Best of CES 2024: The 23 top gadgets
We all knew going into CES 2024 that AI was going to be a huge theme, but artificial intelligence was so prevalent at this year’s show it became dizzying. It seemed that every single product had AI inside, from AI bird feeders and snore tracking pillows to TVs and even NPCs within games.
So which gadgets actually lived up to the hype? Tom’s Guide’s editors met with dozens of companies and went hands on with lots of new products to bring you our Best of CES 2024 list. LG’s transparent OLED was all the buzz for its stunning design, and our editors loved the new Weber Summit Smart Grill. But smaller companies impressed, too, such as Rabbit R1 AI handheld that can automate all sorts of tasks.
Here are the best gadgets we saw at CES 2024.
Best in Show: Rabbit R1
I mean, this was kind of inevitable right? In a sea of companies stuffing LLMs into any and all products without rhyme or reason, the Rabbit R1 is a revolution in actionable AI — packed into a neat design from the geniuses at Teenage Engineering.
Available for just $199, this charming little piece of hardware is not supposed to replace your phone. Instead, it’s set to do certain tasks a whole lot smarter and actually be a useful assistant, and it all comes down to the Large Action Model. This patented tech learns how to interact with websites and apps to fulfill various tasks, and it pairs with the built-in LLM to not only give you advice, but do what you want, too. Put simply, this is a breakthrough. – Jason England
Best Design: LG Signature OLED T
There are OLED TVs, and then there are OLED TVs you can stick your hand behind and see through. The LG Signature OLED T is nothing short of a design feat, so it’s no wonder the set and its split contrast screen stole headlines at CES 2024. As a prototype-turned-real-product (remember, we first saw a transparent OLED concept last show), the LG Signature OLED T demonstration LG brought to this year felt near ready for living rooms.
In fact, the Signature OLED T feels like the culmination of a lot of things LG has been working on in recent years. It even has the Zero Connect Box like on the wireless M-series OLED. It’s important to have a super clean-looking setup if you’re getting a TV like this, as you wouldn't want anything to compromise the effect. LG even thought to build a cabinet that houses the system like home decor. That attention to detail is precisely what we look for in our Best Design category. — Kate Kozuch
Best VR/AR: Xreal 2 Ultra
After making a splash in the AR glasses market with the Xreal Air 2 and providing us with a glimpse of what spatial computing could be like on a pair of specs, the company has fully committed to taking on the likes of Apple Vision Pro and Meta Quest 3 with the Xreal Air 2 Ultra.
The line between AR specs and VR headsets has truly been blurred — thanks to those dual 3D cameras up front. These allow for mapping your surroundings and even hand tracking, and it’s all possible in a rather luxurious-looking pair of sunglasses. Make no mistake about it, this is what real progress looks like in this field. Top it all off with a wider viewing angle through the 1080p OLED displays and you’ve got something great for not just long-distance travel but using at home, too. – Jason England
Best TV: Samsung S95D OLED TV
We saw dozens of TVs at CES, from modest updates to popular sets, to mind-bending concepts that’ll never see the light of day. Our favorite overall TV of CES 2024, the Samsung S95D OLED TV lands somewhere in the middle, following up one of the best TVs we reviewed last year in a way that feels more innovative than iterative. That’s thanks to what Samsung calls OLED Glare Free Technology.
The set has more of a matte finish that stands up to harsh ambient lighting conditions. We got to see it side by side with a so-called conventional OLED, and the anti-glare treatment made a clear difference. It seems like Samsung took it’s learnings from the Frame (which has also been updated this year) and gambled on it for OLED, and for us, it paid off. For more, see all the best TVs of CES 2024. — Kate Kozuch
Best TV Innovation: Hisense UX 110
The Hisense UX 110-inch Mini-LED TV is a true feat of engineering. Not only is the screen size significantly larger than anything we’re used to seeing, but its reported specs are significantly higher than any other TV on the market right now. According to Hisense, the largest version of the UX can reach a peak brightness of 10,000 nits and uses 40,000 local dimming zones. It can cover 100% of the DCI-P3 color spectrum and comes with a built-in 4.2.2-channel Dolby Atmos sound system.
