Force Friday and the best of IFA 2015
Force Friday and the best of IFA 2015
2:41

Force Friday and the best of IFA 2015

Culture
we've got the best stuff from the Eve of 2015. And,yes, fourth Friday. I'm Jeff Bakalar filling in for Bridget Carey. This is your CNET update. [SOUND] As you may or may not know today is force Friday, actually of course you know about it because this Star Wars marketing campaign is everywhere. The movie might not be out for another few months, but the merchandising machine is in full effect. That said this bba rolling droid is pretty adorable. Check out some of this footage. Oh my God, what did I do? We've got a look at all the Star Wars merch hitting the internet today so head over to cnet.com for the latest. The IFA Consumer Electronics Show going on right now in Germany has debuted a handful of eye popping new products There's a WiFi robot vacuum from Neato, a sleep monitor you slip under your bed from Samsung, the new Gear S2 and Moto360 smart watches, and a bunch more. We've got a full team on the ground in Berlin, so be sure to head over to cnet.com/ifa for the very latest as that show comes to a close. So there's a new personal safety app that allows a user's friend to virtually walk them home at night. It's called, appropriately enough, the Companion app, and it was created by five students from the University of Michigan. An app user can request a friend or family remember to keep them company during a walk and the app will send the companion a link, they don't need to have the app installed. That link lets them track the user via GPS, and they'll get notified if the user falls, if they start running, or even if their headphones get yanked out. Some really smart stuff there. It's free, and it's available now on iOS and Android. And finally, you didn't think I'd finish up the week without one last tiny tidbit of information ahead of next week's Apple event, did you? You're silly. Yes, according to 9to5Mac, Apple is planning to release a new version of the 21.5 inch iMac in October with a bumped up 4K display, and that's up from 1080p. The 5K 27-inch iMac saw a price jump when this happened. So expect a similar bump in price for the 21.5 inch model as well. All right. That does it for this Tech News Update. You can always get more by going over to cnet.com/update. From our studios here in New York, I'm Jeff Bakalar. [SOUND]

Up Next

Download Netflix shows to watch offline
ud113016.jpg

Up Next

Download Netflix shows to watch offline

Amazon's next Echo said to come with a screen
ud112916.jpg

Amazon's next Echo said to come with a screen

Curved iPhone 8? Apple said to be exploring OLED screens
ud112816.jpg

Curved iPhone 8? Apple said to be exploring OLED screens

Black Friday and other turkey traditions are evolving
ud1123162.jpg

Black Friday and other turkey traditions are evolving

Facebook drone accident under investigation
ud112216.jpg

Facebook drone accident under investigation

Facebook needs you to fight fake news
ud112116.jpg

Facebook needs you to fight fake news

Airbnb wants to be your travel agent
ud111816.jpg

Airbnb wants to be your travel agent

Wait, how fast can Qualcomm charge a phone?
ud111716.jpg

Wait, how fast can Qualcomm charge a phone?

Snapchat may be worth $30 billion with IPO filing
ud111616.jpg

Snapchat may be worth $30 billion with IPO filing

Nintendo puts a price on Super Mario Run (and the Switch?)
ud1115162.jpg

Nintendo puts a price on Super Mario Run (and the Switch?)

Tech Shows

The Apple Core
apple-core-w

The Apple Core

Alphabet City
alphabet-city-w

Alphabet City

CNET Top 5
cnet-top-5-w

CNET Top 5

The Daily Charge
dc-site-1color-logo.png

The Daily Charge

What the Future
what-the-future-w

What the Future

Tech Today
tech-today-w

Tech Today

Latest News All latest news

PlayStation 5 Pro Leaked: Everything We Know
playstation5pro-leak-clean

PlayStation 5 Pro Leaked: Everything We Know

Everything Just Revealed at Nvidia's GTC AI Conference
nvidiastill

Everything Just Revealed at Nvidia's GTC AI Conference

Nvidia Reveals Omniverse Cloud Streams to the Vision Pro
nvidia-vision-pro-image

Nvidia Reveals Omniverse Cloud Streams to the Vision Pro

Nvidia Shows Project GROOT and Disney Bots at GTC Conference
robot-2

Nvidia Shows Project GROOT and Disney Bots at GTC Conference

Expert vs. AI: Is Now the Time to Buy an EV?
gettyimages-1178244881

Expert vs. AI: Is Now the Time to Buy an EV?

The PlayStation Portal Built-In Volume Is too Loud: Here's How to Keep It Low
playstation-portal-audio-options-thumb2

The PlayStation Portal Built-In Volume Is too Loud: Here's How to Keep It Low

Most Popular All most popular

First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
innovation

First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
240123-site-samsung-galaxy-s24-ultra-review-4

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost

'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
circlesearchpic

'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen

Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
asus-preces-00-00-25-11-still003

Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop

Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
samsung-galaxy-ring-clean

Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions

Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
240111-site-best-of-ces-2024-1

Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024

Latest Products All latest products

First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
240304-site-nothing-phone-2-first-look-v3

First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day

Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More
240229-site-best-of-show-at-mwc

Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More

This Concept Laptop from Lenovo Has a Transparent Display
240225-site-lenovo-translucent-laptop-concept-v3

This Concept Laptop from Lenovo Has a Transparent Display

Motorola's Rollable Concept Phone Wraps on Your Wrist
240225-site-motorola-rollable-concept

Motorola's Rollable Concept Phone Wraps on Your Wrist

See Adobe Lightroom on the Apple Vision Pro
adobe-lightroom-00-02-58-03-still006-1

See Adobe Lightroom on the Apple Vision Pro

This $400 Cane Has a Built-In Phone
p1022441-mp4-15-35-32-23-still001

This $400 Cane Has a Built-In Phone

Latest How To All how to videos

Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
240311-site-windows-11-hidden-tips-and-tricks-v2

Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features

Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
VisionOS 1.0.3

Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3

Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
240216-site-galaxy-s24-ultra-tips-and-hidden-features-2

Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra

TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro
tiktok-on-vision-pro-clean

TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro

Get Your TV Ready for the Big Game: Super Bowl Setup Tips
superbowl-tv-settings-thumb1

Get Your TV Ready for the Big Game: Super Bowl Setup Tips

How to Use a Quest 3 Like the Vision Pro
240202-site-spatial-computing-on-meta-quest-3

How to Use a Quest 3 Like the Vision Pro