TL;DR
CES 2026 opens in Las Vegas in early January with manufacturers revealing new laptops, smart-home appliances, audio gear, and niche phones. Coverage so far highlights a GE smart fridge with an integrated barcode scanner, LG’s ultralight Gram Pro laptops, Clicks’ keyboard accessories, Fender Audio’s new speakers and headphones, and Punkt’s MC03 privacy-focused phone.
What happened
The Consumer Electronics Show returns to Las Vegas in early January, with the show floor scheduled to open on Tuesday, January 6 for four days. Early announcements ahead of the main event included a range of consumer devices spanning appliances, laptops, audio, and phones. GE Appliances unveiled a Profile smart 4-door French-door refrigerator that integrates a barcode scanner in its water-dispensing area, an interior camera and an 8-inch tablet; it’s due in April at $4,899, $500 more than a comparable non-Kitchen Assistant model. LG teased its 2026 Gram Pro laptops, claiming the "world’s lightest 17-inch RTX laptop" and a new Aerominum chassis material; the Gram Pro 17 will pair a 2,560 x 1,600 display with an Nvidia RTX 5050 laptop GPU. Clicks showed two QWERTY accessories — a magnetic Power Keyboard with a 2,150mAh battery and a separate Communicator device with its own cellular connection. Fender Audio introduced ELIE portable speakers that can mix up to four audio sources and Mix wireless headphones with a user-replaceable battery. Punkt’s MC03 phone was revealed with a 6.67-inch 120Hz OLED, a 5,200mAh user-replaceable battery, AphyOS based on AOSP 15, and an initial subscription model that is free for one year then $12 per month.
Why it matters
- Smart-home appliances are adding more integrated scanning, vision and tablet interfaces, pointing to tighter ties between kitchens and digital shopping workflows.
- Laptop makers are prioritizing lighter materials and thin-and-light performance trade-offs rather than raw gaming power for larger displays.
- Modular and repairable design elements — removable batteries, replaceable parts, and modular audio/headphone components — are becoming more prominent.
- Niche accessories and single-purpose devices (physical QWERTY peripherals, minimalist companion phones) are being marketed to users who want focused experiences or legacy features.
- Audio products are expanding beyond fidelity and ANC to include modularity, long battery life, and multi-source mixing capabilities.
Key facts
- CES 2026 show floor opens January 6 and runs for four days.
- GE Profile Smart 4-Door French-Door Refrigerator with Kitchen Assistant includes a barcode scanner in the water dispenser, interior camera, and 8-inch tablet; launches in April for $4,899.
- LG’s Gram Pro 17 (17Z90UR) will use a new 'Aerominum' material and pairs a 2,560 x 1,600 display with an Nvidia RTX 5050 laptop GPU that has 8GB of VRAM.
- Clicks’ Power Keyboard integrates a 2,150mAh battery, supports MagSafe and Qi2 charging, and connects as a Bluetooth keyboard; Clicks says users can preserve battery capacity for keyboard use.
- Clicks’ Communicator is a separate QWERTY device with its own cellular connection, interchangeable back plates, headphone jack, physical mute switch, microSD expansion, and a $499 price.
- Fender Audio’s ELIE portable speakers come in two sizes, can pair into stereo or sync up to 100 units, and can play audio from up to four sources concurrently including Bluetooth and a wired instrument input.
- Fender Audio’s Mix headphones are modular with a user-replaceable battery, promise up to 52 hours with ANC on (and up to 100 hours without ANC), and will start at $299.99.
- Punkt’s MC03 is built with a 6.67-inch 120Hz OLED, user-replaceable 5,200mAh battery, MediaTek 7300 chipset, IP68 rating, AphyOS (AOSP 15), three OS upgrades and five years of security updates; first year of software subscription included, then $12/month.
What to watch next
- Exact weight and full performance figures for the LG Gram Pro 17 — not confirmed in the source.
- Real-world active noise cancellation performance of Fender’s Mix headphones compared with class leaders — not confirmed in the source.
- Complete brightness and additional specs for Samsung’s Freestyle Plus beyond the partial lumen figure mentioned — not confirmed in the source.
- Hands-on impressions and long-term battery/ durability testing for modular designs such as Fender’s replaceable batteries and Punkt’s user-replaceable phone battery.
Quick glossary
- RTX (Nvidia RTX): A family of Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) designed for hardware-accelerated ray tracing and other graphics and compute tasks in laptops and desktops.
- OLED: Organic Light-Emitting Diode display technology where each pixel emits its own light, allowing for high contrast ratios and deep blacks.
- ANC (Active Noise Cancellation): A headphone feature that uses microphones and processing to generate counteracting sound waves to reduce incoming ambient noise.
- MagSafe / Qi2: Magnetic wireless charging standards for mobile devices; MagSafe is Apple’s magnetic alignment system and Qi2 is an evolving wireless charging specification.
- IP68: An ingress protection rating indicating strong resistance to dust and protection against prolonged immersion in water under specified conditions.
Reader FAQ
When does CES 2026 take place?
The show floor opens Tuesday, January 6 and runs for four days.
Is LG’s Gram Pro 17 a gaming laptop?
LG pairs the Gram Pro 17 with an RTX 5050 GPU aimed at content creation and graphics tasks, but the company says it should not be considered a dedicated gaming laptop.
How much does the GE Profile smart fridge cost and when does it ship?
The GE Profile Smart 4-Door refrigerator will launch in April for $4,899, which is $500 more than a comparable non-Kitchen Assistant model.
Are Fender Mix headphones’ ANC performance and durability independently verified?
Not confirmed in the source.
LIVEUpdated Today, Jan 3, 2026, 1:00 PM UTC CES 2026: all the news, gadgets, and innovations from the biggest tech show by Verge Staff 0 0 Comments Hot on the…
Sources
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