CES 2026 live updates: The latest news on TVs, smart glasses, phones and everything we’ve seen so far

By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / January 3, 12:56 pm ET

This has been in the works for years, but I was surprised this morning when United announced at the gate that my flight from Newark to Las Vegas would support the new Starlink Wi-Fi service — free, fast Internet speeds for streaming, work, and more, essentially.

If that’s not a signal for me to get things done in the next five hours, I don’t know what is.

Also: High-speed Starlink Internet rollout begins on United Airlines planes — and it’s free

And, so far, it’s legal. I have multiple tabs open in my Chrome browser, I write articles about news that you’ll learn more about in the coming days, and I’m downloading and uploading photos and videos without any problems. Hopefully this continues for the remainder of the flight.

By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / January 3, 12:40pm ET

Smartphone enthusiasts – especially those who yearn for the BlackBerry days – are probably familiar with the brand, Clix. This year, the company is releasing two new accessories, one in the form of a MagSafe keyboard that works as a wireless charger, and another that works like a BlackBerry.

The first, the Clix Power Keyboard, is launching at a relatively accessible price of $79, and its snap-on nature allows you to operate your phone in both portrait and landscape orientations.

Also: My search for the ultimate MagSafe accessory is over: This keyboard checks all the boxes

The Clix Communicator has a similar physical QWERTY keyboard, but also has a display, 3.5mm headphone jack, and microSD card slot, effectively acting as a secondary device for messaging. It will go on sale later this year for $499.

By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / January 2, 5:11pm ET

The folks at RayNeo are showcasing two new pairs of smart glasses at CES this year: the Air 4 Pro, which extend to your phone, computer or gaming console, and the X3 Pro Project eSIM, which supports a built-in 4G connection, so you can browse the web or make phone calls without pairing the glasses to a cellular device.

Also: Can the world’s first HDR10 smart glasses replace your $2,000 OLED TV – these specs say yes

The latter of the two products is more interesting to me, as it feels like a natural next step for smart glasses. The Meta Ray-Ban display gives us a glimpse of what it’s like to do calculations without picking up the phone. What if we didn’t even have to have our phones present to get work done?

By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / January 2, 5:05pm ET

Ahead of CES, TCL has unveiled the new Note A1 Nextpaper tablet, an 11.5-inch digital notepad that competes with tablets like the Kindle Scribe and ReMarkable. However, there is one unique aspect with TCL: it has both a full-color LCD display And A 120Hz refresh rate, which delivers vivid and seamless visuals as the user browses, sketches and more.

Also: TCL’s latest E Ink tablet beats the Kindle and Remarkable with this display tech

The Note A1 Nxtpaper costs $549, and it positions itself as a faster, more versatile hybrid for professionals and students who want a paper-like tablet experience without the traditional trappings of E Ink.

By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / Jan 2, 5:02pm ET

CES is home to many things, including AI vaporware, but Project Lucy could change that narrative. It’s a compact, magnetic AI PIN designed to act as a searchable digital archive of your daily life.

Like the Meta Ray-Ban glasses, it features a 12MP ultra-wide camera and dual microphones capable of recording up to four hours continuously.

Also: The most exciting AI wearable at CES 2026 may not be smart glasses after all

Using a proprietary AI model called Mavi, the device allows users to perform “semantic searches” to recall specific details, such as what they ate or who they met. To address privacy concerns, it includes a physical camera shutter and a dedicated companion hub for local data processing.

Priced at around $99, does a “memory-enhanced” experience appeal to you at all?

By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / January 2, 5:00 pm ET

Along with TVs, Samsung has unveiled a new batch of 6K monitors. Sorry, I should have clarified that they are both in 6K
The increase in resolution and 3D in playback allows gamers to be more immersed in different titles and professionals to provide a better experience for their digital creations.

We’ve seen 3D monitors before, especially at CES, but Samsung’s new Odyssey line may be the most polished yet, with glasses-free eye-tracking that makes 3D feel more realistic. However, we’ll have to see these monitors in person before deciding whether they’re worth it or not.

Also: Samsung unveils 6K 3D monitor ahead of CES 2026, and I’m already dreading the extravagance

“It’s hard not to be skeptical. 3D TVs were very popular a decade ago, but fell out of popularity due to muddy colors, poor image quality and a tendency toward motion sickness,” says my ZDNET colleague, Cesar Cadenas. Here’s hoping Samsung overpromises and overdelivers.

By Kerry Wan, Managing Editor / January 2, 4:50pm ET

There’s never a dull moment with TV, and I blame the manufacturers and their extensive dictionary of technical jargon. This year’s buzzword is “Micro RGB”, a careful arrangement of LEDs that produces advanced lighting control and precision. Samsung has a version of this, LG has a version of this, Sony has a version of this, etc.

The big question is how accessible this recent display technology will be, as most TV models currently on the market are very large and very expensive.