starter — $53.73 for a two-year subscription with three months free (87 percent off): This is the "basic" level of Surfshark, but it includes the entire VPN; everything on Surfshark One is an extra perk. With this subscription, you'll get some of the most envelope-pushing features in the VPN world right now. Surfshark can rotate your IP constantly to help you evade detection — it even lets you choose your own entry and exit nodes for a double-hop connection. That all comes with a near-invisible impact on download speeds. With this year-round deal, you can save 87 percent on 27 months of Surfshark.
Surfshark One — $61.83 for a two-year subscription with three months free (88 percent off): A VPN is great, but it's not enough to protect your data all on its own. Surfshark One adds several apps that boost your security beyond just VPN service, including Surfshark Antivirus (scans devices and downloads for malware) and Surfshark Alert (alerts you whenever your sensitive information shows up in a data breach), plus Surfshark Search and Alternative ID from the tier below. This extra-low deal gives you 88 percent off all those features. If you bump up to Surfshark One+, you'll also get data removal through Incogni, but the price jumps enough that it's not quite worthwhile in my eyes.
CyberGhost — $56.94 for a two-year subscription with two months free (83 percent off): CyberGhost has some of the best automation you'll see on any VPN. With its Smart Rules system, you can determine how its apps respond to different types of Wi-Fi networks, with exceptions for specific networks you know by name. Typically, you can set it to auto-connect, disconnect or send you a message asking what to do. CyberGhost's other best feature is its streaming servers — I've found both better video quality and more consistent unblocking when I use them on streaming sites. Currently, you can get 26 months of CyberGhost for 83 percent off the usual price.
hide.me — $69.95 for a two-year subscription with four months free (75 percent off): Hide.me is an excellent free VPN — in fact, it's my favorite on the market, even with EventVPN and the free version of Proton VPN as competition. If you do want to upgrade to its paid plan, though, the two-year subscription offers great savings. Hide.me works well as a no-frills beginner VPN, with apps and a server network it should frankly be charging more for.
Private Internet Access — $79 for a three-year subscription with four months free (83 percent off): With this deal, you can get 40 months of Private Internet Access (PIA) for a little bit under $2 per month — an 83 percent discount on its monthly price. Despite being so cheap, PIA has plenty of features, coming with its own DNS servers, a built-in ad blocker and automation powers to rival CyberGhost. However, internet speeds can fluctuate while you're connected.
Practically every VPN heavily discounts its long-term subscriptions year-round, with even sharper discounts around occasions like the holidays. The only noteworthy exception is Mullvad, the Costco hot dog of VPNs (that's a compliment, to be clear). When there's constantly a huge discount going on, it can be hard to tell when you're actually getting a good deal. The best way to squeeze out more savings is to look for seasonal deals, student discounts or exclusive sales like Proton VPN's coupon for Engadget readers.
One trick VPNs often use is to add extra months onto an introductory deal, pushing the average monthly price even lower. When it comes time to renew, you usually can't get these extra months again. You often can't even renew for the same basic period of time — for example, you may only be able to renew a two-year subscription for one year. If you're planning to hold onto a VPN indefinitely, check the fine print to see how much it will cost per month after the first renewal, and ensure that fits into your budget.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-vpn-deals-up-to-88-percent-off-protonvpn-surfshark-expressvpn-nordvpn-and-more-120056445.html?src=rss2026-01-03 04:00:35
Samsung is arguably the 800-pound gorilla of CES, with a full spectrum of products that range from phones and computers to refrigerators, AI assistants and rolling robots. But for CES 2026, the company is switching things up a bit: Instead of its longtime midday Monday press conference, the Korean giant will take the lead of the show with a Sunday night presentation.
Over the past few weeks, Samsung has been dropping hints about what's on the agenda, but what we're really hoping to see is an update on the Ballie robot — a star of previous CES presentations that ostensibly missed its previously promised 2025 release date.
The event will stream live from the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas on Sunday, January 4 at 10PM ET. There are several ways to tune in: you can watch via the Samsung Newsroom, Samsung Electronics’ official YouTube channel or via Samsung TV Plus. (We'll embed the stream here once it appears on the channel.)
Keynote speaker TM Roh, the CEO of Samsung's Device eXperience (DX) Division, will discuss the company's plans for the new year and beyond, which will (of course) include "new AI-driven customer experiences," the company said in a press release. In addition, we'll hear from the President and Head of the Visual Display Business, SW Yong and Executive Vice President and Head of Digital Appliances Business, Cheolgi Kim. Those two will "share their respective business directions for the upcoming year."
But if you're looking for more specifics, Samsung is following its "Advent calendar" approach to early CES announcements, with new press releases dropping nearly every day. So far, we know that — like competitors LG and Hisense — the company will be offering details on a line of micro RGB TVs (replete with confirmed screen sizes of 55 to 115 inches). Also confirmed: a full line of appliances infused with what Samsung calls Bespoke AI. Samsung will also display its two newest speakers, Music Studio 5 and 7, at CES this year. Additionally, it'll debut its latest Freestyle+ portable projector.
