Thank you to CTA for inviting us back to CES as media for the 9th year. No compensation of any sort was received in exchange for our CES tech trends in 2026 post.
I just got back from Las Vegas for our 9th year covering CES as media, and as usual, it was a whirlwind of events as well as hours spent walking the show to meet with brands. Did I see it all? Not even close. Did I see a lot? Yes, definitely. Was I exhausted afterwards? You better believe it.
I spent most of the week shuttling around town from event to event and walking way further than I planned on {Vegas is so hard to judge distance! Also, why are the shuttles always at the wrong times?}. At those events and while navigating the show floor, I saw thousands of brands, both old and new. And, it was awesome, as always.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure we wanted to do in person CES coverage again this year. Ever since 2021 CTA has offered virtual options to cover the show from the comforts of home, and there are some years I’ve taken advantage of that. But this year, CES lured me back in again with the promise of seeing the latest and greatest tech trends in 2026 in person, with all the bright lights and dazzle that only CES can bring. Even I will brave a Vegas trip for that.
And, now that I’m home, I’m buried in CES emails and haven’t even gotten around to going through my phonebook-sized pile of papers and brochures that I gathered. Eventually I will unbury my mail and begin to flip through the flyers so I can cover in detail all the newest tech that will be released this year. But that day is not today. Instead, you get a small round up post of the trends that stuck out the most to me as I searched for the Best of CES.
Here it is: a rundown on the biggest tech trends in 2026. There were trends I saw on the floor, some I saw just at events and parties we attended, and there are some trends that weren’t technically at the show, they are just wishful thinking at this point with one prototype and a big dream. From smart home products to wearables, there’s a whole lot to be excited about.
Here’s a short list of CES tech trends in 2026:
- The big theme this year: AI, pretty much everywhere you looked. Literally everywhere. Even things that you were positive would never have AI have proven you wrong. It’s now the standard for electronics of all kinds, and I don’t think there’s any going back at this point.
- AI enabled everything – Whereas AI in previous years lived on screens in our computers and phones and merely sent information to other objects, now it’s embedded *in* physical products and machines.
- Wearable tech and wellness products – Lots of tracking rings, smart glasses, and wearables paired with AI assistants for your health tracking.
- Smart cleaning products of all kinds – We’re talking masses of wet/dry mops, so many robot vacuums that they could probably clean an entire town, even robotic pool cleaners and yard tools to clean up the outside, too.
- The future of energy – Whether it’s solar panels or whole home battery backups – or both of the above – energy solutions were everywhere.
- Car tech – We’re talking electric vehicles, sustainable transportation solutions, and self-driving vehicles as well as things to make your old car smart, if that’s more your thing.
- Smart home everything – We’re basically done with stupid homes.
- AI buddies – From furry little friends to traditional robots to assistants that only live in your phone, your computer, or your … blinds, AI assistants were everywhere.
- Exoskeletons and robot-like add-ons – The focus was enhancing human productivity, increasing human strength, and offering humans better efficiency.
- Robots that look like dogs – These were everywhere. Sometimes they looked like cartoons of actual dogs, clearly marketed towards kids directly. But, sometimes they were high-tech looking robots that simply walked like dogs and were controlled by brands at neighboring booths. Both kinds of robot dogs typically had a dozen or so people following them around the show floor taking videos.
- Cameras of all kinds, in all kinds of things – We’re talking novelty mini cameras, dash cams, backup cams, traditional DSLRS, AI cameras to wear around your neck at all times, security cameras for your home or business, cameras to see your back seat while you drive, cameras that go in everything you can imagine.
- Automated appliances – Some with cameras that can analyze your food and figure out faster than you can how to cook it. It’s gonna be wild, folks.
- MagSafe or Qi charging for everything – This is not new by any means, but the sheer amount of MagSafe focus was interesting to me after all these years.
- A surprising return to nature – AI bird feeders, AI binoculars for watching wildlife, nature cams, you name it.
- 3D printers and everything 3D printed – We’re talking prototypes, tools, even shoes. Yes, shoes.
Here’s a short list of what I didn’t see much of at CES:
- Regular cars – If it wasn’t self-driving, it was a photo prop only. In previous years, there were so many more cars to hop into and play around with their new features. Now, it’s fully electric cars or nothing.
- USB drives of any kind – Media kits used to be handed out on small USB drives, typically emblazoned with the company logo and given to you with something small and memorable. Now, it’s a QR code or a promise to email after. I’m still on the fence about which is better. It’s definitely easier to transport media kits via QR codes, but I feel like having a physical record of the QR code is better than just scanning a code at each booth since you don’t have time to read anything there on the floor.
- Business cards – I had to get my business cards printed last-minute for the trip because I hadn’t realized I was so low the week before I left. And, while I’m glad I did print them because they were handy to have for events, I could have easily done without on the show floor. Most brands were not handing out business cards and instead wanted you to scan their CES badge and they would scan yours. I find business cards to be much, much easier in most cases as you can write notes on the back in between booths and keep better track of what you see.
- Honestly, swag of any kind – In past CES shows, there used to be small giveaways at just about every booth. Some items were great {and I still use them to this day!} and some I would bring home to my kids as souvenirs. But, by the end of the first day, I would have to politely refuse any more chapstick, hand sanitizer, or any cheap phone accessories. Now? It’s a surplus of tote bags and a small card with a QR code. Any booth that was giving out anything at all had long lines of people and a bunch of hoops you had to jump through in order to “earn” the small item, for instance following them on social media or doing a whole-booth tour with stamps at each station, and more. I love this on many levels as the world doesn’t need more “junk”, but at times I will admit I actually did miss it when it was a brand I absolutely loved.
About CES
For those of you who aren’t involved in all things tech, you are probably wondering what on Earth CES is. Well, CES is the largest consumer electronics show in the world, and it is put on each year by CTA. It takes place in Las Vegas in multiple different convention centers and halls, spreading out to the parking lots and into multiple hotel conference rooms with thousands of exhibitors.
But, just so we’re clear – we’re not talking a typical trade show. I go to plenty of those with their cubicle booths and tables set up with pictures to look at and some free hard candies. CES is on a truly massive scale, just like everything in Vegas. Some of the “booths” look like they took years to construct, and literally nothing just has a booth and some flyers. Tech companies go all out for CES, and the result is both amazing and awesome… and also crazy intimidating.
It’s also massively attended, with over 130,000 people walking the floor or working the floor. It’s chaotic, it’s crowded, and you have to plan really well in order to talk to popular brands as you’re walking the floor.
Follow along on the rest of our CES coverage as we discuss the best tech for families and kids that came out during the 2026 show. We saw tons of products and are really excited for many of the tech trends in 2026 to hit shelves/markets.