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Businessman found guilty of falsifying documents for executives at the German fintech company View the full article

When ChatGPT burst onto the scene, much of academia reacted not with curiosity but with fear. Not fear of what artificial intelligence might enable students to learn, but fear of losing control over how learning has traditionally been policed. Almost immediately, professors declared generative AI “poison,” warned that it would destroy critical thinking, and demanded outright bans across campuses, a reaction widely documented by Inside Higher Ed. Others rushed to revive oral exams and handwritten assessments, as if rewinding the clock might make the problem disappear. This was never really about pedagogy. It was about authority. The integrity narrative masks a control problem The response has been so chaotic that researchers have already documented the resulting mess: contradictory policies, vague guidelines, and enforcement mechanisms that even faculty struggle to understand, as outlined in a widely cited paper on institutional responses to ChatGPT. Universities talk endlessly about academic integrity while quietly admitting they have no shared definition of what integrity means in an AI-augmented world. Meanwhile, everything that actually matters for learning, from motivation to autonomy, pacing, and the ability to try or fail without public humiliation, barely enters the conversation. Instead of asking how AI could improve education, institutions have obsessed over how to preserve surveillance. The evidence points in the opposite direction And yet the evidence points in a very different direction. Intelligent tutoring systems are already capable of adapting content, generating contextualized practice, and providing immediate feedback in ways that large classrooms simply cannot, as summarized in recent educational research. That disconnect reveals something uncomfortable. AI doesn’t threaten the essence of education: it threatens the bureaucracy built around it. Students themselves are not rejecting AI: Surveys consistently show they view responsible AI use as a core professional skill and want guidance, not punishment, for using it well. The disconnect is glaring: Learners are moving forward, while academic institutions are digging in. What an ‘all-in’ approach actually looks like For more than 35 years, I’ve been teaching at IE University, an institution that has consistently taken the opposite stance. Long before generative AI entered the public conversation, IE was experimenting with online education, hybrid models, and technology-enhanced learning. When ChatGPT arrived, the university didn’t panic. Instead, it published a very clear Institutional Statement on Artificial Intelligence framing AI as a historic technological shift, comparable to the steam engine or the internet, and committing to integrating it ethically and intentionally across teaching, learning, and assessment. That “all-in” position wasn’t about novelty or branding. It was grounded in a simple idea: technology should adapt to the learner, not the other way around. AI should amplify human teaching, not replace it. Students should be able to learn at their own pace, receive feedback without constant judgment, and experiment without fear. Data should belong to the learner, not the institution. And educators should spend less time policing outputs and more time doing what only humans can do — guide, inspire, contextualize, and exercise judgment. IE’s decision to integrate OpenAI tools across its academic ecosystem reflects that philosophy in practice. Uniformity was never rigor This approach stands in sharp contrast to universities that treat AI primarily as a cheating problem. Those institutions are defending a model built on uniformity, anxiety, memorization, and evaluation, rather than understanding. AI exposes the limits of that model precisely because it makes a better one possible: adaptive, student-centered learning at scale, an idea supported by decades of educational research. But embracing that possibility is hard. It requires letting go of the comforting fiction that teaching the same content to everyone, at the same time, judged by the same exams, is the pinnacle of rigor. AI reveals that this system was never about learning efficiency, it was about administrative convenience. It’s not rigor . . . it’s rigor mortis. Alpha Schools and the illusion of disruption There are, of course, experiments that claim to point toward the future. Alpha Schools, a small network of AI-first private schools in the U.S., has drawn attention for radically restructuring the school day around AI tutors. Their pitch is appealing: Students complete core academics in a few hours with AI support, freeing the rest of the day for projects, collaboration, and social development. But Alpha Schools also illustrate how easy it is to get AI in education wrong: What they deploy today is not a sophisticated learning ecosystem, but a thin layer of AI-driven content delivery optimized for speed and test performance. The AI model, simplistic and weak, prioritizes acceleration over comprehension, efficiency over depth. Students may move faster through standardized material, but they do so along rigid, predefined paths with simplistic feedback loops. The result feels less like augmented learning, and more like automation masquerading as innovation. When AI becomes a conveyor belt This is the core risk facing AI in education: mistaking personalization for optimization, autonomy for isolation, and innovation for automation. When AI is treated as a conveyor belt rather than a companion, it reproduces the same structural flaws as traditional systems, just faster and cheaper. The limitation here isn’t technological: it’s conceptual. Real AI-driven education is not about replacing teachers with chatbots or compressing curricula into shorter time slots. It’s about creating environments where students can plan, manage, and reflect on complex learning processes; where effort and consistency become visible; where mistakes are safe; and where feedback is constant but respectful. AI should support experimentation, not enforce compliance. The real threat is not AI This is why the backlash against AI in universities is so misguided. By focusing on prohibition, institutions miss the opportunity to redefine learning around human growth rather than institutional control. They cling to exams because exams are easy to administer, not because they are effective. They fear AI because it makes obvious what students have long known: that much of higher education measures outputs while neglecting understanding. The universities that will thrive are not the ones banning tools or resurrecting 19th-century assessment rituals. They will be the ones that treat AI as core educational infrastructure — something to be shaped, governed, and improved, not feared. They will recognize that the goal is not to automate teaching, but to reduce educational inequality, expand access to knowledge, and free time and attention for the deeply human aspects of learning. AI does not threaten education: it threatens the systems that forgot who education is for. If universities continue responding defensively, it won’t be because AI displaced them. It will be because, when faced with the first technology capable of enabling genuinely student-centered learning at scale, they chose to protect their rituals instead of their students. View the full article

Those with Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder, better known as ADHD, often experience challenges that neurotypical people do not, such as distractibility or low frustration tolerance. However, there is a growing body of evidence that suggests that ADHD also has an upside. And, according to a new study, being aware of these positives may create some mental health perks. The groundbreaking research, which was published in Psychological Medicine, comes from scientists at the University of Bath, King’s College London, and Radboud University Medical Center in the Netherlands. Researchers compared 200 adults with ADHD and 200 without in the first large-scale effort to measure psychological strengths associated with the disorder. People with ADHD were actually more likely to strongly identify with 10 strengths, including the ability to hyperfocus, a sense of humor, creativity, intuitiveness, and having broad interests. Overall, people with ADHD tested as having a lower quality of life than people without ADHD. However, the researchers also found that across both groups, people who understood their strengths and knew how to use them also had better mental health and well-being. From that lens, those with ADHD—at least those who understand their personal strengths well—could be primed for better mental health. While those with ADHD are often well-versed in their struggles, such as difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, emotional regulation challenges, or even trouble maintaining relationships, the new research puts a spotlight on the upsides of ADHD as well as the power of comprehending those strengths fully. Luca Hargitai, lead researcher for the study and a postgraduate at the Department of Psychology at the University of Bath, says the research should help those with ADHD to understand their brains better. “It can be really empowering to recognize that, while ADHD is associated with various difficulties, it does have several positive aspects.” Likewise, Dr. Punit Shah, senior author and Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Bath, says that the findings should be able to help researchers find real ways to improve the lives of people with ADHD. “The next step now is to investigate whether interventions that promote the recognition and use of personal strengths can offer tangible improvements in mental well-being for adults with ADHD.” View the full article

