The 2018 edition of CES, the world’s largest extravaganza of consumer electronics, concluded on Jan 12th.The event saw a wide range of products and solutions launched with much fanfare.
The event is also very important because it sets the tone of how the schedule for new gadgets launched this year will be. Below, we’ve rounded up some of the biggest, best, and most innovative products shown off at CES 2018.
Sony’s Aibo
Sony’s iconic robotic dog Aibo can now dance, find a bone and recognize people in your family. The Japanese electronics company showed off Aibo’s new tricks at CES 2018 in Las Vegas last week. The revamped version of the robotic dog, which Sony first launched in the 1990s, costs ¥198,000 (about $1,740). Pre-orders began in November, and it will start shipping in Japan next week. The company though hasn’t said when it might become available in other countries.
Razer’s Linda Project
Razer has always brought something new and innovative at CES each year. And this year was no different. The company this year announced Project Linda – a companion device to the Razer phone that looks like a laptop but is basically just a shell that extends the functionality of the smartphone. This concept device is powered by the Razer phone through a special cradle and connected via USB Type-C port. Once inserted, the device technically becomes an Android laptop. It has its own display, a laptop-sized RGB keyboard and battery. When in place, the Razer phone’s display acts as a trackpad to the Android laptop.
LG InstaView ThinQ Refrigerator
The InstaView ThinQ refrigerator is compatible with the LG SmartThinQ app so you can create and instantly share shopping lists and upload photos between your smartphone and refrigerator. You can use the app to remotely check on the contents of your refrigerator, including what’s in the door anytime, anywhere. The refrigerator comes with LG’s Bluetooth audio speakers that are hidden seamlessly on top of the refrigerator so the whole family can stream music wirelessly.
Lenovo Smart Display
Designed to sit on a kitchen counter or a bedroom or living room table, the Lenovo Smart Display features a screen and speaker as well as a microphone to accept user questions and commands. Similar to Google Home, the display will play music, do Google searches, and show recipes. In addition, since it has a screen as well as a speaker, you can play videos from YouTube and other sources and present information both visually and audibly.
Dell XPS 13
Dell announced new and exciting products at the show. The company also announced improvements in their XPS line and the one that got a lot of attention is the new Dell XPS 13 9370 with 8th generation Intel processor. The new XPS 13 is thinner (11.6mm) and lighter (2.67lbs) than its predecessor. It’s powered by the latest Intel Core i7 processor (8th gen) with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage. The laptop has a smaller footprint due to thinner bezels (4mm) with the 13.3-inch display sporting 4K resolution.
Samsung’s ‘The Wall’
Samsung has created a truly gigantic TV for home use that measures a staggering 10 feet in width and almost 6 feet in height. The monster-sized television, appropriately named “The Wall”, features a different technology than traditional LED-based LCD TVs. It uses something called MicroLED which is based on Samsung’s Cinema Screen technology, making it modular in design. Meaning, it can be made even bigger than its current 146-inch size if the user so desires.
Omron Forpheus
Japanese electronics company OMRON showcased its Guinness World Record-holding ping pong playing robot, Forpheus. The robot comes with innovative technology that embodies the world of ‘harmony’, where machines bring out human ability. Forpheus uses a three-camera system that identifies the ball and evaluates players. cameras mounted on the left and right of the robot allow it to identify ping-pong balls in a 3D space in an identical way to the human visual system. The ball’s location is detected up to 80 times per second. in addition to the two side cameras, Forpheus has a third central camera which is used to evaluate the player and, based on their movements, judge their ability level.
Sandisk 1TB USB-C OTG Flash Drive
Western Digital showed a prototype of a 1TB USB-C OTG flash drive for smartphones, the world’s smallest of its kind. SanDisk’s new flash drive is smaller, faster and uses the new USB Type-C standard, compared to similar products on the market. This is just a prototype for now.
Kohler Numi Intelligent Toilet
Kohler’s Numi is an intelligent toilet equipped with colored lighting, music functionality, a heated seat, and a foot warmer. You can control each of these settings to your specifications through KOHLER Konnect, voice command, or motion. Kohler’s PureWarmth toilet seat will heat your bottom as you do your business. And with the company’s Touchless Flush technology, you can flush via motion sensor.
Lenovo MIIX 630 2-in-1
Lenovo has finally announced its first laptop running Windows 10 on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 CPU. It’s the Miix 630, a compact 2-in-1 that will start at $799 when it releases in the second quarter of 2018. The laptop will come in multiple configurations, starting at 4GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of storage, or an option with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It has a 12.3-inch, 1920 x 1280 display and Lenovo claims that it will run for up to 20 hours on a charge.
