Here’s everything you need to know about the big tech trade fair in January

2026 also begins with technology: from January 6th to 9th, the “most influential tech trade fair in the world” opens its doors in Las Vegas. (Image source: amolyus, Adobe Stock)

The tech year 2026 is starting with a bang again: CES (short for: CES) will take place in Las Vegas at the beginning of January. Consumer Electronics Show) instead of. At the beginning of each year, the standards for the coming year are set at the largest tech trade fair in the USA:

We’ll give you an overview of what you can look forward to at CES and in 2026.

CES 2026: This most influential tech event in the world

CES 2026 will take place in Las Vegas from January 6th to 9th, 2026. It may not be the largest technology trade fair in the world, but it is still probably one of the most important.

Well-known manufacturers will be giving their own keynotes from January 4th. Last year, Nvidia used the trade fair at the beginning of the year to publish its RTX 50 series.

Here you will find an overview of:

1. Computing and Hardware
2. TV and home entertainment
3. Smartphones
4. Autos
5. robotics
6. Artificial intelligence

1. Computing and Hardware

The major chip manufacturers use the CES for keynotes. This year, all major manufacturers have announcements in their luggage. According to Engadget’s Ian Carlos Campbell, here’s what we can expect to see in computing:

• Intel: Launch von Panther Lake The new chips are based on the modern 18A manufacturing process. The highlights include a significantly improved NPU for AI applications and the powerful new Xe3 graphics unit.
• AMD: Opening Keynote (Tuesday, January 6th at 3:30 a.m. CET) Rumors are growing that new high-end gaming CPUs will be unveiled here: the Ryzen 7 9850X3D and the flagship Ryzen 9 9950X3D are expected.
• Nvidia: Introducing the RTX 50 laptop GPUs
  Even if the rumors are about a presentation of the RTX 50 Superseries have cooled down, the launch of the mobile RTX 50 graphics cards for laptops is considered safe. Unlike the competition, Nvidia foregoes a single giant keynote and instead focuses on several themed events with a clear main focus on AI.
  

In addition, the first laptops will be available with the new ones Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite und X2 Elite Premium Chips expected to score points with improved speed and AI performance; particularly Lenovo According to Campbell, the focus will be on having its own large conference.

2. TV and home entertainment

The major manufacturers are also involved in televisions. CES veteran John McCann from Digitaltrends points to three manufacturers in particular:

3. Smartphones

The MWC in Barcelona in March will focus primarily on smartphones. However, well-known smartphone manufacturers such as Motorola, TCL and Sony are also represented at CES. Apple holds its own keynote speeches at its Apple events and is not traditionally represented at tech trade fairs.

One of the most exciting innovations: As Computerbase reports, Samsung will also be presenting the two-fold Galaxy Z Trifold for the Western market at CES. The company presented this in South Korea at the beginning of December.

4. Autos

Car manufacturers are also represented at the technology fair in Las Vegas. Stephen Edelstein from DigitalTrends doesn’t expect any groundbreaking innovations at CES, but sees a shift in focus: less sensational show cars, but more commercialization of vehicles that will actually appear in 2026.

In particular, Edelstein mentions here:

• Sony Honda Mobility: Shows the final Pre-Production-Afeela 1 versionwhich is particularly impressive thanks to the software supplied by Sony.
• BMW: Anticipated reveal of the uncamouflaged New class-Limousinewho as new i3 could start.

Hyundai will also be represented at CES, but the vehicle manufacturer is scheduled to take part in 2026 Atlas focus on robots rather than cars.

5. Robotics

The major vacuum robot manufacturers can also be expected at CES 2026: Dreame, Mova, SwitchBot and many more. One of the most exciting innovations: LG is introducing a vacuum robot with a permanently installed charging station. There is already one for that CES Innovation Award.

As with IFA 2025, we will certainly see some images of humanoid household robots from CES 2026. Also long-awaited in the field of robotics: Samsung’s AI robot Ballie. It was actually supposed to be presented in 2025 and according to 9to5Google it is still not ready for the market. We could at least expect an update here at CES 2026.

1:03

Ballie: Samsung is working with Google’s Gemini for the Star Wars-like robot

The secret star in the field of robotics is once again Nvidia: Physical AI is the slogan under which the company wants to teach robots a physical understanding of the world.

6. Artificial intelligence

Like pretty much every current tech trade fair, CES 2026 is completely dedicated to the buzzword artificial intelligence. There will hardly be an area in which manufacturers will not advertise improvements through AI.

In general, John McCann on DigitalTrends summarizes that the AI ​​area at CES generally highlights two aspects:

1. Agentic AI: Since the publication of ChatGPT, AI in consumer electronics has primarily meant the use of LLMs. For CES, McCann expects more of a focus on Agentic AI. He expects it to be analogous to the agent mode from OpenAI and other developers Devices that not only plan a trip, but also book the flights and reserve the table.
2. On-Device AI: A major point of criticism of AI products is the mass processing of personal data on foreign servers. Like the company Plaud.ai, the DigitalTrends analyst expects more AI products that process data locally and do not rely on a constant Internet connection.

Conclusion: The big manufacturers have a lot to show, but you can also look forward to curiosities

There are a lot of rumors in the run-up to the largest technology trade fair in the USA. New chips and processors, big keynotes, but you shouldn’t forget the little things and curiosities: Last year, strange and cute robots also caused a stir:

From a technology perspective, the year 2026 is starting with a bang. We’ll accompany this launch for you and keep you up to date with all the big highlights, the most important launches and of course the weirdest gadgets throughout the entire week of the trade fair.

What do you think about that? What are you particularly looking forward to at CES 2026? Write us your opinion and expectations in the comments!