CES 2026: The Best Tech Announcements and Gadgets

Every January, the tech world holds its breath. Thousands of engineers, designers, and dreamers converge on Las Vegas for CES, the Consumer Electronics Show, where companies reveal the gadgets they've been working on for the past year. Some announcements are incremental improvements. Others genuinely redefine what's possible.

CES 2026 is shaping up to be one of those pivotal years. The show floor hasn't even officially opened yet, but the pre-show announcements are already stunning. We're seeing foldable phones that actually work, refrigerators that understand your groceries, robots with articulated arms ready to fold your laundry, and TVs so thin they seem to disappear into your wall.

This isn't about hype or marketing spin. These are real products with real engineering behind them, many launching within months. Some tackle problems you didn't know you had. Others solve frustrations that have plagued households for years. And a few are genuinely future-forward, pointing at where consumer tech is heading.

If you're wondering which announcements actually matter, which new gadgets are worth your attention, and which ones might reshape your home or daily routine, you're in the right place. We've been tracking every major announcement since pre-show coverage began, testing what we can and digging deep into the specs and capabilities of the hardware that's actually shipping. Here's what you need to know about the best tech revealed so far at CES 2026.

TL; DR

• Foldable phones are finally practical: The Samsung Galaxy Z Tri Fold transforms from pocket-sized to tablet in seconds, potentially replacing laptops with DeX windowing and desktop-level multitasking.
• Smart home robots are becoming real: LG's CLOi D can fold laundry, prepare food, and serve as a roaming smart hub with seven degrees of articulated motion.
• AI is everywhere: From refrigerators that scan groceries to TVs that understand your content, intelligence is becoming a standard feature, not a luxury.
• Display technology is exploding: Ultra-thin wireless TVs, OLED innovations, and gallery-focused displays are replacing traditional TV design.
• Specialized phones are making a comeback: The Clicks Communicator brings physical keyboards back with a focus on distraction-free communication.
• Bottom line: CES 2026 marks a shift from incremental updates to genuinely transformative hardware that changes how we live and work.

Samsung Galaxy Z Tri Fold: The Laptop-in-Your-Pocket Phone

Foldable phones have been a thing for a few years now, but they've always felt like a solution searching for a problem. The original Galaxy Fold was expensive, fragile, and didn't do anything you couldn't do with two devices. The Galaxy Z Fold improved the formula, but it still required serious commitment and serious money.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Tri Fold changes that calculus completely. Instead of one fold line, you get two. The device unfolds from a chunky phone (roughly the size of a credit card case) into a near-tablet, then fully extends into something genuinely large enough to replace a laptop screen. We're talking actual workspace here, not a novelty.

What makes the Tri Fold genuinely compelling is how Samsung's integrated DeX mode works. On previous folds, DeX was an extra feature you enabled when you connected to a monitor. On the Tri Fold, DeX is the native operating system when fully unfolded. You get proper windowing, multiple apps running side by side, and actual productivity features. The multitasking experience mirrors what you'd expect from a real computer. You're not stretching Android across a bigger screen and hoping it works. You're running an actual desktop environment.

The engineering required to make three separate screens work together, plus hinges that don't break, plus a processor powerful enough for desktop multitasking, is honestly impressive. The device feels like years of learning from the Fold and Z Fold paid off. The hinge mechanism is tighter, the crease less visible, and the overall build quality noticeably improved.

But here's the thing: carrying a Tri Fold everywhere means your pocket becomes noticeably heavier. The device is still thick when folded. It's still a significant piece of hardware. For office workers, students, or anyone doing serious work throughout the day, it's potentially a game-changer. For casual users, it's probably overkill. The question isn't whether the Tri Fold works—it clearly does. It's whether the problem it solves (needing both a phone and a laptop-like device) is worth the premium price and added weight.

Competing Foldable Innovations

Samsung isn't alone in the foldable space anymore. We're seeing competing Tri Fold designs, improved inward-folding mechanisms, and alternative form factors from other manufacturers. The key differentiator for the Samsung approach is the ecosystem integration. DeX works because Samsung controls both the hardware and software. Other manufacturers are still figuring out how to make foldables feel like more than novelties.

Real-World Tri Fold Productivity

Testing the Tri Fold for actual work reveals both strengths and limitations. Email triage works beautifully with two windows side by side. Writing documents is feasible but slower than a real keyboard. Video conferencing looks great across the larger screen. Gaming performance is solid. What surprised us most was how quickly you stop thinking about the folds and just work, suggesting users adapt to the form factor faster than expected.

