Engadget's best of CES 2026: All the new tech that caught our eye in Las Vegas

[ad_1] Over 4,000 exhibitors flocked to Las Vegas, Nevada this week to showcase their wares at CES 2026. The Engadget staff, as normal, was out in full pressure masking the present. The week started with press conferences from big corporations on the present, largely crammed with AI buzzwords, obscure guarantees and fairly little in the best way of onerous information.

Multiple firm even determined to forgo asserting issues throughout their conferences to make method for extra AI chatter, solely to publish press releases later quietly admitting that, sure, really, they did make some client know-how. It is applicable, I assume, 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 — greater utility payments and machine costs — corporations would reasonably use their flashy conferences to strengthen AI's supposedly must-have attributes reasonably than really inform the general public about their new merchandise.

We're in no way AI luddites at Engadget, however it's honest to say that our staff is extra excited by tangible merchandise that enrich our lives than iterative enhancements to massive language fashions. So, away from the entire bombast of NVIDIA's marathon keynote and Lenovo's someway concurrently gaudy and uninteresting Sphere present, it has been a pleasure to guage the group of bizarre new devices, 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 staff has whittled down the a whole bunch 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 greatest in present.

When you've been with us all week, keep tuned for lots extra to come back — regardless of publishing virtually 200 articles from the present already, there's nonetheless a lot we've got to inform you about. For now, although, listed below are our winners, every launched by the editor most aware of it. — Aaron Souppouris, Editor-in-chief

Greatest robotic: Switchbot Onero H1 Onero H1 robotic (Onero)

We noticed numerous robots exhibiting off intriguing and helpful capabilities at CES 2026. Whereas numerous robots impressed us, there have been fewer corporations prepared to commit to really making them accessible. However Switchbot's Onero H1, which we watched choose up garments 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 could possibly assist with an array of family chores (even when it would do them extra slowly than a human). It is also type of cute. The corporate hasn't stated how a lot Onero will price, although it guarantees the droid might be lower than $10,000. An almost five-figure price ticket remains to be out of attain for many, however it a minimum of offers us hope we'll see it someplace exterior of the CES showfloor. — Karissa Bell, Senior reporter

Greatest accessibility tech: WheelMove WheelMove energy help for guide wheelchairs (Cheyenne MacDonald for Engadget)

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

This feels very very like a product that can really see the sunshine of day, and might be genuinely useful. It builds upon an present class of wheelchair equipment to deal with an actual concern in a method 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) LG OLED Evo W6 "Wallpaper TV" (LG)

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 cut back cabling — the one wire it's good to disguise 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 beautiful, 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 Delicate Voicebuds (Delicate)

Delicate’s Voicebuds are earbuds with a twist: They characteristic an AI mannequin that’s educated to transcribe your voice precisely in very noisy environments, or when it is beneath 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 very best transcription fashions, and it's good to 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 means of 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} attempting to tackle the likes of Apple. — Devindra Hardawar, Senior reporter

Greatest good dwelling: IKEA Matter-compatible good dwelling IKEA KAJPLATS good bulb vary (IKEA)

The perfect good dwelling 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 good dwelling choices. However IKEA got here to its first CES with a easy lineup of fundamental, Matter-enabled good plugs, sensors, lamps and remotes at screamingly good costs. Perform paired with accessible pricing is kind of what IKEA is thought for, so the lineup didn’t precisely shock me as a lot as make me respect that somebody is lastly simplifying and democratizing good dwelling stuff.

There are 21 Matter-compatible gadgets in all. They embody a $6 good bulb, an $8 good plug, a $6 good distant and a slew of dwelling sensors. A barely pricier ($15) globe bulb seems very beautiful. Lastly, there’s a wise bulb you’d really wish to have 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 good gadgets and new good lamps, it additionally has a magnetic mount so that you don’t lose the factor. Matter gadgets require a hub to operate. Right here, you possibly can 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 dwelling theater: Samsung HW-QS90H Samsung HW-QS90H soundbar (Billy Steele for Engadget)

Many corporations 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 know-how 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 possibly can lay this speaker flat or mount it on a wall and the built-in sensors will mechanically alter the motive force output accordingly. So, for those who’ve longed for deep bass on a soundbar with out a big or ugly sub within the nook, chances are you'll lastly get your want later this yr. — Billy Steele, Deputy editor

Greatest audio: Shokz OpenFit Professional Shokz OpenFit Professional (Shokz)

On the subject of open match earbuds, corporations that declare to supply lively 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 without doubt one of the few that has cracked the code with its OpenFit Professional. The over-the-ear hook design permits the earbuds to sit down exterior of your ear for a transparent line to your environment. Once you want a bit extra quiet, the corporate’s noise discount tech does properly to silence average sounds in a restaurant, workplace and extra. It’s severely 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 comfy to put on. Plus, Shokz improved total sound high quality with new drivers, and tacked on Dolby Atmos for good measure. — Billy Steele, Deputy editor