It’s the first week of January, and you’re already drowning in Slack messages. You told yourself this year would be different, that you’d set boundaries and stop overcommitting. But here you are, saying yes to another meeting you don’t have time for, staying late to fix something that could wait, feeling that familiar knot in your stomach every Sunday night. Across corporate America, 90% of employees are experiencing some level of burnout. For decades, we’ve been focusing on optimizing our physical health, tracking our sleep cycles, heart rate variability, while the part of us that actually drives our decisions at work, and quality of life, namely our beliefs and emotional patterns, remains almost entirely unmeasured. We blame our schedules, download another meditation app, and tell ourselves we’ll feel better once we find the right morning routine. But as companies prepare to spend $94.6 billion on wellness programs in 2026, it might be worth asking ourselves: What if we started to treat our minds as if they had capacity to improve instead of a crisis to manage? To change the pattern of anxiety and overworking, we need systems that support us on an ongoing basis. The same kind of structure that gets us results in the gym. That means specific targets as opposed to vague intentions, with consistent practice and a way to measure whether anything’s actually shifting. Awareness isn’t the finish line Most resources available focus on self-awareness, particularly our ability to notice unhelpful thoughts and identify our triggers. This can help you spot the problem, but it doesn’t build the muscle to change it. When we’re under pressure, we are most likely to default to the identity we’ve rehearsed the most. If we want different outcomes, we need to do different reps. The ‘mental fitness’ framing Physical training has three basics: assess, train, track. The inner version looks similar: 1. Assess the pattern, not the person Swap “I’m bad at strategy” for “Under time pressure, I rush to solutions and skip framing.” That tiny pivot turns character judgments into coachable behaviors. 2. Train one thing at a time You wouldn’t walk into the gym and expect to have your desired physique by the end of the first session, so don’t try to reinvent yourself by Friday. Pick one thing that actually matters at work, whether it’s staying calm when nothing is clear or deploying deliverables when they’re 80% done instead of polishing until it’s perfect. Then do it for two to four weeks, just that one thing. 3. Track signals you can observe Pick leading indicators you can observe daily. Instead of asking “Am I better at communication?,” which measures the outcome, not the action, ask: “Did I pause for three seconds before responding in that tense Slack thread? Did I ask one clarifying question before jumping to solutions? Did I share context to help explain the reasoning behind my response? A simple four-week protocol any team can use In a culture obsessed with novelty, repetition can feel boring, but identity change is about repetition. The mind adapts through patterns, practicing a better version of yourself until it feels natural. Week 0: Baseline Write a short “trigger map” for the last two weeks at work. Note the situations that spark your worst habits (e.g., shifting scope, senior exec drop-ins, cross-team dependencies) Choose one thing to train, naming the opposite habit you’re replacing. Weeks 1–2: Reps Create a 90-second routine that cues your new identity, such as reading a one-line intention (“My opinion matters and I will speak up when needed”), breathing for four counts, or previewing one clarifying question you’ll ask. Come up with three metrics to measure your progress with the new routine after encountering a trigger. For example, after facing a situation that would typically make you angry, ask: Did I pause before responding? Did I ask a clarifying question? Is there something I could have done better? Week 3: Progressive overload Add “progressive overload.” If you practiced in low-stakes meetings, maybe it’s time to bring the same behavior to a higher-visibility setting. If you trained with peers, try it with an exec. Week 4: Review and lock in Look back at your checkboxes. Where did the behavior hold under stress? Where did it collapse? Decide whether you’d like to keep training this capacity for another block, or maintain it and choose a new one. What managers can do this quarter Leaders shouldn’t be expected to fill the role of a coach to build mentally stronger teams. But they can make personal growth operational. This can look like: Normalizing “capacity goals.” Alongside objectives and key results, ask reports to name one thing they’re training for the quarter and the two behaviors that prove it’s working. Review those behaviors in 1:1s like you would a KPI. The key is framing it as skill-building, not fixing what’s broken to avoid direct reports feeling judged. Designing meetings for rehearsal so that, if someone is training concise communication, updates are time-boxed to 90 seconds. If another person is training direct feedback, they could be assigned “devil’s advocate” as a rotating role. Praise the rep, such as: “You paused, reframed, and asked the right question,” rather than the persona (“You’re a natural”). Teams are more likely to repeat what gets recognized. What this looks like in real life A product lead I worked with had a familiar pattern. Whenever requirements changed late in a project cycle, someone from sales would promise a client a custom feature, or leadership would pivot strategy two weeks before launch, she’d panic. She’d call emergency meetings to “align everyone.” Then, to prove she had everything under control, she’d build massive 40-slide decks covering every possible scenario and spend 20 minutes walking through each one while her team’s eyes glazed over. The meetings would drag on for an hour. People would leave more confused than when they arrived. Decisions took forever because there was too much information and no clear ask. She picked one capacity goal: “Create clarity with fewer words,” and to implement it, she did two things: Ask one framing question at the start, and end meetings with a single-sentence summary. Three weeks in, her team was making decisions faster because she changed the shape of conversations, starting with “What decision are we trying to make today?” and ending with “So we’re moving forward with option B and revisiting the API integration next sprint.” Performance improved because she trained smarter. The quiet revolution In the 1970s, jogging was not a thing. Then exercise transitioned from medical advice into identity as people became runners, not because a brochure said so, but because practice made them that kind of person. Work is ready for a similar shift. We don’t need more slogans about resilience. We need visible, repeatable ways to become the colleague, the manager, the builder we say we are. Treat your inner game like your training plan: pick the capacity, run the block, count the reps. Your calendar won’t change for you. Your identity will, one powerful repetition at a time. View the full article

Regarding selecting the best customer rewards program software solutions, you need to evaluate various factors like customization, ease of use, and analytics capabilities. Each software offers unique features designed for different business needs, from startups to large enterprises. Whether you prioritize gamification, seamless integration, or advanced reporting tools, there’s a solution that fits your requirements. Let’s examine the top contenders and how they can improve your customer engagement strategies. Key Takeaways Open Loyalty offers a highly customizable solution with over 250 API endpoints for seamless omnichannel integration and real-time updates on loyalty points. Smile.io provides a user-friendly, plug-and-play solution ideal for small to medium-sized e-commerce businesses, enhancing customer lifetime value through simple integration. Talon.One features a flexible rule builder for creating intricate, hyper-personalized loyalty programs, appealing to businesses seeking customized reward mechanics. Cheetah Digital integrates marketing and loyalty efforts with strong reporting capabilities, allowing for effective customer relationship management and insightful analytics. Comarch Loyalty Management delivers highly personalized loyalty programs with advanced analytics and scalability, making it suitable for large enterprises with complex loyalty structures. Open Loyalty: A Flexible and Customizable Solution Open Loyalty stands out as a flexible and customizable loyalty solution that caters to a variety of business needs. As a leading loyalty SaaS, it offers over 250 API endpoints, ensuring seamless integration with your existing systems. This adaptability allows you to create personalized customer rewards program software that aligns with your unique business strategies. The platform supports omnichannel engagement, meaning your customers can earn and redeem rewards across web, mobile, and in-store interactions. With built-in gamification elements, such as achievements and leaderboards, it actively engages customers, encouraging participation in loyalty initiatives. Real-time processing capabilities handle transactions efficiently, providing immediate updates on loyalty points and rewards, which is essential for maintaining customer satisfaction. Open Loyalty’s customizable and scalable features make it an ideal choice for businesses looking to improve their loyalty strategies and maximize customer retention. Smile.io: Quick Setup for E-Commerce Businesses For small to medium-sized e-commerce businesses looking to implement a customer rewards program, Smile.io offers a plug-and-play solution that simplifies the process. This platform integrates seamlessly with popular e-commerce sites like Shopify and Wix, allowing you to quickly add loyalty features without needing extensive technical skills. Smile.io provides a standard points-based program, along with referral and VIP tiers, which are crucial for turning one-time buyers into loyal customers. Through an easy-to-use dashboard, you can customize the branding and user experience, even though options are limited on the free plan. Businesses that utilize Smile.io have reported impressive results, including a 48% increase in customer lifetime value and double the purchase frequency among loyalty program members. With its straightforward setup and effective tools, Smile.io makes it easier for you to engage customers and improve their shopping experience. Cheetah Digital: All-in-One Marketing and Loyalty Platform If you’re seeking an all-encompassing solution that integrates marketing and loyalty efforts, Cheetah Digital stands out as an all-in-one platform intended to improve customer engagement and relationship management. This platform offers loyalty add-ons, enabling you to manage customer relationships effectively as you enhance engagement. However, although it boasts strong reporting capabilities and personalization tools, allowing you to customize loyalty programs to individual preferences, some users have found the interface clunky, which can hinder navigation. Here’s a quick overview of Cheetah Digital’s features: Feature Benefits Considerations All-in-One Platform Unified marketing and loyalty May lack depth in loyalty Personalization Tools Customized customer experiences Clunky interface reported Strong Reporting Insightful analytics Learning curve for users Cheetah Digital is ideal for businesses looking for a thorough solution, though it may not suit those needing advanced loyalty functionalities. Talon.One: Highly Customizable Promotion and Loyalty Engine Talon.One offers a flexible rule builder that lets you create intricate loyalty programs without needing extensive technical skills. This user-friendly feature simplifies the design of promotions customized to your business needs. Nonetheless, you should additionally consider potential integration challenges with your existing tech stack, as this can affect how smoothly the platform operates within your overall system. Flexible Rule Builder When businesses seek to improve their customer engagement strategies, a flexible rule builder can be a crucial tool in creating effective promotions and loyalty programs. Talon.One’s customizable rule builder allows you to design complex promotions customized to specific customer behaviors and preferences. You can make real-time updates, ensuring your loyalty strategies adapt to changing customer needs and