CES 2026: Smart Legos, laundry-folding robots, – Business News
CES, the annual shindig for techies in Las Vegas, has kicked off this week with the most recent and best in robots, devices and toys coming in 2026.
From laundry-folding robot butlers to fancy alarm clocks and lollipops that play music in your head, right here’s a rundown of some of the highest hits from the primary two days of the confab.
A laundry-folding robot
LG unveiled its tackle the humanoid butler robot with CLOiD, which it claims will be capable of load a washer or dryer, stack and fold garments, toast a croissant within the oven and fetch milk from the fridge.
LG’s CLOiD robot takes a towel from Brandt Varner, vice president of gross sales and home home equipment, during CES. AP
CLOiD – which goals to create a “zero labor home” – boasts two five-fingered fingers, totally articulated arms that may transfer and bend and the flexibility to talk and mimic facial expressions on its black-screen face.
But when it took the stage in Vegas, CLOiD took its time — an agonizing 30 seconds to take a towel from Brandt Varner, vice president of gross sales and home home equipment, and throw it into the washer. It did handle to fold a dish rag — which an LG exec gushed was a “holy grail” in home robotics — however we shudder to suppose how long we’d await a load of laundry to get put away.
CLOiD was equally deliberate when it got here to pulling the milk from the fridge, and albeit, we had been a bit involved he was going to drop it. It’s unclear when or if CLOiD can be out there to buy, although LG signaled a potential to attach the bot to different LG sensible home units.
This bot can carry 110 kilos
Perhaps more spectacular than CLOiD was “Atlas,” the humanoid bot unveiled this week by Boston Dynamics, the longtime creator of famously creepy robot canines. The life-size Atlas rose to its toes after slumping on the stage like — nicely, a pile of laundry. It then swiftly strutted across the stage with odd-but-graceful actions that included rotating its torso 360 levels.
The firm claims Atlas can carry up to 110 kilos, however the bot didn’t do any heavy labor during the demonstration. Instead, it waved to the group in a strikingly elegant method that recalled Queen Elizabeth II.Hyundai plans to deploy Atlas at a manufacturing plant close to Savannah, Ga., by 2028.
Robotics firm Boston Dynamics performed the first-ever dwell demonstration of its “Atlas” humanoid robot. Boston Dynamics
Samsung’s foldable cellphone
Samsung’s foldable handheld was one of the buzzier gadgets to be unveiled at CES. As its title suggests, the Trifold is a cross between a conventional smartphone and a pill with three foldable panels – permitting customers to regulate the dimensions of the screen primarily based on their need and store it simply of their pocket.
Despite having the “biggest battery Samsung has ever had in a foldable phone,” the Trifold is simply 3.9 mm thick at its thinnest level.
The gadget doesn’t have a US release date but, however it’s anticipated to value at the very least $2,500 when it formally hits the market.
Samsung’s foldable handheld was one of the buzzier gadgets to be unveiled at CES. AFP through Getty Images
Your canine wants a cellphone, too
How younger is simply too younger for a cellular phone? What if it’s in canine years?
Now you may cough up $90 for a PetPhone that attaches to your canine or cat’s collar to trace their location, play calming music and even permit two-way cellphone calls.
There’s additionally a small digital camera gadget that house owners should purchase and fasten to the PetPhone to allow them to see what their pets see as they roam the home, root via the laundry – or nap on the sofa.
GlocalMe expenses $90 for a PetPhone that attaches to your canine or cat’s collar.
With a single faucet within the GlocalMe app, house owners can call their pets and command them to calm down, come home or just say good day. Jack Russell house owners beware – if the pet jumps thrice in 60 seconds, it might probably call its proprietor.
Singing sweet
For a candy deal with and a candy tune on the similar time, attempt the LolliPop Star – a lollipop that performs music in your head when you chew down on the sweet.
It makes use of vibrations from the lollipop stick that go out of your cranium’s bones to your internal ear to create sound that solely you may hear.
The Lollipop Star makes use of vibrations to create sound that solely you may hear. Instagram/@engadget
Lava, the company behind the musical deal with, is presently partnering with three pop artists to make use of their music: offering a peach taste for Ice Spice, blueberry for Akon and lime for Armani White. It plans to launch the candies quickly for $9 a pop.
But there’s no sugarcoating it: social media customers had been fast to mock the outdated bone conduction technology, which was additionally utilized in youngsters’s toothbrushes from Hasbro within the early 2000s to play two-minute tunes whereas children brushed their tooth.
Fuzzy bionic pandas
There’s a new cuddly robot companion on the market: AI-powered bionic panda cub An’An from Mind With Heart Robotics. The fuzzy black-and-white bot goals to supply companionship for aged people with cognitive decline or children battling social expertise.
More than 10 sensor suites all through the bot help it reply to human contact, mimicking the conduct of a actual panda cub with light hugs and nudges. It additionally learns to reply to particular person voice and behavioral patterns.
AI-powered bionic panda cub An’An from Mind With Heart Robotics is a companion for aged people or children battling social expertise. X/@MWHRobotics
An’An additionally comes with a devoted app to handle duties and set reminders – although twiddling with a cellphone app won’t be probably the most user-friendly option for aged sufferers with mental decline.
A better Lego
Lego is seeking to push forward into the digital age of play with its Smart Brick – primarily an whole pc system squeezed into a 2×4 Lego Brick. It’s an attempt by the toy giant, identified for its colourful plastic bricks, to keep up with the occasions whereas persevering with to offer no-screen play.
The Smart Brick is loaded with a custom-made chip measuring smaller than a single Lego stud. AP
The Smart Brick – which is loaded with a custom-made chip measuring smaller than a single Lego stud – will make its debut March 1 as half of a new Star Wars assortment.
When paired with Smart Minifigures and Tags, like Minifigs of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, the Smart Brick can add context-appropriate interactive sound and lights to the Lego building expertise.
A Lego piece that appears like a car with a Smart Brick connected. AP
Lego mentioned the battery will work even after years of inactivity, however might be juiced up by wi-fi charging.
Color-changing sun shades
Here’s a high-tech tackle Nineteen Seventies fader sun shades: With these, you don’t need the solar to make the lenses go darkish.
Instead, eyewear startup Povec unveiled frames that permit customers to regulate the extent of tint with a contact of the finger. The electrochromic technology is geared toward offering flexibility for out of doors athletes like skiers and cyclists after they’re within the components.
Povec unveiled frames that permit customers to regulate the extent of tint with a contact of their finger. TikTok/@timothybw
If that seems like a cool look, remember that you possibly can be paying designer costs: Povec instructed tech outlet Mashable that the glasses, anticipated to launch in May, will retail for $250 to $300.
An anti-doomscrolling gadget
Ambient’s Dreamie is a new alarm clock with an LED mild that progressively lightens to a vibrant yellow to simulate a dawn, making for a more calming wake-up expertise – much like the Hatch clock and different dawn alarm clocks on the market.
But the Dreamie is far smaller than the competitors — it might probably match into the palm of your hand. It additionally doesn’t require an app to be used or setup – permitting customers to totally unplug earlier than mattress.
Ambient’s Dreamie is a new alarm clock with an LED mild that progressively lightens to a vibrant yellow to simulate a dawn. Ambient
There is a round touchscreen on one finish of the clock, the place you may set alarms and select from a library of calming music. There’s a built-in speaker, however the clock can be Bluetooth suitable so it may be paired with wi-fi headphones.
Still, it retails for $249.99, a pricetag that’s richer than rivals by at the very least $80.
