CES 2026 got the year off to a frenetic start. Here's our roundup of all that was great and good from the show.
CES is always a bit of a rude awakening from the drowsy days of midwinter. Nevertheless, this year 148,000 people still managed to make the journey to Las Vegas. And while that's still a way from its pre-Covid 2017 peak attendance of 185,000, it highlights its importance on the calendar; taking place at the start of the year it manages to set the agenda for much of the 12 months that follow it.
Here's our pick of 8 things worth paying attention to from CES 2026 that weren't the LEGO Smart Brick.
Canon’s SPAD Image Sensor: 26 Stops of Dynamic Range
The SPAD prototype demonstrated by Canon features a Type 2/3-inch sensor with around 2.1 megapixels. More to the point, it boasts a quoted dynamic range of 156 dB, roughly equivalent to 26 stops of light. This is way more than you can get on the market anywhere at the moment, and was demoed in the sort of challenging scenarios that push all current sensor tech such as fast motion under flickering LED lighting and high-contrast scenes.
The current generation of SPAD (Single Photon Avalanche Diode) sensors remain a tech demo at the moment with no announced plans for consumer use. But SPAD-like technology could well make its way into the Canon products like this over the next decade. The company already has one product featuring it on the market, the security-industry-focused MS-500, but expect more to follow.
The Folding iPhone’s New Display?
Samsung Display, which makes a lot of screens for Apple, had an impressive new OLED panel on show that didn’t have a visible crease in the middle. Every foldable currently on the market does, and the difference between the new display and that of even a top-end product such as the Galaxy Fold 7 (on the left in the picture) is a stark one.
Hisense Adds Cyan
Big screen TVs are a long-standing CES staple, and there were plenty of suitably massive 100-inch plus sets on display. Some of these also managed to be ridiculously thin, such as the latest iteration of LG’s Wallpaper TV concept that is now a mere 9 mm thick (0.35 inches). Our set of the show however was the Hisense 116-inch UXS, as the company has taken RGB LED TV and made it RGCB with the addition of a cyan LED to the backlight. This smooths the transition between blue and green, reduces eyestrain, and makes sure the set covers 110% of the Rec.2020 standard.
HP’s Computer Keyboard
The likes of the iMac have gotten us used to computers being embedded in screens over the years, but the HP EliteBoard G1a turns the established desktop space saving ethos on its head by building the computer into the keyboard. It features an AMD Ryzen AI 300-series chip, stereo speakers, up to 64 GB RAM, up to 2 TB storage, a fan, and ports; just plug it into a monitor (up to dual 4K displays), and you’re all set. Okay, so it doesn’t have the performance of something like a modern iMac, and that’s a lattice-less surface which is not always popular, but it’s a neat, compact, idea for those on the move who want more than a laptop screen and should come in at under $1000.
Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable Concept
Talking of laptops, they’re another core area of innovation and announcement at CES. We’ve already mentioned the ProArt Go Edition from ASUS, and there were all manner of new machines that push the price performance ratio to places that most of us never thought the machines would reach. Every major manufacturer was showing new models that are faster, higher resolution, thinner, or some combination thereof. But we were really taken with the Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable Concept. Last year, Lenovo showed us a screen that extends upwards. This year, it acted on pretty much everyone’s reaction to that and made one that extended the right way, ie sideways.
The Legion Pro Rollable Concept is a 16” top-tier gaming laptop with a screen that expands horizontally from 16” to 21.5” to 24” thanks to a dual-motor, tension-based design that allows the display to expand and contract with minimal vibration and noise. As the video above shows, Lenovo is aiming this at esports, but such has been the reception you can imagine it making models that will work with other sectors as well, not to mention getting to out of R&D and into people’s hands. I mean, that’s a lot of timeline you can fit on that.
An Integrated Stream Deck
Having bought a Stream Deck Neo in the Black Friday sales, I’m not sure how I lived without one before. However, if I didn’t have to move my right hand those 10 cm to use it, the part of my brain that obsesses about these things thinks matters would be even more ergonomic. So, the Corsair Galleon 100 SD definitely appeals. This adds an integrated Stream Deck Plus with 12 customizable buttons, a pair of rotary dials, and a 5-inch multipurpose 720 x 1280 IPS display onto the right side of the keyboard. And hell, if I ever miss my numeric keypad, I’m sure I can run one as a default. $349 from the end of January.
WiFi 8 Routers
The first WiFi 8 routers debuted at CES. Wi-Fi 8 routers are designed to address four main connectivity issues: maintaining stable performance over longer distances, improving two-way communication with low-power smart devices, reducing interference via intelligent spectrum coordination, and easing network congestion by using available bandwidth more efficiently to improve latency and overall throughput. ASUS’ ROG NeoCore concept was easily the most eye-catching, using the multiple antennas the (still unfinalized) standard demands as the edges of a D20. Nice.
Dell UltraSharp 52 Thunderbolt Hub Monitor
Let’s finish off with the Dell UltraSharp 52 Thunderbolt Hub Monitor, the world’s first 52-inch 6K display. It features a 21:9 aspect ratio, a resolution of up to 6144 x 2560 at 120Hz, and also doubles as a dock with two HDMI 2.1 ports, two DisplayPort 1.4 ports, multiple upstream and downstream USC-C ports, and a 2.5Gbps ethernet jack. All those ports let you display up to four sources at once and replace a standard multi-monitor setup thanks to its screen partitioning feature, and it’s gently curved (4200R) meaning you don’t have to crane your head for things to make sense. Price is $2899.