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We’re formally counting down the times till CES 2026 begins, and a fast look at this week’s information cycle reveals simply how packed the present shall be this yr.
Forward of the Las Vegas commerce present, which opens its doorways to hundreds of journalists, analysts, and business professionals on Tuesday, January 6, we’re already seeing main bulletins from the world’s main shopper electronics manufacturers, together with Samsung, LG, and Hisense.
Additionally: Essentially the most thrilling AI wearable at CES 2026 may not be sensible glasses in any case
This yr’s agenda? Anticipate extra formidable pitches from corporations, small and enormous, together with how AI will help and improve our each day lives in varied methods, modes of transportation that stretch past metropolis streets, and TVs that surpass typical specs, kind elements, and sizes.
If we’re fortunate, we’ll uncover a number of notable merchandise that you may truly purchase shortly after the curtains shut.
Tips on how to watch CES 2026
You’ll be able to tune into CES by varied livestreams and keynotes. The total schedule of displays will be discovered right here; a few of them begin as quickly as this weekend.
For a extra complete overview of the most important bulletins this yr, consult with ZDNET’s dwell information tracker under, curated by our floor workforce of reporters and editors, in addition to people monitoring the newest bulletins from dwelling.
The most recent information (refresh for updates)
By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 3 at 12:56 p.m. ET
It has been within the works for years now, however I used to be met with a shock this morning when United introduced on the gate that my flight from Newark to Las Vegas would help the brand new Starlink Wi-Fi service — free, sooner web speeds for streaming, work, and extra, basically.
If that is not an indication for me to get work performed these subsequent 5 hours, then I do not know what it’s.
Additionally: Excessive-speed Starlink web rollout on United Airways planes begins – and it is free
And, thus far, it is legit. I’ve a number of tabs open in my Chrome browser, writing articles about information you may be taught extra about within the coming days, and downloading and importing pictures and movies with none points. This is to hoping this holds for the remainder of the flight.
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By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 3 at 12:40 p.m. ET
Smartphone fans — significantly those that lengthy for the times of the BlackBerry – are doubtless conversant in the model, Clicks. This yr, the corporate is releasing two new equipment, one within the type of a MagSafe keyboard that doubles as a wi-fi charger, and one other that capabilities like a BlackBerry.
The previous, the Clicks Energy Keyboard, is launching at a comparatively accessible value of $79, and its snap-on nature lets you function your cellphone in each portrait and panorama orientations.
Additionally: My seek for the last word MagSafe accent is over: This keyboard checks all of the containers
The Clicks Communicator contains a comparable bodily QWERTY keyboard, but in addition has a show, 3.5mm headphone jack, and microSD card slot, successfully serving as a secondary machine for messaging. That can go on sale later this yr for $499.
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By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 2 at 5:11 p.m. ET
The oldsters at RayNeo are showcasing two new pairs of sensible glasses at CES this yr: the Air 4 Professional, which extends off of your cellphone, laptop, or gaming console, and the X3 Professional Undertaking eSIM, which helps a built-in 4G connection, permitting you to browse the online or make cellphone calls with out pairing the glasses to a mobile machine.
Additionally: Can the world’s first HDR10 sensible glasses change your $2,000 OLED TV – these specs say sure
The latter of the 2 merchandise is extra intriguing to me, because it appears like a pure subsequent step for sensible glasses. The Meta Ray-Ban Show has given us a glimpse of what it is prefer to compute with out having to select up our telephones. What if we did not should even have our telephones current to get issues performed?
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By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 2 at 5:05 p.m. ET
Forward of CES, TCL has unveiled the brand new Notice A1 Nxtpaper pill, an 11.5-inch digital notepad that competes with the likes of the Kindle Scribe and ReMarkable. There’s one distinctive facet with the TCL, although: It has each a full-color LCD show and a 120Hz refresh price, yielding each vivid and easy visuals because the consumer browses, sketches, and extra.
Additionally: TCL’s latest E Ink pill beats the Kindle and Exceptional with this show tech
The Notice A1 Nxtpaper is priced at $549, and positions itself as a sooner, extra versatile hybrid for professionals and college students who desire a paper-like pill expertise with out the standard imitations of E Ink.
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By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 2 at 5:02 p.m. ET
CES is dwelling to many issues, together with AI vaporware, however Undertaking Luci might change that narrative. It is a compact, magnetic AI pin designed to behave as a searchable digital archive of your each day life.
Just like the Meta Ray-Ban glasses, it contains a 12MP ultra-wide digicam and twin microphones able to recording constantly for as much as 4 hours.
Additionally: Essentially the most thrilling AI wearable at CES 2026 may not be sensible glasses in any case
Utilizing a proprietary AI mannequin referred to as Mavi, the machine permits customers to carry out “semantic searches” to recall particular particulars, resembling what they ate or who they met. To handle privateness considerations, it features a bodily digicam shutter and a devoted companion hub for native information processing.
Priced at roughly $99, does a “memory-augmented” expertise entice you in any respect?
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By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 2 at 5:00 p.m. ET
Alongside TVs, Samsung has unveiled a brand new batch of 6K screens. Sorry, I ought to specify that they are each 6K in
decision and 3D in playback, permitting avid gamers to be extra immersed in varied titles and professionals to be a greater really feel for his or her digital creations.
We have seen 3D screens earlier than, particularly at CES, however Samsung’s new Odyssey line could be the most polished, with glasses-free eye-tracking that makes the 3D really feel extra sensible. Nevertheless, we’ll should see these screens in individual earlier than deciding in the event that they’re price it or not.
Additionally: Samsung unveils 6K 3D screens forward of CES 2026, and I am already dreading the splurge
“It is arduous to not be skeptical. 3D TVs have been all the fashion a decade in the past, solely to fall out of favor attributable to their propensity to muddy colours, worsen picture high quality, and trigger movement illness,” says my ZDNET colleague, Cesar Cadenas. This is to hoping Samsung overpromises and overdelivers.
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By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan. 2 at 4:50 p.m. ET
There’s by no means a uninteresting second with TVs, and I blame producers and their intensive dictionary of tech jargon for that. This yr’s scorching phrase is “Micro RGB,” a meticulous association of LEDs that produces enhanced gentle management and accuracy. Samsung has a model of this, LG has a model of this, Sony has a model of this, and so forth.
The massive query is how accessible this current show tech shall be, as most TV fashions available in the market presently are each too giant and too costly.
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