All the brand new tech that caught our eye in Las Vegas

This yr, over 4,000 exhibitors descended on Las Vegas, Nevada to showcase their wares at CES, and the Engadget group was out in full force. The week began with press conferences from the largest firms on the present, which have been typically a flurry of AI buzzwords, obscure guarantees and little or no in the way in which of onerous information.

A couple of firm even determined to forgo saying issues throughout their conferences to make approach for extra AI chatter, solely to publish press releases later quietly admitting that, sure, truly, they did make some client know-how. It is acceptable, I suppose, that as we’re starting to really feel the knock-on price results of the AI trade’s insatiable urge for food for compute sources — increased utility payments and machine costs — firms would relatively use their flashy conferences to bolster AI’s supposedly must-have attributes relatively than truly inform the general public about their new merchandise.

We’re on no account AI luddites at Engadget, nevertheless it’s truthful to say that our group is extra excited by tangible merchandise that enrich our lives than iterative enhancements to giant language fashions. So, away from the entire bombast of NVIDIA’s marathon keynote and Lenovo’s in some way concurrently gaudy and boring Sphere present, it has been a pleasure to judge the gang of weird new gadgets, home equipment, toys and robots vying for our consideration.

Over the course of a number of days of exhaustive dialogue and impassioned pitching, our CES group has whittled down the lots of of merchandise we noticed to select our favorites. Beginning with an preliminary shortlist of round 50 candidates throughout a various vary of product classes, we finally landed on 15 winners and our singular finest in present.

For those who’ve been with us all week, keep tuned for lots extra to come back — regardless of publishing nearly 200 articles from the present already, there’s nonetheless loads we have now to inform you about. For now, although, listed below are our winners, every launched by the editor most conversant in it. — Aaron Souppouris, Editor-in-chief

Greatest robotic: Switchbot Onero H1

We noticed a whole lot of robots exhibiting off intriguing and helpful capabilities at CES 2026. Whereas a whole lot of robots impressed us, there have been fewer firms keen to commit to truly making them accessible. However Switchbot’s Onero H1, which we watched pick up clothes and cargo a washer, is a helper robotic the corporate intends to promote this yr.

The demo we noticed was restricted, however Switchbot claims it will probably assist with an array of family chores (even when it would do them extra slowly than a human). It is also form of cute. The corporate hasn’t stated how a lot Onero will price, although it guarantees the droid will likely be lower than $10,000. A five-figure price ticket continues to be out of attain for many, nevertheless it at the least provides us hope we’ll see it someplace exterior of the CES showfloor. — Karissa Bell, Senior reporter

Greatest accessibility tech: WheelMove

WheelMove provides a easy improve for guide wheelchairs that would make it a lot simpler for the rider to navigate tough surfaces like grass and uneven dust paths. The add-on is affixed to the entrance bars of the wheelchair and might carry the small caster wheels off the bottom, along with offering energy help with 5 pace choices. It is transportable, has a good vary of about 15 miles — with the choice to swap out its battery on the go — and will give wheelchair customers larger entry to areas that might in any other case be tough to maneuver about in. It may additionally hold the wheelchair from rushing up when an individual is touring on a downward slope.

This feels very very like a product that may truly see the sunshine of day, and could possibly be genuinely useful. It builds upon an present class of wheelchair equipment to handle an actual problem in a approach that does not overcomplicate issues, and would work with the wheelchairs individuals already use. — Cheyenne MacDonald, Weekend editor

Greatest TV: LG Wallpaper TV (OLED Evo W6)

I’ve seen loads of TVs at CES this yr, however few stopped me in my tracks like LG’s OLED Evo W6. It’s the resurrection of the corporate’s “Wallpaper TV,” however this time it’s even thinner (in regards to the depth of a pencil), and it’s now not tied to a soundbar. It additionally makes use of LG’s wi-fi management field to scale back cabling — the one wire you should cover is the one for energy.

