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Fender Audio may have announced its new headphones and speakers right before CES, but Las Vegas afforded us the first opportunity to see the brands new lineup in person. Fender Audio is a Fender-owned brand from Riffsound thats designing and making new devices after licensing the name. Its been a while since the guitar and amplifier company made any general-use speakers of its own, and this new arrangement is similar to what Zound was doing with Marshall for a spell. Logistics out of the way, lets get down to what the Mix and Ellie are like in the flesh. First, the Mix headphones offer a modular construction that allows you to replace nearly every piece as needed. The ear cups detach from the headband and the ear pads are replaceable. You can also swap out the battery, thanks to an easy-to-access slot behind one ear pad. And on the other side, a USB-C dongle for wireless lossless audio is stowed for safe keeping (wired lossless audio over USB-C is also available). Fender Audio Mix headphonesBilly Steele for EngadgetFender Audio kept the controls simple on the Mix, opting for a single joystick for volume and playback changes. The joystick also serves as the power and pairing control as the only other button cycles through active noise cancellation (ANC) modes. In terms of sound, the Mix will satisfy listeners who crave deep bass, and vocals cut through clearly. In my brief demo, I wouldve liked more mid-range, but Ill wait until I get a review unit for a full assessment there. I should mention the other standout feature is battery life: the Mix will offer up to 52 hours of use with ANC enabled (up to 100 hours with it off). Then there are the Elie speakers. Both offer a similar set of features, which includes two wireless inputs for microphones (the company is working on its own model) and a combination XLR and 1/4-inch input for instruments. The Elie 06 is the smaller unit, housing a tweeter, full-range driver and subwoofer with 60 watts of output. The larger Elie 12 doubles all of that, serving as a more robust but still very portable option. Fender Audio Ellie speakersBilly Steele for EngadgetBoth Elie units can be used in a single configuration or as a stereo pair. You can also connect up to 100 of the speakers via a Multi mode. Fender Audio has done a nice job here of checking all of the usual Bluetooth speaker boxes while offering something unique in terms all of those inputs. Its like the company combined regular portable speakers with larger party boxes, offering something for customers who dont want a massive device or any of the flashing lights. Of course, none of these specs matter if the company didnt ace the sound quality. While Ill wait until I can spend several hours with some review units before I make any final judgement on these, I can tell you that both Elie speakers made a great first impression. Theres ample bass in the tuning for both, but obviously the larger Elie 12 offers more thump. Both units also provide excellent vocal clarity and nice details in the highs, as I made sure to select test tracks with lots of subtle sounds like Bela Flecks banjo tunes. The back of Fender Audio Ellie 06 speakerBilly Steele for EngadgetFender Audio says the arrival of the entire new lineup is imminent. Both the headphones and the Elie 6 will cost $299 and the Elie 12 is $399.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/hands-on-with-fender-audios-headphones-and-speakers-at-ces-2026-203104561.html?src=rss
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Perhaps you like the idea of controlling your home appliances with your voice, but arent super keen on a data center processing recordings of you. Fair enough. The trade-off for most smart home conveniences is relinquishing at least some of your privacy. Today at CES, I saw a line of voice-controlled home appliances from Emerson Smart that adjust power and setting via voice commands. But commands are recognized on the devices themselves, not carried through Wi-Fi and processed elsewhere. The huge array of smart plugs, fans, heaters and even air fryers require no app for setup and dont need access to Wi-Fi. Instead, I said, hey Emerson, lights on or hey fan, turn on low and the devices in the demo space acted accordingly. A few of the devices combine the mic with a speaker and can respond when a command is received. A bit of built-in programing on the air fryers allow them to understand commands for 100 cooking presets, so saying things like, reheat this pizza or cook these frozen french fries will set the correct mode, time and temp. Of course you can also just say, cook at 350 degrees for 10 minutes and itll comply. Most of the commands for the other items are pretty simple but allow you to do things like set a timer, turn on oscillation and set intensity speeds. Selection of available commands for Emerson Smart devices. Amy Skorheim for Engadget Some of the devices allow for a small amount of programmability. Pressing and holding the button on the smart plug, for