CES is where the tech industry rings in the new year. Each January, just about every corner of the industry shows up with announcements and previews that set the stage for the year to come.
Apple set the stage for virtual reality news by announcing a launch date for the Vision Pro headset, while smart home companies are trying to organize the tech that’s popping up everywhere. A wave of laptops, tablets, and handhelds powered by mobile and AI-friendly chips washed over the show floor, and the latest battle between LG and Samsung is focusing on transparent televisions.
Monday’s press conferences brought Nvidia’s RTX 4080 Super, Samsung’s rolling robot projector, MSI’s Steam Deck competitor, and a whole lot more. Tuesday’s additions included this Rabbit R1 AI gadget that is ready to run your life from one small box, an OLED monitor from Asus that’s foldable and portable, and the debut of Honda’s sleek Zero series EVs.
The show floor officially opened on Tuesday, January 9th, and closed Friday, January 12th, in Las Vegas, Nevada. As always, The Verge’s team has beeen on the ground covering the event’s biggest news, before registering our best of CES lists. You can tune in below to follow along with the latest.
Wearing a German Bionic exoskeleton was an awesome and deeply weird experience.
The German Bionic Apogee+ is designed to protect backs of medical workers lifting patients out of beds and wheelchairs. It robotically lifts 66 pounds from lower back onto hips and legs, plus adds handles for patients to grab. Hours of use from a small Makita power tool battery!
It didn’t make me feel stronger or faster — except the new robotic spine automatically lifting me upright. It’s designed to be shared among a crew of workers for $9,900.
I want the temporary tattoo printer.
Victoria Song highlighted a lot of beauty tech she saw at this year’s CES in a Verge video from this week. You could easily blink and miss Imprintu, the temporary tattoo printer. I want one. Or I did, until I saw that it’s $249.
At CES, everything was AI, even when it wasn’tImage: Samsung
This year at CES was the year AI took over. From large language model-powered voice assistants in cars to the Rabbit R1, the technology you heard about everywhere was AI. It was a little too much.
It may be the year of AI at CES, but many of these “AI” features have been around for a while — it’s just that companies are only now embracing the branding of artificial intelligence. AI has entered the public consciousness: it’s cool and hip to place it front and center in a product, a sign that companies are ambitious and forward thinking. That’s led the term to be adopted wherever possible, even when it’s not strictly the AI most people know.
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LG’s other transparent TV is the one I want in my living room.
LG’s DukeBox is pitched as a modern-day jukebox, but in person, it’s got much more potential.
A smooth-sounding 3D audio speaker with a 30-inch transparent OLED display that lets you see its retro-style insides and displays album art, the DukeBox is also a TV.
The music controls on the screen are just for show — it’s not a touch screen. But if LG ever ships this concept product it should totally be one. It would make a gorgeous smart display.
The Verge Awards at CES 2024Illustration by Samar Haddar / The Verge
We always look forward to CES. Not just because it kicks off the year, or because it brings nearly every major tech company under one roof, or because it means a flood of new products. We love it because of the surprises: every year, without fail, there is some strange and surprising new tech that captures our attention and makes us want to tell everyone, “come look at this.”
This year was no exception. AI took physical form, screens bent and disappeared, car platforms morphed. Even some of the more practical stuff — common standards and simple spec bumps — made a difference.
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The Verge’s best of CES 2024The Consumer Electronics Show brings thousands of visitors to Las Vegas every year to witness the latest innovations in tech — some practical and some jaw-dropping.
Our staff was on the ground, surrounded by thousands of smart rings, vacuums, concept cars, and everything in between. However, there were just a few standouts. The Verge highlighted our favorites from the show floor in the video above. Here are a couple sneak peeks of our top picks:
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CES 2024 was all about interoperability beyond the smart homeThe 8-1 Qi2 charger announced by Anker during CES 2024. Image: Nathan Edwards / The Verge
Last year, you couldn’t mention CES without bringing up Matter. It was a pivotal year for the smart home standard, as big names like Samsung, GE, and Amazon promised better interoperability between their devices and a world of sensors, appliances, and accessories. But that promise largely started and ended with smart home tech.
This year, things were a little different at CES: the idea of making products work nicely across ecosystems bled into other areas of the showcase and rippled across a range of different devices — even putting rivals on the same page to better serve users.
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I can confirm GeForce Now works better with new G-Sync support.
The service will soon support Nvidia-blessed VRR monitors, and — if your game’s running above 40fps but struggling to hit 60 — it helps! I saw a lil less tearing and visual weirdness as I moved around in Cyberpunk.
It’s less helpful if you’re not in the sweet spot, cuz Nvidia auto-lowers resolution when framerate goes too low. G-Sync is also exclusive to Nvidia’s Ultimate tier, but that’s the only flavor I recommend anyhow.
Nvidia had two identical setups on display, one with G-Sync and one without. Both were running on MacBooks, BTW. Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge
The Razer Iskur V2 gaming chair’s “6D lumbar” isn’t just a gimmick.
I’ve poked some fun at Razer’s me-too gaming chairs since the beginning, but the new Razer Iskur V2’s lumbar support is nice!
