HotHardware’s 12 Greatest Of CES 2026: High Tech To Watch For This 12 months

This yr’s Shopper Electronics Present (CES) in Las Vegas has formally ended, and with the HotHardware crew again residence, it is time to look again on the journey and spotlight a few of our favourite, stand-out merchandise. As is normally the case, CES 2026 was full of an array of recent applied sciences, from high-powered AI accelerators to low-power laptops, desktops, shows, and all the pieces in between. It’s not possible to cowl everything of such a big occasion, between the entire dwell unveilings, keynotes, and varied venues, however we did our greatest to see the entire sizzling new and upcoming merchandise our core viewers would love. Right here’s a number of the best-of-show merchandise and gadgets that we predict you’ll take pleasure in trying out (in no specific order)…

Dell Ultrasharp 52 Thunderbolt 4 Monitor:

The Dell Ultrasharp 52 is the world’s first 52-inch curved 6K monitor, and in accordance with Dell, it is also the primary monitor to realize the best tier of TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Gentle certification, by emitting as much as 60% much less blue gentle in comparison with the competitors, to maintain eye fatigue at bay. A 6K decision works out to a 6144×2560 decision, and the Ultrasharp 52 additionally boasts a fairly quick 120Hz refresh price, 400 nits brightness, a 4200R curvature, picture-by-picture (PbP) and picture-in-picture (PiP) help, and an auto USB KVM with Ethernet Swap Mode management supporting as much as 4 enter sources. Our personal in-depth overview of the Ultrasharp 52 must be posted quickly, so keep tuned.

Dell XPS 14 & XPS 16

After a yearlong hiatus, Dell’s XPS is again! Dell introduced the return of the enduring model at CES, the identical occasion the place it was formally retired final yr in an effort to streamline Dell’s product classes. We had an opportunity to go hands-on with new XPS laptops, which you’ll take a look at right here. Dell is utilizing the launch of Intel’s Core Extremely Sequence 3 processors based mostly on Panther Lake as the start line for the return of its XPS model in laptop computer kind, with 14-inch and 16-inch fashions on faucet. After experiencing the brand new XPSes in particular person, a part of what stood is that this is not only a relaunch of an iconic model, neither is it merely a {hardware} refresh, however one more refinement of Dell’s premium laptop computer line. We won’t wait to check them out.

Lego SMART Play System “SMART Brick”

If you happen to’ve ever performed with Legos, you are going to love this one. The Lego SMART Brick is a 2×4 Lego brick that acknowledges close by Lego SMART Tags and SMART Minifigures. The SMART Brick additionally has a built-in accelerometer which might detect how it’s being moved by means of the air, and reacts accordingly. The SMART Tags are little tiles inform the SMART Brick what it ought to change into, whereas SMART Minifigures, when positioned close to a SMART Brick, reacts in a different way to the atmosphere with “distinctive sounds, moods and reactions”, that are all performed by means of the SMART Brick. There have been an array of cool Star Wars associated demos operating on the SMART Brick, which Dave Filoni, Lucasfilm’s Chief Artistic Officer, really helps launch on stage at CES 2026.

Lenovo ThinkPad Rollable XD

One of many wildest laptop computer ideas to debut at CES 2026 comes by the use of Lenovo. Whereas it is only a idea in the meanwhile, the Lenovo ThinkPad Rollable XD already appears pretty refined and it incorporates quite a few intriguing design components that not solely give the machine a particular look, but additionally make higher use of all of the display screen actual property accessible on its rollable show, no matter what configuration the laptop computer is in. When rolled up, a part of the display screen was obscured an unusable on Lenovo’s previous-gen rollable laptop computer. That is not the case with the ThinkPad Rollable XD. In “regular” mode, it seems to be just about like every commonplace, compact 13.3-inch ThinkPad, good for journey and cramped airplane tray tables. Nevertheless, with a easy swipe gesture, the versatile OLED panel unravels upward, increasing right into a 16-inch vertical workspace, thus offering over 50% extra display screen actual property. When totally prolonged, the ThinkPad Rollable XD successfully transforms from a conveyable sub-notebook right into a productiveness powerhouse or a doom-scroller’s dream machine.

