Going into CES 2026, everyone knew that the main thing packed into devices, coming out of everyone’s mouth, and leading discussions would be AI. Yes, you’d be hard-pressed to find a device that didn’t tout its AI acumen. But there were also so many advances in hardware, material sciences, and old-school design prowess that have always made CES the exciting cornucopia of invention and innovation that it is.
This list of the coolest stuff we found at CES has plenty of devices that make big AI promises and some that are, yes, improved thanks to AI interfaces, but that’s just the start. From beautifully simple speakers to perfect TVs, simpler soundbars and streamlined laptops, here are some of the coolest things we happened upon on the floors of CES 2026.
Audio-Technica’s AT-LP7X Is the Platonic Ideal of A Turntable
If you’re buying a turntable in 2026, it’s to get back to simpler times, to purer sounds, to a more present enjoyment of music. The AT-LP7X, which Audio-Technica showed off at CES 2026, is just that. No Bluetooth (not necessary), no gears (this is fully manual), no edges (hewn off from predecessors like the acclaimed LP5X). This is a pure, clean high-end turntable — and we’re here for it.
$999 at audio-technica.com
LEGO Brings Us (Blessedly Screen-Free) Smart Bricks
Love it or leave it, LEGO’s Smart Bricks are here to stay. A trick that was arguably first introduced with a LEGO x Nintendo collab, the sound-making LEGO Bricks have been expanded — and first brought to market (smartly) with three new Star Wars sets. The Smart Bricks in question carry accelerometers, light and sound sensors, and a miniature speaker. Meaning? Luke’s Red Five X-Wing zooms, Darth Vader’s TIE fighter blasts, and the Throne Room Duel now has sounds.
lego.com; $69.00 (Darth Vader TIE Fighter); $89 (Luke’s Red Five X-wing), $160 (Throne Room Duel & A-wing)
Samsung Cements Its Status As King Of The Fold
Samsung is a leader in plenty of areas of tech, but when it comes to folding phones, it’s been lapping the competition for years. The durability, smoothness, and visual perfection of the last two generations of the Z Flip and Z Fold are unmatched. Now, with the Galaxy Z TriFold — a phone (or is it a tablet now?) that has one more layer to give you a proper 10-inch screen — it’s clear that Samsung is adding to its lead.
Price TBD (~$2500 in South Korea), samsung.com
This Purifier Answers The Dream of Pet Owners
Owning a pet is messy. Pet owners all know this and downplay it all day long. But one mess we can’t ignore— and something that can legitimately impact our health — is its impact on our air quality. Yes, all that dander, fur, and skin that’s airborne from our pets is a little gross and even if we’re not allergic, it impacts our airways. Enter Dreame, the supercharged, pet-focused air purifier, a CES award-winner and idea that helps us all breathe a little easier.
$200, dreametech.com
Belkin Solves The Most Annoying Charging Conundrum
Why do Apple Watches, Airpods, and iPhones all require different chargers? You asked, Belkin engineers answered with the UltraCharge Modular Charging Dock. Why this brilliant three-in-one charger isn’t coming from Apple itself is the only question left unanswered.
$130, belkin.com
Segway Shows Off Its E-Bike Chops
With the Myon and Muxi E-Bikes, Segway flexed its tech-disruption muscles and showed us what e-bikes can do. Case in point: the Muxi, a coming compact hauler with 80 miles of range that can carry a kid (120 pounds or less with the $200 Passenger Kit), groceries (on the standard racks or add $30 for a handsome middle basket), and standard cupholders. The most disrupting part: the $1,700 price tag. Take that, minivans.
$1,700 base; segway.com
Govee Makes Ceiling Lights The Centerpiece
File under things we didn’t think we needed until we saw it. The Govee Ceiling Light Ultra makes your most standard room light a dazzling display with a dense 616-pixel matrix, AI-generated content, and pixel-level editing. Yes, it can be made white, but it can also mirror the stars in the sky. Pretty cool.