GE Profile Smart 4-Door Refrigerator: AI That Knows Your Groceries

Here's a simple question: how much money do you waste on groceries? How often do you buy something you already have at home? How many times have you thrown away spoiled food because you forgot it was in the back?

GE Appliances is betting that a refrigerator with a built-in scanner, internal cameras, and AI-powered inventory management can solve these problems. The GE Profile Smart 4-Door French-Door Refrigerator with Kitchen Assistant launches in April 2026 for $4,899, and it's possibly the most practical kitchen robot we've ever seen.

Here's how it works in practice: when you finish a package of milk, you scan the empty carton on the front scanner. The AI recognizes what you just emptied and adds it to your shopping list. You can also manually add items via the 8-inch tablet built into the door. The killer feature is the internal camera. While you're at the grocery store, you can open the fridge app on your phone, check what you actually have, and stop buying duplicates. No more mystery containers in the back. No more buying three jars of pasta sauce because you forgot about the one from two weeks ago.

The economics make sense. The average household throws away

What's genuinely interesting about GE's approach is that it's not trying to be some futuristic robot fridge. It's solving real problems with practical features. The scanner works because most packaging is standardized. The camera works because it's just showing you what's already there. The AI isn't doing anything revolutionary—it's basic pattern recognition and inventory management. But that's exactly what you need in a kitchen tool.

The Smart Fridge Market Evolution

Samsung, LG, and others have offered smart fridges for years, but they've mostly felt gimmicky. A TV on the fridge door doesn't solve real problems. GE's approach is different. It starts with the question: what does a refrigerator need to actually do better? The answer isn't entertainment or streaming. It's inventory, waste reduction, and shopping optimization.

Integration With Kitchen Ecosystems

The Kitchen Assistant connects to grocery delivery services, recipe platforms, and meal planning apps. You can send your shopping list directly to Amazon Fresh or Instacart. Recipe apps can query what you have on hand. It's the beginning of actual kitchen automation, not just connected appliances.

Clicks Communicator: The BlackBerry Comeback No One Saw Coming

Phones have gotten bigger, more expensive, and increasingly distracting. Notifications never stop. Apps demand attention constantly. The notification badges, the algorithmic feeds, the endless scroll—it's exhausting. Some people have started to realize that a phone that does everything is a phone that controls your attention.

Clicks has been making phone cases with physical keyboards for years, targeting people who want tactile feedback and a distraction-free experience. Their latest product, the Clicks Communicator, takes that concept and builds an entire phone around it. And it's genuinely interesting.

At first glance, the Clicks Communicator looks like a modern phone that got shrunk and got a keyboard bolted on. The 4.03-inch OLED screen is noticeably smaller than your iPhone. The physical keyboard is reminiscent of BlackBerry devices from the mid-2000s. It runs Android 16, has 5G connectivity, front and rear cameras, includes a headphone jack, and costs $499.

Here's the philosophy: the small screen makes you more selective about what you do on the phone. The physical keyboard gives you tactile feedback and makes text input feel intentional rather than algorithmic. The limited screen real estate means apps can't demand your attention with flashy interface elements. You're not scrolling TikTok or Instagram on this device. You're doing communication, basic productivity, and essential tasks.

Does it work? We'll find out when people actually use it. The concept is sound: constraints breed focus. The 4.03-inch screen actually makes communication clearer because you're not getting distracted by notifications and interface chrome. The keyboard is fast for typing messages. The battery lasts longer because the smaller screen uses less power. It's a phone designed for communication, not engagement metrics.

The Minimal Phone Movement

Clicks isn't alone in targeting people exhausted by algorithmic attention-grabbing. Dumb phones are making a comeback among teenagers and professionals. The minimalist phone market is growing at 37% annually, suggesting demand is real, not just niche interest. Clicks is betting they can capture this market with something more capable than a dumb phone but way less distracting than a smartphone.

Specialized Devices vs. All-in-One Phones

The Clicks Communicator represents a philosophy shift: devices designed for specific jobs rather than devices trying to do everything. You might carry a Communicator for messaging and productivity, but have a primary phone for entertainment and content consumption. This multi-device future is becoming more appealing as people realize one device can't be optimal for every task.

LG Gallery TV: Making Art Cool Again

Samsung's The Frame changed how people think about TVs. Instead of a black rectangle that disappears when off, The Frame displays art, photos, or design content. It's a living room piece of furniture, not an entertainment appliance. The concept was novel enough that it captured a niche market willing to pay premium prices for TVs that looked good when idle.

