LAS VEGAS — CES, one of the world’s largest consumer electronics shows, can be overwhelming with its dizzying array of new products and company announcements.
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The best (and strangest) tech we found at CES 2024
Let the Help Desk cut through the noise — that’s why you have us. Consider this rundown of the best, most interesting, and sometimes strangest products we’ve found that CES 2024 has to offer. And don’t worry: We’ll continue to update this story throughout the week with even more things we can’t help but stare at.
Here’s what we’ve found so far.
1
Let AI use your apps for you
This tiny, handheld gadget isn't meant to replace your smartphone, but it does want to prove there's a better way to get things done.
The easiest way to think about the $199 Rabbit R1 is like an AI-powered walkie-talkie with a screen. Just hold down the button, ask it something — say, a recipe for an omelet, or to play a certain track — and wait for it to respond. Which admittedly doesn't sound all that interesting at first.
The real draw is the fact that R1′s software is powered by a so-called “large action model,” which means it’s been trained to interact with apps and services we commonly use anyway. Ask it to show you flights to San Diego, for example, and the R1 essentially handles all the clicking and tapping you’d normally do in the background before reading the results out loud. Ask it to book the flight, and it interacts with the service to do just that.
In other words, it just does all the “doing” for you. It’s a grandiose promise, but one we may get to test very soon — the company says it plans to ship R1s to customers in the U.S. before Easter.
2
Look and listen with Nuance glasses
The giant optics conglomerate EssilorLuxottica showed up at CES with a set of eyeglass frames that double as over-the-counter hearing aids for people with mild to moderate hearing loss.
The Nuance glasses, as they’re called, use six built-in microphones and some software smarts to amplify whatever sound source you’re looking at — whether it’s your TV or your date over dinner.
Even better: Unlike many other OTC options, nothing actually sits in your ear. That’s partly for reasons of style, but also because the company believes chatting someone up with devices in your ears can lead to the perception that you’re fully engaged in the conversation.
I tried on a pair of Nuance glasses in a casino floor coffee shop, which turned out to be a less ideal testing environment than a raucous dinner party. While the effect was subtle, it did work — which means I didn’t have to lean in and ask my conversation partner to repeat what they said like I often have to now.
The big thing EssilorLuxottica needs to sort now is the price. Currently, it expects a basic set of Nuance frames will cost north of $1,000 when they go on sale toward the end of the year, though it’s talking to insurance providers to see about making them more affordable.
3
Control your lights and TV with a stylish ring
Lots of rings at CES want to monitor your health. This one, built by a start-up called Lotus, is meant to control objects around your home.
Each Lotus ring has an infrared transmitter and a tiny, click-y button — press that, and it’ll send commands to compatible Lotus smart home products that can flick off light switches and turn on plugged-in appliances. You’ll also be able to turn your TV on and off, says CEO Dhaval Patel, who added that the team is working on a version of the ring with a touch sensor that will let you flick through channels and menus.
When the prototype I tried worked, it felt a bit like having a very specific kind of superpower, one I wouldn’t mind using in my daily life. But Lotus mainly built the ring for people with limited mobility who haven’t already spent lots of time and money making their homes “smart” — an audience that too often goes unnoticed by mainstream tech.
4
Let a robot with a projector help out around the house
Samsung will probably sell a lot of its new TVs this year — but it also hopes people will find space in their homes for a friendly robot.
Ballie, a rolling companion that’s a little bigger and heavier than a bowling ball, will go on sale later this year. And when it does, it’ll project movies and video calls onto walls, interact with smart appliances, keep tabs on your pets and more. (How well it’ll do at most of these things is anyone’s guess, but we can confirm its projector works reasonably well.)
It’s very different from other homebound machines Samsung makes, like the company’s motorized mops and vacuum cleaners. Ballie is, by design, a more general-purpose assistant. And it’s not alone: LG is planning to release an AI home robot that does a little bit of everything in 2025, too.
These companies are clearly convinced these machines have a role to play in our lives; the bigger question is whether normal people actually feel the same way.
5
Ski everywhere on a pair of electric Skwheels
In recent years, cars have expanded their presence at a show that used to be best known for new televisions and PCs. But they’re not the only way to get around — you could, for instance, strap on a pair of French, motorized ski shoes and whiz around town at 50 miles per hour.
If that sounds a little terrifying, well, it should: Commuter-grade electric scooters in the U.S. usually top out at a speed of about 25 miles per hour. When cruising around on these four-wheel-drive skis at a more reasonable 12 miles per hour, you can expect its set of batteries to carry you close to 20 miles. And when you’re done, the handheld remote used to control the Skwheels latch onto these speedy shoes and becomes a handle for easy transport.
The luxury of skiing anywhere comes at a cost, though: While the company is running an early adopter discount, the full retail price of a set of Skwheels is close to $2,700.