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Though CES 2026 is coming to a close, there’s still more to learn. We just heard from Nvidia about DLSS 4.5 and how it’s going to offer all kinds of features and performance boosts to modest graphics cards. Before that, there was big talk (and big disappointment) around AMD’s FSR Redstone tech that was meant to supercharge Radeon RX 9000 cards. At CES 2026, PCWorld’s Adam Patrick Murray was able to chat with Andrej Zdravkovic, AMD’s Senior Vice President of Software Development, about the future of its Adrenalin software in regards to FSR Redstone, Linux support, and an upcoming (optional) AI bundle. It’s just one of the many AMD stories floating around this week—far from the most interesting, though. You have the new Ryzen 7 9850X3D processor, hints of possibly being able to drop mobile Ryzen chips into desktop PCs, bringing back older chips to fight shortages, and a bona fide clapback to shade thrown by Intel. Learn more about AMD’s plans in this Q&A discussion. For more on the latest in CPUs and GPUs, be sure to subscribe to PCWorld on YouTube and check out our weekly podcast The Full Nerd.

As the FCC looks to accelerate ATSC 3.0 adoption for over-the-air TV, broadcasters are eager to show off options that don’t involve replacing your TV or giving up DVR. Ahead of this week’s CES trade show, the broadcaster consortium Pearl TV announced a certification program for no-frills converter boxes that will plug into the HDMI port on any TV. Anne Schelle, Pearl TV’s managing director, said in an interview that the goal is to have converter boxes available this fall that will be priced at less than $60. Also at CES this week, broadcasters are touting advancements in ATSC 3.0 “gateway” boxes that offer live TV and DVR on multiple TVs throughout the home. Both Zapperbox and ADTH are developing whole-home DVR solutions that work with encrypted ATSC 3.0 channels, clearing some longstanding hurdles with digital rights management. All of this suggests a new level of urgency as broadcasters push to wind down the current ATSC 1.0 standard. If they want the FCC’s approval for a full transition to ATSC 3.0, they’ll need to show that they’re not leaving people behind. Sub-$60 converter boxes (maybe) ATSC 3.0 allows for new features, such as 4K HDR video, dialog enhancement, interactive programming, and potentially better reception, but the standard is not compatible with the ATSC 1.0 tuners built into most televisions. Viewers who want to access these features must either buy a TV with an ATSC 3.0 tuner or connect an external tuner box. Today, the least-expensive tuner box from ADTH costs $90, and Zinwell’s NextGen TV box is even pricier at $129. Pearl TV aims to bring prices down with a new class of converter boxes that shave away features such as DVR and possibly some interactive features. It also plans to negotiate IP (intellectual property) and component costs on behalf of certified device makers while also helping to secure retail distribution. The idea is that Pearl TV will have more bargaining power than any individual device maker. “What we’re asking for, for this box, is to act as if the market’s there already, and [suppliers should] give us what that discount would have been at millions, instead of tens of thousands [of units],” Schelle said. Just don’t expect the government to help pay for the hardware. Unlike with the analog-to-digital transition, Pearl TV is operating under the assumption that congressionally mandated federal dollars won’t be available to subsidize ATSC 3.0 converter box purchases. Pearl isn’t guaranteeing the $60 price point, either. With uncertainty over tariffs and and DRAM shortages inflating the price of all sorts of consumer electronics, these converter boxes could end up being pricier, Schelle said. DVR progress Jared Newman / Foundry Meanwhile, broadcasters want to show that tech enthusiasts can still have full-featured DVRs in the ATSC 3.0 era, even as broadcasters encrypt their-over-the-air channels. A3SA, the broadcast group that serves as the security authority for ATSC 3.0, this week pointed to a couple of whole-home DVR gateway solutions, from ZapperBox and ADTH respectively. While both companies actually revealed their plans late last year, A3SA is using CES to draw new attention to them. ZapperBox, which offers an array of ATSC 3.0 tuner boxes with DVR support, now sells a tuner-free ZapperBox Mini that extends the DVR to additional televisions, with full support for encrypted channels and recordings. Apps for streaming devices are coming later this year. allowing access a single DVR across multiple televisions without extra hardware. ADTH is also working on a whole-home DVR for its $90 tuner. A forthcoming firmware update will let users access live and recorded TV via ADTH’s Fire TV and Android TV apps, although the company hasn’t set a release date. And while SiliconDust’s HDHomeRun networked tuner remains unable to access encrypted ATSC 3.0 channels, there are signs of progress on that front, too. SiliconDust announced in November 2025 that it had become an ATSC 3.0 Certificate…

