The best of CES 2024

CES 2024 has come and gone, leaving a wealth of promising TVs, powerful computers and more AI-powered gadgetry than anyone realistically needs in its wake. The sheer number of new products revealed at this massive annual tech show is always overwhelming — and often filled with a lot of nonsense — which is why we’ve done the work to surface the stuff you might actually want to buy this year.

We spent several days and countless hours scouring the show floor, meeting with top tech brands and getting our hands on dozens of new products across categories such as TVs, laptops, smart home and beauty. Throughout our search, we factored in our own testing history with each brand, how a product stacks up to the competition and, barring some exceptions, favored items that are actually coming to stores soon. Bonus points for anything that was truly innovative and not just a flashy gimmick.

From stunning see-through televisions to immersive augmented reality glasses, here are our picks for the very best products of CES 2024.

At first, the LG Signature OLED T looked like just another excellent LG TV. But when the inky black background scrolled away, leaving just the bright fish swimming on a transparent pane, it was clear that the game had changed in 2024. We’re curious to see what it’s like in actual testing — we love OLED TVs for their rich contrast, which makes removing that black background a tricky play — but this set is the perfect TV to debut at CES. Tons of flash, an ambitious design and the offer of a new paradigm. Pricing and availability, of course, have yet to be revealed. — Henry T. Casey, electronics writer

Content creators have a new trick up their sleeves, thanks to Belkin and Apple. While it may look like a mere fancy MagSafe stand at first, the Auto-Tracking Stand Pro is actually your own personal little cameraperson. Its base rotates 360 degrees, its arm tilts 90 degrees up and down, and all that movement comes to life, thanks to Apple’s DockKit technology. Pair your iPhone once and its cameras (including all apps in iOS) will follow and track your face, and it will even try to frame multiple people in the shot. It’s reminiscent of Apple’s slick CenterStage tech, and it’s going to be so helpful for all kinds of things. — Henry T. Casey, electronics writer

While the Clicks iPhone keyboard entered CES with the most hype, Hyte’s Keeb won my heart. Not only do its proprietary Fluffy Lavender key switches feel super smooth to type on but its mesmerizing lighting provides a truly trippy and intense RGB experience. On top of offering fully remappable keys, the dual rollers in the top left corner can be customized to your heart’s delight. I love it so much that I’m not even bothered that it won’t be as customizable with Macs, as there’s a physical button for switching between color schemes. — Henry T. Casey, electronics writer

It takes guts to go after the Apple Vision Pro for a fraction of the price, which is why I’ve gotta hand it to the Xreal Air 2 Ultra. These $699 augmented reality glasses are being billed as a direct competitor to Apple’s much-hyped headset, and based on my impressive, “Minority Report”-like demo, could serve as a nice alternative for folks who don’t want to shell out $3,500 for immersive entertainment.

These futuristic glasses allowed me to flip through crisp-looking 3D movies, play around with digital objects and even control the smart home lighting in the room by simply tapping and pinching my way around a virtual space using natural hand gestures. You can also plug them into pretty much any phone, computer or even game console and enjoy a private 120-inch screen that you can take anywhere. I don’t expect the Air 2 Ultra to offer the same visual fidelity as the upcoming $3,500 Vision Pro, and much of its appeal will come down to what apps become available at launch, but it’s shaping up to be a promising alternative that won’t run you the price of a high-end computer. — Mike Andronico, senior tech writer

I didn’t expect that you could fit a dual 3K OLED display setup in a backpack, but CES reveals always tend to deliver the best kinds of surprises. Meet the newest Asus ZenBook Duo, which hides its second super-high-res screen under its keyboard. You pop off that keyboard deck to truly expand your screen, to get a rig that rivals most home desktop operations. We’ve seen dual-screen laptops for a while, but this design packs so many great tricks (including a kickstand mode) that we have the feeling it could be the model that makes these laptops a mainstream concern. We look forward to testing it more later this year. — Henry T. Casey, electronics writer

I’ve seen a metric ton of gaming laptops at CES 2024, but lots of them are simply last year’s models with faster processors and better screens. However, the Alienware M16 R2 manages to stand out from the pack by improving on its predecessor in some meaningful ways.

