Top Highlights of CES 2026

CES has always been about peeking behind the curtain. But CES 2026 didn’t feel like a preview anymore. It felt like the curtain was gone.

This year’s show in Las Vegas leaned hard into a future that’s no longer theoretical: physical AI, autonomous machines, immersive tech, and gadgets that don’t just respond to commands — they learn you.

And honestly? He wasn’t wrong.

Robots wandered the floor. Screens bent and vanished into walls. Cars drove themselves. Even grief — one of the most human experiences imaginable — became part of the tech conversation. CES 2026 wasn’t about flashy concepts anymore. It was about integration.

Star Wars, LEGO, and the Power of Nostalgia Tech

LEGO knows exactly what it’s doing — and at CES 2026, it leaned fully into generational nostalgia.

With help from David Filoni and a lineup of instantly recognizable Star Wars icons, LEGO unveiled LEGO Smart Play, a platform built around connected bricks, sensor-enabled tags, and interactive minifigures.

These aren’t just toys. They detect light, distance, and movement, triggering coordinated sound and lighting effects that turn builds into living scenes. Space battles react. Lightsabers clash. Builds respond to how you play with them.

It’s not just LEGO growing up — it’s LEGO growing with its audience.

Real Buttons Are Back (And People Are Thrilled)

In a world drowning in glass screens, Clicks Technology made a bold move: bringing back physical keys.

Their magnetic Power Keyboard snaps onto modern smartphones, delivering a full QWERTY layout complete with directional keys and a number row — pure BlackBerry-era muscle memory. According to co-founder Jeff Gadway, it’s designed to be “one keyboard for all your smart devices.”

Oh — and it doubles as a wireless power bank.

Turns out, tactility still matters.

LG’s Wallpaper TV Returns — Thinner Than Ever

TVs are everywhere at CES, but LG managed to stand out by doing less — literally.

The OLED evo W6 from LG’s Wallpaper line measures just 9mm thick, mounting nearly flush against the wall with edge-to-edge visuals that feel more like projected light than hardware. Inputs live in a separate box, streaming 4K video and audio wirelessly to the display.

No pricing yet, but sizes will include 77- and 83-inch models. It doesn’t roll up — but it absolutely disappears.

A Vacuum That Walks Up Stairs

Yes, it has legs. Actual legs.

Roborock’s Saros Rover vacuum sprouts chicken-like appendages to climb stairs — and unlike similar concepts, it cleans each step as it goes. During demos, it carefully navigated staircases, including curved and spiral designs.

It’s still in development, with no release date yet, but the message was clear: even household chores are entering their robot era.

Razer Turns Headphones Into Smart Glasses

Razer’s Project Motoko might be one of the sneakiest concepts at CES.

At first glance, it’s a pair of over-ear headphones. In practice? It’s a wearable AI assistant with cameras, microphones, and real-time visual understanding. During demos, the headset translated Japanese menus and pulled up background info on demand — all without a screen.

Users can choose their AI backbone, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude. Razer emphasized strict separation between consumer data and enterprise AI training — a necessary reassurance in 2026.

This isn’t about gaming anymore. It’s about ambient intelligence.

Can Extended Reality Help Us Grieve?

One of CES 2026’s most emotional moments didn’t involve hardware specs at all.

VHEX Lab showcased SITh.XRaedo, an extended-reality grief therapy platform that creates a responsive virtual avatar from a single photograph. Guided by a trained XR therapist, users can speak with the avatar, which responds with realistic gestures, expressions, and speech.

It’s not about replacing loss — it’s about processing it. The platform won a digital health innovation award and sparked serious conversation about where empathy and technology intersect.

Personal Mobility Goes Fully Autonomous

At Strutt’s booth, volunteers sat blindfolded — and smiled.

The EV1, a self-driving personal mobility chair, navigated obstacles, people, and walls entirely on its own using a full sensor suite. CEO Tony Hong explained that the chair constantly adjusts in real time, requiring minimal user input.

It’s autonomy designed not for spectacle, but dignity.

The Cyber Pet Everyone Wanted to Touch

Forget humanoid home robots — OlloNi stole hearts.

Created by Chinese tech brand Ollobot, this rolling, plush-like cyber pet feels warm, expressive, and emotionally responsive. A screen at its neck displays animated eyes that react to touch, sound, and interaction.

Scratch behind its fuzzy ears, and it lights up with delight. It’s silly. It’s charming. And it might be the most human robot at CES.

Uber’s Robotaxi Makes a Premium Play

Uber is officially back in the autonomous game — and this time, it’s aiming high.

Partnering with Lucid Motors and Nuro, Uber revealed a premium robotaxi featuring 360-degree awareness, a sleek LED “halo” roof, and customizable interiors.

Passengers can adjust climate, music, and seating while watching real-time visuals of what the vehicle sees and how it plans its route. On-road testing began in San Francisco last month, with a public launch targeted before year’s end.

CES 2026 Made One Thing Clear

This wasn’t a show about gadgets.

It was a show about presence — technology that moves with us, learns us, comforts us, and sometimes even makes us laugh. CES 2026 didn’t ask whether the future is coming.

It showed us that it’s already here — and it’s walking right beside us.