CES 2026 kicks off early with AI speakers, smarter ice makers, and a BlackBerry-style comeback

CES 2026 hasn’t officially opened its doors yet, but Las Vegas is already buzzing.

The show floor doesn’t kick off until January 6, yet big names like Amazon, Nvidia, Hyundai, AMD, LG and Bosch are already firing off announcements. And as TechCrunch’s live coverage makes clear, AI isn’t just a software story this year — it’s bleeding into speakers, kitchen gear, wearables and even a BlackBerry-style phone.

Here’s what’s breaking ahead of the main event.

LG turns a party speaker into an AI-powered karaoke machine

LG is leaning hard into the “there is no CES without AI” mantra.

Its new xboom Stage 501 party speaker uses AI to strip vocals from “virtually any song” so you can turn your playlists into instant karaoke tracks. The software can also adjust pitch on the fly, so you’re not forced to match the original key.

This isn’t just a toy speaker either:

• 99Wh swappable battery for longer sessions
• 220W output when plugged in
• 160W output on battery power

The pitch is simple: one box to handle the party, the singing and the power.

Yes, someone put AI in an ice maker

Smart lighting brand Govee’s appliance offshoot, Govee Life, is bringing AI to one of the most mundane corners of the kitchen: the countertop ice machine.

The Smart Nugget Ice Maker Pro targets hosts who care as much about ice aesthetics as they do about cocktails. It can:

• Start producing nugget ice in about 6 minutes
• Make up to 60 pounds of ice per day
• Hold up to 3.5 pounds of ice in the included bucket

The AI twist isn’t about recipes or voice control. Instead, the system has been trained to recognize freeze‑ups — a common problem with nugget ice makers that leads to loud, unpleasant grinding noises. When the device detects one, it automatically starts a defrost cycle to keep ice flowing and the machine quieter.

It’s a neat example of AI being used for reliability and noise reduction, not just “smart” features for their own sake.

Clicks doubles down on the physical keyboard

Clicks, the startup behind that case that turns your smartphone into something like a BlackBerry, is back — and now it’s making a full phone.

The company has introduced:

• Communicator: a $499 smartphone designed to be carried as a second device, complete with a built‑in physical keyboard that makes it look like a modern BlackBerry revival.
• Slide‑out keyboard: a $79 snap‑on keyboard that works with almost any smart device. It can be used with a phone in either portrait or landscape mode.

While mainstream flagships keep doubling down on all‑screen designs, Clicks is betting there’s still a niche of power users, writers and nostalgia‑driven fans who want real buttons and muscle memory over glass.

Pebble revives its thinnest watch with the Pebble Round 2

Just ahead of CES, Pebble is back in the spotlight with a reboot of its thinnest smartwatch.

The new Pebble Round 2 is a $199 wearable with:

• A rounded screen
• Up to 2 weeks of battery life on a single charge
• Basic health and activity tracking, including steps and sleep

Notably, there’s no heart rate monitor, which positions it more as a minimalist, notification‑first smartwatch than a hardcore fitness tracker.

Pebble is shipping the Round 2 in three colors — black, silver and rose gold — with support for either 14 mm or 20 mm bands depending on the model. It’s a throwback in both design and philosophy: long battery life, simple tracking, less distraction.

The bigger CES 2026 picture: AI meets the physical world

According to TechCrunch reporters on the ground, AI again sits at the center of CES 2026 — but the narrative is shifting. This year is less about flashy chatbots and more about the convergence of AI with the physical world: factories, robotics, autonomous vehicles, and now even karaoke speakers and ice‑cube makers.

The TechCrunch crew has already landed in Vegas, meeting with startup founders and picking through the weird, wild and occasionally unnecessary gadgets that define CES each year. The official show may not start until January 6, but the reveals are already coming in fast.

Expect more AI‑infused hardware, more attempts to resurrect beloved form factors, and a lot more experiments at the edge of what we actually need in our homes.

For now, early CES 2026 belongs to a karaoke speaker that can mute your favorite artists, an ice maker that listens for trouble, a BlackBerry‑style phone that refuses to die, and a round smartwatch promising two weeks away from the charger.