Just before the holidays, Samsung also unveiled a slew of new gaming monitors, but most impressive is the Odyssey gaming monitor. It boasts a 32-inch 6K screen and has glasses-free 3D. It's likely we could see this at CES, along with other models like the 27-inch Odyssey G6 and the Odyssey G8 models.
Samsung will likely continue to map out its CES plans in greater detail as the January 4 event approaches, so we'll keep updating this story as it does.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/how-to-watch-samsungs-first-look-ces-2026-presentation-on-sunday-190027889.html?src=rss2026-01-03 03:45:00
With CES 2026 slated to officially start next week, the focus is understandably on all the new products that will be announced at this year's event. But before diving into what’s new, we thought it was a good idea to revisit our best of show winners from last year to see where they're at. After all, CES is synonymous with vaporware. The good news is the Engadget team has a keen sense for BS. Of the ones we awarded at CES 2025 that haven’t been released, most are coming this year. For the remaining few, we’ll be hunting them down this CES.
When we saw the ASUS Zenbook A14 at CES 2025, it left us impressed with its lightweight but well-made chassis, beautiful OLED screen and excellent mix of ports. After spending more time with it, the A14's shortcomings became more apparent. In his review of the ultraportable, Engadget's Devindra Hardawar gave the laptop a score of 78, lamenting its poor performance and expensive price tag. In the end, it wasn't quite the Windows MacBook Air competitor he had hoped for initially.
At CES 2025, BioLite was already taking pre-orders for its automatic home backup power supply. The BioLite Backup didn't arrive in 2025, but if you visit the company's website today, you can reserve one for $100, with final pricing expected to start at $2,000. BioLite says units will start shipping this year.
Before CES 2025, Jackery was already an established player in the domestic solar power industry, and at the event, it impressed us with its XBC curved solar shingles. They look like regular roof shingles, but Jackery said they would deliver cell conversion efficiency of more than 25 percent.
It's taken longer than anticipated, but Jackery says it now expects the shingles to go on sale in the US "very soon," with pricing likely to range between $1,100 and $1,300 per square meter depending on the customer's design requirements and how they purchase the product. When contacted by Engadget, Jackery also teased a handful of announcements for CES 2026, including updates on devices like the Solar Mars Robot it's been working on for the last little while.
With the Legion Go S, Lenovo promised two different versions of its new handheld: one running Windows 11, and the other Valve's Steam OS. Unfortunately, the Windows variant arrived first (shortly after CES), and was about as good as expected. However, the wait for the SteamOS model was well worth it. When Engadget's Sam Rutherford finally reviewed it over the summer, he praised it for fast performance, bright display and of course the ease of use offered by SteamOS.
LG's OLED TVs are a perennial CES favorite at Engadget, and the company's 2025 slate was no different. The flagship evo M5 model impressed with its 165Hz refresh rate for gaming, better image processing for lower resolution content and a wireless transmission system for video and audio. At $4,300, the set is expensive, but the good news is LG typically does a good job of trickling down features to its more affordable sets, and I'm sure the company will continue to improve on its OLED technology this year.
The Moonbuddy was one of two "cute" gadgets that made Engadget's best of CES 2025 list. We liked Moonbird's decision to make a screenless meditation and sleep aid for children. The good news is you can buy your kid a Moonbuddy right now, with the device currently discounted to $110.42 as part of Moonbird's end of year sale.
Unfortunately, when Engadget contacted the company to ask about its CES 2026, all it sent us back was a response from "Luna," its automated AI agent. "I don't have specific information about our CES 2026 exhibition plans to share with you right now," the bot told me, adding I should email the address I just emailed to get a response from a human being.
The OhSnap MCON won us over with its simple pitch: it basically had the ability to turn any smartphone into a Xperia Play. Actually accomplishing that feat was more complicated, with components like Hall effect joysticks for added durability increasing the time it took for OhSnap to get the product ready. For that reason, the MCON didn't make it out to consumers in 2025. However, you can preorder one now for about $210, with shipments slated to start this year.
The Saros Z70 was one of a handful of robot vacuums that debuted at CES 2025 with a built-in extendable arm, but Roborock's flagship was the one that made the best impression. We didn't end up recommending it in our robot vacuum guide; there are more affordable options that will appeal to a greater number of people. But if you want the latest and greatest, the Saros Z70 is on sale right now for $2,000.
Of all the gadgets Engadget saw at CES 2025, it's fair to say the Mirumi robot from Yukai Engineering was the only one to steal our hearts. All this cute little charm does is stare at you and move its head around a little until you’ve been tricked into a few moments of happiness, and honestly that was more than enough for us to award it a best of CES award. Right now, you can find Yukai Engineering accepting pre-orders for Mirumi through Kickstarter. The project, which began at the start of December, easily surged past its modest $4,878 goal, raising $267,170 as of the writing of this article. The campaign ends on January 22, so you still have time to secure your Mirumi preorder.
