CES 2026 has hit its stride in Las Vegas, and the theme is clear: AI is getting physical.
From robotaxis and AI-powered tractors to note‑taking rings and always‑listening pins, the show floor is packed with hardware that pushes generative AI off screens and into the real world. Nvidia and AMD are using the event for major AI announcements, while Amazon and Google are talking up how their systems will run everything from cars to conference rooms.
Here are the most interesting swings from the show so far.
A note‑taking ring that wants to replace your voice recorder
Vocci is the latest startup to shrink meetings and interviews onto your finger.
After last year’s wave of note‑taking rings from companies like Sandbar and Pebble, Vocci is showing a rival to Plaud: a ring that records audio and turns it into notes.
- Records from up to 5 meters away
- Up to 8 hours of continuous recording
- Charging case for extra battery life
- Preorders planned in the coming weeks
- Shipping after Q1 2026
- Target price: under $200, according to Vocci
It isn’t on sale yet, but it’s another sign that AI note‑taking is becoming its own hardware category.
Backbone looks beyond phone controllers
Gaming hardware maker Backbone is at CES with its newer Backbone Pro controller, but the real story is what comes next.
Founder and CEO Maneet Khaira is meeting partners and developers in Las Vegas and hinting that 2026 will be a turning point as the company moves into a "next phase" of its business beyond just mobile controllers. Backbone isn’t ready to share details yet, but it’s clearly positioning itself as more than a peripheral maker.
Solid‑state EV battery that claims a 5‑minute charge
One of the boldest claims at CES comes from Donut Lab, a Finnish electric‑mobility startup best known for its donut‑shaped in‑wheel motors.
At the show, Donut announced what it calls the first solid‑state battery (SSB) for vehicle production:
- Solid instead of liquid electrolytes
- Higher energy density and less degradation than typical lithium‑ion cells
- Up to 600 kilometers of range on a single charge with the long‑range version, according to the company
- Full charge in about five minutes, depending on the vehicle
- Designed to stay stable across extreme temperatures and avoid many common causes of battery fires because it uses no flammable liquid
Donut is a subsidiary of Verge Motorcycles. Verge co‑founder and former CTO Marko Lehtimaki, who previously founded no‑code startup AppGyver (acquired by SAP in 2021), is Donut Lab’s co‑founder and CEO.
The new batteries will be introduced first in Verge’s TS Pro and TS Ultra motorcycles early this year, with other partner vehicles to follow.
Ford’s AI assistant and the road to eyes‑off driving
Ford skipped a big showy booth this year, but it still used CES to talk AI.
Onstage at a "Great Minds" session about technology and humanity, Ford outlined:
- A new AI assistant that will debut in the company’s smartphone app before coming to vehicles in 2027
- A next‑generation version of its BlueCruise advanced driver‑assistance system that’s designed to be cheaper to build and more capable
According to reporting from the show, Ford is targeting fully "eyes‑off" driving with BlueCruise in 2028 if it can meet technical and regulatory hurdles.
Hollywood and TV wrestle with AI and streaming
AI isn’t just changing hardware; it’s shaking up how entertainment gets made and distributed.
At the Variety Entertainment Summit at CES:
Joseph Gordon‑Levitt – the actor and startup founder who sold his company HitRecord to MasterClass in 2022 – warned that AI’s business models are "leading us down a dark path." He argued that the issue is "not necessarily so much about the tech itself … but the business incentives" of big AI firms. He said large language models are trained on "everything humans have put their time and energy and labor into" and insisted companies should need consent and pay for that data. The audience applauded multiple times. Gordon‑Levitt is also directing an AI‑themed thriller for Netflix starring Rachel McAdams.
Fox Entertainment CMO Darren Schillace explained how Fox is chasing audiences wherever they actually watch. He pointed to medical drama "Doc," which launched on broadcast TV to reach older viewers, then expanded to Hulu and Netflix to find younger fans. "We’re never going to drive the younger generations to watch on a network — on a broadcast network," he said, adding that season 1 on Netflix "drove an insane amount of new fans." Fox even repackages some shows for YouTube. For Schillace, the main metric is total viewers across Gen Z, Gen Alpha and their parents and grandparents, not whether they’re tuned into a traditional network.
Your TV really is watching you back
One of the clearest windows into modern adtech came from Mike O’Donnell, VP of Vizio at Walmart.
Walmart bought TV maker Vizio for $2.3 billion in 2024. The key asset: ACR (automatic content recognition) data from smart TVs that track what you watch across cable, streaming and more.
O’Donnell said the combined company can now take that viewership data — "what they’re watching … how they’re watching [and] how often they’re watching" — and marry it with Walmart shopping data to build a "full funnel attribution" system for advertisers and, in theory, a better viewing experience.
For consumers, it’s a blunt reminder that the big screen in your living room is also a powerful sensor.
AI wearables and gadgets that never stop listening
Despite Humane’s AI pin imploding, the idea of a camera‑and‑mic wearable won’t die.
- Startups like Looki and Memories.ai are already experimenting with AI pins.
- Lenovo is joining the fray via Motorola with an experimental gadget under the codename Project Maxwell. The device’s assistant is meant to continuously hear and capture your surroundings to surface recommendations and insights.
Lenovo hasn’t shared any privacy framework yet, and the concept is still early. There’s no commitment to ship it commercially, and an "ever‑capturing" device is likely to draw scrutiny if it does.
AI is also creeping into the conference room. Viaim, known for wireless AI earbuds that offer live transcription and noise cancellation, is debuting a battery‑powered AI smart speaker that can:
- Change the camera view using hand gestures
- Transcribe and translate meetings
- Run untethered on its own battery
Micromobility and family tech on the fringes
Micromobility has a lighter presence at CES this year, but Brooklyn‑based Infinite Machine stood out. Its angular, Cybertruck‑like P1 scooter — backed by a16z — has been turning heads for two years. Early test rides in Las Vegas suggest it’s not just flashy; it’s also surprisingly competent and fun.
On the home front, Skylight — once just a digital picture frame company — is leaning into family organization. Its new Skylight Calendar 2 splits the difference between the original 15‑inch calendar and the 27‑inch wall‑mounted Calendar Max. It supports shared calendars, lists and meal‑planning tools, and lets households swap frame colors to better match their decor.
CES day 3: The execs fly out, the startups pack in
By day three, many big‑name execs have either left Las Vegas or are on the way out. But the show isn’t slowing down.
Eureka Park, the startup‑heavy corner of CES, is buzzing. The Las Vegas Convention Center halls are still packed as companies chase attention in a year when "physical AI" and robots dominate the narrative — and the show floor.
