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Who will win the VR war? Meta is retiring its $1,500 Quest Pro headset to focus on the $300 and $499 Quest 3 models. Apple’s Vision Pro is going after businesses now instead of consumers because no one wanted to pay $3,500 for a headset.
The annual CES show is underway, so let’s dive into some of the coolest (and, yes, weirdest) gadgets I’ve come across so far.
Foldable phones are so 2024: I told you this would be announced. I’m talking about rollable laptops. Lenovo’s ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable has a screen that extends from 14 inches to 16.7 inches when you need more space. Neat! Too bad it starts at $3,499, oof.
Saved by Chick-fil-A’s lemon-squeezing robots. Their giant California factory churns through 1.6 million pounds of lemons a day in just 45 minutes. Talk about poultry in motion.
For reporting traffic offenders. In Vietnam, chaotic roads caused 30 deaths per day last year, so authorities got creative. Anyone who turns in a rulebreaker gets 5 million dong (about $200), or 10% of the offender’s fine. No one’s cashed in yet because the fear of being reported actually has drivers following the rules. Snitches get riches.
Average listing price in Hawaii’s priciest ZIP code. Welcome to 96754 on the “Garden Island” of Kauai. I’ll take this 3,315-square-foot four-bedroom, four-bathroom home that’s a mere $12.45 million. Hey, it’s close to Zuck’s compound he says doesn’t have an underground bunker. Yeah, right.
On Zuck’s wrist when he announced Meta went MAGA and put an end to fact-checking. He was wearing the Greubel Forsey Hand Made 1; only a few are made each year. His collection includes a $90,000 De Bethune, a $141,000 Patek Philippe and a $12 Seiko. Next week, I’ll wear my favorite watch on my podcasts and show it to the camera. Spoiler: It’s a Rolex a big daily TV host wears, too.
Length of Amazon memos. Keeping it short speeds up decisions. AI robotics startup Swiss-Mile followed suit when they pitched to Jeff Bezos in April. He gave them $22 million for testing delivery bots in Zurich. Less is more.
If you don’t clear snow and ice from your car. That includes the roof! Most states have laws against driving with snow on your car. As an Arizona gal, I had no idea. You’d probably end up paying a lot more than $1,500 if a giant slab of snow hit the person behind you.
After a Royal Caribbean cruise. A passenger forgot to put their phone in Airplane mode and got slapped with roaming charges. If you ever take a cruise or travel overseas, remember to switch on that setting!
The amount of starch in rice water. An old beauty hack is trending on social media for promoting hair growth and improving shine. Rice water is loaded with vitamins and minerals that help your hair, especially zinc. Don’t expect instant results; hair grows in three- to four-month cycles, so be patient.
For being a pal. After Shoji Morimoto in Japan got fired in 2018 for being lazy, he started renting himself out to strangers who needed a friend. He charges $65 to $195 to join folks at parties and concerts — nothing sexual, though.