And better of all, the OLED Evo W6 options LG’s newest OLED know-how, which guarantees to be about 20 p.c brighter than earlier generations. Video demos regarded completely gorgeous, with the entire fantastic distinction and black ranges we’ve come to like from OLED. However it’s additionally a murals when it’s turned off, one which virtually disappears when considered from an angle. — Devindra Hardawar, Senior reporter

Greatest AI {hardware}: Delicate Voicebuds

Subtle’s Voicebuds are earbuds with a twist: They characteristic an AI mannequin that’s skilled to transcribe your voice precisely in very noisy environments, or when it is under a whisper in quiet areas. We’ve seen this stuff in motion on the bustling CES present ground, the place they managed to transcribe a number of sentences amid the chaos. The one downsides is that the Voicebuds require web entry to make use of the perfect transcription fashions, and you should subscribe to the Delicate app to make use of it. With out the app, it depends on a smaller native mannequin for transcription.

Whereas we nonetheless have to put the Voicebuds by their paces, they’re intriguing as a result of we haven’t seen many genuinely helpful AI {hardware} merchandise. Plus, it’s been some time since we’ve seen a tiny startup ship {hardware} making an attempt to tackle the likes of Apple. — Devindra Hardawar, Senior reporter

Greatest sensible house: IKEA Matter-compatible sensible house

The very best sensible house gadgets I noticed at CES had nothing to do with AI or robots. It appears each different firm, from Bosch to LG to Samsung, had one or each of the buzzy applied sciences baked into their new sensible house choices. However IKEA got here to its first CES with a easy lineup of fundamental, Matter-enabled sensible plugs, sensors, lamps and remotes at screamingly good costs. Operate paired with accessible pricing is kind of what IKEA is understood for, so the lineup didn’t precisely shock me as a lot as make me respect that somebody is lastly simplifying and democratizing sensible house stuff.

There are 21 Matter-compatible gadgets in all. They embody a $6 sensible bulb, an $8 sensible plug, a $6 sensible distant and a slew of house sensors. A barely pricier ($15) globe bulb appears very beautiful. Lastly, there’s a wise bulb you’d truly need to take a look at — one which doesn’t price $50. One other standout is the BILREA distant management. Not solely is it an intuitive controller for IKEA’s sensible gadgets and new sensible lamps, it additionally has a magnetic mount so that you don’t lose the factor. Matter gadgets require a hub to perform. Right here, you’ll be able to both go for IKEA’s personal DIRIGERA or use a Matter hub you already personal. The brand new lineup ought to land at IKEA’s web site and shops someday in January. — Amy Skorheim, Senior reporter

Greatest house theater: Samsung HW-QS90H

Many firms declare their soundbars have sufficient bass that you just don’t want a separate subwoofer. These guarantees not often pan out, even when the corporate devises new technology to resolve the issue. With the HW-QS90H, Samsung is pledging to do the identical with its Quad Bass woofer system. These woofers transfer in two instructions, producing much more low-end tone than most soundbars are able to on their very own. What’s extra, Samsung included its Convertible Match Design tech that debuted final yr, so you’ll be able to lay this speaker flat or mount it on a wall and the built-in sensors will mechanically alter the driving force output accordingly. So, should you’ve longed for deep bass on a soundbar with out a big or ugly sub within the nook, you could lastly get your want later this yr. — Billy Steele, Deputy editor

Greatest audio: Shokz OpenFit Professional

In terms of open match earbuds, firms that declare to supply energetic noise cancellation (ANC) normally don’t ship; It’s tough to successfully block exterior sound when your ears aren’t utterly sealed off. Shokz is likely one of the few that has cracked the code with its OpenFit Pro. The over-the-ear hook design permits the earbuds to sit down exterior of your ear for a transparent line to your environment. Whenever you want a bit extra quiet, the corporate’s noise discount tech does effectively to silence reasonable sounds in a restaurant, workplace and extra. It’s significantly spectacular how a lot noise discount you’ll get right here, and the truth that nothing is caught in your ear canals makes them very snug to put on. Plus, Shokz improved general sound high quality with new drivers, and tacked on Dolby Atmos for good measure. — Billy Steele, Deputy editor

Greatest out of doors tech: Tone Outdoor T1

Out of doors instrument firms have more and more proven up at CES, particularly those that supply a spread of battery-powered gear. Tone Outdoor isn’t your ordinary energy instrument outfit although; it’s a spin-off of the aerospace engineering firm Whisper Aero. By means of its growth of quieter electrical airplane engines, Whisper Aero realized its know-how had different makes use of. Enter the T1 leaf blower.