MSI GeForce RTX 5090 32G Lightning Z

One of many coolest issues we noticed in particular person at CES this yr was MSI’s new GeForce RTX 5090 32G Lightning Z. A flagship GPU just like the GeForce RTX 5090 is able to standing by itself for noteworthiness, however what separates this one from the gang is that it options an built-in 8-inch coloration LCD panel to show system vitals, art work, animations, and so forth. That is a primary for a graphics card — however it’s not the one first on this beast, although. MSI can also be touting what says is the world’s first full-copper, full-cover chilly plate on a GPU, and much more attention-grabbing is the declare that it is the first client GPU to succeed in 1,000W from the manufacturing facility — that is so much off firsts. The cardboard is manufacturing facility overclocked with a 2,730MHz enhance clock in its default 800W OC mode, which is 13.4% increased than NVIDIA’s 2,407MHz reference clock. Nevertheless, there’s a 1,000W Excessive mode (accessible through MSI Heart) that pushes it additional to 2,775MHz for round a 15.3% achieve in comparison with NVIDIA’s reference enhance clock.

Roborock Saros Rover

On the 2026 Shopper Electronics Present, Roborock unveiled the Saros Rover, a two-legged robotic vacuum. Whereas different vacuums have tried to unravel the stair-climbing difficulty, the Rover includes a revolutionary “wheel-leg” setup that additionally cleans because it climbs, one thing different ideas by Dreame and Eufy cannot do. The stork-like leg design means the vacuum can actually rise up and roll over obstacles as much as 10 centimeters excessive. For anybody who has ever needed to rescue a confused robotic spinning its wheels helplessly on a thick rug or a stray Lego brick—not to mention stairs—the sight of a vacuum merely stepping over an impediment like an Olympic hurdler is nothing in need of a suburban miracle.

AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D

AMD unveiled its newest flagship CPU for gaming at CES 2026, the brand new Ryzen 7 9850X3D. To place issues merely, the Ryzen 7 9850X3D is basically a Ryzen 7 9800X3D with an additional 400 MHz of enhance clock. This may give methods just a little further “oomph” in lightly-threaded video games, however the TDP is not any increased, so multi-core efficiency will not transfer a lot. It is place because the “greatest” PC gaming CPU was basically a given, contemplating the 9850X3D leverages the identical structure as current elements, however we’re not going to complain That 400 MHz clock velocity enhance will assist general system responsiveness and provides flippantly threaded video games — which is most of them — a pleasant kicker in body consistency and efficiency.

NVIDIA G-SYNC Pulsar

One of many greatest client bulletins out of NVIDIA at CES 2026, was the information that G-SYNC Pulsar is coming to market. We have been enthusiastic about Pulsar since we first heard about it a few years in the past. If you happen to’re not acquainted, this expertise permits avid gamers to mix G-SYNC variable refresh price smoothness with ULMB clear movement. Whereas ASUS (with its ELMB Sync) and different distributors have launched shows that may mix VRR and movement readability strobing, NVIDIA’s resolution was constructed from the bottom up for this function, and guarantees completely clear movement with out overdrive foibles, or having to fret about staying in a monitor’s “VRR vary”. NVIDIA’s additionally including an attention-grabbing new characteristic to G-SYNC Pulsar that wasn’t beforehand disclosed; apparently all G-SYNC Pulsar screens will embody “Ambient Adaptive” expertise that can auto-adjust brightness and colours based mostly in your ambient lighting.

Samsung Odyssey 3D 6K Monitor

“3D is useless,” say the naysayers, however for die-hards who fell in love with actual, stereoscopic 3D, this may need simply been the very best factor on the present. Samsung’s Odyssey 3D is a 32-inch 6K (6144×3456) IPS LCD with a local 165-Hz refresh price and dual-mode help for 3K at 330 Hz. That is not the thrilling half, although—this show options eye-tracking that allows a real glasses-free 3D impact. Seeing it in particular person, it really works significantly better than you’d count on, and the 3D mode nonetheless works in 3K mode. You won’t suppose a lot of 3D motion pictures, however stereoscopic 3D video games are an entire different expertise, and so they do not should be restricted to VR. Samsung says that it is working with recreation publishers so as to add stereoscopic output to present video games, together with titles like Stellar Blade, Lies of P, and The First Berserker: Khazan.