This slick 16-inch laptop completely slashes the thick thermal shelf in the back — something I’ve always found to be an unsightly quirk of an otherwise good laptop — resulting in an attractive and seamless design that’s 15% smaller than before without making any big sacrifices to power or connectivity. I also enjoyed demoing the laptop’s Stealth Mode, which lets you disable all that fancy RGB lighting and quiet down the fans with the tap of a button (perfect for when you’re entering a coffee shop or just want to save some battery). These are useful changes that go beyond the usual performance bumps, and have me especially eager to spend more time with this machine. — Mike Andronico, senior tech writer

After falling in love with our top ultrawide gaming monitor pick in the Alienware 34 Curved a few years back, it’s perhaps no surprise that I had a great time with the company’s new 4K option. This screen’s combo of immersive OLED color and tournament-ready gaming performance made Halo Infinite a delight to play during some heated multiplayer action, and it looked even better than before, thanks to that sharper 4K resolution. And as much as I love an ultrawide, the new lineup’s more conventional display sizes (including a more affordable 27-inch option) means that Alienware’s great QD-OLED screens can now fit into a wider range of gaming setups. — Mike Andronico, senior tech writer

The Razer Aether Monitor Light Bar is exactly what I look for in a CES gadget: It’s unique, it solves a real problem and it’s just plain fun. As its name implies, this $130 gadget sits atop your monitor to illuminate the front of your screen with your chosen blend of cool or warm light — something that can save you from eye strain if you game or stream for long hours in the dark.

But the real party is in the back, which is where you’ll find a full Razer Chroma RGB strip that can bathe your wall in a rainbow of customizable, colorful lighting that looked really slick during our eyes-on time. It even supports Matter, one of our best of CES 2023 picks, meaning it’ll play nice with your existing army of smart home gadgets for the ultimate glowy gaming setup. — Mike Andronico, senior tech writer

Too long have those lacking outdoor space been doomed to languish in a smokerless existence, but GE Profile, maker of the buzzy Opal Nugget Ice Maker 2.0, arrived at CES with a solution: the world’s first and only indoor smoker, available for purchase as of last week. Certainly a splurge at $999, the Smart Indoor Smoker boasts Active Smoke Filtration technology, along with tight gaskets and seals, to ensure all the smoke stays inside the appliance — I can attest that CES’ exhibition hall remained completely smoke-free.

Plus, achieving the perfect level of smokiness is a cinch with features like preset and adjustable smoke settings; separate heat sources for cooking food and burning wood pellets (speaking of pellets, it uses a fraction of the amount of pellets required by a traditional smoker); and, yes, app connectivity. With a footprint small enough to fit on a countertop and a capacity large enough to fit a whole chicken, brisket, pork butt, three racks of ribs and up to 40 wings, regular enjoyment of home-smoked meals feels more attainable than ever — no nice weather required.  — Chelsea Stone, editorial director

If you took one look at the L’Oréal AirLight Pro and thought “light-up Dyson Supersonic,” I wouldn’t blame you. The Supersonic has been pretty much the only high-end, high-tech hair dryer of note since its launch in 2016, but this year at CES, L’Oréal showed up ready to snatch the hair dryer throne with the announcement of its very splashy (and eerily familiar-looking) AirLight Pro — though the nozzleless design is where the similarities between the two dryers end. The AirLight Pro utilizes both high-speed wind and infrared light to dry water on the hair’s surface without stripping strands of their internal moisture. According to L’Oréal, the result is hair that’s smooth, hydrated and dried fast while using 31% less energy than other leading premium hair dryers. But perhaps most exciting is the sheer customizability of the dryer (not to mention several attachments — two were shown at the event, but I was told that a total of five would be available when the product hits salons and bathroom counters later this year). It boasts settings specific to a range of hair types, all of which can be controlled on the dryer and via a corresponding mobile app.

Though I wasn’t able to try the dryer on wet hair, I was impressed to feel the differences in air pressure and heat as I toggled between them and found the app to be surprisingly useful. The AirLight Pro is rolling out to professional stylists in France later this year but is expected to be available to the US public by fall at a competitive price point of $499. Perhaps Dyson’s days of hair dryer dominance are indeed numbered. — Chelsea Stone, editorial director

With so many standout products at CES 2024, not everything we liked was able to earn a top spot, but these came close. Here are some other highlights we’re excited to test out more later this year.