To hit these numbers, Hisense had to overcome two relatively huge challenges. The first issue is that UX needed a method of controlling all those local dimming zones, and the second is that UX needed a way to deal with all the heat that’s put out by the Mini-LED panel. The first problem Hisense solved by using its Hi-View Engine X that implements a 16-bit AI neural chipset to enable object-based upscaling. To overcome the heating problem, it installed a ventilation system in the back of the screen and a massive heat sink to keep things nice and cool. In a show that’s all about going above and beyond what’s already possible, the Hisense UX is truly a next-generation Mini-LED TV. — Nick Pino
Best TV Value: TCL QM7 Mini-LED TV
In a perfect world, we’d all be able to buy a cutting-edge TV for pennies on the dollar. Unfortunately, the more advanced the TV, the higher the price tag is. Thankfully, TCL’s new QM7 model really bucks that trend by implementing a Mini-LED lighting system that can reach upwards of 2,000 nits and offers up to 1,300 zones on its largest model (a massive 98-inch TV). Mind you, in the past, the Q7 series has sold for just a few hundred dollars — and it’s very likely that the QM7 will follow suit.
At a show all about the latest and greatest technology, we love seeing some good value TVs pop up, so for us to see this level of performance in a TV that could cost less than a PS5 is truly wow-worthy. — Nick Pino
Best Laptop: HP Omen Transcend 14
The HP Omen Transcend 14 is a gaming laptop that doesn’t look the part. Though it sports RGB lighting on its keyboard, you could easily mistake the Transcend 14 for an ultraportable. In fact, HP is marketing it as “the world’s lightest 14-inch gaming laptop.” It’s a fetching machine that won’t look out of place at the office.
Other than its design, the HP Omen Transcend 14 separates itself from the best gaming laptops by packing a Meteor Lake chip. This processor’s NPU can handle the processing necessary to run a streaming application like OBS while the laptop’s CPU and GPU can focus solely on whatever game you’re playing. This could be a selling point for those who stream to platforms like Twitch.
The HP Omen Transcend 14 makes a strong case for AI laptops. But even outside of that, it’s a sleek and elegant device that’s ideal for anyone looking for a solid Windows 11 laptop. — Tony Polanco
Best 2-in-1 Laptop: Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid
The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid is a 2-in-1 laptop in the most literal sense — and one of the 9 best laptops of CES 2024. Its display is a fully functional Android tablet while its keyboard base (hybrid station) is a Windows 11 laptop featuring an Intel Meteor Lake CPU. Most 2-in-1 laptops basically give you a Windows 11 machine in two form factors. Because the ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 Hybrid is an Android and Windows in one, it’s one of the most unique devices of CES 2024.
You can snap off the display to use it as an Android tablet while the hybrid station is connected to an external monitor. You can also switch between Android and Windows modes with the press of a button. That means you can use the keyboard and touchpad to play the best Android games or use any Android application. Though somewhat pricey at $1,999, the ThinkBook Plus Gen 5 seems like a great value for what it offers. — Tony Polanco
Best Fitness Wearable: Amazfit Helio Ring
The Oura Ring has proved very popular among those who want to gain better insights into their health and sleep, but Amazfit’s new Helio Ring is taking that idea one step further. When you wear the Helio in conjunction with one of Amazfit’s fitness trackers, it can better analyze your daily activity to provide smarter insights on how much you should rest, and the right kind of recovery, before you pick up those weights or go for a run again.
To help you get a better night’s sleep, Amazfit is also using an AI that will play ambient sounds through your smartphone, and then adjust the audio based on the data it collects from the Helio Ring as you doze. Given that we expect other heavyweights like Samsung to also jump into the smart ring market, it’s pretty smart for Amazfit to show up first with a potentially less expensive option. — Mike Prospero
Best Health Tech: Withings Beamo
We’re still a long way from carrying a Star Trek-style tricorder with us, but the Withings Beamo might just be the first step. This small handheld device — about the size of a stubby highlighter — is capable of measuring your body temperature and blood oxygen saturation, provides medical-grade ECG readings, and serves a digital stethoscope for monitoring heart and lung functions.
According to Withings, the BeamO can pick up signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib), blood oxygen desaturation, heart murmurs, asthma, COPD and more, and then share those results with a healthcare professional via your smartphone. Users can even stream their stethoscope audio directly to a doctor during telehealth appointments. While Withings is still waiting for FDA approval, it hopes to ship the device by the summer. — Mike Prospero
Best Robot: Samsung Ballie
Yes, Samsung has shown off a previous Ballie robot before, but the new Ballie at CES 2024 is different. Now it has built-in AI that helps it greet you at the door and control various smart home devices. But the coolest addition is a built-in projector that can beam content on the floor, walls and even your ceiling.
This includes welcome messages, workout videos (complete with your heart rate from your Samsung watch) and video calls. Hopefully Ballie is more than just a concept this time around, because it’s a robot I’d like to try out in my own home. For more, see all the best AI gadgets at CES 2024. — Mark Spoonauer
Best Gaming Peripheral: Serafim S3 mobile game controller
The Backbone One has been one of the best mobile game controllers for years — thanks to its ideal combo of comfortable-to-use hardware and slick software experience. But it wasn’t perfect, and that’s where the Serafim S3 hits hard for critical damage by fixing the Backbone’s key problems.