market conditions. The platform’s API-based architecture boosts flexibility, allowing seamless integration with various tech stacks. Talon.One supports hyper-personalized loyalty experiences by enabling unique reward mechanics like bundling, discounting, and tiered rewards. Its user-friendly interface simplifies the creation and management of loyalty rules, making it accessible for non-technical team members while still offering advanced capabilities for developers. Integration Challenges Ahead As businesses look to implement Talon.One’s highly customizable promotion and loyalty engine, they often encounter integration challenges that can complicate their strategies. The platform’s API-first architecture provides developers with control over integration, but this flexibility comes with a steep learning curve because of its extensive features. Although you can create complex discounting and loyalty mechanics customized to your needs, achieving seamless connectivity with different tech stacks may require dedicated development resources. Moreover, leveraging real-time updates and audience targeting improves hyper-personalized loyalty experiences, but it demands careful planning. For enterprises managing multiple brands and large SKU portfolios, Talon.One is an ideal solution, yet the associated costs for scaling should likewise be considered to guarantee a successful implementation. Antavo: No-Code Loyalty Editor for Diverse Reward Types Antavo provides a no-code loyalty editor that empowers businesses to design and manage their loyalty programs effortlessly, even without technical skills. The platform supports a diverse range of reward types, including points, tiers, and community rewards, which means you can tailor your offerings to fit your customer base. With features for in-store kiosks and card support, Antavo improves customer engagement across multiple channels. Here’s a quick overview of what Antavo offers: Feature Description Benefit No-Code Editor User-friendly interface for program creation Accessible for all users Diverse Reward Types Points, tiers, and community rewards Customizable loyalty options Multi-Channel Support In-store kiosks and card integration Engages customers effectively Antavo’s intuitive tools allow for easy customization and quick setups, making it an excellent choice for businesses looking to improve customer retention and satisfaction through innovative reward structures. Comarch Loyalty Management: Enterprise-Focused Loyalty Solutions Comarch Loyalty Management offers enterprise-focused features that cater to complex loyalty programs, making it a suitable choice for large organizations. During its customizable interface provides flexibility in tailoring strategies, users may face challenges maneuvering its complexity. This platform’s advanced analytics tools help you track customer engagement and program performance, but comprehending its full potential can require a significant investment of time and resources. Enterprise-Focused Features When you’re managing a large enterprise, having a robust customer rewards program can greatly improve customer loyalty and engagement. Comarch Loyalty Management offers features customized particularly for your needs, including gift card management and loyalty cards. With extensive customization options, you can create highly personalized loyalty programs that align with your brand. The platform likewise includes advanced analytics tools, allowing you to track customer engagement and program effectiveness in real-time. Furthermore, its scalability guarantees that as your enterprise grows, your rewards program can adapt seamlessly to increased demands. Integration with existing systems means a cohesive customer experience across various touchpoints, making it easier for you to manage and improve customer interactions effectively. Complex Interface Challenges Navigating through the intricacies of Comarch Loyalty Management can be challenging, especially for new users who may find the interface overwhelming. Its complexity often requires significant training, as the advanced features like gift and loyalty card management can be intimidating. Users typically report that the intricate layout demands dedicated personnel for effective management, which can increase operational costs. Nevertheless, this complexity also allows for customization and scalability, catering to large organizations’ specific needs. Challenge Description Impact on Users Complex Layout Extensive options can confuse new users Increased training time Learning Curve Steep because of numerous features Slower adoption of the platform Resource Requirements Necessitates dedicated personnel Higher operational costs Customization Potential Offers customized solutions for large businesses Greater flexibility in program design Annex Cloud: Comprehensive Loyalty and Engagement Platform As businesses seek innovative ways to boost customer loyalty and engagement, Annex Cloud stands out with its extensive suite of software solutions. The platform combines points programs, customer referrals, and user-generated content, creating a thorough approach to improve loyalty. Its API-first design allows for significant customization, catering to businesses with specific needs. Furthermore, Annex Cloud integrates seamlessly with popular enterprise systems like Salesforce, SAP, and Adobe, ensuring smooth operations across various tech stacks. Security is a priority, as the platform supports GDPR, CCPA, and SOC2 compliance, making it suitable for regulated sectors. Its modular user interface and strong reporting features enable you to track performance metrics effectively. By leveraging data-driven insights, you can optimize your loyalty strategies and better engage your customers. Oracle CrowdTwist Loyalty and Engagement: Robust Enterprise Solution Oracle CrowdTwist is a robust loyalty solution that leverages advanced analytics to improve customer engagement and retention. With coalition loyalty support, it allows businesses to partner with others, maximizing the benefits of customer loyalty across multiple brands. This enterprise-grade platform is designed to handle intricate loyalty structures, making it a solid choice for large organizations seeking to optimize their customer rewards programs. Advanced Analytics Capabilities Advanced analytics capabilities form the backbone of effective loyalty programs, enabling businesses to make informed decisions based on customer data. With Oracle CrowdTwist, you can leverage these advanced features to boost your loyalty initiatives markedly. Gain real-time insights through extensive reporting and analytics tools. Track customer engagement and loyalty program performance metrics effortlessly. Utilize sophisticated segmentation to analyze customer behavior. Tailor your loyalty programs to improve overall customer satisfaction. Benefit from robust data visualization tools for clear interpretation of complex datasets. These capabilities not only enhance your strategic decision-making but additionally allow you to measure the impact of cross-brand interactions, thereby improving customer loyalty and engagement. Coalition Loyalty Support In a competitive market where customer loyalty is paramount, coalition loyalty support can greatly improve a brand’s engagement strategy. Oracle CrowdTwist offers a robust enterprise solution that enables multiple brands to collaborate seamlessly, allowing customers to earn and redeem rewards across various businesses. This approach boosts customer value, encouraging repeat purchases and nurturing deeper brand connections. With advanced analytics and reporting capabilities, you can measure the effectiveness of your loyalty initiatives, optimizing your engagement strategies accordingly. While designed for large enterprises with a high-cost structure, the platform’s continuous updates guarantee you benefit from the latest features in loyalty management. Kognitiv by Aimia: Innovative Loyalty Technology Kognitiv by Aimia offers innovative loyalty technology that caters particularly to the needs of various sectors, including retail, consumer packaged goods (CPG), and travel. By leveraging advanced data analytics and machine learning, Kognitiv optimizes customer interactions, ensuring that loyalty programs are effective and engaging. Key features of Kognitiv include: Segment-focused solutions customized to specific industry demands. Personalized offers and promotions intended to improve customer retention. Flexible and scalable platform capabilities that adapt to changing market conditions. Comprehensive analytics that drive insights into customer behavior. Responsive customer support for timely assistance in managing loyalty efforts. With these features, Kognitiv empowers businesses to improve their loyalty strategies, increase customer lifetime value, and navigate the intricacies of modern consumer engagement efficiently. TrueLoyal: Streamlined Loyalty Management for Businesses TrueLoyal offers a streamlined loyalty management platform designed to simplify the implementation and management of customer loyalty programs for businesses. With a user-friendly interface, you can easily set up and customize your loyalty programs to align with your engagement strategies. The platform adapts based on client feedback, guaranteeing it continuously evolves to meet your needs. Moreover, TrueLoyal provides robust customer support, facilitating smooth onboarding for businesses of all sizes. You’ll likewise benefit from analytics tools that offer valuable insights into customer behavior, enabling you to optimize your loyalty initiatives for better retention and revenue growth. Feature Description User-Friendly Interface Simplifies program setup and management Customizable Programs Tailors rewards to your strategy Client Feedback Responsive Regular updates based on user input Robust Customer Support Guarantees smooth onboarding and assistance Analytics Tools Provides insights for optimization Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Most Successful Rewards Program? The most successful rewards programs focus on personalization and engagement. They leverage AI to tailor offers, increasing customer lifetime value markedly. Incorporating gamification elements, like achievements and leaderboards, improves customer interaction and purchase frequency. A flexible rewards structure accommodates various behaviors, boosting satisfaction and retention. In addition, integrating the program across multiple channels allows seamless earning and redeeming of rewards, as real-time analytics inform data-driven decisions to improve effectiveness and profitability. What Is the World’s Most Generous Rewards Program? The world’s most generous rewards program often highlights the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, offering up to 5x points on select categories with no expiration for eligible accounts. Hilton Honors likewise stands out, providing 14 points per dollar spent at hotels and versatile redemption options. Other notable programs include American Express Membership Rewards, which allows point transfers to numerous partners, and Marriott Bonvoy, offering up to 17 points per dollar and valuable member benefits. Who Has the Best Reward System? Determining