They might have only been a pair of earbuds, but a lot of us left CES really excited about the Technics EAH-AZ100. The reason for that was that they were the debut of the company's new magnetic fluid drivers technology, which promised to deliver even more clarity, detail and bass than the drivers in Technics' already excellent AZ80 earbuds. When Engadget's resident audio guru Billy Steele got a chance to review the EAH-AZ100 a couple of months later, he gave them a score of 85, saying they offered "some of the best sound quality in any of the hundreds of earbuds I’ve tested over the years."
As a cyclist, the Urtopia Titanium Zero was the one product I left CES 2025 excited to see in the real world. If a titanium bike wasn't cool enough already, the Zero's Quark DM1.2 motor offered something actually innovative: a mid-drive motor with more power output than even the best hub motor. Unfortunately, while you can buy plenty of other e-bikes off of Urtopia's website, the Titanium Zero isn't on sale yet. That said, the company plans to showcase the bike, alongside the Quark DM1.2, at CES 2026.
The WeWalk Smart Cane 2 won two awards from Engadget during CES 2025, including our coveted best in show nod. At an event where nearly every manufacturer found a way to add AI to their devices, the Smart Cane 2 appealed to us for its thoughtful use of the tech. It offers turn-by-turn navigation and obstacle detection, in addition to a GPT-powered voice assistant to give users a way to access information without also having to juggle their phone at the same time. If you visit WeWalk's website today, there's a "buy now" link for the Smart Cane 2 that leads to a dead end. When Engadget reached out to WeWalk, the company said it would be once again at CES demoing the Smart Cane 2.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/where-are-engadgets-ces-2025-winners-now-194500216.html?src=rss2026-01-03 03:43:26
Smart fridges are a dime a dozen at CES, and LG and Samsung have thoroughly explored what's possible when you connect your fridge to the internet or slap a touchscreen on the front. The new GE Profile Smart Refrigerator with Kitchen Assistant GE is announcing ahead of CES 2026 doesn't reinvent the wheel in that regard, but it does include a first: a built-in barcode scanner for adding items to your shopping list.
GE's "Scan-to-List" feature uses the barcode scanner to quickly (and precisely) add items to a shareable shopping list in GE's SmartHQ app. You can refer to that list while you're shopping in person, or sync it with Instacart and have it delivered, eliminating the need to go grocery shopping entirely. Inside the fridge, GE also includes a flush-mount LED bar with a built-in camera that can deliver "real-time, on-demand snapshots of crisper drawers, focusing on the most costly and perishable items." This "FridgeFocus" feature is supposed to prevent you from overbuying perishable produce that you might already have, by letting you see which perishables might go bad first.
On top of those smart features, the GE Profile Smart Refrigerator has a four-door stainless steel design, with door-in-door storage and an adjustable temperature drawer. The fridge also has an 8-inch touchscreen display for viewing recipes or the current weather conditions, and microphones for accepting voice commands. When you're dispensing water, the fridge's water dispenser is supposed to be smart enough to fill a container with the exact right amount of water using built-in sensors, too.
The GE Profile Smart Refrigerator with Kitchen Assistant will be available from GE and select retailers starting in April 2026 for a suggested MSRP of $4,899.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/ges-new-smart-refrigerator-automates-grocery-shopping-with-a-barcode-scanner-and-instacart-194326610.html?src=rss2026-01-03 03:31:27
For years, LG has opened CES press day with the first event of the morning — and 2026 will be no exception. The Korea-based corporation is theming this year's presentation as "Innovation in Tune with You," and — if past shows are any indication — it will highlight both the consumer electronics and large appliance sides of its mammoth global businesses.
As with many tech-focused events nowadays, AI is expected to serve as the unifying thread of LG's CES 2026 presentation. That said, LG — much like Apple — has its own take on the acronym, referring to it as "Affectionate Intelligence." The company will share "its vision for elevating daily life through Affectionate Intelligence — delivering harmonized and seamlessly connected customer experiences." In other words, the company is aiming for its devices to become more connected and self-automated than ever. Here's how you can stream it and what you can expect.
The event will stream live from Las Vegas on Monday, January 5 at 11AM ET. You've got a few options for tuning in — watch the livestream on the LG website, the LG Global X channel or the LG Global YouTube channel (embedded below).
Here's what LG has already confirmed it will be showcasing at CES 2026:
LG will debut its first Micro RGB TV, a display with a cutting-edge screen technology with multicolor backlights that should one-up mini LED displays. The size options are 100 inches, 86 inches and 75 inches.
The company is countering Samsung's Frame TVs with its new LG Gallery TV, arriving in 55- and 65-inch screen sizes.
Look for a new LG humanoid home automation robot named CLOiD to take the stage.
In the audio realm, the Korean multinational will also introduce a Dolby-powered modular home audio system and a new line of its xboom speakers (developed with musician will.i.am).
Does that leave any surprises for the CES press conference? We'll find out on January 5.
Update, December 31 2025, 12:36PM ET: This story has been updated to include more LG CES pre-announcements, and to embed the YouTube stream.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/how-to-watch-the-lg-press-conference-at-ces-2026-monday-190159561.html?src=rss
