Key Facts
- ✓ Lego introduced Smart Bricks with integrated chips and speakers, starting with Star Wars sets priced from $70 to $160.
- ✓ Intel's Core Ultra Series 3 chips offer 60 percent more performance than previous generation processors.
- ✓ Samsung showcased a 130-inch Micro RGB TV concept and the Galaxy Z TriFold phone.
- ✓ Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot is entering production with Google DeepMind AI integration.
- ✓ NVIDIA announced Alpamayo, open-source reasoning models for autonomous vehicles.
Quick Summary
CES 2026 has arrived in Las Vegas, bringing together technology companies to reveal their latest innovations. The event features a wide range of products, from gaming hardware and smart home devices to automotive technology and AI-driven gadgets.
Key announcements include Lego's first appearance at CES with its new Smart Brick technology, LG's concept robot and display tech, and major chip updates from NVIDIA and Intel. Samsung also made headlines with its trifold phone and expanded AI integration in home appliances.
The show floor includes everything from ASUS dual-screen laptops to Boston Dynamics production-ready humanoid robot. Audio gear, charging accessories, and health tech devices also feature prominently in the 2026 lineup.
Interactive Toys and Household Robots 🤖
Lego made its first appearance at CES with the Smart Brick, a standard-sized brick containing a 4.1mm ASIC chip. These bricks use the "Play Engine" and integrated copper coils to sense motion, orientation, and magnetic fields. Each brick includes a tiny speaker that plays audio tied to live play actions rather than pre-recorded clips. The system relies on a local wireless layer called BrickNet to communicate with Smart Tags and Smart Minifigures.
The first partner for this technology is Star Wars, launching three all-in-one sets:
- Darth Vader TIE Fighter: 473 pieces, $70
- Luke's Red Five X-Wing: 584 pieces, $100
- Throne Room Duel & A-wing: 962 pieces, $160
These sets can emit lightsaber sounds, fighter noises, and The Imperial March. One set allows an interactive lightsaber duel where the Darth Vader minifigure emits his signature breathing sound and a "nooooo" yell if he loses.
LG showcased the CLOiD robot, designed to assist with household tasks like starting laundry cycles, folding clothes, unloading the dishwasher, and serving food. While currently a concept, demonstrations showed the robot performing tasks competently, albeit slowly. LG also introduced the LG Sound Suite, a modular home audio system developed with Dolby to compete with Sonos.
Chips and Processors 💻
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang presented the company's latest developments. The chipmaker announced Alpamayo, a group of open-source reasoning models designed to help autonomous vehicles handle difficult driving scenarios. Additionally, NVIDIA revealed that a supercomputer built on the Vera Rubin GPU architecture unveiled in 2024 is now in production.
Intel introduced the Core Ultra Series 3 chips, the first processors built using the company's 18A process (18 angstroms, just under 2nm). Intel claims these chips offer 60 percent more performance than previous-gen Lunar Lake processors and improved battery life for laptops. The series includes the Arc B390 integrated GPU with 50 percent more graphics cores, double the cache, and 120 GPU TOPS of performance, delivering up to 77 percent faster gaming performance.
AMD announced several CPUs for laptops and desktops, while Qualcomm revealed the Snapdragon X2 Plus chip. The X2 Plus is a mid-range chip offering up to 35 percent faster single-core performance and a 29 percent GPU boost compared to the previous generation.
Mobile Devices and Displays 📱
Samsung provided a hands-on opportunity with the Galaxy Z TriFold, featuring 10 inches of AMOLED display. The company also unveiled the Galaxy Book 6 series laptops with Intel Core Ultra Series 3 chips and improved heat management designs.
Motorola revealed its first side-folding phone, the Razr Fold, with a 6.6-inch external screen and 8.1-inch main display. It features a 50MP main camera, 50MP ultra-wide/macro lens, and 50MP telephoto lens.
Display technology saw significant advancements with the introduction of Micro RGB TVs. This technology uses red, green, and blue LEDs instead of white backlights. Samsung displayed a 130-inch Micro RGB concept model and plans to offer sizes ranging from 55 to 115 inches. LG also revealed Micro RGB sets in 75, 86, and 100-inch sizes.
Amazon entered the frame TV market with the Ember Artline TV, a 4K OLED model starting at $899 for the 55-inch version. The TV runs on Fire TV and integrates Alexa+.
Gaming and Smart Home 🎮
NVIDIA released DLSS 4.5, featuring a 2nd Generation Super Resolution Transformer for sharper visuals. On GeForce RTX 50 Series GPUs, it can generate up to five extra frames per traditionally rendered one. The company also detailed G-Sync Pulsar, which aims to minimize motion blur by effectively quadrupling refresh rates.
Boston Dynamics announced its Atlas robot is ready for production. The company partnered with Google DeepMind to integrate Gemini Robotics AI foundation models, focusing on industrial tasks in the automotive industry.
In smart home news, Dreame showcased a concept robot vacuum with legs capable of climbing stairs nearly 10 inches high. IKEA made its CES debut with budget-friendly Matter-compatible devices, including a $6 smart bulb, $8 smart plug, and $6 smart remote. Philips Hue introduced SpatialAware, an augmented reality feature to harmonize lighting in a room.
GE Appliances unveiled a smart refrigerator with a built-in barcode scanner and interior camera, available in April for $4,899. Throne, a toilet computer with camera and microphone capabilities, tracks bowel movements and urination levels for health monitoring, shipping in February for $340 plus a monthly subscription.