I tend to lean left and right in my seat, and the “6D” lumbar comfortably tilted with me at CES. The other “Ds” are how lumbar can adjust in/out/up/down with big dials on left and right. Does it stay this comfy after hours of sitting? Here’s hoping!
Pulling up on one side of the cushion in an attempt to show that it tilts left and right as you move. Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge
Screens keep getting faster. Can you even tell?Dell’s Alienware 27 QD-OLED gaming monitor (AW2725DF) has an outrageous 360Hz refresh rate. Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
OLED monitors have gotten faster than ever. While LCD monitors have been pushing 500Hz for around a year now, CES 2024 saw similarly excessive refresh rates arrive on their OLED siblings, with multiple monitors hitting speeds of 360 and 480Hz.
Whenever we’ve written about these monitors, commenters have quite fairly asked what the point of this all is. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time manufacturers have battled over specs with debatable benefit to customers, whether that’s the “megahertz myth” or megapixel wars of the ‘00s or, more recently, smartphone display resolution.
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Rabbit, Ballie, and the other gadgets of CES 2024Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge
The best gadgets at CES are the ones you’d never see coming. Not the iterative updates, where everything gets a little brighter and a little faster but nothing fundamentally changes. No, we like the E Ink toilets and the crab-walking cars and the rolling projectors that show you what’s inside your fridge. Do you need all these things? Does anyone? Will they ever go on sale? Who knows?! That’s the fun of CES.
On this episode of The Vergecast, recorded from the Kia Connected Home right in the middle of the Las Vegas Convention Center parking lot, we discuss all the most important gadget stories from this year’s show. We talk about the Rabbit R1, which was easily the surprise hit of the show. We discuss Ballie, Samsung’s adorable robot companion, and the tough week it had giving demos. We talk Qi2 and Wi-Fi 7 and the other standards shaping the future of gadgets. And finally, we talk about the future of cars, and what it means that the inside of the car suddenly seems to matter way more than the outside.
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This high-tech sex toy syncs its vibes with musicThe Oh! by OhDoki is the company’s second interactive sex toy. Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge
Every once in a while, you’ll turn a corner on the CES show floor and see crowds flocking around a high-tech sex toy. This year, the one that caught my eye was The Handy, an automated masturbator — mainly because it was moving in a way I don’t expect to see in polite company, let alone a public show floor. But right next to it was the Oh!, a $149.95 toy coming later this spring that had me also saying “Oh?”
Both sex toys are made by Norwegian sex tech company Ohdoki. The Handy, a motorized device that moves up and down to mimic masturbation for people with penises, is certainly the flashier of the two. At a glance, the Oh! is unassuming as far as vibrators go. What makes it different is how it vibrates.
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Apple won the CES headset game without showing upPhoto by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Apple isn’t at CES, but it had a huge presence anyway. On Monday, just before a string of CES keynotes were set to kick off, the company announced that its Vision Pro headset would be launching on February 2nd. Apple had already promised that the headset would launch early this year. So the stage was set for its rivals to compete by making CES 2024 a showcase of new ideas about virtual and augmented reality.
Ultimately, that didn’t pan out. Lots of companies showed up with AR and VR tech. A lot of the headsets offered similar functionality to the Vision Pro, like an AR / VR monitor for your computer or a substitute TV. But none were as impressive a package as Apple’s headset, nor were most arriving nearly as soon.
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This might be the year of the smart ringJ-Style is one of the many smart rings I stumbled upon on the show floor. Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge
For the past few years, the Oura Ring has been the most recognizable smart ring on the market. After what I saw on the CES show floor, it’s about to get some real competition.
The smart ring is a promising form factor, but it’s tricky to get right. It’s more discreet and comfortable for sleep tracking than a smartwatch. The underside of your finger is also a better place to take heart rate and blood oxygen readings than your wrist. The downside is that it’s challenging to create a device that’s stylish given how small and flexible the components need to be. Plus, they tend to be pricey, with fewer features than a smartwatch.
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I rode in a Hyundai Ioniq 5 with wheels that go sidewaysHyundai Mobis e-Cornering system, as demonstrated on a Hyundai Ioniq 5.
When I was a boy, I wanted a Ferrari Testarossa. As a teen, I’d have told you James Bond’s tricked-out Aston Martin DB5 would be my ride of choice. Today, I have a new answer: a Hyundai Ioniq 5 with magic wheels that turn sideways.
Because when you have four wheels that turn sideways, dear reader, tantalizing possibilities unfold.
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Watch this tongue-operated retainer control a phone.
This is the first public demonstration of Augmental’s retainer-like MouthPad accessibility gadget. It can be used to control devices that support a Bluetooth mouse, including phones, tablets, computers, and even sex toys, without significantly impairing speech.
Engadget said it’s “one of the most elegant and sophisticated” tongue-operated controllers to date after seeing a live demo at CES.
Samsung’s Map View looks sweet on that big smart display, I mean … television.
