Technologies

I Saw a Creaseless Foldable Screen at CES That Could End Up in the iPhone Fold

Samsung Display flexes its latest OLED concepts, and one in particular appeared to be the most promising.

Foldable phones have become thinner, more powerful, and sturdier over the years, but one attribute has remained constant: the crease on the inside display. At CES 2026, I saw a concept that eliminates that center line for a more seamless look.

Samsung Display, which is known for showing off futuristic concepts that may or may not make it out into the real world, showed off a prototype of an OLED foldable display that paints a picture of what may be on the horizon.

Admittedly, all I could think about was whether I’d be seeing something like this in the rumored iPhone Fold, if and when it makes its long-awaited debut.

The company placed two phone models side by side: one that was simply dubbed a «current» device (Samsung Display wouldn’t confirm if it’s the Galaxy Z Fold 7), and another that’s a concept. Looking at the two phones, the difference was striking. When viewing the concept screen directly and at an angle, I couldn’t really see the line down the center that characterizes present-day foldables. The current phone instantly looked outdated.

This is particularly meaningful amid reports that Apple is working with Samsung Display to make a creaseless foldable iPhone. The foldable has been rumored for years, and it appears Apple is taking its time to nail the design, with an emphasis on nixing that pesky crease. Perhaps what I saw at Samsung Display’s booth is a concept that will morph into what Apple equips its iPhone Fold with. But we’ll have to wait until the end of this year at the earliest to find out.

Samsung Display’s creaseless screen is also designed to be more durable. To demonstrate this, the company had a robotic arm fling a basketball at a «backboard» made of several foldable concept phones, and none of them got cracked or dented. I still flinched every time.

The creaseless foldable screen was one of several concepts Samsung Display showed off at CES. The company also had a vehicle mock-up equipped with OLED displays, including a curved, 18.1-inch L-shaped center screen for controlling climate, navigation and more. A 13.8-inch passenger display can move into and out of the dashboard for storage, and there’s an option that prevents the driver from seeing what’s on the passenger’s screen to avoid being distracted.

Samsung Display also had robots that are designed to be teaching assistants. They can guide students to classrooms, share information about professors and display assignments on a circular screen that serves as the «face.» We didn’t really see it carry out commands at the demo, but I was nonetheless enamored by the cute little robotic arms.

Despite all the futuristic notions, the one that stuck with me most was the creaseless display because of its practicality. It’s not clear how many of Samsung Display’s concepts will ever leave the lab, but if any of them do, I hope it’s that one.

Technologies

TikTok and FIFA Team Up for World Cup 2026 Coverage

A new team-up aims to make this summer’s tournament more accessible for fans.

If you hadn’t already planned on swiping on TikTok videos of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a new partnership between the social media platform and tournament organizer FIFA could motivate you to start stretching out your thumbs.

As the soccer tournament nears — it will take place from June 11 to July 19 and span 16 host cities in Canada, Mexico and the US — TikTok will become FIFA’s first «preferred platform.» According to a FIFA statement on Thursday, this entails TikTok providing more coverage of the World Cup, including original content and even livestreaming of some portions of matches.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

You can use the FIFA World Cup 2026 hub on TikTok to find content, match tickets and viewing information, as well as participation incentives such as custom stickers and filters.

In the US, World Cup games will air live across Fox and FS1. If you don’t have cable, you can get a live TV streaming service, such as YouTube TV, which includes those channels. Additionally, every match will stream live on Fox One and the Fox Sports app.

«FIFA’s goal is to share the exhilaration of the FIFA World Cup 2026 with as many fans as possible,» FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström said.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Jan. 9, #473

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Jan. 9, No. 473.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition might be tough, if you don’t know your sports venues. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Are you ready for some playoffs?

Green group hint: Up! Down!

Blue group hint: Where teams play.

Purple group hint: Not angels.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: NFL playoff rounds.

Green group: Jumping ability.

Blue group: NBA arenas.

Purple group: ____ devils.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is NFL playoff rounds. The four answers are conference championship, divisional, Super Bowl and wild card.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is jumping ability. The four answers are bounce, bunnies, hops and ups.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is NBA arenas. The four answers are Delta, FedEx, Scotiabank and Spectrum.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ devils. The four answers are blue, New Jersey, red and sun.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Technologies

Speediance’s Compact Resistance Trainer and Wearable Make Wellness and Fitness More Connected

Speediance unveils a portable strength training device and a wearable at CES.

Speediance unveiled its new Gym Nano and Speediance Strap products this week at CES 2026. The smart fitness equipment manufacturer, which previously developed its own smart home gym, the Gym Monster 2, designed the Gym Nano and Speediance Strap to complement its current equipment ecosystem.

«Rather than developing products in isolation, we’re building a comprehensive training and health ecosystem that adapts to users’ real lives and empowers better decision-making over time,» Speediance founder and CEO Liu Tao said in a statement.

Speediance used the consumer tech expo in Las Vegas to demonstrate the Gym Nano, a portable, motor-driven cable resistance training system designed to occupy minimal space for those who prefer to work out at home. The strap is a prototype wearable device designed to read your health data and provide training recommendations based on this insight.

CNET previously tested Speediance’s VeloNix AI Smart Bike and named it the best AI-powered exercise bike.

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

Gym Nano

The Gym Nano is a compact digital cable resistance machine trainer that fits any space and delivers full-body workouts. It’s meant to make strength training at home easier if you have limited space and can’t commit to larger home gym equipment.

The Gym Nano offers up to 220 pounds of resistance through adjustable 1-pound increments. It also has five dynamic weight modes: Eccentric, Chain, Standard, Fixed Speed and Sled.

Speediance Strap

The strap can be used for both endurance and strength training activities and recognizes various types of exercises, movement patterns, training volume and other insights that can help you learn how well your body is responding to your training.

The Speediance Strap is a screen-free wearable that collects data related to your sleep, training and core body temperature. It then uploads and shares this data to the Speediance Wellness Plus app, where it makes suggestions for your daily training and recovery based on this information. Similar to other wearables, the Speediance Strap assesses your readiness each day and can detect stress factors to determine if you should focus more on recovery on that day.

«With Speediance Strap, we are exploring how wearable data can function as part of a decision-support layer within a connected fitness system, rather than existing as isolated metrics,» Tao said in a statement.

Additionally, everyday insights (like core and recovery data) will be free to you unless you want to upgrade to the Wellness Plus access, which will come at an additional cost to receive long-term insights and AI planning.

It’s unclear when the Gym Nano will be available for purchase, but the Speediance Strap is expected to launch through a Kickstarter campaign in spring 2026.