Best of CES 2026: The gadgets that impressed us most (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: I'm Mike Andronico. I'm Henry P. Casey.

[00:00:02] Speaker 2: I'm Chelsea Stone.

[00:00:02] Speaker 1: And this is the best of CES 2026. Of all the products I saw at CES this year, it was Samsung's Freestyle that really had that wow factor for me, something that I really hadn't seen before, something that was really cool and practical and very exciting to see actually work in real time. This is the latest refinement of the Freestyle projector, which was already a solid, portable projector. But now, this solves a very common problem of projectors don't always look good when you don't have a perfectly flat surface to project them onto. So the Freestyle Plus uses AI to auto-keystone and make things look nice and even and smooth, whether you're projecting onto a set of curtains, onto the corner of a room. There's also the auto-sizing, which we found really cool. We went back and forth between two different size projection screens, and it actually, within seconds, automatically filled the screen. We didn't have to go in, toggle any settings. A nice example of the kind of AI we do like to see. No word on pricing yet.

[00:00:56] Speaker 3: The new LG Wallpaper TV is an OLED TV that's a remarkable 9 millimeters thin. And it's Art TV, which is not your traditional Art TV. It's going to be sort of like a slideshow. Nothing's going to stay still for long, because it's an OLED TV. The Samsung Frame and Frame Pro, really good picture quality for the QLED and Neo-QLED displays that you get.

[00:01:16] Speaker 2: Roborock is finally introducing lawnmowers to the US market. The Roborock RockMo X1 LiDAR uses Centisphere LiDAR environmental perception to reconstruct your lawn and its surroundings in exceptional detail for real-time navigation. Meanwhile, AI detects, classifies, and responds to real-world objects, so it can adapt to your yard as your garden grows. Thanks to four-wheel drive, it can navigate slopes along with rocky paths. This robot mower cuts your grass with six sharp blades and an adjustable cutting height. I'm excited to see it hit backyards later this year.

[00:01:46] Speaker 1: So you may have seen Klix, which is the smartphone case that gives your phone a proper physical keyboard. It can make your smartphone kind of absurdly tall, and that's why I'm really stoked about the company's new power keys, which are a really nice refinement on the Klix concept. This time, the Klix keyboard is actually a magnetic accessory that snaps to the back of your MagSafe iPhone, or if you have a Google Pixel 10, and the keyboard slides out, so when you don't need it, you can just use your phone as normal. You can even flip your phone horizontally, and best of all, it's also a MagSafe power bank, so it'll charge your phone. For early bird pricing, the Klix power keys will be available for $80, which I think is a really good value for everything that it does.

[00:02:27] Speaker 3: One year ago, CES 2025, we had no idea what CES 2026 would bring. An apology from Dell was probably the last thing on my list, and I'm not giving them the award, because they gave us an apology for saying that they were wrong about the Dell Premium 14, and they ruined that laptop so much, but they fixed everything about it that we didn't like, and they've really made a great laptop with physical function keys, a notably visible touchpad, and it's light, it has a great small footprint. Dell XPS 14, it has one little problem. The price at launch is gonna be $2,050. Good news is, that price is gonna drop, because Dell's gonna introduce new configurations in February that are much more affordable. I can't wait to review this.

[00:03:07] Speaker 2: The Drelo TurboCool Misting Fan is going to be a must-have this summer when it launches later this spring. This fan combines the airflow of a tower fan with the ultrasonic mist that can actually be used indoors. That's because the mist is so fine that it evaporates quickly without wetting surfaces. There's also a smaller desk fan, and there's one for outside, too, for those really hot summer days by the pool. Don't call it a comeback. Pebble is relaunching the smartwatch that they first released in 2015. The Pebble Round 2 is water-resistant, it tracks sleep and steps, and it has two full weeks of battery life. There are four versions, and all feature a full-color ePaper display. The watch is starting at $199, and it's available for pre-order now.

[00:03:49] Speaker 1: I own an embarrassing number of gaming controllers. That is why I'm really looking forward to Hyperkin and GameSir's team-up with the X5 Alteron. And this really could be the only controller you need for your Switch, your Switch 2, your phone, your tablet, and even your PC. And not only that, it is fully modular, so you can swap out different components on the face. Say you want a traditional Xbox-style layout, there's a component for that. Let's say you're playing some GameCube classics on your Switch. There's a dedicated GameCube-style component. Very modular, can adapt to how you play. If you're playing on mobile, you can stick your phone and tablet right in the middle. Otherwise, it's a Bluetooth controller that you can use with any device that supports that. So Hyperkin is aiming for somewhere in the $100 to $150 range when it launches later this year, and I'm personally very excited about it.

[00:04:37] Speaker 3: My best friend and coworker, Mike Andronico, he often really loves needing to use my portable charger. I'm more than happy to do it. Sometimes I could use that portable charger, too. And the Nimble Champ Stack 10K earns that title of champ, at least in our early testing at CES 2026, but it's the portable charger that breaks into two pieces. You can put it back together. It has a powerful charging speed, and you have two ports, a USB cord coming out of one side and a USB connector that pops out of the other. That way, Mike and I can both keep our phones charged. It's $80 and coming this spring.

[00:05:12] Speaker 1: It seems like everyone is doing open earbuds these days, and I see why. It's great to be able to stay aware of your surroundings, especially when you're working out or maybe walking home late at night. I still like having proper active noise cancellation for when I'm riding the subway or walking around a busy New York City. That's why I'm really stoked about the Soundcore AeroFit 2 Pro, which combine the two. They can seamlessly switch between open earbuds that rest right above your ears to proper ANC buds with a quick switch on the fly. They feel lightweight. They feel comfortable. They are available now for $180, and definitely worth keeping on your radar. And there you have it. Those were some of our favorite products. At CES 2026, we'll be bringing you all the latest tech, so stay tuned to CNN Underscored for more.

[00:05:56] Speaker 2: ♪♪