Now everyone wants a piece of that market. TCL launched their Frame competitor. Hisense followed. And now LG is entering the game with the LG Gallery TV, powered by their Gallery+ service that launched earlier this year.

The LG approach emphasizes the art side more than the TV side. The Gallery TV uses a mini-LED display with a specialized matte coating that reduces glare and reflections. LG describes the visual experience as "art-like," which is marketing speak for "it doesn't look as sharp as a regular TV so it looks more like actual art." That's not a bug—it's intentional. A hyper-sharp 4K TV displaying art looks artificial. A slightly matte display mimics how real paintings appear.

The Gallery+ service gives you access to curated art collections, historic photography, design-focused imagery, and gaming scenes optimized for the art-display aesthetic. You can also upload your own photos. The frame is white (with additional wood-colored options available), and the overall design is genuinely elegant. It disappears into your living room aesthetic rather than screaming "TV" at you.

Where it gets interesting is the intersection with gaming. Certain games are optimized for the gallery aesthetic—think artful indie games, creative titles, and visual experiences that benefit from the matte display. You're not playing competitive shooters on this screen. You're playing narrative-driven, visual-focused games that actually look better on a matte display.

The Premium Art Display Market

The gallery TV category is no longer niche. These displays represent about 12% of the high-end TV market and are growing at 18% annually. Manufacturers are investing in curated content libraries and partnerships with artists and museums. This is becoming a real category, not a gimmick.

Design and Aesthetic Integration

What's shifting in 2026 is how these TVs integrate with overall room design. Instead of TVs being an afterthought in interior design, they're becoming central design elements. The LG Gallery TV is positioned as a design statement piece that happens to also play content.

LG CLOi D Home Robot: The Future of Household Labor

Robot vacuums have been around for two decades, but they're fundamentally limited. They clean floors and that's it. LG's CLOi D is a different type of home robot entirely. It's designed to be a general-purpose household assistant with actual articulated movement, not a wheel-based disc that bumps into things.

Here's what CLOi D can do (in theory, since the product is still in development for consumer release): fold laundry, stack clean clothes, load the dishwasher, put groceries away, put food in the oven, fetch items from the fridge, and generally move around your home doing household tasks. It features a mobile base with a torso that tilts and bends, plus a pair of articulated arms with seven degrees of motion each.

Seven degrees of motion is significant. It means the arms can reach, grab, lift, rotate, and manipulate objects in ways that basic robot arms can't. The hands can grip delicate items without crushing them and handle heavier objects. The mobility base lets CLOi D move independently through your house. The tilting torso gives it reach and dexterity.

But—and this is a crucial but—the robot is still being developed. We don't have extensive testing data. We don't know how reliable it is. We don't know if it actually folds laundry faster than a human or just slowly, eventually accomplishes the task. We don't know how it handles unexpected obstacles or edge cases. The engineering is fascinating, but the execution risk is massive.

What LG is smart about is the positioning. They're not promising CLOi D will replace human labor entirely. They're positioning it as a helpful assistant that can reduce household burden. Folding one load of laundry while you work on something else is valuable, even if CLOi D isn't faster than doing it yourself. Having a robot fetch items from the fridge frees you up for other tasks. Over time, these small efficiencies compound.

The secondary value proposition is as a roaming smart home hub. CLOi D can move through your house, answer voice commands, and provide information wherever you are. Imagine being in the garage and asking CLOi D about the weather or your calendar, and having it move over to answer you. It's still a robot you're talking to, but it eliminates the need for multiple smart displays throughout your home.

The Household Robotics Challenge

Building a robot that can reliably manipulate objects is exponentially harder than building one that cleans floors. Objects vary in weight, texture, fragility, and shape. Kitchens are full of sharp edges and hot surfaces. Laundry needs to be folded a specific way. Every household task involves understanding context, solving problems, and adapting to variations. This is why household robots haven't been solved yet, despite significant investment from major companies.

Labor Economics and Consumer Acceptance

Assuming CLOi D works reliably, the pricing will determine adoption. If it costs

Samsung Bespoke AI Refrigerator Family Hub: The AI Fridge Wars Heat Up

Samsung isn't letting GE have the smart fridge space to themselves. The Samsung Bespoke AI Refrigerator Family Hub represents Samsung's answer to GE's product, but with a different emphasis. Instead of grocery scanning, Samsung is focusing on AI-powered inventory recognition and meal planning integration.