who’s the best reward system depends on various factors, such as your business model and customer needs. Some programs excel in flexibility, offering customizable point structures and engagement features, while others focus on AI-driven personalization to improve customer interactions. Furthermore, thorough systems that integrate multiple loyalty features can adapt to different business requirements. In the end, evaluating these elements will help you identify the most effective reward system for your specific situation. What Is the Difference Between a CRM and a Loyalty Program? A CRM focuses on managing interactions with customers, aiming to improve relationships and drive sales growth. It collects and analyzes customer data to boost service and marketing. Conversely, a loyalty program particularly targets customer retention by offering rewards and incentives for repeat business. Although both utilize customer data, CRMs integrate with various business functions, whereas loyalty programs emphasize creating engaging reward systems to promote long-term customer loyalty and increase purchase frequency. Conclusion In summary, choosing the right customer rewards program software is essential for enhancing customer loyalty and engagement. Solutions like Open Loyalty and Talon.One offer customization and advanced features, whereas Smile.io and TrueLoyal cater to the needs of small businesses. For those seeking robust analytics, Cheetah Digital and Oracle CrowdTwist excel, and enterprise-level options like Comarch Loyalty Management provide scalability. By evaluating your specific requirements, you can select the software that best aligns with your business goals and customer needs. Image via Google Gemini This article, "10 Best Customer Rewards Program Software Solutions" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Regarding selecting the best customer rewards program software solutions, you need to evaluate various factors like customization, ease of use, and analytics capabilities. Each software offers unique features designed for different business needs, from startups to large enterprises. Whether you prioritize gamification, seamless integration, or advanced reporting tools, there’s a solution that fits your requirements. Let’s examine the top contenders and how they can improve your customer engagement strategies. Key Takeaways Open Loyalty offers a highly customizable solution with over 250 API endpoints for seamless omnichannel integration and real-time updates on loyalty points. Smile.io provides a user-friendly, plug-and-play solution ideal for small to medium-sized e-commerce businesses, enhancing customer lifetime value through simple integration. Talon.One features a flexible rule builder for creating intricate, hyper-personalized loyalty programs, appealing to businesses seeking customized reward mechanics. Cheetah Digital integrates marketing and loyalty efforts with strong reporting capabilities, allowing for effective customer relationship management and insightful analytics. Comarch Loyalty Management delivers highly personalized loyalty programs with advanced analytics and scalability, making it suitable for large enterprises with complex loyalty structures. Open Loyalty: A Flexible and Customizable Solution Open Loyalty stands out as a flexible and customizable loyalty solution that caters to a variety of business needs. As a leading loyalty SaaS, it offers over 250 API endpoints, ensuring seamless integration with your existing systems. This adaptability allows you to create personalized customer rewards program software that aligns with your unique business strategies. The platform supports omnichannel engagement, meaning your customers can earn and redeem rewards across web, mobile, and in-store interactions. With built-in gamification elements, such as achievements and leaderboards, it actively engages customers, encouraging participation in loyalty initiatives. Real-time processing capabilities handle transactions efficiently, providing immediate updates on loyalty points and rewards, which is essential for maintaining customer satisfaction. Open Loyalty’s customizable and scalable features make it an ideal choice for businesses looking to improve their loyalty strategies and maximize customer retention. Smile.io: Quick Setup for E-Commerce Businesses For small to medium-sized e-commerce businesses looking to implement a customer rewards program, Smile.io offers a plug-and-play solution that simplifies the process. This platform integrates seamlessly with popular e-commerce sites like Shopify and Wix, allowing you to quickly add loyalty features without needing extensive technical skills. Smile.io provides a standard points-based program, along with referral and VIP tiers, which are crucial for turning one-time buyers into loyal customers. Through an easy-to-use dashboard, you can customize the branding and user experience, even though options are limited on the free plan. Businesses that utilize Smile.io have reported impressive results, including a 48% increase in customer lifetime value and double the purchase frequency among loyalty program members. With its straightforward setup and effective tools, Smile.io makes it easier for you to engage customers and improve their shopping experience. Cheetah Digital: All-in-One Marketing and Loyalty Platform If you’re seeking an all-encompassing solution that integrates marketing and loyalty efforts, Cheetah Digital stands out as an all-in-one platform intended to improve customer engagement and relationship management. This platform offers loyalty add-ons, enabling you to manage customer relationships effectively as you enhance engagement. However, although it boasts strong reporting capabilities and personalization tools, allowing you to customize loyalty programs to individual preferences, some users have found the interface clunky, which can hinder navigation. Here’s a quick overview of Cheetah Digital’s features: Feature Benefits Considerations All-in-One Platform Unified marketing and loyalty May lack depth in loyalty Personalization Tools Customized customer experiences Clunky interface reported Strong Reporting Insightful analytics Learning curve for users Cheetah Digital is ideal for businesses looking for a thorough solution, though it may not suit those needing advanced loyalty functionalities. Talon.One: Highly Customizable Promotion and Loyalty Engine Talon.One offers a flexible rule builder that lets you create intricate loyalty programs without needing extensive technical skills. This user-friendly feature simplifies the design of promotions customized to your business needs. Nonetheless, you should additionally consider potential integration challenges with your existing tech stack, as this can affect how smoothly the platform operates within your overall system. Flexible Rule Builder When businesses seek to improve their customer engagement strategies, a flexible rule builder can be a crucial tool in creating effective promotions and loyalty programs. Talon.One’s customizable rule builder allows you to design complex promotions customized to specific customer behaviors and preferences. You can make real-time updates, ensuring your loyalty strategies adapt to changing customer needs and market conditions. The platform’s API-based architecture boosts flexibility, allowing seamless integration with various tech stacks. Talon.One supports hyper-personalized loyalty experiences by enabling unique reward mechanics like bundling, discounting, and tiered rewards. Its user-friendly interface simplifies the creation and management of loyalty rules, making it accessible for non-technical team members while still offering advanced capabilities for developers. Integration Challenges Ahead As businesses look to implement Talon.One’s highly customizable promotion and loyalty engine, they often encounter integration challenges that can complicate their strategies. The platform’s API-first architecture provides developers with control over integration, but this flexibility comes with a steep learning curve because of its extensive features. Although you can create complex discounting and loyalty mechanics customized to your needs, achieving seamless connectivity with different tech stacks may require dedicated development resources. Moreover, leveraging real-time updates and audience targeting improves hyper-personalized loyalty experiences, but it demands careful planning. For enterprises managing multiple brands and large SKU portfolios, Talon.One is an ideal solution, yet the associated costs for scaling should likewise be considered to guarantee a successful implementation. Antavo: No-Code Loyalty Editor for Diverse Reward Types Antavo provides a no-code loyalty editor that empowers businesses to design and manage their loyalty programs effortlessly, even without technical skills. The platform supports a diverse range of reward types, including points, tiers, and community rewards, which means you can tailor your offerings to fit your customer base. With features for in-store kiosks and card support, Antavo improves customer engagement across multiple channels. Here’s a quick overview of what Antavo offers: Feature Description Benefit No-Code Editor User-friendly interface for program creation Accessible for all users Diverse Reward Types Points, tiers, and community rewards Customizable loyalty options Multi-Channel Support In-store kiosks and card integration Engages customers effectively Antavo’s intuitive tools allow for easy customization and quick setups, making it an excellent choice for businesses looking to improve customer retention and satisfaction through innovative reward structures. Comarch Loyalty Management: Enterprise-Focused Loyalty Solutions Comarch Loyalty Management offers enterprise-focused features that cater to complex loyalty programs, making it a suitable choice for large organizations. During its customizable interface provides flexibility in tailoring strategies, users may face challenges maneuvering its complexity. This platform’s advanced analytics tools help you track customer engagement and program performance, but comprehending its full potential can require a significant investment of time and resources. Enterprise-Focused Features When you’re managing a large enterprise, having a robust customer rewards program can greatly improve customer loyalty and engagement. Comarch Loyalty Management offers features customized particularly for your needs, including gift card management and loyalty cards. With extensive customization options, you can create highly personalized loyalty programs that align with your brand. The platform likewise includes advanced analytics tools, allowing you to track customer engagement and program effectiveness in real-time. Furthermore, its scalability guarantees that as your enterprise grows, your rewards program can adapt seamlessly to increased demands. Integration with existing systems means a cohesive customer experience across various touchpoints, making it easier for you to manage and improve customer interactions effectively. Complex Interface Challenges Navigating through the intricacies of Comarch Loyalty Management can be challenging, especially for new users who may