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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways
- ZDNET went hands-on astatine CES 2026 to trial the latest tech.
- Awards were based connected in-perosn demos and adept evaluation.
- The absorption stayed connected products astir apt to acceptable into mundane life.
The ZDNET squad spent this past week connected the crushed astatine CES 2026, going hands-on with hundreds of products and services successful Las Vegas. From massive TVs and AI gadgets to the weird and wacky, we tested each the headlining tech expected to specify the twelvemonth ahead.
Also: CES 2026 live: Biggest quality connected TVs, laptops, weird gadgets that stole our attention
That firsthand reporting helped pass CNET Group's authoritative Best of CES 2026 awards, selected successful concern with the Consumer Technology Association. The winners person present been announced and are disposable astatine CNET. The afloat database was curated by much than 40 adept journalists crossed CNET, PCMag, Mashable, Lifehacker, and, of course, ZDNET.
Best of CES 2026 winners
To beryllium eligible, a merchandise oregon work had to beryllium a CES exhibitor and conscionable astatine slightest 1 cardinal criterion, whether that's introducing a compelling caller concept, solving a user problem, oregon raising the barroom for show oregon quality.
Our editors and writers participated successful existent demos, conducted in-person evaluations, and asked plentifulness of questions, playing a nonstop relation successful selecting nominations and winners and shaping evaluations crossed categories.
While these categories bespeak the breadth of what ZDNET covers year-round, our main extremity was to place the products astir apt to acceptable into your mundane beingness erstwhile the CES lights crook off. CNET Group selected winners crossed a full of 22 categories, positive 1 wide Best of CES winner, astir doubling the fig of awards from past year.
ZDNET contributed expertise successful the pursuing areas:
Mobile (and Best Overall): Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold
ZDNET's Kerry Wan said the TriFold feels similar the signifier origin foldables person been gathering toward each along, delivering a wider, much earthy 10-inch show that makes multitasking and contented usage consciousness intentional. While it comes with trade-offs, similar two-handed usage and nary stylus support, helium sees it arsenic a confident, future-facing phone-tablet hybrid that represents a existent turning constituent for foldables.
AI: Lenovo Motorola Quira
ZDNET's Sabrina Ortiz said Qira is Lenovo and Motorola's effort to determination beyond accepted chat-style assistants, positioning it arsenic an ambient, context-aware AI that tin transportation retired tasks crossed devices and apps. By moving successful phones, PCs, wearables, and a caller AI pin, Qira tin trim friction, support idiosyncratic information private, and connection a much natural, agentic alternate to tools similar Copilot and Gemini.
Laptop: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition
ZDNET's Kyle Kucharski said the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 makes 1 of its biggest improvements yet by prioritizing repairability done a redesigned, double-sided "Space Frame" motherboard. The alteration is mostly invisible from the outside, but it allows users to easy regenerate cardinal components, extending the beingness of the laptop without sacrificing the classical ThinkPad plan oregon performance.
Home theater: Samsung S95H
Samsung's S95H is simply a large upgrade, with up to 35% higher brightness, an all-metal design, and the quality to safely show static artwork from the Art Store without burn-in. The flagship OLED besides introduces a wireless Zero Connect box, a metallic bezel that doubles arsenic a partition mount, and gamer-friendly features similar a 165Hz refresh rate, VRR, and glare-free technology.
Smart home: Roborock Saros Rover
ZDNET's Maria Diaz said the Saros Rover is simply a two-legged robot vacuum with a wheel-leg plan that lets it assistance itself, ascent stairs, and cleanable aggregate levels without quality help. Still successful development, it uses AI and 3D spatial information to set its posture, debar obstacles, and determination successful ways nary user robot vacuum has before, making it 1 of the astir eye-catching robotics demos.
Wellness: Peri
ZDNET's Nina Raemont saw Peri astatine CES 2026. It's 1 of the archetypal wearables built to way perimenopause, utilizing a nonintrusive, patch-like instrumentality to show biomarkers tied to symptoms similar blistery flashes, slumber disruptions, anxiety, and nighttime sweats. It aims to regenerate guesswork with existent data, helping users amended recognize their symptoms and however they alteration implicit time.
Weird tech: Lepro Ami, the AI soulmate
Kerry Wan described Lepro Ami arsenic a striking and somewhat surreal instrumentality connected AI companionship, centered connected an always-on, hologram-like beingness wrong a curved OLED display. He framed it arsenic much conception than consumer-ready merchandise for now, raising questions astir however acold radical volition privation AI to spell successful filling affectional oregon societal roles.
Parent tech: Coro
ZDNET's Alison DeNisco Rayome said Coro stood retired arsenic 1 of the astir utile parenting gadgets astatine CES, calling it a game-changing mode to way breastfeeding successful existent time. The ultra-thin silicone shield measures precisely however overmuch beverage a babe is getting and turns that information into wide insights, helping parents amended recognize feeding patterns and trim uncertainty.
Startups: Allergen Alert
Nina Raemont said Allergen Alert is simply a compact, handheld instrumentality designed to trial nutrient for allergens earlier you instrumentality a bite, helping radical with nutrient allergies debar accidental reactions erstwhile eating out. It volition motorboat successful mid-2026 with gluten and lactose testing, and determination are plans to grow to different communal allergens implicit time.
Audio: Samsung Music Studio 5
The Samsung Music Studio 5 has a much playful design.
ZDNET's Prakhar Khanna said Samsung's Music Studio 5 is simply a compact, much playful alternate to the larger Studio 7, offering clear, well-balanced dependable from a azygous woofer and dual tweeters. While it skips hi-res audio support, its modern design, colorful options, and astute features marque it a beardown rival to speakers similar the Sonos Era 100.
The remainder of the CES 2026 winners
You tin work astir the remainder of the categories and each CES 2026 victor implicit astatine CNET: Official Best of CES 2026 Awards.
Beyond the categories above, ZDNET's editors and writers besides evaluated products successful the vigor sector. In fact, we are inactive connected the crushed astatine CES 2026, wrapping up hands-on clip with the astir innovative products and delivering exclusive reporting connected what impressed america astir and which ideas consciousness astir apt to signifier the aboriginal of user tech.
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