Intel Core Extremely 3 Sequence 12Xe ‘Panther Lake’

Intel formally launched its Core Extremely Sequence 3 processors at CES 2026. These are the long-awaited “Panther Lake” chips, and if Intel’s claims maintain up below our personal testing, they appear spectacular. Intel made some huge guarantees on the present: 24% improved multi-threaded efficiency versus its personal Arrow Lake processors (regardless of having fewer P-cores), 50% higher energy effectivity than AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 collection, and a whopping 73% higher gaming efficiency in opposition to the competitors, at the very least for the fashions outfitted with the bigger 12xe core GPU tile.

Core Extremely Sequence 3 processors will supply as much as 16 CPU cores in a 4+8+4 configuration, help as much as 96GB of LPDDR5 or 128GB of DDR5 DIMMs (with LPCAMM help and switch charges as much as 9600 MT/s), next-generation architectures for each single IP block, as much as twelve Xe3 cores within the built-in GPU, and so forth. We have really already written at size about Panther Lake’s new applied sciences, so we’re not going to rehash all the pieces once more right here. If you would like all of Panther Lake’s technical nitty-gritty, hit up our write-up from Intel’s Tech Tour 2025.

HP EliteBoard G1a PC

HP introduced all of its newest and biggest designs to CES 2026, together with what the corporate views as a brand new means ahead within the all-in-one PC class, the HP EliteBoard G1a. The HP EliteBoard G1a AI PC is a compact, small kind issue design that packs all its parts inside the body of a full-sized keyboard, which is ideal for many who are on the lookout for a clear and minimalist setup. It’s not only a glossy package deal, although, because it’s sporting high-end options match for enterprise and enterprise customers, powered by AMD’s newest Ryzen AI 400 collection processors. HP could have two flavors of the EliteBoard G1a for patrons to select from. One has an hooked up USB4 cable that handles 65W of energy supply, DisplayPort 2.1 and as much as 40Gbps of information switch, whereas the opposite has a removable USB4 cable and a 32Whr replaceable battery. The latter is supposed for hybrid staff that break up time between working on the workplace and dealing from residence who want a tool that may seamlessly travel and hook up with nearly any monitor.

Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Plus

Qualcomm used CES 2026 to broaden its upcoming Snapdragon X2 line-up with a few decrease core depend fashions, dubbed the Snapdragon X2 Plus. Qualcomm might be providing two SKUs to get the X2 Plus celebration began, together with the 10-core X2P-64-100 and 6-core X2P-42-100. It is attainable that extra fashions will comply with, contemplating 4 SKUs comprise the earlier Snapdragon X Plus lineup, however we’ll have to attend and see on that. The ten-core mannequin is made up of 6 Prime cores with a 4.04GHz single-core enhance frequency and 4GHz max multi-core clock velocity, and 4 Efficiency cores with a 3.4GHz max multi-core clock. It additionally wields 34MB of complete cache, an Adreno GPU that may crank to 1.7GHz, and a devoted hexagon NPU delivering as much as 80 TOPS of AI muscle. Different options embody help for as much as 128GB of LPDDR5X reminiscence at 9,523 MT/s on a 128-bit bus for as much as 152GB/s of reminiscence bandwidth. The 6-core mannequin consists solely of Prime cores on the similar enhance and multi-core frequencies (4.04GHz and 4GHz, respectively), whereas lowering the full cache to 22MB and dialing again the GPU clock velocity to 900MHz. In any other case, it has the identical NPU and similar reminiscence help.

As we talked about earlier, it is virtually not possible to cowl each new launch throughout CES week, however we did our greatest to cowl a lot of it. We printed over 50 CES 2026-released articles during the last couple of weeks. The merchandise, gadgets, or chips on this publish are our picks for essentially the most promising or thrilling unveiled through the present.

Did we miss one thing you are enthusiastic about? Tell us within the feedback beneath…