CES 2026 Day 2 — The top 11 new gadgets you need to see

CES 2026 Day 2 round-up lead image
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Tom's Guide at CES

CES 2025

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Follow all of our CES 2026 live coverage for the biggest gadget news straight from Las Vegas. And be sure to follow Tom's Guide on TikTok for the coolest videos from the show.

Update: See our top 9 gadgets of CES 2026 from day 3!

But it wasn't just laptops stealing our attention in Las Vegas. For the first time ever, Lego held a CES keynote. The reason? The iconic toy brand wanted to show off its first "smart brick" — a standard Lego brick with a tiny computer packed inside that can work with NFC-enabled smart tags. Cool!

Of course, it wouldn't be CES without some head-turning weird tech that may — or may not — actually make it on sale in 2026. Like the Ascentiz H1 Pro exoskeleton that our senior fitness writer Dan used to assist him in walking around the vast exhibition halls.

Make sure you check out our ongoing CES 2026 live blog for the very latest from the show, and here's our day 1 round-up of the 10 best new gadgets we saw.

Dell XPS 14

Dell XPS 14 2026

(Image credit: Future)

After abandoning the XPS line, Dell has admitted its mistake and brought these premium laptops back in a big way. The XPS 14 and 16 were both on show in Las Vegas and our Global Editor in Chief Mark Spoonauer spent some quality time with the CNC-machined aluminum XPS 14 that's just 14.6mm thin — in between the MacBook Air M4 (11.3mm) and MacBook Pro M5 (15.5mm).

There's a mesmerizing 2.8K OLED display with a variable refresh rate going all the way down to 1Hz to conserve battery life. The XPS 14 is powered by the latest Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors and built-in Arc graphics, so you should expect smooth performance. There's a range of CPU options, including a Core Ultra 5, Core Ultra 7, X7 and X9. And the RAM options go from 16GB to 32GB and a max of 64GB.

The only catch is that, with the price of RAM skyrocketing due to AI-driven demand, the price is going to be tough to hear. According to Dell, prices start at $2,049.

Intel Panther Lake

Intel CES 2026

(Image credit: Future)

Intel's keynote took place during our second day of CES and the brand stepped up to show off its new Intel Core Ultra Series 3 laptop chips. Codenamed Panther Lake, they were first revealed back in October, but CES has given us our first look at them in action.

The big change is that Panther Lake is built on the new Intel 18A node and employs a "System of Chips" design featuring up to 16 cores and fabricated out of smaller "tiles," which can be moved and swapped to fine-tune performance and efficiency.

In addition, the GPU built into these new Core Ultra 3 chips introduces a new, more efficient Xᵉ3 graphics architecture and scales up to 12 Xᵉ cores and 12 Ray Tracing Units, delivering better performance and featuring an increased 16 MB L2 Cache in the high-end configuration.

There's also better multi-thread performance and a number of other tricks that my colleague Alex Wawro has detailed right here.

Strutt ev1 personal mobility vehicle

Strutt ev1

(Image credit: Future)

Let's get fun for a second. My colleague Mike Prospero took this "personal mobility vehicle" for a spin around the show floor and called it a cross between Professor X's wheelchair and a Tesla. I'll share the bad news up front: You can pre-order it for $5,299, but its regular price will run you $7,499. Ouch.

But here's what you get for your money, the Strutt's four motors power it at speeds of up to 7 mph (11.3 km/h), and it can carry a maximum payload of 350 lbs (160 kg). It'll glide up hills as steep as 13-degrees, and ride over curbs up to 2 inches in height. Finally, the 18.5Ah/592Wh removable battery is good for about 20 miles of range.

The cherry on top is that it's voice-controlled with built-in navigation. So you can sit there and just tell it where you want to go. If you want to know more, read Mike's hands-on with the Strutt ev1 here.

Hisense UR8 RGB Mini-LED TV

The Hisense UR9 RGB Mini-LED TV displaying colorful, abstract imagery in a modern living room-like setting.