example, changes the wake word to plug two, doing it again swaps it to plug three, and so on. That way, if you have more than one plug in a room, you can operate them individually. The small demo space in which I talked to the devices (that did its best to shut out the thrumming noise of the CES show floor) had at least six models active and listening for my words. When I said Hey Emerson, both an air fryer and one of the heaters responded. That was one of the limitations that I could see with the devices: If you outfit your entire home in Emerson Smart gear, it might take some time to name and position everything so it works in a coherent way. The lack of an app means that programmability is limited, too. Thats the trade-off the privacy-conscious or app-averse user will have to make if they want to turn their lamp on and fan up when they walk into a room just by talking. As the only offline, non-DIY voice-controlled lineup of appliances out there, youre stuck with whatever design Emerson Smart thinks look good. Thankfully, the overall design is clean and modern, if a little basic. The upcoming models of air purifiers and fans were decidedly more attractive. A new Emerson Smart air purifier and fan combo. Amy Skorheim for Engadget A handful of devices are available for sale now, but new Emerson Smart products will go into production later this year. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/emerson-smart-brings-offline-voice-control-to-lamps-and-fans-201500078.html?src=rss
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This year, over 4,000 exhibitors descended on Las Vegas, Nevada to showcase their wares at CES, and the Engadget team was out in full force. The week started with press conferences from the biggest companies at the show, which were often a flurry of AI buzzwords, vague promises and very little in the way of hard news. More than one company even decided to forgo announcing things during their conferences to make way for more AI chatter, only to publish press releases later quietly admitting that, yes, actually, they did make some consumer technology. It's appropriate, I guess, that as we're beginning to feel the knock-on cost effects of the AI industry's insatiable appetite for compute resources higher utility bills and device prices companies would rather use their flashy conferences to reinforce AI's supposedly must-have attributes rather than actually inform the public about their new products.We're by no means AI luddites at Engadget, but it's fair to say that our team is more excited by tangible products that enrich our lives than iterative improvements to large language models. So, away from all of the bombast of NVIDIA's marathon keynote and Lenovo's somehow simultaneously gaudy and dull Sphere show, it's been a pleasure to evaluate the crowd of weird new gadgets, appliances, toys and robots vying for our attention.Over the course of several days of exhaustive discussion and impassioned pitching, our CES team has whittled down the hundreds of products we saw to pick our favorites. Starting with an initial shortlist of around 50 candidates across a diverse range of product categories, we eventually landed on 15 winners and our singular best in show.If you've been with us all week, stay tuned for a lot more to come despite publishing almost 200 articles from the show already, there's still plenty we have to tell you about. For now, though, here are our winners, each introduced by the editor most familiar with it. Aaron Souppouris, Editor-in-chiefBest robot: Switchbot Onero H1Onero H1 robotOneroWe saw a lot of robots showing off intriguing and useful capabilities at CES 2026. While a lot of robots impressed us, there were fewer companies willing to commit to actually making them available. But Switchbot's Onero H1, which we watched pick up clothes and load a washing machine, is a helper robot the company intends to sell this year. The demo we saw was limited, but Switchbot claims it can help with an array of household chores (even if it might do them more slowly than a human). It's also kind of cute. The company hasn't said how much Onero will cost, though it promises the droid will be less than $10,000. A nearly five-figure price tag is still out of reach for most, but it at least gives us hope we'll see it somewhere outside of the CES showfloor. Karissa Bell, Senior reporterBest accessibility tech: WheelMoveWheelMove power assist for manual wheelchairsCheyenne MacDonald for EngadgetWheelMove offers a simple upgrade for manual wheelchairs that could make it much easier for the rider to navigate rough surfaces like grass and uneven dirt paths. The add-on is affixed to the front bars of the wheelchair and can lift the small caster wheels off the ground, in addition to providing power assistance with five speed options. It's portable, has a decent range of about 15 miles with the option to swap out its battery on the go and could give wheelchair users greater access to areas that would otherwise be difficult to move about in. It can also keep the