Best of CES 2026 Awards: The top 25 new gadgets

This year’s CES was a litmus test for AI of sorts. Just because artificial intelligence can be put in practically everything that doesn’t mean you should. So for Tom’s Guide’s Best of CES 2026 Awards we wanted to recognize real-world innovations that incorporate AI in truly helpful ways that have the potential to upgrade your life. This includes a fridge smart enough to read the labels on your food and automatically tell you what you need and a wearable that can help you record and summarize your day for you while also helping you gain more insights into your emotions. We also saw a new form of AI from Lenovo in Qira, which anticipates your needs and serves as a true companion.

But what about just really compelling hardware? CES 2026 had plenty of that, too, from a TV so thin it makes a pencil look thick to a gaming laptop with a rollable display that can grow from 16 to 24 inches on command. Robot vacuums are getting way smarter, too, with the ability to climb stairs and clean as they go. After meeting with dozens of companies — and hearing AI way too many times — these are the very best new products at CES 2026.

Best of Show: Intel Core Ultra Series 3

We’ve known that Intel was already preparing to unleash its Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors, but Team Blue finally showed off what these chips can offer during its big keynote at CES 2026. And what a show it was. The much-anticipated Panther Lake not only shows just how much faster and more power-efficient these CPUs are compared to their Lunar Lake predecessors, but also what they can achieve to bring a new era of laptops into the fold.