All posts tagged: CES

Micro RGB TVs Were Everywhere at CES, but TCL’s QM8L Could Put Them to Shame

Micro RGB TVs Were Everywhere at CES, but TCL’s QM8L Could Put Them to Shame

Published by skeptic

TCL’s 2026 TVs are here, and it’s an impressive slate starring the new QM8L and QM7L Super Quantum Dot TVs and the RM9L Micro RGB TV. Prices start at $1,200. The premium QM8L is the follow-up to the excellent QM8K, and boasts even greater brightness than before, as well as upgraded color, courtesy of Super Quantum Dots. The Super QDs, or “SQD-MiniLEDs” as TCL calls them,  are a refined version of the existing dots, and they are the same ones that make up the backlight of the company’s flagship X11L. They also enable the TVs to hit more colors than ever before — the company says they’re capable of reproducing 100% of the hard-to-obtain BT.2020 color space. See also: Best TVs of 2026 TCL says the QM8L TV features up to 4,000 discrete local dimming zones, as well as the company’s Halo Control system, which should lead to even better contrast. In addition, there is an increase to 6,000-nit peak brightness — up by 2,000 — which would make it one of the brightest TVs ever produced. At …

Nebula Next enters the luxury EV race with its bold 01 Concept that debuted at CES

Nebula Next enters the luxury EV race with its bold 01 Concept that debuted at CES

Published by skeptic

Image: Nebula Next Nebula Next made its CES debut on January 6, pulling the wraps off the Nebula Next 01 Concept, the company’s first public look at where it wants to take high-performance electric vehicles. For Nebula Next, CES wasn’t just a flashy stage – it was a statement. The company, which positions itself as a creative technology firm focused on developing advanced EVs and intelligent mobility solutions, says the 01 Concept reflects its long-term focus on the global luxury EV market and its ambition to build a premium brand centered on technology, performance, and design rather than price. A design built around efficiency and speed The Nebula Next 01 Concept leans heavily into aerodynamics, particularly the kind that matters at high speeds, given its four-motor powertrain produces a 0-100km/h performance claim of 1.8 seconds. Up front, the car uses multifunctional aerodynamic structures designed to better manage airflow, improve cooling efficiency, and reduce energy losses – a challenge for performance-oriented luxury EVs. Along the sides, the concept combines aggressive styling with active airflow features designed …

AI Was Everywhere at CES, but the Real Innovation Is Human

AI Was Everywhere at CES, but the Real Innovation Is Human

Published by skeptic

AI toothbrush. AI sleep mask. AI baby monitor. AI coffee maker. AI cat feeder. AI pen. AI pin. AI massage chair. An AI mirror that “reads your face.” An AI refrigerator that needs to know me better than I know myself. AI smart ring, AI smart necklace, AI headphones, AI oh my god whatever. On Day 1 of my first CES, I started keeping a list in my notes app. Not a list of companies to follow up with, but of products that had been given the AI treatment for no discernable reason.  Some of the products were fine. Some were silly. A few were genuinely impressive (looking at you, massage chair). But they all suffer from the same problem: Too often, AI isn’t solving a real problem. It’s simply a marketing strategy.  Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source. It being my first time at the big tech trade show in Las Vegas, I expected to be overwhelmed. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over …

How YC-backed Bucket Robotics survived its first CES

How YC-backed Bucket Robotics survived its first CES

Published by skeptic

The weather in Las Vegas wasn’t looking good. The plan had been that each employee of YC-backed Bucket Robotics would carry parts of their booth in their luggage to the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show. But CEO and founder Matt Puchalski didn’t want to take the chance that one (or all) of their flights would be delayed. So he rented a Hyundai Santa Fe and packed it up.  “It was… it was tight,” he said with a laugh on the show floor.   It took 12 hours driving in the rain, but the gear – and Puchalski – made it safely to Las Vegas, and so began the young company’s first-ever CES. San Francisco-based Bucket Robotics was just one of thousands of companies exhibiting at the annual tech conference, a speck of sand on a beach full of products and promises. But despite its modest setup in the automotive-focused West Hall, Puchalski said the trip was worth it. Part of that was a willingness to be tireless, observant, and always ready to pitch. An engineer by trade, Puchalski spent most of the last decade working on autonomous vehicles at Uber, Argo AI, Ford’s subsidiary Latitude AI, and SoftBank-backed Stack AV. At those jobs, Puchalski developed deep connections in the automotive industry, and we crossed paths all week. Techcrunch event San Francisco | October 13-15, …

I went to CES and here’s all the bizarre (and brilliant) new tech I saw

I went to CES and here’s all the bizarre (and brilliant) new tech I saw

Published by Sam Flores

If you’ve never heard of the Consumer Electronics Show, otherwise known as CES, you wouldn’t be alone. For those in the world of technology, though, it’s a permanent fixture in the calendar. Taking place in the City of Lights, the show inconveniently occupies the first week of January every year. It is a nightmare for all those health and fitness goals, let me tell you. Once you’ve come to terms with the fact that you can forget any News Year’s resolutions you might have made, however, attendance at the show typically leads to the discovery of some of the weirdest, wackiest and most futuristic tech you’ll find. This year, the robots were in full force, as was artificial intelligence, the latter of which will no doubt come to the surprise of hardly anyone, given this has been a running theme for the last five years. After I sifted through the more serious launches, including smart home devices and the latest TVs from Samsung, LG, TCL and Hisense, these are the weirdest, and arguably most exciting, …