The T1 is considerably quieter than most handheld gasoline fashions, clocking in at simply 52 decibels of peak noise on common. It’s additionally extra highly effective than most of them with 880 CFM of airflow quantity. The T1 can run longer too, and an upcoming backpack will prolong run time for a number of hours. However an important development right here shouldn’t be annoying your neighbors — or your self — when it’s time to do some yard work. — Billy Steele, Deputy editor

Greatest toy: Lego Good Play

Lego is continually evolving, however not often does it make as large a transfer because it did with Smart Play. The system is designed to take normal Lego units and make them extra interactive due to a tech-packed Good Brick. These bricks have a tiny chip the dimensions of a Lego stud that allows issues like movement, shade and proximity sensing. Additionally they have a tiny speaker that additional helps deliver Lego builds to life.

The Good Brick is usually a clean slate, however pairing it with Lego’s Good Tags and Good Minifigures is what allows these new play eventualities. Unsurprisingly, Lego launched the Good Play system alongside Star Wars units that make these new immersive components extra apparent. An X-Wing piloted by Luke Skywalker can get right into a dogfight with Darth Vader’s TIE fighter, and you may hear the engines roar to life, the characters exclaim as they arrive below hearth and the spaceship explodes if it will get hit too many instances. And Good Play requires no setup, that means that the know-how packed into the Good Brick fades away and lets youngsters (and youngsters at coronary heart) get all the way down to the enterprise of enjoying. You needn’t know the way it works — it simply does. — Nathan Ingraham, Deputy editor

Greatest PC or laptop computer: Dell XPS 14 + 16

In a approach, this award is for Dell’s newest flagship laptops but additionally the corporate itself. Final yr, Dell confirmed up with a new naming scheme for all of its hardware that included changing the long-lasting XPS line with the phrase “Premium.” And despite our objections, the corporate adopted by with the rebrand. However now at CES 2026, not solely has Dell admitted its mistake, it’s righting wrongs with two new members of the XPS family which might be precisely what we wished all alongside.

On the XPS 14 and XPS 16, we’re getting model new chassis that includes the most recent chips from Intel, attractive tandem OLED shows and precision engineering that embodies every thing we cherished about XPS laptops from earlier years. Dell additionally streamlined its designs with the bigger XPS 16 dropping a complete pound in comparison with the earlier era. The corporate even addressed a lot of our earlier critiques by switching from capacitive contact controls again to a basic row of perform keys and reverting to segmented touchpads as an alternative of seamless glass ones that made it onerous to maintain monitor of your cursor.

However maybe the perfect half is that Dell isn’t stopping right here, as a result of the corporate additionally teased a brand new model of its legendary XPS 13 slated for later this yr, the thinnest and lightest member of the household but. There are additionally placeholders for 2 extra XPS fashions slated to reach within the not too distant future. — Sam Rutherford, Senior reporter

Greatest well being tech: Eyebot imaginative and prescient take a look at sales space

Wouldn’t or not it’s good if getting an up to date eyeglasses prescription wasn’t as prolonged a course of as it’s proper now? Eyebot’s new kiosk is designed to automate the method of visiting a health care provider’s workplace to a few minutes rocking as much as a machine. It makes use of a mix of analog and digital wizardry to determine what you should see correctly very quickly in any respect. Even higher is that the prescriptions must be signed off by a licensed eye physician, so you’ll be able to nonetheless depend on a level {of professional} rigor. We like Eyebot as a result of it proved itself in our checks: its temporary examination matched my professionally accomplished prescription from final yr. However its capacity to make efficient eye care accessible and reasonably priced in a approach that it isn’t at current is much more compelling than the tech itself. — Daniel Cooper, Senior reporter

Greatest gaming tech: ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo

The ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo is large, bizarre and doubtlessly awkward to arrange. However truthfully, what sort of gamer doesn’t need extra screens? Even should you can’t use its second show in the course of a firefight, extra actual property means further room for Discord, construct guides or the rest you may want. Moreover, ASUS included not one however two sensible OLED panels with as much as 1,100 nits of brightness and shade accuracy so good you received’t have an issue enhancing photographs or movies. You additionally get a ton of ports, and with help for as much as an NVIDIA RTX 5090 GPU, the ROG Zephyrus Duo has greater than sufficient efficiency to deal with something you’ll be able to throw at it. — Sam Rutherford, Senior reporter

Greatest cell tech: Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold

Samsung might need introduced the most recent iteration of its foldable smartphones in Korea, however CES was the primary probability for many people to see the Galaxy Z TriFold in particular person. It’s a 10-inch Android pill hidden inside a 6.5-inch smartphone type issue.