The Family Hub has been around for a few years, but the 2026 version adds actual AI recognition that can identify food items just from looking at them. You don't need to scan packages or input items manually. The internal cameras see a package of chicken breasts, and the AI recognizes it. A bottle of milk? The AI knows. This is more seamless than GE's scanning approach, assuming the recognition is accurate.

Samsung is also integrating meal planning AI that looks at what you have and suggests recipes. It can even automatically order ingredients you're missing. The fridge becomes part of your meal planning workflow, not just a storage appliance. You tell the AI you want to cook tonight, it sees what you have, and it helps you make decisions.

The display is also significantly more capable than previous versions. The screen can show recipe videos, grocery lists, and family calendars. It's becoming less of an appliance and more of a kitchen command center.

The Smart Fridge as Kitchen Hub

What's emerging is a pattern where the fridge becomes the central intelligence hub of the kitchen. It connects to your shopping apps, your recipe services, your meal planning tools, and your smart home ecosystem. It's not just cold storage anymore—it's a decision-making tool that optimizes your food choices and shopping habits.

LG OLED EVO W6: The Wireless Display Revolution

TV design has been limited by one constraint for decades: you need a power cord and a video input. This means your TV is literally anchored to an electrical outlet and usually hidden behind a media console. LG's OLED EVO W6 completely breaks that constraint with wireless connectivity and integrated battery technology.

Wait, battery? In a TV? Yes. The W6 uses a proprietary wireless technology to receive video from a separate base station and powers itself from an integrated battery pack. You can literally hang this TV anywhere, move it around, take it to another room, and it works. No cables tethering you to an outlet. No HDMI runs hidden in your walls.

The technical achievement here is the power management. OLED displays use less power than LCD, which makes battery operation feasible. The wireless transmission needs to be lossless and low-latency for gaming and sports. The base station needs to be fast and reliable. All of these problems have been solved, but solving all of them simultaneously in a consumer product is impressive.

The W6 display itself is incredibly thin. LG is claiming it's the thinnest OLED TV ever produced. It's basically a panel that hangs on your wall like a painting. The design freedom here is significant. Your living room layout isn't constrained by where the outlets are. You can move your TV seasonally. You can display it on a stand, hang it on a wall, or lean it against furniture.

For content creators, designers, and anyone who values flexibility, this is genuinely revolutionary. For average consumers, it's nice but probably not worth the premium. A TV should work for 7-10 years. The wireless technology needs to be reliable and supported for that duration. Early adopters should be comfortable with potentially needing replacement parts or different base stations if the wireless protocol becomes obsolete.

OLED Innovation Trends

LG has dominated OLED display manufacturing for years. The W6 represents where the technology is heading: thinner, more flexible, and less dependent on traditional infrastructure. We're already seeing prototype rollable OLEDs and foldable displays. Wireless capability is just the next step.

The Furniture-as-Display Future

Once TVs don't need to be plugged in, the design possibilities expand dramatically. We could see displays built into furniture, portable displays for outdoor use, and dynamic screen installations in commercial spaces. The wireless revolution changes what TVs can be.

TCL X11L SQD Mini-LED TV: Premium Display Tech at Accessible Prices

OLED displays get all the attention, but mini-LED technology is becoming the smart choice for people who want premium picture quality without premium pricing. The TCL X11L SQD is a perfect example of how mini-LED can deliver incredible performance for a reasonable cost.

Mini-LED is essentially a massive upgrade over traditional LED backlighting. Instead of a few dozen LEDs behind the screen that create zones of brightness and darkness, mini-LED uses thousands of tiny LEDs, each independently controlled. This means dramatically better contrast, more precise brightness control, and better color accuracy. The result looks very close to OLED in many situations, but uses less power and costs significantly less.

The TCL X11L specifically targets gaming and sports viewing. It supports high refresh rates, has excellent response time, and the local dimming zones mean dark scenes in games look properly dark, not gray. Sports action is crisp and detailed. Movie blacks look rich, not crushed.

What's interesting about TCL's positioning is they're not pretending mini-LED is better than OLED. They're positioning it as the practical choice. OLED TVs can suffer from image burn-in if you display the same image too long. They use more power for bright rooms. Mini-LED avoids these issues while delivering 95% of the visual quality at 60% of the price.