Price TBD; govee.com
The Fastest Flippin’ Laptop Around
If you’re looking for a powerful and sleek convertible laptop, MSI has your number. The Prestige 16 Flip AI+ is a two-in-one version of the flagship Prestige 16 Flip AI+ powered by Intel Core Ultra X9 Series 3 processors with a 16-inch OLED touchscreen, an audio jack (we’re here for this!), weighing just under 3 pounds and boasting multi-day battery life. On top of that, a 360-degree hinge and incorporated stylus make this a piece of hardware that give any tablet — or laptop for that matter — a run for its money.
$1600, msi.com
Anker’s Docking Station Has An Essential Trick Up Its Sleeve
As the name implies, the Anker 13-1 docking station has all you want for your desk: Ethernet, Power, multiple USB-A & C ports, HDMI, SD, and headphones. But when you travel, you can remove a credit-card-sized port that allows you to carry a USB-A, C, SD, and HDMI port… basically in your pocket. It’s a game-changing trick for a docking station.
$150, anker.com
Amazon Aims To Upend The Art TV
The Amazon Ember Artline, the tech company’s new picture frame TV, is hardly a unique concept. Way back in 2017, Samsung’s The Frame brought forth the idea of having a TV that didn’t kill the feng shui of a room. It was beautiful and pricey — a status symbol that could really tie a room together. In 2026, the Artline represents the mainstreaming of the concept — at a time when TVs have grown ever larger and cheaper, our living spaces (statistically speaking) smaller, and our small screens taking on the more important entertainment roles in our lives. At $900 for a 55”, the price hasn’t exactly come down from Samsung, but hey, this is on Amazon — the competition is here.
$900 for 55”, amazon.com
A Projector That Goes Big In Very Small Spaces
We didn’t have “world’s smallest laser TV” on our list of must-have superlatives for CES 2026 but here we are — with a glorious little laser projector that we want in our homes. China’s JMGO’s O2S Ultra is a a tri-laser projector that can create a 100-inch image from 5.75 inches away. This engineering feat is as mind-boggling as the specs — that display offers 4K at 60Hz and thanks to Google TV 5.0, which runs the projector, it also handles autofocus, correction, and screen fitting. Quite the party trick.
$2800, jmgo.com
Razer’s Project Madison Pushes Gaming Chairs To Absurd Heights
A Frankenstein’s monster of gaming chairs, with tech that has been cobbled together to make headlines at CES, Razer still has our attention. The so-called Project Madison chair is a pretty impractical gaming chair for any but the most impossibly dedicated, gimmick-loving, and well-funded gamers. But, hey, it’s CES, so let’s dream a little. Why can’t our chairs light up with 16.8 million colors, project 360 audio, and have the kind of multi-zone haptic feedback that helps you feel a critical hit as well as a change in gravity? Yes you can actually get the haptic feedback (the Freyja, $300) and speaker system (Clio, $230) now. But putting it all together? Well, that’s what the floors of CES are for.
Price TBD, razer.com
LG Offers A More Flexible Soundbar Experience
Soundbars are game changers. Techn journalists and audiophiles rightly tell us this all the time — but then you go shopping and realize it’s a whole thing. The compatibility issues abound, the placement often doesn’t work with all living rooms, and you usually have to go all in to get the best sound. The LG Sound Suite, powered by Dolby Atmos Flexconnect, lets you basically mix and match — pairing any of its wireless components including the M7 and M5 surround speakers, the W7 subwoofer, and the LG H7 soundbar. This flexibility means consumers can create the perfect setup for their space, the Dolby Flexconnect means the sound is, well, more flexible to any space, and you can always add to it later, for a bigger and better sound.