I totally believe TVs should also be smart displays for controlling your smart home; it just makes sense. So, I was intrigued to check out the new Now Plus dashboard screen, Map View, and Quick Access controls for SmartThings on Samsung TVs at CES this week.
The three new interfaces were colorful and responsive in the demo (you control them with the TV remote). And the Quick Access Panel looks super handy. (It will also look very familiar to Apple TV users.)
The Now Plus screen surfaces cards with different data; here, it's weather, smart home devices, cameras, and energy use. You can click on each one to see more and access controls. ” data-nimg=”fill” decoding=”async” src=”data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7″>A Quick Access screen pops up over what you’re watching, and you see camera feeds and control favorite devices.” data-nimg=”fill” decoding=”async” src=”data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7″>The Map View shows your home layout and where devices are and you can select to filter by device type.” data-nimg=”fill” decoding=”async” src=”data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7″>Filtering by temperature shows the temperature in each room.” data-nimg=”fill” decoding=”async” src=”data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7″>Same with air quality.” data-nimg=”fill” decoding=”async” src=”data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7″>Filtering by camera shows a recent snapshot over each device.” data-nimg=”fill” decoding=”async” src=”data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7″>
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The Now Plus screen surfaces cards with different data; here, it’s weather, smart home devices, cameras, and energy use. You can click on each one to see more and access controls. Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
The Rabbit R1 is selling quick as a bunny.
The company announced it sold out of its second round of 10,000 devices, 24 hours after the first batch sold out and barely 48 since it launched to the world. Something about the mix of ambitious AI, Teenage Engineering style, and that attainable $199 price just seems to be working for people.
The third batch is up for preorder now, but you won’t get your R1 until at least May.
Dexcom’s new continuous glucose monitor is a health tech gadget with purposeThe Stelo CGM will look similar to the one pictured here and is based on the Dexcom G7. Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge
Year in and year out, most of the blood glucose tech you see at CES are devices that may not come out for years, if ever. That’s why it was refreshing to see Dexcom roll up to CES 2024 to talk about something a bit more tangible: its forthcoming Stelo continuous glucose monitor (CGM), a wearable sensor that provides a real-time look at your blood sugar levels. Unlike most CGMs, the Stelo is specifically designed to be an affordable option for Type 2 diabetics who don’t use insulin.
Unlike Type 1 diabetes, where a person produces little to no insulin, Type 2 diabetes is when, over time, the body either doesn’t produce enough insulin or the body becomes insulin resistant. Roughly 90 to 95 percent of all diagnosed diabetics have Type 2. However, if they control their glucose levels through oral medication rather than inject insulin, they usually don’t have access to CGM devices.
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A set of Hyundai wheels is the best thing I saw at CES.
Wheels that turn sideways to crab-walk into a parking spot. 360-degree spins so I don’t have to back up as often. Diagonal driving. I want this Ioniq 5 so bad.
The chief engineer tells us they haven’t tested the tech beyond 50MPH yet — but it should hit highway speeds by 2026, could make it into EVs by 2028, and he claims it shouldn’t cost much more than a car without.
Wi-Fi 7 quietly took off while everyone was looking at AIWi-Fi 7 and an RGB touchpad? I’m in. Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge
The biggest names in laptops showed up to CES this week with new designs, new chips, and usually some way to sneak in the term “AI.” But most of them also quietly arrived with one of the most important upgrades of all for competitive gamers on the go: better Wi-Fi, with support for Wi-Fi 7. It’s about time, because router companies shoved Wi-Fi 7 routers out the door throughout 2023, and we’ve been waiting on machines that can put the standard’s ludicrous speed promises to the test.
Wi-Fi 7 came to gaming laptops first and foremost, and the focus on gaming makes sense. One of the biggest benefits of Wi-Fi 7 is that it allows for one device to connect to your router on multiple bands — a feature called Multi-Link Operation — which gives your laptop options when it comes to where to funnel its packets. That means that when your 5GHz band is at capacity, it’ll just send the data down the 6GHz pipe, and vice versa. The result should be lower latency when you’re on a busy network, which is critical when you’re not able to wire up with ethernet.
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Samsung is showing off earbuds cases with screens.
The concept at CES shown in this video looks to mix an earbuds case with a round OLED screen and a smartwatch-like interface. I’m not totally sold on earbuds cases with screens, but this seems pretty clever.
Corsair, Asus, and others are making it easier to build a beautiful PCPhoto by Tom Warren / The Verge
I hate cables. I hide them in the walls behind my TV, I make them disappear around my desk, and I try to eradicate them everywhere else in my life. So every time I hear about something in the PC building community that involves hiding or removing cables, I get excited. Over the past few years, some of the biggest names in PC building have been making it easier to hide cables away and build a PC that showcases your skills.
I’ve built a lot of PCs over the past 25 years, and the main part of the process I hate the most is cable management. It often takes me longer to tidy up cables and route them properly than it does to put all the parts of a PC together. It’s especially bad if you’ve decided to build a PC with a bunch of RGB fans and an all-in-one (AIO) cooler. There are more cables to hide and more lighting to reveal any mistakes you make. Thankfully, a lot has changed in recent years.
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