Namely, these come down to three things. First, the hand grips can be customized with various sizes to accommodate bigger hands. Second, joystick drift has been eliminated as hall effect sensors are in use here. And finally, you get virtually the same full software suite of in-game capture and a slick UI without needing to pay a subscription fee. — Jason England
Best Gaming Laptop: Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
This year’s Zephyrus G14 is all about refinements to the formula that put this 14-inch beast atop our best gaming laptops list. Instead of the Anime Matrix display looking kinda cringe, a single slash of lighting brings a premium look and feel to the far more refined aluminum shell. And while this model is upgradeable to an RTX 4070 rather than last year’s 4090, it more than makes up for it with a stunning OLED display and solid improvements to the keyboard and touchpad experience.
In fact, with these small tweaks, I would argue that the ROG Zephyrus G14 has bigger competition in mind than simply gaming laptops. With a vibrant new screen and prosumer-esque looks, the 14-inch MacBook Pro should be getting nervous right now. — Jason England
Best Appliance: LG Smart WashCombo
LG has come out with a dual washer and dryer that might actually do the trick — and save you money in the process. The LG Smart WashCombo promises to do a full load of laundry in less than two hours, thanks to LG’s Inverter HeatPump technology as well as built-in intelligence that can analyze not just what kinds of clothes you put in the washer, but how dirty they are.
Even better: The SmartWash Combo is a ventless dryer, and it runs on 120V, so you can plug it in anywhere and don’t have to worry about running a duct outside. And did we mention it uses 60% less energy than its vented counterparts? — Mike Prospero
Best Grill: Weber Summit Smart Grill
If any one product will make you ready for barbecue season, it's Weber's new flagship gas grill. While we saw tons of smart grills and smokers at CES 2024, the Weber Summit smart gas grill has enough cool features and cooking functions to turn you into the ultimate backyard host, if you weren't one already. There are two elements that elevate the latest Weber Summit unit from your stereotypical grill. First, it offers a top-down infrared broiler unlike anything you'll find in the current grill market; and second, it's powered by a digital control system that makes grilling more modern.
Once the grill is ignited, all the settings can be managed on the Weber Connect smartphone app. That way, you can track the cook temperatures from the built-in probes without standing over the grill. For us, that means we can enjoy more quality time with our guests while still grilling up a great meal. — Kate Kozuch
Best Smart Home Device: Abode Edge Outdoor security camera
Until now, most of the best home security cameras have had a major limitation: They couldn’t be used beyond the range of your Wi-Fi router, so you’d be lucky if you could place one 400 feet away. But what if you could use a camera up to 1.5 miles away, without needing to pay for cellular service? That’s the bold claim made by the Abode Edge Outdoor Security Cam, the first to use what’s known as WiFi HaLow, a flavor of Wi-Fi that has less throughput, but much greater range and much less power consumption.
Even if you don’t have a property as big as Versailles, the Abode Edge Camera could also be useful in areas of your house or property where your Wi-Fi signal is weak. Of course, you’ll need Abode’s home security system to use this $199 camera, which could give the DIY home security company a competitive advantage over its rivals. For more, see our best smart home gadgets of CES 2024 roundup. — Mike Prospero
Best Audio/Headphones: JBL Live TWS 3
What good is a pair of fancy new true wireless earbuds if they don’t have a great case to go with them? The JBL Live TWS 3 takes the 1.45-inch LED touchscreen charging case from the JBL Tour Pro 2 and matches it up with the new Live TWS 3 earbuds. With the touchscreen, there’s no need to take out your phone when listening to music — you can control the music or access the settings straight from the charging case.
Even better, the Live 3 will have access to Bluetooth 5.3 with LE (available via a later OTA update) and supports multipoint connections. JBL’s also improved the battery life compared to its older models, and the Live TWS 3 are IP55-rated against water and dust.
So they’re going to be pretty expensive, right? Not really. JBL plans to release the Live TWS 3 in mid-June of this year for $199 / ￡179 / €199. For more, see all the best audio products at CES 2024. — Nick Pino
Best Phone Accessory: Belkin Auto Tracking Stand Pro
The Belkin Auto Tracking Stand Pro is the best mobile accessory we found at CES 2024. Essentially, it's a battery-powered iPhone mount that unlocks a lesser-known iOS 17 feature, and it's super convenient for recording content. There are iPhone stands before with face-tracking, but they all have the same issue: they need to be paired to the product's companion app in order to actually capture any content.