$1,000 for the H7 Soundbar, $400 for the M7, $250 for the M5, and $600 for the W7 subwoofer; lg.com
The Controller That Turns Your Phone Into A Switch
It’s finally here! OhSnap’s MCON mobile controller was teased at last year’s CES and the final form of this snap-and-play controller is in — and glorious. While the magnetic connection is crucial, the modularity is what makes it next-level. You can snap your phone and play, or remove the plate that holds your phone and use it as a stand — sitting your phone on a desk while you play. To add to it all, there’s a $70 dock that can then connect this to a USB-C or HDMI port. It’s like a Switch 2 that fits in your pocket.
$145, OhSnap.com
SwitchBot Brings The Robotic Household Closer To Reality
The vision of a robotic household — with housecleaner and cook, companion and player — has long been a staple on the CES floors. The trick is, it’s always been a vision — impracticable and only partially created with robotics. SwitchBot’s demos show that, while still impractical for the 99%, the robotic household is really closer to reality than ever before (again, for those who can afford it). The video demo (here) ties it all together. And while the Acemate tennis companion will be getting the most pen (it’s cool, we get it), our eyes are on the Onero H1, a cooking (sort of), dishwashing (pretty much), laundry-folding (looking good), coffee-serving (totally) bot that we can only imagine is going to improve by leaps and bounds with AI advances. It’s a vision of Rosey the Robot come to life.
$10,000+, us.switch-bot.com
Is That A Steam Deck In Your Keyboard?
If anything can play Doom, can anything have a built-in Steam Deck? If so, we’d ask Corsair to engineer it. The company’s Galleon 100 SD keyboard integrates an Elgato Stream Deck directly into their mechanical gaming keyboard, creating a device that lets gamers focus on nothing but the game. That is, if they’re not showing off their ridiculously awesome keyboard to their friends.
$350, corsair.com
MSI Claws Its Way To The Handheld Supremacy
Sure, the Claw 8 AI+ Handheld has a beautiful new coat of paint (we really dig the blue), but can it best the Steam Deck? The competition is, happily, on. The 8-inch display and latest AMD chip make it a standout — and the 32GB RAM, and 1TB SSD are something to brag about. At this point, we are just happy that there’s competition in handhelds — to put out faster, slimmer, and a bit more beautiful handhelds.
$1200, msi.com
Samsung Throws Down the Gauntlet With The Book6 Series
The “most advanced Galaxy Books series yet”? We’re listening. Powered by the all-new Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors, Samsung’s new line of laptops, the Galaxy Book6 Ultra, Galaxy Book6 Pro and Galaxy Book6 are clearly taking aim at Apple. Just look at the sincerely stunning new design, compatibility with the Samsung family, 30 hours of battery life, and bragging rights over having better AI features. Chalk this latest impressive laptop series up to healthy competition.
Price TBD; samsung.com
The Audiophiles Come For The Gaming Headset
The collaboration between gaming hardware giant Asus and headphone pioneers HiFiMan brings a hefty (nearly 1 pound) headset that scream thoughtful design (they’re very handsome) and quality. The Asus Rog Kithara may be the only gaming headsets you’ll get that come with a 3.5 mm, 4.4 mm, and 6.3 mm connector and a steel headband. They’re definitely the only ones with a HIFIMAN planar magnetic driver. The result should be an audible gaming experience that, the collaborators brag is ”as sound engineers and composers intend you to.”
$359, rog.asus.com
Klipsch Keeps Great Sound Simple
With The Fives II, Sevens II, and Nines II, Klipsch continues to perfect the simple — and, we think, perfect — bookshelf speaker setup. All models feature Dolby Atmos® for rich, multidimensional sound, but the highest end The Nines II, which we most lust after, add DTS:X support and holds an 8" cerametallic woofer. All models offer a dedicated analog input with a built-in phono stage (yes, Klipsch is for vinyl lovers) and the new red oak veneer with a white is fire. (The traditional walnut and ebony veneers with black baffles are also available.)
