CES 2026iswinding downin Las Vegas,as the consumer tech industry and everyone swarming around it begin their return flights home.Over the past few days, we saw a slew of announcements from mainstays likeNvidia, Sony, and AMD,along with smaller companies and startupsvying forattention through theUnveiled event (CES’s showcase for new products) and across the show floor.
As has been the case for the past two years, AIwasat the forefront of many companies’ messaging, though the hardwareupgrades and oddities that have long defined the annual event still have their place on the show floor and in adjacent announcements.This year, physical AI was particularly prominent, taking theplacethat agentic AI heldlast year as the show’s buzzy topic.That focus on physical AI came alongside a big focus on robotics, with robotsdemonstratedall over the show andshowcasedinnumerouspress events.
Torelivethereactions and thoughts from our team on the ground, you can go back in timevia our live blog right here.Otherwise,let’sdive into some of the biggest and most notable announcements fromCES.
Equity sums up the highs, and lows, of CES 2026
If audio or video aremoreyour thing, thenhead right to the latest episode of our Equity podcastwhich goes into detail about what we thought about the show, or watch the full episode below on YouTube.
Nvidia reveals AI model for autonomous vehicles, showcases Rubin architecture
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivered an expectedly lengthy presentation at CES, taking a victory lap for the company’s AI-driven successes,setting the stage for 2026, and yes,hanging out with some robots.
The Rubin computingarchitecture, which has been developed to meet the increasing computation demands that AI adoption creates, isset to begin replacing Blackwell architecture in the second half of this year. It comes with speed and storage upgrades, but oursenior AIeditorRussell Brandom goes into the nitty-gritty of what distinguishes Rubin.
And Nvidia continued its push to bring the AI revolution into the physical world,showcasing its Alpamayo family of open source AI modelsand tools that will be used by autonomous vehicles this year.That approach, as senior reporter Rebecca Bellan notes, mirrors the company’s broader efforts to make its infrastructure the Android for generalist robots.
AMD’s keynote highlights new processors and partnerships
AMD chair and CEO Lisa Su delivered the first keynote of CES, with a presentation that featured partners, including OpenAI president Greg Brockman, AI legend Fei-Fei Li,Luma AI CEO Amit Jain, and more.
Beyond thepartnershowcases, senior reporter Rebecca Szkutakdetailed AMD’s approach toward expanding the reach of AI through personal computersusing its Ryzen AI 400 Series processors.
The standout oddities of CES
Let’sface it, by this point in the show the major announcements have been made, products have been showcased, andit’stime to eye some of the most brow-raising reveals from CES.We started our list of what stood out to us as odd and noteworthybutwe’reopen to more suggestions!
Highlights from CES breakout sessions
CESisn’tall hardwareshowcasesand show floor attractions — there are plenty ofadditionalindustry panels and speakers drawing eyeballs. Wekept tabs ona few notable highlights, ranging fromPalmer Luckey pushing retro aestheticsto why the“learn once, work forever” era may be over,to previews of the new Silicon Valley-based series “The Audacity,”tothe expansion of Roku’s $3 streaming service,to All-In host Jason Calacanis putting a $25,000 bounty on an authentic Theranos device.
Ford’s AI assistant debuts
Ford is launching its assistant in the company’s app before a targeted 2027 release in its vehicles, with hosting managed by Google Cloud and the assistant itself built using off-the-shelf LLMs. Aswe noted in our coverage of the newshowever, few details were offered around what drivers should expect from their experience with theassistant.
Caterpillar, Nvidia partner on automated construction equipment
As part of the ever-present push for AI’s impact on the physical world,Caterpillar and Nvidia announced a pilot program“Cat AI Assistant,” which wasdemonstratedat CES Wednesday.This system, coming to one of Caterpillar’s excavator vehicles, is happening alongside another project to use Nvidia’s Omniverse simulation resources to help with construction project planning and execution.
Hands-on with Clicks Communicator
One of the buzziest reveals of the show is the debut phone from Clicks Technology, the $499 Communicator, which brings back BlackBerry vibes with its physical keyboard, plus a separate $79 slide-out physical keyboard that can be used with other devices.