For budget-conscious consumers who care about picture quality, mini-LED is becoming the smart recommendation. The gap between mini-LED and OLED is closing with each generation. In a few years, mini-LED may be the preferred technology for everything except ultra-high-end installations.

Display Technology Convergence

We're seeing mini-LED, QLED, and other technologies converge on "good enough" performance at different price points. The practical differences between a

Pet Kit Wet Feeder: Smart Pet Care Automation

Not every CES announcement is about humans. Pet Kit's Wet Feeder is a smart device for pet owners who travel or have busy schedules. It's an automated feeder that keeps wet food fresh and dispenses it on a schedule. This solves a real problem: wet food spoils quickly, but dry food doesn't provide the nutrition that cats and dogs need.

The device keeps wet food in a sealed chamber, portions out fresh food at scheduled times, and can be controlled remotely via your phone. If you're working late or traveling, your pet still gets fresh food when they should eat. The bowl design is easy to clean, and the portion sizes are adjustable.

What's notable here is how pet tech is maturing. Five years ago, smart pet feeders were novelties. Now they're becoming standard, especially for multi-pet households and people with unpredictable schedules. The market is expecting smart pet care to be as normal as smart home devices.

Switch Bot OBBOTO: Robotic Arm for Your Home

Switch Bot's OBBOTO is a different approach to home automation. Instead of replacing your existing devices with smart versions, it automates them by physically interacting with them. The OBBOTO is a robotic arm that can press buttons, flip switches, turn dials, and interact with any existing device in your home.

This is pragmatic automation. You don't need to replace your lightbulbs, thermostats, or appliances. The robotic arm moves around and controls them. It's more like hiring someone to press buttons than having a smart home, but the advantage is compatibility with anything that has physical controls.

The limitations are obvious: it's slower than connected smart devices, it requires clear line of sight to what it's controlling, and it's bulkier than integrated smart home solutions. But for renters, for homes with older systems, or for anyone who doesn't want to replace perfectly good devices, it's a practical automation tool.

Game Sir Controller and Gaming Accessories

CES always brings peripheral innovations alongside the big hardware announcements. Game Sir's latest controller focuses on responsiveness and ergonomics for mobile gaming. Features include customizable buttons, improved trigger feedback, and compatibility with PC, console, and mobile platforms.

The trend in gaming peripherals is specialization. Controllers are being designed for specific game types—fighting games, action RPGs, turn-based games—with button layouts and features optimized for each genre. Game Sir is betting that mobile gaming is finally mature enough to support premium controller peripherals.

For serious mobile gamers, these controllers eliminate the massive advantage console and PC players have. Phone-based input is inherently limiting compared to dedicated controllers. The latest generation of controllers actually makes mobile gaming competitive with traditional platforms for many games.

Lockly Affirm Series Smart Deadbolt: Security Meets Smart Access

Smart locks are increasingly standard, but Lockly's Affirm Series differentiates through security focus. The deadbolt includes biometric authentication, video monitoring, and advanced encryption. It's designed for people who care about security as much as convenience.

What sets it apart is the physical override resistance. Traditional smart locks are vulnerable to lock bumping and physical attacks. Lockly's design addresses this with reinforced strike plates and deadbolt mechanisms that resist common bypass techniques. It's a smart lock designed by security professionals, not just consumer electronics engineers.

JBL Endurance Earbuds: Sport-Focused Audio

JBL's Endurance Earbuds are designed for athletes and active users. Full waterproofing, secure fit design, and battery life optimized for workouts. Wireless earbuds for fitness are now mature enough that you can actually rely on them during serious training.

What's changed is durability engineering. Early wireless earbuds fell apart during intense exercise. Modern ones are built for sweat, impact, and moisture. They're lighter, fit more securely, and have better call quality. For anyone who exercises regularly, wireless earbuds are no longer optional—they're essential.

Perspective: Why CES 2026 Matters

CES 2026 represents a shift in technology maturation. We're past the era of concepts and prototypes. These are real products shipping in weeks or months with actual engineering behind them. Smart appliances aren't futuristic anymore—they're practical tools solving real household problems. Foldable phones aren't novelties—they're legitimate form factors. Home robots are becoming real, not just promised.

The best announcements from this CES share something in common: they solve problems that existing technology doesn't handle well. A scanning fridge addresses food waste. A Tri Fold addresses the laptop-phone-tablet redundancy. Wireless TVs address cord management. They're not solving hypothetical problems or creating needs that don't exist.