$2,399.99/pair; klipsch.com
A Rollable Laptop For The Rest Of Us (Gamers)
A 16-inch gaming laptop that expands to 24-inches at the touch of a button. That’s the pitch — and we’re sold. Lenovo showed off a concept at CES 2026 that’s too good to pass up — taking their Lenovo Legion Pro gaming laptops and giving their screens a wild ability to extend, and extend again. They’re calling this a gamer’s dream and, well, yes, yes it is.
Price TBD, lenovo.com
Smartphones That Are Easy On The Eyes
TCL carved its niche in the mobile device industry nearly five years back with the single-minded goal of protecting user’s eyes. If you have seen an optometrist in the last 10 years, you’ll like have told that in a screen-filled world, this is a worthy goal. Their reflection-free, anti-glare, blue-light filtered, light-sensitive screens allow your eyes to just, well, relax. The company is building on their tech with the TCL NxtPaper 70 Pro, a phone that now can pair with a stylus and has added photography capabilities that takes advantage of their tech for unique, rich phone photography — a feast for the eyes.
From $400, tcl.com
Gaming In 5K? LG Can Upscale That
LG’s Ultragear Evo has brought 5K upscaling to gaming displays. It’s not something we any casual gamer has asked for, but it’s here and sure to trickle down to better graphics for all. The most impressive thing about the upscaling is that no extra GPU or upgrade is necessary, as long as the source is Full HD. On top of that, their new generation of OLED displays require less power, and its new MiniLED have figured out how to reduce light bleeding (the streakiness you can get in MiniLED displays). Of course, these will cost you, as the last generation would set you back over $700, but hey, you gotta pay to pay in those pixels.
Price TBD; lg.com
Now That’s A Small Projector
How portable can a projector get? Sci-fi has long asked this question (Mysterio!) and Aurzen is out to find out. Aurzen’s ZIP Cyber Edition was built for the most portable of places: the car. As their video demo shows, it’s a pretty perfect place for a movie — though we would add a tentsite and some campfire goodies to the mix. The pocket-sized tri-fold projector has 720p resolution and AirLink one-click mirroring, meaning you can stream a movie without Wi-Fi. The meager one-and-a-half hours of use unplugged show’s there’s room for improvement on the battery side, but for size? How much smaller can it get?
$450, aurzen.com
A Perfect Game Controller Moves To TV, Stays Perfect
File this Bluetooth gaming controller under: Want. The Razer Wolverine Bluetooth carries over the greatness of the V3 Pro, but built for the TV (specifically, LG TVs). Sub-3 millisecond response times, anti-drift thumbsticks, customizable dual click back buttons, and a design that tells us that all efforts were gone into engineering, not bells and whistles, make Razer’s latest gaming controller the kind we want, nay, demand.
Price TBD (but XBox’s version is $210), Razer.com
Hisense Reminds Us That Sometimes Bigger Can Be Better
One of the great joys of CES are checking out the big TVs that can also deliver on picture quality. Usually it’s just engineering bragging rights — mine’s bigger than yours — but, like in the Hisense 116UXS, it’s also more colorful. The 116UXS uses RGB mini-LED tech, where, basically red, green, and blue LEDs are placed in each lens of a display. A ‘C’ to this, as they have added a fourth color, cyan, into the lens. (The company claims this new set will cover 110% of the video broadcasting color space, more than any TV to day.) Now, you just need a wall big enough to place it on.
$30,000 hisense-usa.com
The Gaming Headphones To Beat Get A Big Upgrade
When it comes to high-end gaming headsets, there’s not all that much disagreement that Audeze is the brand to beat. But that doesn’t mean they’re resting on their laurels. Their Maxwell 2, announced at CES, has them coming out swinging with planar magnetic 90mm drivers, 80-hour battery life, AI noise removal, 24-bit/96kHz high-resolution audio, their tight SLAM-powered bass, and the ability to reskin your headphones. When Audeze announces new tech, we’re listening.
$329, audeze.com
