Technologies

Hannspree Launches Lumo Paper Tablet Meant to Be Easier on Eyes

The tablet doesn’t use backlighting, and has other features meant to minimize eye strain.

If you spend long hours staring at screens and want something that’s easier on your eyes without feeling sluggish, Hannspree may have an answer. Hannspree, a German company that focuses on visual health and green tech, has introduced the Hannspree Lumo, a «dynamic paper tablet.» The company says the tablet emphasizes eye health without sacrificing visual quality or speed.

A paper tablet, or e-ink tablet, is a device that uses electronic ink to mimic the look and feel of writing on real paper. Instead of a pen or pencil, you use a stylus, and the screen itself has a more textured, grainy feel like paper. These tablets are minimalist by design and have reduced lighting to minimize eye strain during extended periods of reading and writing.

Hannspree says its latest innovation is called «ecoVision,» a proprietary technology that uses ambient light to illuminate the Lumo screen. The more surrounding light there is, the sharper and more vivid the display will be. The company said that not using a backlight, as LCD and OLED screens do, will be easier on your eyes and use less power.

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When there is little ambient light, such as in the evening, the Lumo has a front LED light. The smart light also automatically adjusts its brightness based on ambient light levels.

For anyone who struggles with eye strain or screen-triggered headaches, the Lumo could be appealing. Hannspree says its flicker-free, anti-glare, blue-light-free display is designed to help people with visual sensitivities, including photophobia (light sensitivity), migraines and computer vision syndrome — a cluster of eye and vision problems linked to extended screen use.

However, Jay Neitz, an ophthalmologist and researcher at the University of Washington School of Medicine, told CNET there are no «significant advantages» to reflective displays, such as those on the Lumo.

«The advertiser says their reflective display has less blue light. However, there is no good evidence that the blue light emitted by phones, tablets, or monitors causes retinal injury or increases the risk of macular degeneration,» Neitz said. «Many blue-light–blocking devices are marketed as protecting eye health, but controlled studies show little to no benefit for eye strain, visual acuity, or long-term ocular health.»

The Android-powered Lumo can be used for reading e-books, surfing the web, watching videos, casual gaming and video calls, but Hannspree territory manager Martin Kent says the Lumo «isn’t just another e-reader.»

«By combining visual wellness, color, speed and flexibility, Lumo represents a fundamental shift in how tablets can and should work,» Kent said. He added that the Lumo tablet has «greater consideration for our health.»

The Android operating system powers it, and you can access streaming apps such as YouTube, Hulu, Prime Video and more.

The Lumo’s 7.8-inch paper-like screen can display 16.7 million colors, with a 60Hz refresh rate and a 5-millisecond response time. The device is 6.6mm thin and weighs only 250g, making it easy to hold with one hand.

Other features include an optional USI 2.0 stylus with 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity, palm rejection, an eraser button and a real writing feel. A 10-point multitouch allows you to use both the stylus and finger touch simultaneously.

The Lumo is also outfitted with a microphone, 4GB of memory and Bluetooth 5.0. It’s priced at £299 (roughly $400), though there’s no word yet on whether it will get a US release.

The e-reader market is projected to double by 2035, from $8.46 billion in 2023 to $16.93 billion, with an annual growth rate of 6.51%. E-reader technology has continued to evolve since its early days. (Remember the Rocketbook?) E-ink displays are improving, multimedia elements are increasingly incorporated, and cloud storage and AI are becoming increasingly integral.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, Jan. 21

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 21.

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

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? It tripped me up at first, because 5-Across and 2-Down go together, and I hate when you have to match up two separate answers. Fortunately, this one also had a descriptive clue — not all two-part answers do. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: The slightest amount
Answer: ABIT

5A clue: With 2-Down, intentionally inflammatory posts
Answer: RAGE

6A clue: Dirty stuff
Answer: FILTH

8A clue: Five Below or 7-Eleven
Answer: STORE

9A clue: Something used to steer a rowboat
Answer: OAR

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Sounds from a doggy daycare
Answer: ARFS

2D clue: See 5-Across
Answer: BAIT

3D clue: Domed home
Answer: IGLOO

4D clue: Small, colorful fish that’s popular in aquariums
Answer: TETRA

7D clue: 2013 film in which Joaquin Phoenix’s character falls in love with an A.I. operating system
Answer: HER

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Technologies

First ChatGPT Device Coming This Year, and It Might Sit Right Behind Your Ear

OpenAI executive says the company is on schedule to launch device in late 2026

ChatGPT that you wear behind your ear? Maybe. OpenAI is reportedly developing its first AI-powered device and will unveil it in the second half of the year, Axios reported on Monday.

Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s chief global affairs officer, said at Axios House Davos that the devices will be «among the big coming attractions for OpenAI in 2026,» the site reported. Lehane said the company hopes to introduce the new products in the latter part of the year, but did not provide any details about the device or when it would be available for purchase.

A representative for OpenAI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

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If an earlier leak also proves true, the ChatGPT-powered device will be worn right behind your ear.

According to a leak earlier this month from @zhihuipikachu, a consumer-electronics blogger, the OpenAI device coming later this year will be a rival to Apple’s AirPods and will consist of two pill-shaped gadgets that rest behind the ear. They will be metallic and stored inside an egg-shaped case. The leak said to expect the initial launch around September 2026, but also said there would be a total of five devices (released) by the fourth quarter of 2028.

Whatever the new device is, it will be the inevitable creation of a company that set its sights on developing AI-powered hardware from the moment it bought tech design company IO for $6.5 billion in May 2025. IO was founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive and others to develop hardware products heavily integrated with AI. At the time, speculation was that OpenAI and former IO designers would collaborate to create an AI-powered smartphone.

In November, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Ive said they had developed a prototype for a screenless device that could filter out «digital noise» and avoid sending constant notifications and alerts. This device would rely on ambient intelligence, learn from its surroundings and provide spatial awareness, all while operating quietly in the background.

Altman said the device would be «simple, beautiful and playful,» but did not offer details about what it would be.

ChatGPT, launched in 2022 by OpenAI, is an AI assistant designed to accomplish a wide variety of tasks, such as creating documents, translating languages, answering questions and more. It and similar products are rapidly moving into a wide range of tech products and everyday devices, including smart earbuds and wearables. Companies are racing to embed conversational AI into products of all kinds, sparking both excitement and controversy over privacy, data security and other issues.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Jan. 21, #955

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Jan. 21 #955

Looking for the most recent 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, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has some fun categories. I especially liked the purple group, which made me think of the tribute I wrote when Adam West died back in 2017. RIP, Bright Knight. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Hints for today’s Connections groups

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

Yellow group hint: Don’t throw that out!

Green group hint: Zzzzz…

Blue group hint: Eyes on your own paper.

Purple group hint: Caped Crusader’s items.