The latest edition of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is already drawing to a close, and once again, we’ve seen some truly impressive smart home and home security innovations—and as usual, some are more likely to ship than others. We’re not counting on the robot lawn mower that picks fruit and lobs tennis balls to canines to actually land in stores, but it certainly counts as one of the biggest attention-getters in Vegas this week. We also saw some far more practical smart products that wowed us, from the smart lock that’s powered by light waves to the new go-almost-anywhere Ring sensors that connect to Amazon’s growing patchwork of Sidewalk neighborhood networks. Read on for the best smart home and home security tech we saw at CES this year, starting with… Govee Sky Ceiling Light Availability: TBD Price: TBD Govee Pining for more natural light in your gloomy apartment? A skylight would likely do wonders for your mood, but getting one installed might be either too expensive or completely impractical. Enter Govee and its Sky Ceiling Light, a ceiling-mounted lighting fixture designed to mimic the look of daylight. Equipped with a total of 180 RGBICWW (red, green, blue, and warm white) beads and employing “custom-engineered LED and architectural gradient illumination,” the Sky Ceiling Light can shine at up to 5,000 lumens at a daylight-equivalent 6,500 Kelvin, and you can let the AI-powered DaySync feature adjust the color temperature automatically depending on the time of day. — Ben Patterson, Senior Writer Read more: Govee’s smart ceiling light doubles as a virtual sky light LG Evo W6 Wallpaper TV Availability: TBD Pricing: TBD LG After an absence of nearly seven years, LG’s Wallpaper OLED TV line is back, and this latest entry in the series comes with an ace up its sleeve. While earlier Wallpaper panels such as the W7, the W8, and W9 are somewhat thinner than the new Evo W6—the older models range from 2.57- to 3.8mm in thickness, compared to roughly 9mm for this latest set—the W6 puts most of its electronic in a separate hub that wirelessly transmits 4K video and lossless audio to the TV, leaving just a single power cable connected to the display. The result? The LG Evo W6 can be hung practically flush against the wall, allowing this new Wallpaper TV to truly live up to its name. — Ben Patterson, Senior Writer Read more: LG’s Evo W6 Wallpaper TV is thin and wireless to win Mammotion Spino S1 Pro robotic pool cleaner Availability: Later in Q1 2026 Pricing: TBD Mammotion Best known for its robot lawn mowers, Mammotion is looking to make a splash in the robotic pool cleaner market with its second offering: a machine that can lift itself out of the water when its job is done and its battery needs recharging. The Spino S1 Pro comes with a dock that resides on the pool’s deck. The dock has a set of robot arms that can reach down into the pool, retrieve the scrubber, and place it on its charging dock. And since Wi-Fi signals don’t travel far in water, Mammotion’s AutoShoreCharge technology also includes an in-water wireless link that can help the bot find its way back to the dock when its battery runs low. — Michael Brown, Executive Editor Read more: Mammotion’s Spino S1 Pro robotic pool cleaner lifts itself out of the water Lockin V7 Max light-powered smart mortise lock Availability: U.S. launch slated for August Price: TBD Christopher Null/Foundry This Lockin smart lock/handle caught our attention at CES for a couple of reasons. One, it’s a mortise-style smart lock rather than the far-more-common deadbolt variety. Second, its internal battery isn’t recharged with a cable or a solar panel, but by light waves. Using a plug-in transmitter placed on a table or mounted to a wall, Lockin’s optical AuraCharge system draws power from a standard wall outlet and beams that energy via light waves to an optical panel on the interior escutcheon and from there to the lock’s battery. The transmitter must be within 13 feet of the lock…

Microsoft is testing a comprehensive visual update to its Edge browser, making it more similar to the Copilot app, reports Windows Central. The new visual design includes new settings pages, updated quick menus, and a new tab page with shapes, colors, and fonts taken directly from the Copilot app. The changes are not tied to AI mode and are applied even if Copilot features are not enabled. Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft’s CEO of AI, has previously said that the company wants to develop Edge and integrate it with AI features, rather than creating a completely new AI browser. The new design is currently visible in the Canary and Dev versions of Edge. It’s unclear when it will appear in the full release. You can see an example of what it looks like from Windows Central below: Windows Central

Encrypted emails in Microsoft’s older email client—called “classic Outlook” as opposed to “new Outlook”—have once again encountered problems. The company confirms on this support page that users of the latest version of classic Outlook (version 2511) may find that they can’t open encrypted emails even after confirming their identity. Microsoft The cause of the bug is still unknown, but Microsoft says they’re investigating and will update the page when they have more information. In the meantime, they say there are a few ways to work around the bug. First, you can simply revert to an older version of the classic Outlook app. Second, instead of encrypting emails via the File menu, encrypt your emails via the Options tab.