(Image credit: Hisense)

Day one of CES 2026 was dominated by LG and Samsung's new TV smarts but Hisense has also arrived at the party. This Chinese brand has constantly impressed us with its value for money and this year we got a good look at how it's embracing Mini-LED technology.

Hisense has upgraded its RGB Mini-LED architecture to include a fourth primary color. The addition of cyan — or sky blue, as Hisense calls it — is said to improve the color fidelity, and there are several models to choose from this year.

The Hisense UR9 and the Hisense UR8 are the brand’s first attempt to scale the tech down to smaller screen sizes. It was previously limited to a 116-inch display in the Hisense 116UX but these new sets will be available in sizes ranging from 55 to 100 inches.

Lego Smart Brick

LEGO keynote at CES 2026

(Image credit: Future)

This was a bit of a left-field reveal at CES, but we are totally here for it. The European toy brand Lego revealed its first-ever "smart brick" at a dedicated keynote that included a demo of how it'll work.

The company has fitted a tiny computer into a standard 2x4 Lego brick that's capable of detecting NFC-enabled tags inside new Lego tiles and minifigures. When the block detects one of these (or another smart brick) it will react dynamically.

Lego says it will make sets come to life with features like sound effects, lighting or movement.

Ascentiz H1 Pro exoskeleton

Ascentiz H1 Pro exoskeleton demo

(Image credit: Dan Bracaglia/Tom's Guide)

Exoskeletons aren't as strange a sight these days as you might expect. We saw one at last year's CES and they're back again for 2026. This year, senior fitness writer Dan Bracaglia strapped on the Ascentiz H1 Pro and called it the most comfortable exoskeleton he's tested.

Like other exoskeletons, the Ascentiz relies on AI to analyze a user’s stride, ensuring natural movement assistance. While Dan says it wasn't as powerful as exoskeletons from Hypershell and Arc'teryx, the range of movement was more comfortable.

Weighing just 4.4 pounds (sans battery), the H1 Pro is surprisingly unburdensome to wear. It also folds down into a neat little package that can easily be stored in a gym bag. So whether you're hiking around a massive trade show or want some help at the squat rack, this looks like a winner.

Ascentiz has a few different models in development, and you can find more information over at its fully-backed active Kickstarter campaign.

MSI Pro Max QD-OLED monitor

The MSI PRO MAX 271UPXW12G monitor hooked up to a MacBook and a Windows laptop at CES 2026

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MSI always shows up in full force at CES with new laptops, graphics cards and gaming PCs, but this year, my colleague Anthony Spadafora said he was interested in the company's new Pro Max 271UPXW12G monitor.

This all-white QD-OLED display isn’t just another gaming or business monitor. Instead, it’s designed to work perfectly with your Mac; it features M-Color Mode for seamless color synchronization and even allows you to adjust brightness and volume directly from your MacBook shortcut keys.

So, if you're looking for an alternative to the $1,599 Apple Studio Display, this could well be it. Especially as Anthony thinks this could arrive with a sub $1,000 price point. You can read all his thoughts on it right here.

Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo

Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo (2026)

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Asus has stepped up to CES 2026 with the world’s first dual-screen 16-inch gaming laptop. It's an OLED waterfall that seems like overkill in all the right ways.

Computing Editor Jason England took a look at the two 16-inch 3K OLED displays and proclaimed them: "drop-dead gorgeous, running at a buttery smooth 120Hz and sporting HDR support."

Both displays are attached onto a hinge that can bend back a full 320-degrees too and since this is a Zephyrus machine, the specs list is crazy good. There's an Intel Core Ultra Series 3 CPU, up to RTX 5090 laptop GPU, 64GB LPDDR5X RAM and a 2TB SSD — pumping 135W through that GPU. You also get plenty of I/O including Thunderbolt 4, and Wi-Fi 7 connectivity to boot.

You can check out more of Jason's thoughts on this beast of a laptop right here.