Best TV finalist

OLED’s Achilles’ heel has always been how its panels can be a bit too glossy and reflective because of their brightness levels. This is why we’re excited to test the Samsung S95D and its siblings to see how Samsung’s trying to remove glare from its panels, which the company previewed at the show of shows. — Henry T. Casey, electronics writer

Best accessory finalist

As someone who makes videos and covers noisy conventions for a living, I may be a bit biased, but the JBL Quantum Stream Wireless Microphone seems like a content creator’s dream. This plug-and-play mic makes capturing high-quality audio from your phone as simple as popping in a pair of AirPods — something I can vouch for, having used it on a busy CES show floor. — Mike Andronico, senior tech writer

Best keyboard finalist

I’ve always found Alienware’s gaming keyboards to be a bit gaudy for my tastes, but its new Pro series model is a beautifully minimalist piece of hardware I’d love to have on my desk. It certainly doesn’t hurt that its super-snappy switches felt great during some heated Halo action. — Mike Andronico, senior tech writer

Best AR/VR headset finalist

These discreet AR glasses stand out from the pack by offering a full-color navigation menu for snapping photos and bouncing between apps, something that felt fairly intuitive in my brief testing. This same tech — alongside hands-free photos and real-time translation features — will soon be coming to an even sleeker pair of frames in the RayNeo X2 Lite. — Mike Andronico, senior tech writer

Best laptop finalist

If you live in Windows and Android, as I’m sure many of you do, Lenovo’s excellent new 2-in-1 is a must-see. While it may look like a normal silver laptop at first, you can detach its screen to turn that panel into an Android tablet. — Henry T. Casey, electronics writer

Best gaming laptop finalist

We’ve always been fans of the ROG Zephyrus line, and this year’s iteration gets major props for finally making the jump to immersive OLED while also looking sleeker and more attractive than ever. — Mike Andronico, senior tech writer

Best gaming monitor finalist

I’ve tested tons of gaming monitors, but I’ve never seen one that hides a handy remote right in its base like the ViewSonic XG272 does. Spending less time fiddling with onboard controls is nice; having a rich 27-inch OLED screen with all the requisite gaming bells and whistles is even better. — Mike Andronico, senior tech writer

Best gaming hardware finalist

Seemingly everyone is making a handheld gaming PC these days, but the MSI Claw stands out in a few key ways. It’s one of the lightest high-end portables I’ve held so far, and it’s the first to offer a full-on Intel Core processor — something that allowed it to pump out impressive performance and stay cool when I tried some Assassin’s Creed Mirage on the go. — Mike Andronico, senior tech writer

Best headphones/earbuds finalist

EarFun has long made our favorite budget earbuds, which is why we’re excited to see the company make the leap into over-ear headphones with the enticingly priced $80 Wave Pro. These cans include a slick carrying case, promise up to 80 hours of battery life and offer active noise cancellation, the latter of which worked surprisingly well on a noisy CES show floor. — Mike Andronico, senior tech writer

Best home product finalist

I’ve never sought more from my shower head than the ability to, well, spray water, but Kohler is operating on a different plane of bathroom comfort and efficiency. This hand shower doubles (actually, quadruples) as a face brush, body brush, body scrubber and body massager, all of which can also detach from the handshower) — and it boasts a new microbubble setting for a supposedly deeper yet gentle cleanse that I’m dying to try for myself. — Chelsea Stone, editorial director

Best home product finalist

Corners have never been a robo vac’s strength, but Roborock’s new flagship model grew a FlexiArm to better reach those tight nooks and crannies in your home. This incredibly self-sufficient little guy also boasts the addition of a second mop head (it spins!), plus a dock that connects directly to your home’s drainage system. Most intriguing of all, there’s a camera on board that allows the vacuum to better recognize objects in its path — and allows you to stream the video to your smartphone, transforming the S8 Max V Ultra into a security camera on wheels (or just a babysitter for your pet). — Chelsea Stone, editorial director

Best home product finalist

Shaking your snoring partner is a thing of the past; this pillow will do it for you. The Motion Pillow detects snores, then locates your head and slowly inflates an airbag beneath it, causing you to gently turn to the side, which opens the airway and stops the snore. Sweet dreams indeed. — Chelsea Stone, editorial director

Best home product finalist

It’s not hard to improve on a piece of swinging plastic, but Pawport has truly changed the doggy-door game with an elegant steel-and-aluminum portal that fits over your existing pet door for a near instantaneous installation. Pawport opens up only when it detects the sensor affixed to your pup’s collar, and with its companion app, you can lock and unlock, track usage, set Fido’s curfew and monitor the backyard wanderings of multiple pets. — Chelsea Stone, editorial director

Best home product finalist

Later, generator. Anker’s moving on up from powering your phone to quietly powering your home up to a whopping 12,000W with the Solix F3800, a backup system that leaves fuel out of the equation. You can even use the Anker app to set charging to occur only when sunlight is strong or electricity rates are low for maximum energy savings. — Chelsea Stone, editorial director

Best home product finalist

Govee’s LED strip lights are some of our favorites, but at CES, we were impressed by the brand’s new game lighting that uses — you guessed it — AI to recognize in-game events like victories and damage and respond with some dazzling custom lighting effects. — Chelsea Stone, editorial director