find the interface overwhelming. Its complexity often requires significant training, as the advanced features like gift and loyalty card management can be intimidating. Users typically report that the intricate layout demands dedicated personnel for effective management, which can increase operational costs. Nevertheless, this complexity also allows for customization and scalability, catering to large organizations’ specific needs. Challenge Description Impact on Users Complex Layout Extensive options can confuse new users Increased training time Learning Curve Steep because of numerous features Slower adoption of the platform Resource Requirements Necessitates dedicated personnel Higher operational costs Customization Potential Offers customized solutions for large businesses Greater flexibility in program design Annex Cloud: Comprehensive Loyalty and Engagement Platform As businesses seek innovative ways to boost customer loyalty and engagement, Annex Cloud stands out with its extensive suite of software solutions. The platform combines points programs, customer referrals, and user-generated content, creating a thorough approach to improve loyalty. Its API-first design allows for significant customization, catering to businesses with specific needs. Furthermore, Annex Cloud integrates seamlessly with popular enterprise systems like Salesforce, SAP, and Adobe, ensuring smooth operations across various tech stacks. Security is a priority, as the platform supports GDPR, CCPA, and SOC2 compliance, making it suitable for regulated sectors. Its modular user interface and strong reporting features enable you to track performance metrics effectively. By leveraging data-driven insights, you can optimize your loyalty strategies and better engage your customers. Oracle CrowdTwist Loyalty and Engagement: Robust Enterprise Solution Oracle CrowdTwist is a robust loyalty solution that leverages advanced analytics to improve customer engagement and retention. With coalition loyalty support, it allows businesses to partner with others, maximizing the benefits of customer loyalty across multiple brands. This enterprise-grade platform is designed to handle intricate loyalty structures, making it a solid choice for large organizations seeking to optimize their customer rewards programs. Advanced Analytics Capabilities Advanced analytics capabilities form the backbone of effective loyalty programs, enabling businesses to make informed decisions based on customer data. With Oracle CrowdTwist, you can leverage these advanced features to boost your loyalty initiatives markedly. Gain real-time insights through extensive reporting and analytics tools. Track customer engagement and loyalty program performance metrics effortlessly. Utilize sophisticated segmentation to analyze customer behavior. Tailor your loyalty programs to improve overall customer satisfaction. Benefit from robust data visualization tools for clear interpretation of complex datasets. These capabilities not only enhance your strategic decision-making but additionally allow you to measure the impact of cross-brand interactions, thereby improving customer loyalty and engagement. Coalition Loyalty Support In a competitive market where customer loyalty is paramount, coalition loyalty support can greatly improve a brand’s engagement strategy. Oracle CrowdTwist offers a robust enterprise solution that enables multiple brands to collaborate seamlessly, allowing customers to earn and redeem rewards across various businesses. This approach boosts customer value, encouraging repeat purchases and nurturing deeper brand connections. With advanced analytics and reporting capabilities, you can measure the effectiveness of your loyalty initiatives, optimizing your engagement strategies accordingly. While designed for large enterprises with a high-cost structure, the platform’s continuous updates guarantee you benefit from the latest features in loyalty management. Kognitiv by Aimia: Innovative Loyalty Technology Kognitiv by Aimia offers innovative loyalty technology that caters particularly to the needs of various sectors, including retail, consumer packaged goods (CPG), and travel. By leveraging advanced data analytics and machine learning, Kognitiv optimizes customer interactions, ensuring that loyalty programs are effective and engaging. Key features of Kognitiv include: Segment-focused solutions customized to specific industry demands. Personalized offers and promotions intended to improve customer retention. Flexible and scalable platform capabilities that adapt to changing market conditions. Comprehensive analytics that drive insights into customer behavior. Responsive customer support for timely assistance in managing loyalty efforts. With these features, Kognitiv empowers businesses to improve their loyalty strategies, increase customer lifetime value, and navigate the intricacies of modern consumer engagement efficiently. TrueLoyal: Streamlined Loyalty Management for Businesses TrueLoyal offers a streamlined loyalty management platform designed to simplify the implementation and management of customer loyalty programs for businesses. With a user-friendly interface, you can easily set up and customize your loyalty programs to align with your engagement strategies. The platform adapts based on client feedback, guaranteeing it continuously evolves to meet your needs. Moreover, TrueLoyal provides robust customer support, facilitating smooth onboarding for businesses of all sizes. You’ll likewise benefit from analytics tools that offer valuable insights into customer behavior, enabling you to optimize your loyalty initiatives for better retention and revenue growth. Feature Description User-Friendly Interface Simplifies program setup and management Customizable Programs Tailors rewards to your strategy Client Feedback Responsive Regular updates based on user input Robust Customer Support Guarantees smooth onboarding and assistance Analytics Tools Provides insights for optimization Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Most Successful Rewards Program? The most successful rewards programs focus on personalization and engagement. They leverage AI to tailor offers, increasing customer lifetime value markedly. Incorporating gamification elements, like achievements and leaderboards, improves customer interaction and purchase frequency. A flexible rewards structure accommodates various behaviors, boosting satisfaction and retention. In addition, integrating the program across multiple channels allows seamless earning and redeeming of rewards, as real-time analytics inform data-driven decisions to improve effectiveness and profitability. What Is the World’s Most Generous Rewards Program? The world’s most generous rewards program often highlights the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, offering up to 5x points on select categories with no expiration for eligible accounts. Hilton Honors likewise stands out, providing 14 points per dollar spent at hotels and versatile redemption options. Other notable programs include American Express Membership Rewards, which allows point transfers to numerous partners, and Marriott Bonvoy, offering up to 17 points per dollar and valuable member benefits. Who Has the Best Reward System? Determining who’s the best reward system depends on various factors, such as your business model and customer needs. Some programs excel in flexibility, offering customizable point structures and engagement features, while others focus on AI-driven personalization to improve customer interactions. Furthermore, thorough systems that integrate multiple loyalty features can adapt to different business requirements. In the end, evaluating these elements will help you identify the most effective reward system for your specific situation. What Is the Difference Between a CRM and a Loyalty Program? A CRM focuses on managing interactions with customers, aiming to improve relationships and drive sales growth. It collects and analyzes customer data to boost service and marketing. Conversely, a loyalty program particularly targets customer retention by offering rewards and incentives for repeat business. Although both utilize customer data, CRMs integrate with various business functions, whereas loyalty programs emphasize creating engaging reward systems to promote long-term customer loyalty and increase purchase frequency. Conclusion In summary, choosing the right customer rewards program software is essential for enhancing customer loyalty and engagement. Solutions like Open Loyalty and Talon.One offer customization and advanced features, whereas Smile.io and TrueLoyal cater to the needs of small businesses. For those seeking robust analytics, Cheetah Digital and Oracle CrowdTwist excel, and enterprise-level options like Comarch Loyalty Management provide scalability. By evaluating your specific requirements, you can select the software that best aligns with your business goals and customer needs. Image via Google Gemini This article, "10 Best Customer Rewards Program Software Solutions" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

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Every year at CES, Intel and AMD announce their newest processors. This year, Intel debuted its first line of chips made with its 18a process, which stands for 18 angstroms, or under 2nm. To make that a little less nerdy, that means these chips can fit a lot of tech into a small area, which means big gains in performance. Colloquially called Panther Lake, the new Intel Core Ultra Series 3 chips are focused on laptops and mini-PCs. But that doesn't mean they don't put out impressive numbers. During its keynote, Intel promised "77% faster gaming performance," and for everyone actually using their PCs to do work, "60% better multithread performance." Impressively, it also said its new chips would also enable "up to 27 hours of battery life," rivaling Apple's M-series chips and other ARM chips from manufacturers like Qualcomm. Battery life has been a sore spot for both Intel and AMD for a while, and I'm excited to get my hands on machines that use Panther Lake processors. Credit: Intel And then there's the AI. Intel says its top Intel Core Ultra Series 3 models have 50 NPU TOPs and 180 TOPS in total when you combine the NPU and GPU numbers. To translate, that basically means faster AI performance for developers who don't want to bother with the cloud, and would prefer the speed and privacy of a locally downloaded AI model. Speaking of that GPU, Intel's upgraded its integrated graphics this generation to the Intel Arc B390, which has twice the cache of its prior GPU and 50% more cores. I already mentioned that 77% increase in gaming performance, but AI developers will also see a 53% increase in performance over Intel Core Ultra Series 2, and a two times performance increase over Intel Core Ultra Series 1. So, better computers. That's pretty par for the course for CES, but there is a "one more thing" here. Intel is coming for AMD's dominance in handheld gaming PCs. Credit: Intel Until now, most handheld gaming PCs have used AMD chips, with those that have opted for Intel getting hit in reviews for buggy or poorly optimized performance. The Steam Deck uses an AMD chip, and so does the Xbox handheld. Intel says it's going to change that. After announcing the new integrated GPU and walking through features like frame generation and ray tracing, the company said it "will be launching an entire handheld gaming platform with Panther Lake." That means big moves, and soon—Panther Lake won't last long before getting replaced. The company didn't say much more, but it did show a slide with partners set to use Intel chips in their handhelds, including Acer, MSI, and hey, Microsoft. I guess we'll see another Xbox handheld model soon. And that's about it for Intel this year. The new chips are smaller, stronger, and more efficient, but smartly, the company is also planning to use them to shore up its weaknesses, specifically in gaming and battery life. That makes sense. With developers like Apple having famously ditched Intel throughout the decade, the company has been on the backfoot. According to Intel, the earliest machines powered by Intel Core Ultra Series 3 will start accepting pre-orders on January 6, with availability beginning on January 27. View the full article