Kubota electric tractor concept at CES

Kubota electric tractor concept at CES

Published by skeptic

Box art-inspired Kubota; by ChatGPT. Kubota showed up to CES 2026 with a number of advanced, autonomous, and electric agricultural equipment meant to make farming cleaner and greener. The best part? The company’s latest farm robot is called Transformer, and it’s just begging for an action figure! In addition to the ability to be fitted with a wide range implements from plows and buckets to brush hogs and articulated robot arms, Kubota’s new Transformer is being billed as a “concept versatile platform” that can expand, contract, and move along every axis (that would be x, y, and z – and, yes: I had to ask). The company says that unprecedented level of physical flexibility enables one intuitive Transformer farm robot to do the work of multiple machines. “Big challenges don’t just need big machines; they need smarter solutions that make life easier,” said Todd Stucke, General Manager of Agri Solutions Headquarters, Kubota Japan (KBT), and President of Kubota North America. “Our go-to-market solutions are the culmination of our customer-driven innovation cycle, where the goal is not …

9 CES 2026 highlights: The weirdest and wildest gadgets

9 CES 2026 highlights: The weirdest and wildest gadgets

Published by skeptic

CES is never subtle, and 2026 was no exception. The annual tech showcase in Las Vegas offers genuine glimpses of where consumer technology is headed, alongside futuristic concepts that exist solely because someone figured out how to make them. SEE ALSO: CES 2026: Capture video with the AI-tracking, subscription-free XbotGo Falcon Over the week, Mashable reporters fanned out across the showroom floor, private demo rooms, and off-site showcases to test what actually mattered. From neurotech headphones that measurably improved reaction times to wildly ambitious hardware concepts from Lenovo, CES 2026 offered no shortage of devices worth paying attention to. If you weren’t there to wade through the noise, demos, and occasional sensory overload, here are TK highlights that capture the best, weirdest, and wildest moments from CES 2026. 1. Neurable’s brain-sensing headphones Credit: Chance Townsend / Mashable Neurable’s EEG-powered gaming headset was one of the rare CES demos where the results felt measurable rather than theoretical. In testing the headphones, I found that my reaction time noticeably improved after using Neurable’s PRIME system, even under …

Why Amazon bought Bee, an AI wearable

Why Amazon bought Bee, an AI wearable

Published by skeptic

Smart rings, smart screens, smart TVs, smart pins, smart … ice cube makers? Sure, why not! AI was everywhere at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, where companies large and small were showing off how they’re bringing AI to more devices. For Amazon, CES was a time to show off its newest acquisition in the space: Bee, an AI device that can be worn as a clip-on pin or a bracelet. Amazon already has an entry in the AI consumer devices space with Alexa, whose upgraded AI-powered version, Alexa+, can run on 97% of the hardware devices Amazon has shipped. However, with Bee, the company is gaining access to a wearable that could extend its reach outside the home. Largely designed for recording conversations like interviews, meetings, or classes, Bee also works as an AI companion. The AI has access to world knowledge, and it learns more about you from a combination of your recordings and the services you permit it to access like Gmail, Google Calendar, your phone’s contacts, and Apple Health. …

These 7 audio products at CES 2026 were so impressive, I had to listen twice

These 7 audio products at CES 2026 were so impressive, I had to listen twice

Published by skeptic

Klipsch debuted the HP-1 headphones at CES 2026, and this model is the company’s closed-back, wireless ANC headphones within its Atlas lineup. The HP-1 feature coaxial drivers, wood finishes, and USB-C audio support. The company hasn’t announced all of the specifics, but the headphones are expected to arrive on the market this summer. Aside from their expected high-quality sound, I was most impressed by the HP-1’s ANC performance, as this is typically an area where hi-fi headphones struggle. I tested the HP-1 in the incredibly busy Las Vegas Convention Center, and the ANC easily subdued the background noise. Source link

CES showed me why Chinese tech companies feel so optimistic

CES showed me why Chinese tech companies feel so optimistic

Published by skeptic

CES, the Consumer Electronics Show, is the world’s biggest tech show, where companies launch new gadgets and announce new developments, and it happens every January. This year, it attracted over 148,000 attendees and over 4,100 exhibitors. It sprawls across the Las Vegas Convention Center, the city’s biggest exhibition space, and spills over into adjacent hotels.  China has long had a presence at CES, but this year it showed up in a big way. Chinese exhibitors accounted for nearly a quarter of all companies at the show, and in pockets like AI hardware and robotics, China’s presence felt especially dominant. On the floor, I saw tons of Chinese industry attendees roaming around, plus a notable number of Chinese VCs. Multiple experienced CES attendees told me this is the first post-covid CES where China was present in a way you couldn’t miss. Last year might have been trending that way too, but a lot of Chinese attendees reportedly ran into visa denials. Now AI has become the universal excuse, and reason, to make the trip. As expected, …