Check out our full rundown from the show floor herebut the Communicator makes a good first impression, per Consumer Editor Sarah Perez:
“In our hands-on test, the phone felt good to hold — not too heavy or light, and was easy to grip. Gadway told me the company settled on the device’s final form after dozens of 3D-printed shapes. The winning design for the phone features a contoured back that makes it easy to pick up and hold.
“The device’s screen is also somewhat elevated off the body, and its chin is curved up to create a recess that protects the keys when you place it face down.”
LG’s home robot CLOiDmakes a sluggish first impression
A big part of LG’s CES presentation was dedicated to its robotics efforts, with home robot CLOiD as a prominent figurehead. And how did the robot fare once it was off the press conference stage and out in the wild?We’lllet Senior Writer Lucas Ropek’s impressions speak for themselves:
“Unfortunately, at the presentation I saw, CLOiDdidn’tdo a whole lot. I saw the bot very gingerly take a shirt out of a basket and place it into a dryer. I also saw it pick up a croissant and (again, very gingerly) place it into an oven. In addition to the live performance from the bot, the presentation was intercut with highly produced videos of the bot ina number ofhypothetical scenarios where it might prove useful to potential users.”
eufyMakeUV printer is an Etsy maker’s dream
Long used in industrial settings, UV printers that can print ink directly onto objects have been prohibitively expensive for individuals to own. But theeufyMakeE1is set to launch for $2,299 later this year, which makes bulk printing on things like mugs, waterbottles,and phone cases a bit more attainable for individuals.Lucas Ropek has more first impressions here.
A new way to find andpurchaseoffice space
MyCommutershas a novel take on creating office space by helping companies find locations that are beneficial to them and their employees. The platform pulls together different datasets to examine commute time, expenses, and otherfactors toidentifyan ideal spot for an office, not just the easiest thing to spot that’s on the market.Sean O’Kanehas more reporting on the idea that drove founder Guillaume Acier to start the company here.
Check out the Skylight Calendar 2
This family planning tool caught our eye on the show floor, not just for its calendar and planning capabilities, but for its AI capabilities that are able tosynccalendars fromdifferent sources; create new to-dos basedoff ofmessages or photos, appointment reminders; and more.Check out our full impressions here.
Boston Dynamics and Google partner on Atlas robots
Hyundai’s press conference focused on its robotics partnerships with Boston Dynamics, but the companies revealed thatthey’reworking with Google’s AI research lab rather than competitorsto train and operate existing Atlas robots, as well as a new iteration of the humanoid robot that was shown onstage.Transportation editor Kirsten Korosec has the full rundown.
Amazon’s AI-centric update with Alexa+ is getting the kind of pushyou’dexpect at CES, withthe company launching Alexa.com for Early Access customerslooking to use the chatbot via their browsers, along with a similar, revamped bot-focused app. Consumer editor Sarah Perez has the details, along with news onAmazon’s revamp to Fire TV and newArtline TVswhich have their own Alexa+ push.
On the Ring front, consumer reporter Ivan Mehtaruns through the many announcementsfrom fire alerts to an app store for third-party camera integration, andmore.
Razer joins the AI delugewith Project AVA and Motoko
In the past, Razer has been all about ridiculous hardware at CES,from three-screen laptopstohaptic gaming cushionstoa mask that landed the company a federal fine. This year, its two attention-grabbing announcements were for ProjectMotoko, which aims to function similarly to smart glasses, butwithoutthe glasses.
Then there’s Project AVA, which puts the avatar of an AI companion on your desk.We’lllet you watch the concept video for yourself.
Lego Smart Bricks mark the company’s first CES appearance
Lego joined CES for the first time to hold a behind-closed-doors showcase of its Smart Play System, which includesbricks, tiles, and Minifigures that can all interact with each otherandplay sounds, with both the debut sets having a Star Wars theme. Senior writer AmandaSilberlinghas all the details here.
This video is brought to you in partnership with Tuya and Cheddar.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.