The soar from the almost-square display screen ratio of Samsung’s previous foldables to roughly 4:3 is a serious enchancment. This can be a machine that I might fortunately watch complete motion pictures on. There’s extra horizontal area to learn, extra room to kind and extra shiny, vivid AMOLED every thing. Unfurling the perimeters is extremely satisfying and, maybe as a result of it’s thicker, it has a reassuring heft, too. The remainder of the spec sheet displays one other trendy Galaxy telephone with a 200-megapixel major digital camera and the largest battery but in a Samsung foldable.

It’ll probably be costly although. Samsung hasn’t confirmed pricing within the US, however primarily based on its launch price in Korea, it could possibly be round $2,500. — Mat Smith, UK bureau chief

Most promising idea: Lenovo Legion Professional Rollable

Idea gadgets are onerous to evaluate as a result of even those with a ton of potential may be too tough to make or too area of interest to deliver to market. However with the Legion Pro Rollable concept, Lenovo created one thing with a easy but highly effective premise: A gaming laptop computer with a display screen that will get wider on the contact of a button.

To make the Legion Professional Rollable, Lenovo took an everyday Legion Professional 7i after which swapped its normal 16-inch show for a versatile one that may broaden all the way in which as much as 23.8 inches — with a bonus cease in between. This implies you will have the choice to select from 16:10, 21:9 and even 24:9 relying on the state of affairs, which seems like an unimaginable method to improve racing video games, flight sims and the rest that may benefit from further huge facet ratios. Granted, when its display screen is absolutely deployed, it does look a bit ungainly. However of all of the ideas we noticed this yr at CES, the Legion Professional Rollable is the one we hope survives to develop into a correct retail product sometime. — Sam Rutherford, Senior reporter

Greatest rising know-how: IXI autofocus lenses

IXI’s autofocusing glasses have been a late addition to our discussions, however we have been impressed by what could possibly be a major development in spectacle know-how — one thing that’s been largely static for the reason that Fifties. IXI’s glasses characteristic a chic, distinctive, cameraless eye-tracking system that makes use of ultra-low-power LEDs and photodiodes to exactly monitor the consumer’s eye motion and focus convergence. This information drives a liquid crystal lens layer, enabling a spotlight change between close to and much distances in roughly 0.2 seconds. Focus your gaze elsewhere, and your glasses return to their regular prescription. Consider them as a high-tech tackle the customarily thick and clunky multifocal lenses we’re at the moment caught with.

IXI is now finalizing the manufacturing course of, creating manufacturing and gaining the required medical certification to promote its glasses, nevertheless it has already struck offers with lens producers in Europe. The corporate has a busy yr forward because it turns its know-how right into a client product. — Mat Smith, UK bureau chief

Greatest in present: Lego Good Play

There’s maybe no place higher than CES to focus on how shortly trade traits die. Through the years the present has been a driver of cornerstone applied sciences just like the VCR, DVD, flatscreen TVs, PDAs and extra. Some traits stick, some do not.

Lego might nearly be seen because the antithesis of the everyday CES product: The corporate’s core idea of inventive play has remained in place all through its lengthy historical past, boosted by a gradual and ongoing evolution of block sorts and model tie-ins.

Introduced at its first-ever CES press convention, Smart Play represents a considerate integration of know-how to the basic toy. A tiny chip the dimensions of a single Lego stud permits the corporate’s Good Bricks to sense what’s round them, opening up new methods to play. The system will debut with a trio of Star Wars units, however we’re certain Lego has plans for a variety of licensed and unlicensed choices.

Our group immediately fell in love with Good Play, and Deputy editor Nathan Ingraham had the chance to each construct some units and speak with a few of the individuals behind the know-how. Amid parental anxieties about screentime, it is refreshing that Good Play does not require an app or a display screen to get began. Youngsters can simply get constructing. — Aaron Souppouris, Editor-in-chief