When you come across an AI video on Instagram, or watch ChatGPT respond to your query, do you ever think about how that content was generated? Beyond the actual programs and prompts, generative AI takes an enormous amount of compute to support, especially as it skyrockets in popularity. As such, AI companies are looking for more power than ever, which means, of course, turning to those that make the hardware. AMD calls Helios "The world's best AI rack" During a Monday evening keynote, AMD's CEO Dr. Lisa Su showed off the hardware that will soon power everything from ChatGPT to the AI videos overwhelming your feeds. Su introduced "Helios" against a backdrop of dramatic music, the company's upcoming AI rack, that packs a staggering amount of computing power into a rack that weighs nearly 7,000 pounds. Each "cross-section" of these racks, if you will, is powered by four key AMD pieces of hardware: The company's new AMD Instinct MI455X GPU, the new AMD EPYC "Veince" CPU, the AMD Pensando "Vulcano" 800 AI NIC, and the AMD Pensando "Salina" 400 DPU. There are some staggering stats here: Helios is capable of 2.9 exaflops of AI compute, and comes with 31 TB of HBM4 memory. It offers 43 TB per second scale out Bandwidth, and is developed with 2nm and 3nm architecture. The rack has 4,600 "Zen 6" CPU cores, and 18,000 GPU compute units. In other words, this isn't your average piece of hardware. Su's pitch is that the AI industry is in need of this additional compute power. She notes how the world used one ZettaFlop of computing power in 2022 on AI technology, compared to 100 ZettaFlops in 2025. (For the curious, one ZettaFlop has a value of 10 to the power of 21.) It's no surprise: AI is everywhere, and many of us are using it—whether we know it or not. Some of us are using it overtly, generating AI videos or running chatbots daily. But others are using AI quietly embedded in functions, like live translation. Su welcomed reps from OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, and Luma AI, which creates generative AI video content, to talk about how additional compute helps their programs. But during Luma AI's demonstration of its hyperrealistic video generations, all I could think about was how this type of content is already tricking people into thinking its real, when it's entirely fabricated—not to mention the impact on human artists. AMD is optimistic about AI, and the data centers powering it, but critics have been pushing back, citing concerns with the impacts on the communities companies are building these data centers in. Helios will likely be a major success for AMD, but it comes at an interesting time for tech, and AI in general. AI is more popular than ever, but it's also more controversial than ever. I see hardware like Helios only fueling the fire in both directions. AMD Ryzen AI 400 seriesIn addition to Helios, Su announced the AMD Ryzen AI 400 series. These newest chips comes with either 12 "Zen 5" CPU cores and 24 threads, 16 RDNA 3.5 GPU cores, a 60 TOPS XDNA 2 NPU, and memory speeds of 8,533 MT/s. AMD says the Ryzen AI 400 series is 1.7 times faster at content creation and 1.3 times faster at multitasking whe compared to Intel Core Ultra 9 288V. These new chips will ship soon in a number of major PC brands, including Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Beelink, Colorful, Gigabyte, LG, Mechrevo, MSI, and NEC. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. If you're anything like me, you spend 90% of your time using your laptop with it docked and plugged into a monitor (or two). And if you're at that point, you might be wondering why you even bother having a screen attached to your computer at all. If so, HP's got your back. Announced at this year's CES, the HP Eliteboard G1a looks like a normal keyboard on the outside, but on the inside, it's got a whole Windows PC. That's not exactly a new concept, but with the experimental days of Windows XP long behind us, it's mostly been reserved for less powerful, Linux-based single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi. That's great if you're a hacker or tinkerer, but not if you're just looking for a screenless, keyboard-equipped Mini PC to get you through the workday. The Eliteboard G1a, instead, comes equipped with the latest AMD Ryzen AI chips, up to 64GB of RAM, and up to 2TB of storage, so while you shouldn't expect to play the latest and greatest games on it, for internet browsers and lightweight productivity programs, it should really be able to hustle. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt It's also a bit of a sleeper build. I've been able to go hands-on with it, and to all outside eyes, it really does look like a regular office keyboard, complete with black, low-profile chiclet keys, a function row, and a numpad. Ranging from 1.5 to 1.7 pounds based on how you spec it out, it's also pretty lightweight, and the right person might believe you if you said it was just a keyboard, with no computer inside whatsoever. The catch? This baby is aimed at enterprise customers, rather than your typical consumer. That does come with a few bonuses, like a Kensington lock slot, some extra security software, and an optional fingerprint reader. But it also means you're not going to find it up for sale anywhere other than the HP store, and while pricing hasn't been announced yet, it'll probably be a bit more expensive if bought individually rather than as part of an office fleet. It can also only connect to monitors using DisplayPort, which is fine if you're an office manager that knows to buy displays that will work with it, but may not fit into everyone's home set-up. That's a shame, because I love unusual form factors, and this keyboard PC could make for a really clean desk in my home office. It's strong enough, uses a familiar operating system with wide app compatibility, and can even output to two 4K monitors at once. There are also two versions, one that always needs to be plugged in, and one with a battery and a detachable USB power cable for quickly moving between different workstations. That's great flexibility, since the battery version is a bit more portable, but is also heavier. Here's hoping this is just an early experiment for HP, because I'd love to buy a consumer version of this laptop at some point in the future. If you're willing to take the plunge on the enterprise model, though, HP says it's expected to launch on HP.com sometime in March. View the full article

At last year's CES, Sony's press conference showed off products from all over its portfolio, including a first look at The Last of Us season 2. This year, it was all about the Afeela, an electric car Sony's making in collaboration with Honda that it's been teasing for years, but is now finally getting ready to release. Sony has big plans for Afeela. Previews have been less about hard specs like mileage or speed and more about the company's plans to change how we look at cars. Previously, that's included demo'ing integrations with other Sony services like Crunchyroll and themes for the car's interior based on Sony brands. Just last month, the company confirmed it would support PlayStation Remote Play in the Afeela, after teasing it at CES 2024. And the first time I saw the Afeela at CES, it was driven onto stage using a PS5 controller. Now, Sony's ready to talk more than aesthetics and cute integrations, but that unique voice didn't go anywhere. Headlining the show was the promise that the company's currently working on something called Afeela Intelligent Drive. Currently, it's sitting at level 2+ driver assistance, which means it can handle tasks like merging or lane changes, but Sony's planning to take it to level 4+ "in the future," meaning full self-driving within certain areas. It probably won't be ready for launch, but it does show the company's getting serious about usability. On that note, it also showed concepts for a future where Afeela users will basically just chill while the car drives itself. Those kind of promises aren't rare at CES, but Sony specifically called out its brand of entertainment products as what riders would occupy themselves with on their rides. Combined with the Intelligent Drive news, apparently that's what all those ecosystem cross-promotions were leading towards. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt But until that future arrives, Sony still isn't afraid to use Afeela to push its products, although it isn't stopping there. The company brought PlayStation on stage to quickly reaffirm Remote Play will be baked into the Afeela (while also dropping the surprising stat that apparently half of all PlayStation Remote Play sessions now happen on the PlayStation Portal streaming handheld). It also said that the Afeela will have themes for its touchscreens based on Sony properties like Astro Bot and Gran Turismo. None of that is too far off from what the company's shown before, but the idea of turning your car into a media ecosystem doesn't stop there. Sony also announced the Afeela co-creation program, which will let developers and content creators make their own custom apps or media for the car. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt These include things like themes and even special Android apps, but apparently, drivers can even customize the Afeela's "motor" sound, and put visuals on a small "media bar" on the front of the car. As an example, Sony brought out Japanese music producer Tomoko Ida, who demonstrated a motor sound she created that sounded more like a THX commercial than anything else. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt It's honestly a pretty clever move for a car that's been all about the ecosystem as opposed to the hard specs so far. But it does have one oddity that maybe speaks to how long this thing's been teased. Apparently, developers for the Co-Creation program will be able to get paid in crypto, which Sony says will "accelerate open co-creation," although it also says the Co-Creation program will be "open to other automakers and service providers." I'm not sure Toyota will want to get paid on the blockchain, but whatever. Drivers will be able to access utilities and apps made for their Afeela using an app, but that raises the question: When will you finally be able to drive this thing? Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt The Afeela has been teased since CES 2023, but finally Sony says the car is in production and will begin delivering to customers in California sometime this year. In fact, all the photos you've seen of the Afeela throughout this article have been of an actual pre-production model for the initial Afeela car, now called Afeela 1. That's huge for Afeela, but there is a catch. Those deliveries might take a while to reach the rest of the country. Sony says Arizona is next on its radar, but that sales won't make it there until 2027. Japanese deliveries are also slated for 2027, but living in New York, I'll just have to keep pretending this thing doesn't exist. That's a bit of a blow for a car that started off this press conference promising a new future for how we drive, since even once it gets on the streets, it'll probably take even longer for that to come true. Still, Sony says it will allow people who have already registered to buy a car to start doing test drives of the car sometime before deliveries begin. I'll be honest, I don't cover cars much, and that this year's Sony press conference was all about one maybe points to a quiet year across the rest of the brand. That said, for people who are into driving, I can see the Afeela's appeal. It definitely feels more like a gadget than a gas guzzler, and I'm wondering if this is what the Apple Car might have looked like if it ever came out. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt Probably not—despite the fancy mock-ups, I did sit inside an Afeela last year, and it was fancy but still familiar. But that's also not where Afeela is stopping. Sony ended its keynote by driving the "Afeela Prototype 2026" onto the stage. It didn't look that different from the outside, but the company says it will offer "greater spatial flexibility and accessibility." To me, that implies a step closer towards that future where the car is essentially a hangout zone that moves you while you play PlayStation, but only time will tell. I'll see you when I actually get behind the wheel of one of these things, probably sometimes in 2040. View the full article

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We may earn a commission from links on this page. “Smart” glasses have been big at CES this year, but the headset that has impressed me most is a device that helps people with central vision loss, including those who are considered “legally blind,” to see what they otherwise couldn’t. At a press event, I met a woman with macular degeneration, Liz Baker, who uses them daily—and I got to try them myself. What eSight Go is, and how it works Credit: Beth Skwarecki The device is called eSight Go. It’s a headset with little screens in front of your eyes, sort of like a VR headset, but small enough to perch on your nose. The device’s battery pack sits around the back of your neck, so that you don’t have to support the weight of the battery on your head. The glasses are bulky, but the battery pack design made them comfortable for me to wear. The device is designed for people with central vision loss, which includes conditions like macular degeneration. In these conditions, the middle of the person’s visual field isn’t clear—things they look directly at appear blurry or simply aren’t visible, but their peripheral vision is still clear. Regular eyewear can’t correct this issue, since the information in the center of the visual field just isn’t there. But the eSight device works by zooming in so much that the person’s peripheral vision is able to process what they’re seeing, and that central “blind spot” essentially disappears. The company’s studies show that people gain seven lines of improvement on vision charts—that’s huge. It’s hard for me, as a sighted person, to know exactly what that’s like, but Baker gave me a few examples. With the device, she can read ingredient labels and see people’s facial features; without it, those things are literally a blur. She told me about noticing her daughter’s freckles when looking through the eSight device, and using it to shop without help. (Previously, small text at stores was impossible to read; she says she kept buying shampoo when she meant to buy conditioner.) Practical use The battery pack, left, sits over your shoulders and attaches to the headset with a short cable. Credit: Beth Skwarecki The device has a dizzying array of features that I wasn’t able to master in my short time with it. To name a few: You can zoom in and out with buttons on the arm of the headset, or with a handheld remote. You can increase the contrast of whatever you're looking at. You can freeze-frame, zoom in, and then move your head to read the enlarged image as if it were a giant billboard in front of you (even if it’s something small or far away, like a brochure in your hand or a menu on a restaurant wall.) The device costs $4,950 and is not covered by most insurance. It comes with access to a “coach” who is themselves an eSight user with vision loss who can talk new users through learning the features or helping them to figure out how to do specific tasks. The battery life on the eSight Go is about four hours, so I asked Baker how she keeps the device charged throughout the day. She says she doesn’t wear the glasses continuously, which saves battery life. She keeps them around her neck (essentially in a sleep mode) when she isn’t actively using them to read text or look at a specific thing in detail. Director of sales Roland Mattern says people who test the glasses sometimes zoom all the way in and note that the image can be pixelated, but most users don’t need the max zoom level, and those who do tend to find that it’s still an improvement over what they can see without the glasses. The hefty price isn’t usually covered by insurance, although the Department of Veterans Affairs will cover it, and Mattern says a few users with other insurance companies have sometimes managed to get coverage. Sometimes other programs can cover it, like state-run vocational rehabilitation programs that help people with disabilities return to work. View the full article

I spent some time with Petkit on the show floor of CES on Monday, where I got to see the company's automatic wet food cat feeder, its newest smart litter box, as well as an AI-powered water dispenser. Of course, a water dispenser should ideally do one thing: dispense fresh water for your pet. The Eversweet Ultra water dispenser, however, adds a number of smart features to the mix, some of which actually seem particular useful for owners of multiple cats. The Eversweet's camera tracks your cats' drinking habits I first learned about this water dispenser last week when Petkit officially announced it, and some of the specs and features are the same on paper as they are in person: This smart dispenser comes with a five liter tank, as well as a 1080p camera with a 140 degree wide angle view. That allows you to see your cat approach the dispenser, as well as monitor their drinking habits. You can either choose to tap into a live stream to watch them as they drink, or check out prerecorded clips saved to the app. Petkit tells me the app even chops up clips for you to post to your socials automatically—if you think your friends and family want close-ups of your cat taking a drink. One of Petkit's selling points here, however, is the health tracking. The clips aren't just for posting to stories; instead, the camera can track how your pet drinks over time, noting any discrepancies or changes. You can see daily, monthly, and even yearly drinking trends, so you know whether your cat is drinking an abnormal amount of water for January. I'd want to consult a veterinarian before definitively stating whether this type of tracking is effective, but I can imagine it might be useful to know whether your cat changes its behaviors—something you might not notice if you aren't diligently watching them drink. That doesn't change if you have multiple cats, either. The Eversweet's camera uses machine learning for facial recognition, and can identify individual cats in your home. That health tracking can apply to specific cats as they drink water, so you shouldn't have results mixed between your various pets. If you really want to know when one cat is drinking water over another, this should help you keep track. Eversweet's water featuresWhile some water dispensers recycle the water, the Eversweet disposes of the water after a set period of time. I knew about this from the press release, but it was fun seeing the machine dump the water in real time: The pump that serves to keep the water running cuts out, and the entire mechanism lifts up to reveal a drain. The water dumps out, and a spout refills the tank, only to dump the water again. This is an attempt to clean out the tray, and remove any bits of hair or debris that might've been left behind. Petkit also made a point of showing me that the dispenser's pump is always running, which turns the Eversweet into a bit of a water feature—not that you should buy one just for decoration. The idea is, cats are a bit more attracted to the moving water than still water, which encourages them to drink. I don't have a cat, so I can't speak to that, but it's an added aesthetic perk—until the water dumps out, of course. Petkit says it's aiming for an April release for the Eversweet, which will be available on both Amazon as well as through Petkit's official site. View the full article

