"This year's CES was an odd one. This is a conference usually dominated by futuristic, expensive TVs and futuristic, expensive cars, but those things weren't what dominated CES 2026. Instead, Las Vegas was filled with new ideas about old gadgets, and showed us a whole lot of really impressive hardware waiting on software to catch up."
"The focus at CES is always on individual products, and there are lots of interesting ones this year, from the Lego Smart Brick to the Clicks Communicator to the rows upon rows of robot vacuums we saw in the convention center. Some things will ship and be great; some won't. (We have a game in this episode about that, too.) But every year, if you look past the gadgets themselves, you can start to get a sense of what the tech industry cares about - and how our lives might change in the year to come. It's still early, and 2026 is shaping up to be a year, but we have some ideas already."
CES 2026 emphasized inventive updates to established gadgets rather than dominating high-end TVs and cars. Las Vegas displayed many impressive hardware prototypes that often lacked mature software to unlock their promise. Robotics demonstrations repeatedly struggled with basic mobility and balance. Numerous companies expanded into unexpectedly broad product lines and form factors. Notable items included the Lego Smart Brick, the Clicks Communicator, and extensive rows of robot vacuums. Some products appear ready to ship and succeed, while others seem unlikely to reach maturity. Observing these trends provides signals about industry priorities and potential changes in 2026.
Read at The Verge
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]