Alienware 16 Area-51 (2026)

Alienware 16 Area-51 (2026)

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I told you that day two of CES was going to be all about the laptops. My colleague Tony Polanco is a life-long gamer, so it's only right that he got to check out the new machines from Dell's gaming sub-brand, Alienware.

Later this year, we can expect an Alienware ultra-slim gaming laptop, coming in at just 0.66 inches (17mm) thin, which is cool. But Tony got to grips with the sturdy Alienware 16 Area-51 on the show floor.

It continues everything about last year's laptop that made it a favorite and levels up in one crucial area: the display. There's now a 240Hz OLED panel with lower latency as well as improved cooling. Tony thinks it has a good chance of being one of the best gaming laptops you can buy this year.

Unfortunately, we don’t yet have a concrete release date, but expect it sometime in the first quarter of this year. Alienware says it will share pricing closer to launch.

Nvidia's AI car tech

Nvidia CES 2026

(Image credit: Nvidia)

Nvidia is one of the biggest names in tech at the moment and the company hosted its own keynote at CES on day two. Unfortunately, we didn't get any new GeForce RTX graphics cards as the company was instead focusing on AI and robotics.

Aside from CEO Jensen Huang messing about with some Star Wars droids on stage, the most interesting development was the announcement of Nvidia Alpamay. This is a new open-source AI model for self-driving cars. Instead of being trained on data and driving reactively, this model is able to use reasoning at lightning-quick times to be proactive.

Nvidia showed it in action with a driving demo across San Francisco and it could just be the future of self-driving cars. Huang confirmed the model will be included with the 2025 Mercedes Benz CLA — already rated the world's safest car by the automotive bodies.

This new self-driving motor vehicle is heading to manufacturing and launching in the U.S. in Q1! Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.

 Eli Health Hormometer

Eli Health Hormometer

(Image credit: Future)

Alongside laptops and AI, wellness tech is a big draw at CES and this at-home hormone test shows why. For just $8, you'll be able to test your cortisol levels and, from February, your testosterone and progesterone levels too. Before we go any further, it doesn't replace your doctor but it should give you some extra insight into things like your sleep and energy levels.

Once you've installed the Eli Health app on your phone, you take the saliva collection cartridge out of the sealed package and put it in your mouth for 60 seconds.

From there, you pull on a tab so that the results can start “developing,” similar to a Covid test. You’ll need to wait 20 minutes for this part but once it's done you use the app and your phone’s camera to snap a photo of the saliva stick, at which point the AI will analyze your results and give you a cortisol score.

The tests are $8 a piece, but you can get 8 tests for $99 or a 3-month supply for $225. Find out what my colleague Mark Spoonauer thought when he tried it for himself on the show floor.

Segway Navimow (2026)

Segway Navimow CES 2026 robot lawn mowers.

(Image credit: Segway)

It might be the middle of winter right now, but in just a few short months you're going to be looking for ways to keep your lawn looking fresh. And Segway has turned up to CES 2026 with the answer. The company revealed eight new robot lawn mowers covering five different series in the Navimow lineup.

These range in price from $999 to $2,999 for models suitable for home use. The most notable is the Navimow H2 Series, which has an impressive obstacle avoidance system that can detect objects as small as 1 centimeter.

There's also the Navimow i2 AWD series that uses a three-wheel drive system to climb up steeper slopes, along with the Navimo i215 LiDAR that generates detailed maps with its next-generation solid-state LiDAR. If you need to know more, we've got a full breakdown of the new robot mowers and their specs right here.


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Jeff Parsons
UK Editor In Chief

Jeff is UK Editor-in-Chief for Tom’s Guide looking after the day-to-day output of the site’s British contingent.

A tech journalist for over a decade, he’s travelled the world testing any gadget he can get his hands on. Jeff has a keen interest in fitness and wearables as well as the latest tablets and laptops.

A lapsed gamer, he fondly remembers the days when technical problems were solved by taking out the cartridge and blowing out the dust.

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