Greatest out of doors tech: Tone Open air T1 Tone Open air T1 (Whisper Aero)

Out of doors software corporations have more and more proven up at CES, particularly those that provide a variety of battery-powered gear. Tone Open air isn’t your normal energy software outfit although; it’s a spin-off of the aerospace engineering firm Whisper Aero. By means of its improvement 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 crucial development right here will not 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 Good Play (Lego)

Lego is consistently evolving, however not often does it make as huge a transfer because it did with Good Play. The system is designed to take customary Lego units and make them extra interactive because of a tech-packed Good Brick. These bricks have a tiny chip the scale of a Lego stud that permits issues like movement, shade and proximity sensing. In addition they have a tiny speaker that additional helps carry Lego builds to life.

The Good Brick is generally a clean slate, however pairing it with Lego's Good Tags and Good Minifigures is what permits 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 underneath hearth and the spaceship explodes if it will get hit too many occasions. 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 right down to the enterprise of taking part in. You needn't know the way it works — it simply does. — Nathan Ingraham, Deputy editor

Greatest PC or laptop computer: Dell XPS 14 + 16 The Dell XPS 14 and 16. (Dell)

In a method, this award is for Dell’s newest flagship laptops but in addition the corporate itself. Final yr, Dell confirmed up with a brand new naming scheme for all of its {hardware} that included changing the enduring XPS line with the phrase “Premium.” And regardless of our objections, the corporate adopted by means of 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 household 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 newest chips from Intel, attractive tandem OLED shows and precision engineering that embodies every little thing we cherished about XPS laptops from earlier years. Dell additionally streamlined its designs with the bigger XPS 16 dropping a whole pound in comparison with the earlier technology. The corporate even addressed various our earlier critiques by switching from capacitive contact controls again to a basic row of operate keys and reverting to segmented touchpads as an alternative of seamless glass ones that made it onerous to maintain observe of your cursor.

However maybe the very best 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 check sales space Eyebot imaginative and prescient check (Eyebot)

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 physician’s workplace to 3 minutes rocking as much as a machine. It makes use of a mixture of analog and digital wizardry to determine what it's good to see correctly very quickly in any respect. Even higher is that the prescriptions need to be signed off by a licensed eye physician, so you possibly can 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 potential to make efficient eye care accessible and reasonably priced in a method 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 ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo (ASUS)

The ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo is huge, bizarre and doubtlessly awkward to arrange. However truthfully, what sort of gamer doesn’t need extra screens? Even for those who can’t use its second show in the midst 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 good 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 possibly can throw at it. — Sam Rutherford, Senior reporter

Greatest cellular tech: Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold (Sam Rutherford for Engadget)

Samsung might need introduced the newest iteration of its foldable smartphones in Korea, however CES was the primary likelihood 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 ratio of Samsung’s previous foldables to roughly 4:3 is a significant enchancment. It is a machine that I may fortunately watch total films on. There’s extra horizontal house to learn, extra room to kind and extra vivid, vivid AMOLED every little thing. Unfurling the edges 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 foremost digital camera and the largest battery but in a Samsung foldable.

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

Most promising idea: Lenovo Legion Professional Rollable Lenovo Legion Professional Rollable (Lenovo)

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

To make the Legion Professional Rollable, Lenovo took a daily Legion Professional 7i after which swapped its customary 16-inch show for a versatile one that may increase all the best way as much as 23.8 inches — with a bonus cease in between. This implies you have got 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 make the most of further huge side ratios. Granted, when its display is totally 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 turn out to be a correct retail product sometime. — Sam Rutherford, Senior reporter

Greatest rising know-how: IXI autofocus lenses IXI Autofocus lenses (IXI)

IXI’s autofocusing glasses had been a late addition to our discussions, however we had been impressed by what might be a big development in spectacle know-how — one thing that’s been largely static because the Nineteen 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 person's eye motion and focus convergence. This knowledge 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 presently caught with.

IXI is now finalizing the manufacturing course of, creating manufacturing and gaining the required medical certification to promote its glasses, however 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 Lego Good Play (Lego)

There's maybe no place higher than CES to spotlight how shortly trade developments 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 developments stick, some do not.

Lego may virtually be seen because the antithesis of the standard CES product: The corporate's core idea of artistic 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, Good Play represents a considerate integration of know-how to the basic toy. A tiny chip the scale 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 positive Lego has plans for a variety of licensed and unlicensed choices.

Our staff immediately fell in love with Good Play, and Deputy editor Nathan Ingraham had the chance to each construct some units and speak with a number 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 to get began. Youngsters can simply get constructing. — Aaron Souppouris, Editor-in-chief