For the 15 years that I’ve covered CES — one of the largest consumer electronics tradeshows in the world — the sheer numbers of people, gadgets, and overall hype is absolutely overwhelming.
Imagine the Las Vegas strip, with all its dopamine-pumping music, flashing lights, and psychological razzle-dazzle — then insert every kind of gadget and tech tool imaginable on top of it all.
Product pitches and company announcements promise to “enhance,” “enrich,” and “immerse” — the hyperbole flowing faster than the free drinks at a casino craps table.
That part of CES has not hasn’t changed at all. But make no mistake, this year’s show signals a seismic shift in our relationship with technology, mainly thanks to a giant infusion of AI.
It feels a bit like when the internet went from dial-up to broadband, to ‘how did we ever make it through the day without instant access to everything, everywhere, all at once?’ It was the same with the evolution from cell phones to smartphones.
You might not be old enough to remember the “before” times, but I am. It didn’t happen overnight, but those events profoundly changed our lives. We’re going through something similar again now.
Here are a dozen of the best and most interesting new products I could get my hands on at CES and their role in foreshadowing what’s ahead.
Robots that clean, pamper and play
Robots are always a big draw at CES, but they’re usually more far-out fantasy than mainstream…