wheelchair from speeding up when a person is traveling on a downward slope.This feels very much like a product that will actually see the light of day, and could be genuinely helpful. It builds upon an existing category of wheelchair accessories to address a real issue in a way that doesn't overcomplicate things, and would work with the wheelchairs people already use. Cheyenne MacDonald, Weekend editorBest TV: LG Wallpaper TV (OLED Evo W6)LG OLED Evo W6 "Wallpaper TV"LGIve seen plenty of TVs at CES this year, but few stopped me in my tracks like LGs OLED Evo W6. Its the resurrection of the companys Wallpaper TV, but this time its even thinner (about the depth of a pencil), and its no longer tied to a soundbar. It also uses LGs wireless control box to reduce cabling the only cord you need to hide is the one for power.And best of all, the OLED Evo W6 features LGs latest OLED technology, which promises to be about 20 percent brighter than previous generations. Video demos looked absolutely stunning, with all of the wonderful contrast and black levels weve come to love from OLED. But its also a work of art when its turned off, one that practically disappears when viewed from an angle. Devindra Hardawar, Senior reporterBest AI hardware: Subtle VoicebudsSubtle VoicebudsSubtleSubtles Voicebuds are earbuds with twist: They feature an AI model thats trained to transcribe your voice accurately in very noisy environments, or when it's below a whisper in quiet spaces. Weve seen these things in action on the bustling CES show floor, where they managed to transcribe several sentences amid the chaos. The only downsides is that the Voicebuds require internet access to use the best transcription models, and you need to subscribe to the Subtle app to use it. Without the app, it relies on a smaller local model for transcription.While we still need to put the Voicebuds through their paces, theyre intriguing because we havent seen many genuinely useful AI hardware products. Plus, its been a while since weve seen a tiny startup deliver hardware trying to take on the likes of Apple. Devindra Hardawar, Senior reporterBest smart home: IKEA Matter-compatible smart homeIKEA KAJPLATS smart bulb rangeIKEAThe best smart home devices I saw at CES had nothing to do with AI or robots. It seems every other company, from Bosch to LG to Samsung, had one or both of the buzzy technologies baked into their new smart home offerings. But IKEA came to its first CES with a simple lineup of basic, Matter-enabled smart plugs, sensors, lamps and remotes at screamingly good prices. Function paired with accessible pricing is sort of what IKEA is known for, so the lineup didnt exactly surprise me as much as make me appreciate that someone is finally simplifying and democratizing smart home stuff. There are 21 Matter-compatible devices in all. They include a $6 smart bulb, an $8 smart plug, a $6 smart remote and a slew of home sensors. A slightly pricier ($15) globe bulb looks very lovely. Finally, theres a smart bulb youd actually want to look at one that doesnt cost $50. Another standout is the BILREA remote control. Not only is it an intuitive controller for IKEAs smart devices and new smart lamps, it also has a magnetic mount so you dont lose the thing. Matter devices require a hub to function. Here, you can either go for IKEAs own DIRIGERA or use a Matter hub you already own. The new lineup should land at IKEAs website and stores sometime in January. Amy Skorheim, Senior reporterBest home theater: Samsung HW-QS90HSamsung HW-QS90H soundbarBilly Steele for EngadgetMany companies claim their soundbars have enough bass that you dont need a separate subwoofer. Those promises rarely pan out, even when the company devises new technology to solve the problem. With the HW-QS90H, Samsung is pledging to do the same with its Quad Bass woofer system. Those woofers move in two directions, producing a lot more low-end tone than most soundbars are capable of on their own. Whats more, Samsung included its Convertible Fit Design tech that debuted last year, so you can lay this speaker flat or mount it on a wall and the built-in sensors will automatically adjust the driver output accordingly. So, if youve longed for deep bass on a soundbar without a large or ugly sub in the corner, you may finally get your wish later this year. Billy Steele, Deputy editorBest audio: Shokz OpenFit ProShokz OpenFit ProShokzWhen it comes to open fit earbuds, companies that claim to offer active noise cancellation (ANC) usually dont deliver; Its difficult to effectively block external sound when your ears arent completely sealed off. Shokz is one of the few that has cracked the code with its OpenFit Pro. The over-the-ear hook design allows the earbuds to sit outside of your ear for a clear line to your surroundings. When you need a bit more quiet, the companys noise reduction tech does well to silence moderate sounds in a cafe, office and more. Its seriously impressive how much noise reduction youll get here, and the fact that nothing is stuck in your ear canals makes