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I don't have a cat, but I do have a dog, and my dog can be a picky eater. After months of trial and error, the only way we could get him to consistently eat breakfast and dinner was with wet food. There is no scenario in which I or someone watching my dog can outsource the task of feeding him, but that's not the case for cat owners. I know that cats sometimes stay home alone for extended periods of time, where an automatic food dispenser becomes essential. I can only imagine, then, that cat owners who, like me, feed their pet wet food, now have a challenge: Someone has to be there to feed the cat. That's what intrigues me about Petkit's Yumshare Daily Feast, an automated cat feeder that specifically works with wet food. I covered the Yumshare briefly when Petkit first announced it last week, but I got some hands-on time with the product today on the CES show floor. And while the device I saw isn't going to market just yet, I was intrigued. The concept itself is pretty simple, but a bit more complex in execution. As you might expect, the feeder distributes portions of food for your cat to eat when you're not available—only here, that food is wet, not dry. To achieve this, Petkit outfitted the Yumshare with a chamber that can hold up to seven pouches of wet food at once. These pouches are designed for the Yumshare alone: Right now, the only company making pouches is Food Chain, which uses Petkit's proprietary design to fit the Yumshare, but it's possible more companies more jump on board in the future. The food chamber that contains seven pouches of wet food. Credit: Lifehacker When the Yumshare first opens one of these pouches, it sets a timer: After 48 hours, the pouch is discarded. In the meantime, the machine can automatically dole out portions set by the user, into a cup, which is stored in a separate chamber in the device. Once the portion is distributed, the pouch is sealed until the next portion is needed. The machine also uses UVC ultraviolet light to sanitize the package, with the goal of eliminating bacteria. The automation extends to the portion of wet food itself, as well. Whether your cat eats all of the food, some of the food, or none of the food, the Yumshare can discard what's left when it detects it's time to do so. That might be the AI camera identifying that the food has dried up, or an internal clock recognizing that too much time has passed for the food to be safe to eat. Either way, the food drops into a waste compartment, which can hold up to 15 cups at once. The stand remains empty until it's time to hand out another portion of food. How large or small each portion is, as well as how often portions are distributed, is up to you. Petkit showed me a mockup of the Yumshare's app, which lets you customize this feeding schedule. The app will also tell you how many portions have been distributed, and how many are left in the chamber. You can also take a look at a live video feed of your cat, via the 4K camera embedded in the device, or view a clip history of your cat's feeding habits. My only question is the lack of refrigeration: Petkit says that there is no need for it, since the pouches are all sealed until use, closed in between portions, and the chamber uses ultraviolet light to sterilize for bacteria. But I'd want to confirm there are no health risks to keeping an opened pouch unrefrigerated for up to two full days, even with that UVC light. Assuming that's true, I'm quite impressed with this prototype. If I were a cat owner that frequently needed to leave my pet alone at breakfast and dinner, this is something I'd have my eye on. View the full article

CES is the time of year for weird computers, and Asus is bringing back an old fan favorite to help fill its unusual form factor quota. Gamers who miss the days of dual screens, get excited: the ROG Zephyrus Duo is returning for 2026, and it's bigger than ever. Looking a bit like a gigantic Nintendo DS, the new ROG Zephyrus Duo stacks two full-sized 3K OLED screens on top of each other, with a standard laptop hinge in between. It's a lot like the company's existing Zenbook Duo, but that one's geared more for productivity users—the Zephyrus Duo is fully specced out for gamers, with a 120Hz refresh rate on both screens, the latest Intel Core Ultra chips, up to an RTX 5090 laptop GPU, up to 64GB of RAM, and up to 2TB of storage. Plus, it supports 250W fast charging and can play games using up to 125W of power. New ROG Zephyrus Duo (left) vs. ROG Zephyrus Duo 2023 (right). Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt That's plenty for even the most demanding games, although its price is still an unknown for now. What we do know is how different this is from the last Zephyrus Duo, which came out in 2023. That laptop's lower screen was a simple small angled panel above the keyboard, instead of a full-sized display matching the upper one. It was great for displaying stats at a glance while playing, but not much else. Instead, the new Zephyrus Duo can display the same game across both screens, mirror them, or pull up reference material on one screen while you play on the other. It's also got a bunch of new ways you can use it: It comes with a detachable wireless keyboard, and you can either use it like a normal laptop with that keyboard covering one of the screens, or get creative. Credit: Asus An example photo from Asus show the laptop with one screen above the other, both screens in a side-to-side portrait mode, the whole laptop laid flat on a table (perhaps for head-to-head play), and tent mode. Tent mode is especially interesting—an Asus representative told journalists that gamers could play the same game against each other while sitting across from each other in tent mode, with each display acting as a private screen. He did acknowledge that this might impact performance and compatibility might differ based on game, but I could see it being an especially great option for, say, fighting games. Again, this format has been used for non-gaming laptops before, but it's seemingly got a lot of potential for gamers, too. There's a reason one of Nintendo's most popular handhelds opted for a dual-screen setup. And hey, maybe you could even play some DS games made on this, too. The new ROG Zephyrus Duo is expected to launch sometime in Q2 of this year. View the full article

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During last year's CES, Dell killed the brand behind the very first laptop I ever owned, ditching its beloved XPS branding alongside other classic names like Inspiron and Precision. In its place, the company said all of its future (non-gaming) computers would now be known simply as "Dell," either being Dell, Dell Pro, or Dell Pro Max devices. In addition to these, other monikers like Dell Plus and Dell Premium were also tossed into the mix—and with all those similar-sounding adjectives floating around, it was just a mess to know what you were actually buying. If you can tell me the difference between a Dell 14 Plus, a Dell 14 Premium, and a Dell 14 Pro Premium without looking at spec sheets, then all respect to you. Now, it seems, the company's realized its mistake. At CES 2026, Dell revealed that it's bringing the XPS brand back and massively simplifying everything else. Laptops simply branded as "Dell" won't be going away, but from now on, consumers will only have to make three choices when buying a Dell laptop. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt How Dell's new laptop categories will workMore lightweight laptops for everyday consumers will continue to be called simply Dell, but all premium options will now be renamed to XPS, while all gaming computers will now fall under the Alienware brand that was previously limited to more powerful models. The Dell Pro name will technically continue to exist, but only for enterprise customers, and Dell made no mention of Dell Pro Max, Dell Plus, or Dell Premium at this CES. "We've been a bit off course," Dell Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke said in a meeting with journalists. "I owe you an apology. We didn't listen to you. You were right...we can be humble, and we can correct decisions that we've made in the past." All of this should come as a relief to confused buyers who might have been thrown off not just by the naming scheme, but by how many configuration options each of those Premium, Plus, and Pro models had on the Dell website at checkout. As someone who had to review and recommend these things, even I had trouble knowing whether a high-end Dell Plus was better than a low-end Dell Pro. But aside from naming, Dell also promised to bring back some favorite XPS design features alongside the brand next year. Old Dell XPS design Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt Shortly before it got rid of the XPS name, Dell made a couple of design overhauls to XPS that I was vocally opposed to, and these persisted into some of its post-XPS computers. They included using a touch bar for the function row rather than physical keys, much like Apple tried on some MacBook Pros between 2016 and 2020, and a touchpad that was flush with the computer, meaning you couldn't easily see where it began and ended. It was flashy, but as my colleague Alan Bradley pointed out in a review, it was more "form over function." New Dell XPS design Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt Now, the new XPS laptops for this year are back to using physical keys for the function row and have subtle etching on the sides of the touchpad so you know where it begins and ends. There are even a few new, but purely cosmetic premium touches, like a CNC-machined aluminum body. The new XPS machines are also a bit thinner and lighter, and the company promises "the XPS 14 is now more compact than the MacBook Air 13, taking up less desk space while giving you more screen space." Overall, the theme for next year seems to be "return to form," and Dell's even going so far as to replace the Dell logo on the lid of its new XPS laptops with the XPS logo for the first time. 2025 was the first year where I didn't put a non-gaming Dell laptop on my best laptops of the year list, so I'm excited to see what the company's reinvestment in its history looks like when it comes out. New Dell XPS 14 (left) and Dell XPS 16 (right) Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt Dell's new XPS 14 and XPS 16 will launch with limited configurations starting Jan. 6, while an XPS 13 that's thinner than 13mm is set for sometime later this year. Launch configurations will have options for both LCD and OLED screens, although there are no builds with discrete graphics cards included at the moment. Pricing for the XPS 14 will begin at $1,650, while the XPS 16 will start at $1,850. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. With the rise of streaming culture, a lot of gamers have started investing in computers that don't just play games well, but that look good while doing it. Asus's newest pre-built gaming desktop, the ROG G1000, is pretty by-the-book when it comes to high-end performance, but it's got one major selling point when it comes to those all-important gamer aesthetics: holograms. Built into this computer's front panel and one of its side panels, safely tucked into inaccessible glass windows, are rapidly rotating LED strips that, when in motion, create convincing full-color images that appear to have depth. The "frame rate" can be a little low, but it's a known technology that's all over the show floor at every CES now, and you can actually buy generic standalone hologram fans on Amazon for around $60-$100. It's just rare to see it integrated into something like a PC. This hologram tech, called AniMe Holo, should make for a great way to show off on camera (or to your buddies in a college dorm) and Asus is promising some pretty expansive customizability. You can put still images and gifs on it, sure, but Asus also told journalists it can support full videos or mp4 files, without any limit on length. I think I'd try to use it to watch Shrek. The effect comes across a bit better in-person, but it's still unusual enough to look enticing over video, even if you lose some of the depth. Unfortunately, still photos aren't really a great way to show this thing off, since they can't depict the rotating motion. Aesthetics aside, the G1000 is also at the top of the power game, coming with the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X 3D CPU, an RTX 5090 GPU, up to 128GB of RAM, and a 2TB storage. It's got bite to back up its bark, and will be able to play the latest games at max settings with no issue. Of course, specs like that are likely to cost you a pretty penny, especially with the hologram gimmick tossed on top of them. Asus hasn't tipped its hand on pricing yet, but the ROG G1000 is expected to launch sometime in Q2 of this year. View the full article