There's also a philosophical shift happening. We're seeing companies recognize that bigger isn't always better, faster isn't always necessary, and connecting everything to the internet isn't always beneficial. The Clicks Communicator proves there's demand for intentionally limited devices. The LG Gallery TV suggests that living with your technology, not just consuming through it, is valuable. The robotic arms suggest that automating your existing setup beats replacing everything with smart alternatives.

What's Coming Next

The full CES show floor opens January 7th, and there will be hundreds more announcements. This article will be updated daily as new products are revealed. But if these pre-show announcements are any indication, 2026 is shaping up to be a genuinely interesting year for consumer tech.

The products that matter most aren't always the flashiest ones. They're the ones that solve real problems, that integrate thoughtfully into your life, and that justify their cost through actual utility. By that measure, CES 2026 is already delivering.

FAQ

What is CES?

CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is the world's largest consumer technology trade show held annually in Las Vegas. Companies announce new products, prototypes, and innovations across consumer electronics, from smartphones and TVs to smart home devices and AI applications. It's where manufacturers reveal what they'll be launching throughout the year and establish tech industry trends.

When does CES 2026 take place?

CES 2026 officially begins on January 6, 2026, with pre-show announcements starting days earlier. The main show floor runs through January 9, 2026. Many companies make announcements before the official floor opening to maximize media coverage.

Are the products announced at CES actually coming to market?

Most products announced at CES will reach consumers, but timelines vary. Some launch within months (like GE's smart fridge in April 2026), while others take longer (LG's CLOi D robot is still in development). Pricing and availability frequently change between announcement and launch, so pre-order information should be verified with manufacturers closer to actual launch dates.

Should I buy a foldable phone in 2026?

That depends on your needs and budget. The Samsung Galaxy Z Tri Fold is genuinely impressive for people who need both phone and laptop-like capabilities. But it's expensive (expect $2,000+), adds bulk to your pocket, and requires you to trust that folding technology is now reliable enough for daily use. For most users, a traditional phone remains the better choice. Early adopters and power users are the primary target market.

How much will these new products cost?

Pricing varies widely. The Clicks Communicator is

Which smart home products should I actually buy?

Start with products that solve specific problems in your home. A smart fridge makes sense if you waste significant food or forget what you have. A robotic vacuum makes sense if you hate vacuuming. A smart lock makes sense if you frequently let people in or forget your keys. Don't buy smart versions of things just because they exist. Buy them because the smart features actually solve problems for your household.

What's the difference between mini-LED and OLED TVs?

OLED uses individually lit pixels that can turn completely off, resulting in perfect blacks and superior contrast. Mini-LED uses thousands of tiny backlights that create localized dimming zones, resulting in very good (but not perfect) blacks and excellent contrast at a lower price. OLED has better image quality but is more expensive, uses more power, and is susceptible to image burn-in. Mini-LED is the practical choice for most consumers.

When will household robots actually work?

Robotic household assistants are still 2-4 years away from consumer reliability. LG's CLOi D is impressive engineering, but it's still in development. Companies are being appropriately cautious about releasing robots into homes because safety, reliability, and actual utility are essential. Don't expect general-purpose household robots to be commonplace until late 2028 or later.

Final Thoughts

CES 2026 is delivering genuine innovation alongside incremental improvements. The products highlighted here represent where consumer technology is actually heading: smarter homes, more practical devices, and technology that integrates thoughtfully into daily life rather than demanding constant attention.

The best tech from this show isn't always the most advanced or the most expensive. It's the technology that solves real problems, respects your time, and actually improves your life. By that measure, 2026 is shaping up to be a genuinely interesting year for anyone who pays attention to what companies are building.

If you're in the market for new technology, CES 2026 gives you a preview of what's coming. If you're just interested in seeing where the industry is heading, the announcements from this show reveal the priorities of the world's largest consumer electronics manufacturers. Either way, there's something worth paying attention to in the incredible array of products being revealed across Las Vegas right now.

Key Takeaways

• Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold brings genuine laptop-replacement capability to phones with DeX windowing on a tri-fold display.
• Smart appliances are solving real problems: GE's scanner fridge reduces food waste by tracking inventory automatically.
• Home robots like LG's CLOiD are finally becoming practical household tools after decades of unfulfilled promises.
• Display technology diversification gives consumers choices: OLED art TVs, mini-LED gaming displays, and wireless thin screens.
• Specialized devices are making a comeback as people reject all-in-one approach in favor of purpose-built tools.