them very comfortable to wear. Plus, Shokz improved overall sound quality with new drivers, and tacked on Dolby Atmos for good measure. Billy Steele, Deputy editorBest outdoor tech: Tone Outdoors T1Tone Outdoors T1Whisper AeroOutdoor tool companies have increasingly shown up at CES, especially the ones that offer a range of battery-powered gear. Tone Outdoors isnt your usual power tool outfit though; its a spin-off of the aerospace engineering company Whisper Aero. Through its development of quieter electric airplane engines, Whisper Aero realized its technology had other uses. Enter th T1 leaf blower.The T1 is significantly quieter than most handheld gas models, clocking in at just 52 decibels of peak noise on average. Its also more powerful than most of them with 880 CFM of airflow volume. The T1 can run longer too, and an upcoming backpack will extend run time for several hours. But the most important advancement here is not annoying your neighbors or yourself when its time to do some yard work. Billy Steele, Deputy editorBest toy: Lego Smart PlayLego Smart PlayLegoLego is constantly evolving, but rarely does it make as big a move as it did with Smart Play. The system is designed to take standard Lego sets and make them more interactive thanks to a tech-packed Smart Brick. Those bricks have a tiny chip the size of a Lego stud that enables things like motion, color and proximity sensing. They also have a tiny speaker that further helps bring Lego builds to life. The Smart Brick is mostly a blank slate, but pairing it with Lego's Smart Tags and Smart Minifigures is what enables these new play scenarios. Unsurprisingly, Lego introduced the Smart Play system alongside Star Wars sets that make these new immersive elements more obvious. An X-Wing piloted by Luke Skywalker can get into a dogfight with Darth Vader's TIE fighter, and you'll hear the engines roar to life, the characters exclaim as they come under fire and the spaceship explodes if it gets hit too many times. And Smart Play requires no setup, meaning that the technology packed into the Smart Brick fades away and lets kids (and kids at heart) get down to the business of playing. You don't need to know how it works it just does. Nathan Ingraham, Deputy editorBest PC or laptop: Dell XPS 14 + 16The Dell XPS 14 and 16.DellIn a way, this award is for Dells latest flagship laptops but also the company itself. Last year, Dell showed up with a new naming scheme for all of its hardware that included replacing the iconic XPS line with the word Premium. And despite our objections, the company followed through with the rebrand. But now at CES 2026, not only has Dell admitted its mistake, its righting wrongs with two new members of the XPS family that are exactly what we wanted all along.On the XPS 14 and XPS 16, were getting brand new chassis featuring the latest chips from Intel, gorgeous tandem OLED displays and precision engineering that embodies everything we loved about XPS laptops from previous years. Dell also streamlined its designs with the larger XPS 16 dropping an entire pound compared to the previous generation. The company even addressed a number of our previous critiques by switching from capacitive touch controls back to a classic row of function keys and reverting to segmented touchpads instead of seamless glass ones that made it hard to keep track of your cursor. But perhaps the best part is that Dell isnt stopping here, because the company also teased a new version of its legendary XPS 13 slated for later this year, the thinnest and lightest member of the family yet. There are also placeholders for two more XPS models slated to arrive in the not too distant future. Sam Rutherford, Senior reporterBest health tech: Eyebot vision test boothEyebot vision testEyebotWouldnt it be nice if getting an updated eyeglasses prescription wasnt as lengthy a process as it is right now? Eyebots new kiosk is designed to automate the process of visiting a doctors office to three minutes rocking up to a machine. It uses a combination of analog and digital wizardry to identify what you need to see properly in no time at all. Even better is that the prescriptions have to be signed off by a licensed eye doctor, so you can still rely on a degree of professional rigor. We like Eyebot because it proved itself in our tests: its brief examination matched my professionally completed prescription from last year. But its ability to make effective eye care accessible and affordable in a way that it isnt at present is even more compelling than the tech itself. Daniel Cooper, Senior reporterBest gaming tech: ASUS ROG Zephyrus DuoASUS ROG Zephyrus DuoASUSThe ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo is big, weird and potentially awkward to set up. But honestly, what kind of gamer doesnt want more screens? Even if you cant use its second display in the middle of a firefight, more real estate means extra room for Discord, build guides or anything else you might need. Furthermore, ASUS included not one but two brilliant OLED panels with up