CES 2026: Smart Legos, laundry-folding robots, singing candy and bionic pandas debut at tech fest | Latest Tech News
CES, the annual shindig for techies in Las Vegas, has kicked off this week with the latest and biggest in robots, gadgets and toys coming in 2026.
From laundry-folding robot butlers to fancy alarm clocks and lollipops that play music in your head, right here’s a rundown of some of the top hits from the first two days of the confab.
A laundry-folding robot
LG unveiled its take on the humanoid butler robot with CLOiD, which it claims can be in a position to load a washer or dryer, stack and fold garments, toast a croissant in the oven and fetch milk from the fridge.
LG’s CLOiD robot takes a towel from Brandt Varner, vice president of gross sales and home home equipment, during CES. AP
CLOiD – which goals to create a “zero labor home” – boasts two five-fingered palms, absolutely articulated arms that can transfer and bend and the flexibility to communicate and mimic facial expressions on its black-screen face.
But when it took the stage in Vegas, CLOiD took its time — an agonizing 30 seconds to take a towel from Brandt Varner, vice president of gross sales and home home equipment, and throw it into the washer. It did handle to fold a dish rag — which an LG exec gushed was a “holy grail” in home robotics — but we shudder to suppose how long we’d wait for a load of laundry to get put away.
CLOiD was equally deliberate when it got here to pulling the milk from the fridge, and frankly, we had been a bit involved he was going to drop it. It’s unclear when or if CLOiD can be out there to buy, though LG signaled a potential to join the bot to other LG good home devices.
This bot can elevate 110 kilos
Perhaps more spectacular than CLOiD was “Atlas,” the humanoid bot unveiled this week by Boston Dynamics, the longtime creator of famously creepy robot canine. The life-size Atlas rose to its toes after slumping on the stage like — effectively, a pile of laundry. It then swiftly strutted around the stage with odd-but-graceful actions that included rotating its torso 360 levels.
Robotics firm Boston Dynamics performed the first-ever live demonstration of its “Atlas” humanoid robot. Boston Dynamics
The firm claims Atlas can elevate up to 110 kilos, but the bot didn’t do any heavy labor during the demonstration. Instead, it waved to the group in a strikingly elegant method that recalled Queen Elizabeth II.
Hyundai plans to deploy Atlas at a manufacturing plant close to Savannah, Ga., by 2028.
Samsung’s foldable telephone
Samsung’s foldable handheld was one of the buzzier gadgets to be unveiled at CES. As its identify suggests, the Trifold is a cross between a conventional smartphone and a pill with three foldable panels – permitting customers to modify the dimensions of the screen based on their need and store it simply in their pocket.
Despite having the “biggest battery Samsung has ever had in a foldable phone,” the Trifold is just 3.9 mm thick at its thinnest level.
Samsung’s foldable handheld was one of the buzzier gadgets to be unveiled at CES. AFP via Getty Images
The system doesn’t have a US release date yet, but it’s anticipated to value at least $2,500 when it formally hits the market.
Your canine wants a telephone, too
How younger is just too younger for a mobile phone? What if it’s in canine years?
Now you possibly can cough up $90 for a PetPhone that attaches to your canine or cat’s collar to observe their location, play calming music and even permit two-way telephone calls.
There’s also a small digital camera system that homeowners can buy and connect to the PetPhone so they’ll see what their pets see as they roam the home, root through the laundry – or nap on the sofa.
GlocalMe fees $90 for a PetPhone that attaches to your canine or cat’s collar.
With a single faucet in the GlocalMe app, homeowners can call their pets and command them to calm down, come home or merely say hi there. Jack Russell homeowners beware – if the pet jumps thrice in 60 seconds, it will probably call its proprietor.
Singing candy
For a candy deal with and a candy tune at the same time, attempt the LolliPop Star – a lollipop that performs music in your head once you chunk down on the candy.
It makes use of vibrations from the lollipop stick that go from your cranium’s bones to your internal ear to create sound that only you possibly can hear.
The Lollipop Star makes use of vibrations to create sound that only you possibly can hear. Instagram/@engadget
Lava, the company behind the musical deal with, is at present partnering with three pop artists to use their music: offering a peach taste for Ice Spice, blueberry for Akon and lime for Armani White. It plans to launch the candies soon for $9 a pop.
But there’s no sugarcoating it: social media customers had been fast to mock the outdated bone conduction technology, which was also used in kids’s toothbrushes from Hasbro in the early 2000s to play two-minute tunes while youngsters brushed their tooth.
Fuzzy bionic pandas
There’s a new cuddly robot companion on the market: AI-powered bionic panda cub An’An from Mind With Heart Robotics. The fuzzy black-and-white bot goals to present companionship for aged people with cognitive decline or youngsters struggling with social expertise.
More than 10 sensor suites throughout the bot help it reply to human contact, mimicking the conduct of a real panda cub with mild hugs and nudges. It also learns to reply to particular person voice and behavioral patterns.
AI-powered bionic panda cub An’An from Mind With Heart Robotics is a companion for aged people or youngsters struggling with social expertise. X/@MWHRobotics
An’An also comes with a devoted app to handle duties and set reminders – though fiddling with a telephone app won’t be the most user-friendly option for aged sufferers with mental decline.
A wiser Lego
Lego is trying to push forward into the digital age of play with its Smart Brick – basically an total pc system squeezed into a 2×4 Lego Brick. It’s an attempt by the toy giant, recognized for its colourful plastic bricks, to keep up with the occasions while persevering with to offer no-screen play.
The Smart Brick is loaded with a custom-made chip measuring smaller than a single Lego stud. AP
A Lego piece that appears like a car with a Smart Brick hooked up. AP
The Smart Brick – which is loaded with a custom-made chip measuring smaller than a single Lego stud – will make its debut March 1 as half of a new Star Wars assortment.
When paired with Smart Minifigures and Tags, like Minifigs of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, the Smart Brick can add context-appropriate interactive sound and lights to the Lego building expertise.
Lego said the battery will work even after years of inactivity, but will be juiced up by wi-fi charging.
Color-changing sun shades
Here’s a high-tech take on Seventies fader sun shades: With these, you don’t need the solar to make the lenses go darkish.
Instead, eyewear startup Povec unveiled frames that permit customers to modify the extent of tint with a contact of the finger. The electrochromic technology is aimed at offering flexibility for outside athletes like skiers and cyclists when they’re in the weather.
Povec unveiled frames that permit customers to modify the extent of tint with a contact of their finger. TikTok/@timothybw
If that appears like a cool look, bear in mind that you can be paying designer costs: Povec told tech outlet Mashable that the glasses, anticipated to launch in May, will retail for $250 to $300.
An anti-doomscrolling system
Ambient’s Dreamie is a new alarm clock with an LED gentle that step by step lightens to a shiny yellow to simulate a dawn, making for a more calming wake-up expertise – related to the Hatch clock and other dawn alarm clocks on the market.
Ambient’s Dreamie is a new alarm clock with an LED gentle that step by step lightens to a shiny yellow to simulate a dawn. Ambient
But the Dreamie is way smaller than the competitors — it will probably match into the palm of your hand. It also doesn’t require an app for use or setup – permitting customers to absolutely unplug before mattress.
There is a round touchscreen on one end of the clock, where you possibly can set alarms and select from a library of calming music. There’s a built-in speaker, but the clock is also Bluetooth suitable so it may be paired with wi-fi headphones.
Still, it retails for $249.99, a pricetag that’s richer than rivals by at least $80.
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