CES 2026: Brands showcase AI-powered devices that offer personalised services

LAS VEGAS – Artificial intelligence (AI) may well be the buzzword of the moment, and consumer electronics brands are betting big that people will pay more for tech that learns and anticipates their needs.

From smartphones to robots and wearables for tracking one’s health, AI-powered tech was on full display during a media preview on Jan 4 of the 2026 edition of CES, the world’s largest annual tech trade show.

CES has been held in Las Vegas almost every January since 1998.

While the three-day trade event officially opens on Jan 6, some tech giants have already unveiled their latest AI-powered digital appliances, including Samsung with its smart refrigerators.

With a built-in camera, these voice-enabled refrigerators were previously able to distinguish 37 types of food items. But the latest generation can now identify “unlimited fresh and processed food items” with the help of Google’s Gemini large-language model.

In the TV space, Samsung and fellow South Korean firm LG are also competing to marry the latest screen technologies like Micro RGB – microscopic LED lights that enable finer control over brightness and colour – with AI smarts to improve the viewing experience.

This means one could soon ask his television to provide a recipe for the dish being shown, and even ask who would win a “live” soccer match, with the built-in AI then computing the match win probability in real time.

The annual show, organised by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), is expected to draw more than 4,000 exhibitors from across the world to several hotels and convention centres across the Las Vegas Strip.

CTA’s senior director of innovation and trends Brian Comiskey said that while AI is already being used widely for general purposes and within enterprises, brands are still finding more ways to innovate and attract consumers.

“Some of these that you’ll see at CES 2026 include agentic AI, which marks a fundamental shift from AI responding to prompts, to it taking initiative,” Mr Comiskey told the media in a session on upcoming tech trends.

For instance, the latest generation of smart fridges will be able to analyse a household’s food storage patterns, and make shopping list suggestions ahead of the next grocery run.

Elsewhere on the show floor on Jan 4 was a pair of smart glasses that comes with hearing aids on the side, which uses AI to amplify the voice of the person that the user is speaking to. Created by Chinese firm Shenzhen Cannice Technology, it also taps AI to reduce background noise.

Cocomo, a cat-like robot seen scooting across the ground created by Japanese start-up Ludens AI, is said to have an evolving personality and memory.

As a user continues to speak and play with it, Cocomo can learn about the user’s likes and dislikes, and adapt its behaviour accordingly.

CES is also when the semiconductor giants unveil their latest and greatest chips, and 2026 will be no exception.

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang is expected to share the upcoming AI road map for the world’s most valuable publicly traded company at a 90-minute keynote on the first day of the show, and this will be followed by announcements from chipmakers Intel and AMD on their respective next-generation processors.

Eyes will also be on Chinese laptop manufacturer Lenovo, which will be holding a high-profile event at The Sphere in Las Vegas – a giant orb-like arena – to detail the firm’s plans to “deliver smarter AI for all” through its devices.