to 1,100 nits of brightness and color accuracy so good you wont have a problem editing photos or videos. You also get a ton of ports, and with support for up to an NVIDIA RTX 5090 GPU, the ROG Zephyrus Duo has more than enough performance to handle anything you can throw at it. Sam Rutherford, Senior reporterBest mobile tech: Samsung Galaxy Z TriFodSamsung Galaxy Z TriFoldSam Rutherford for EngadgetSamsung might have announced the latest iteration of its foldable smartphones in Korea, but CES was the first chance for many of us to see the Galaxy Z TriFold in person. Its a 10-inch Android tablet hidden within a 6.5-inch smartphone form factor. The jump from the almost-square screen ratio of Samsungs past foldables to approximately 4:3 is a major improvement. This is a device that I could happily watch entire movies on. Theres more horizontal space to read, more room to type and more bright, vivid AMOLED everything. Unfurling the sides is incredibly satisfying and, perhaps because its thicker, it has a reassuring heft, too. The rest of the spec sheet reflects another fashionable Galaxy phone with a 200-megapixel main camera and the biggest battery yet in a Samsung foldable.Itll likely be expensive though. Samsung hasnt confirmed pricing in the US, but based on its launch cost in Korea, it could be around $2,500. Mat Smith, UK bureau chiefMost promising concept: Lenovo Legion Pro RollableLenovo Legion Pro RollableLenovoConcept devices are hard to judge because even the ones with a ton of potential might be too difficult to make or too niche to bring to market. But with the Legion Pro Rollable concept, Lenovo created something with a simple yet powerful premise: A gaming laptop with a screen that gets wider at the touch of a button.To make the Legion Pro Rollable, Lenovo took a regular Legion Pro 7i and then swapped its standard 16-inch display for a flexible one that can expand all the way up to 23.8 inches with a bonus stop in between. This means you have the option to choose from 16:10, 21:9 or even 24:9 depending on the situation, which feels like an incredible way to enhance racing games, flight sims and anything else that can take advantage of extra wide aspect ratios. Granted, when its screen is fully deployed, it does look a bit ungainly. But of all the concepts we saw this year at CES, the Legion Pro Rollable is the one we hope survives to become a proper retail product someday. Sam Rutherford, Senior reporterBest emerging technology: IXI autofocus lensesIXI Autofocus lensesIXIIXIs autofocusing glasses were a late addition to our discussions, but we were impressed by what could be a significant advancement in spectacle technology something thats been largely static since the 1950s. IXIs glasses feature an elegant, unique, cameraless eye-tracking system that uses ultra-low-power LEDs and photodiodes to precisely monitor the user's eye movement and focus convergence. This data drives a liquid crystal lens layer, enabling a focus switch between near and far distances in approximately 0.2 seconds. Focus your gaze elsewhere, and your glasses return to their normal prescription. Think of them as a high-tech take on the often thick and clunky multifocal lenses were currently stuck with.IXI is now finalizing the production process, developing manufacturing and gaining the necessary medical certification to sell its glasses, but it has already struck deals with lens manufacturers in Europe. The company has a busy year ahead as it turns its technology into a consumer product. Mat Smith, UK bureau chiefBest in show: Lego Smart PlayLego Smart PlayLegoThere's perhaps no place better than CES to highlight how quickly industry trends die. Over the years the show has been a driver of cornerstone technologies like the VCR, DVD, flatscreen TVs, PDAs and more. Some trends stick, some don't.Lego could almost be seen as the antithesis of the typical CES product: The company's core concept of creative play has remained in place throughout its long history, boosted by a gradual and ongoing evolution of block types and brand tie-ins.Announced at its first-ever CES press conference, Smart Play represents a thoughtful integration of technology to the classic toy. A tiny chip the size of a single Lego stud allows the company's Smart Bricks to sense what's around them, opening up new ways to play. The system will debut with a trio of Star Wars sets, but were sure Lego has plans for a wide range of licensed and unlicensed options.Our team instantly fell in love with Smart Play, and Deputy editor Nathan Ingraham had the opportunity to both build some sets and talk with some of the people behind the technology. Amid parental anxieties about screentime, it's refreshing that Smart Play doesn't require an app or a screen to get started. Kids can just get building. Aaron Souppouris, Editor-in-chiefThis article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/engadgets-best-of-ces-2026-all-the-new-tech-that-caught-our-eye-in-las-vegas-200057123.html?src=rss
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