The Belkin Auto Tracking Stand Pro eliminates this friction by letting you use it while you record in the iPhone's native camera app. That’s because it leverages the DockKit developer SDK that launched in iOS 17. The device can also run on battery power for up to five hours, so it can be brought on the go for content capture, too. — Kate Kozuch
Best Monitor: Alienware 32 4K OLED monitor
The Alienware 32 4K QD-OLED is one of the best monitors of CES 2024 … if not the best. Billed as the world’s fastest 4K OLED monitor, the Alienware 32 makes any game you’re playing — from the best PC games, best PS5 games and best Xbox Series X games look and run at their best.
Minute details come through in crystal clarity thanks to the panel’s 140 PPI (pixels per inch), which is the highest of any existing OLED gaming monitor (most max out at 100 PPI). Alienware claims the display can achieve 99% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which accounts for the lush colors. On top of that, the 240Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time ensure games run buttery smooth. If you’re like me and loved 2022’s Alienware 34 QD-OLED, you’re going to adore the new Alienware 32. — Tony Polanco
Best Router: TP-Link Archer GE800
After unveiling its first Wi-Fi 7 routers at CES last year, this year TP-Link has launched its first gaming router with support for the latest wireless standard. The TP-Link Archer GE800 is a tri-band Wi-Fi 7 gaming router that looks the part with immersive RGB lighting on its sides but it also packs in plenty of networking power for even the most serious gamers and can reach download speeds of up to 19 Gbps.
At the back, you’ll find two 10 gigabit ports along with four 2.5 gigabit ports and a USB 3.0 port for moving data from a flash or hard drive across your network. However, one of these 2.5 gigabit ports is actually dedicated to gaming. When you connect a gaming PC, laptop or console to this port, their traffic will be automatically prioritized so you can focus on your favorite game instead of fighting with other devices on your home network for bandwidth. — Anthony Spadafora
Best Rideable: Segway GoKart Pro 2
Segway’s GoKarts are hella fun — they can hit speeds of up to 22 miles per hour, and even have a handbrake so you can do spinouts and drift through corners. But they’ve had one big limitation: You can’t drive them around when the weather’s bad. The Segway GoKart Pro 2 solves that — in a way. On rainy days, or times when it’s just too cold to take a drive, you can pair the GoKart with a gaming console, and use its steering wheel and pedals as a controller for driving games. Even better: haptics have been built into the GoKart, so when your video game car hits a rough patch, you’ll feel it in the seat of your pants.
When you’re out on the track IRL, you can cruise at 26.7 miles per hour, faster than previous models, and paddle shifters on the steering wheel give you even more control over the GoKart’s performance. For even more realism, a detachable Bluetooth speaker can play the sounds of a single-cylinder, dual-cylinder, V8 or V12 engine to get you revving as fast as the GoKart. This was one gadget at CES that we didn’t want to stop testing. — Mike Prospero
Best AI: Nvidia AI NPC
Have you ever gotten tired of hearing NPCs in video games spout the same repeated lines of dialogue? What if they actually responded like actual people and could hold a conversation? That’s something gamers have long asked for and are about to receive thanks to Nvidia ACE.
Nvidia demoed its AI platform Avatar Cloud Engine (ACE) at CES 2024 and I got to try it myself. In a cyberpunk bar setting, I asked the NPC Nova what components I should buy in a PC, and she (not surprisingly) suggested an Nvidia RTX 40-series GPU. When I asked her what was in her rig, she said an RTX 4080 with 32GB of RAM. She got cheeky with me when I asked why she didn’t have 64GB — saying that much RAM was overkill.
Nvidia said it’s creating digital avatars that use ACE technologies in collaboration with top game developers including Charisma.AI and NetEase Games. AI NPCs might not become ubiquitous for years, but it’s cool to get a glimpse of the future with this demo. — Tony Polanco
Best Accessibility tech: Wheely-X home cardio trainer
Wheelchair users like me can often find it difficult to exercise since most gym equipment is designed for able-bodied people. Wheelchair treadmills (or similar devices) exist but I’ve never seen one I’d like to use. Thankfully, a chance encounter with Kangsters at CES 2024 showed me a device I’d love to own — the Wheely-X.
The main body consists of two thin ramps and rollers that keep your wheels in place as you roll. What makes the Wheely-X unique is that you can play exercise video games when it’s connected to a computer and monitor. I played a wheelchair racing game where I competed against NPCs on a race track (I won, if you must know). Another demo had me wheeling an avatar over ice … which was a bit trickier.
The Wheely-X is available now for $2,595. That’s not cheap, but if it can help wheelchair users stay in shape (and do so by playing some games), I think the price is more than reasonable. — Tony Polanco
