The standout tech innovations we saw at CES this year

After a two-year lull, CES is back in full swing. The world’s biggest tech companies have once again come to Las Vegas and brought remarkable products with them. Among other things, we saw a “flying” electric boata huge wireless tv (more on this one below) and, yes, a pee sensor for your toilet at home (certainly more on that below).

This year’s show marks the return of the full in-person CES. It is thought to have attracted over 100,000 people and over 2,200 companies announced what they hoped would be the next big deal. This year — and for the first time since 2020 — CNET editors roamed the floors to see new products and services on display.

We have already rounded the CES must-havesthem the most futuristic technology, the weirdest gadgets and gadgets and the things you can actually buy in 2023. Below is our curated list of the absolute best from CES 2023.

Before diving into our list of the best of CES 2023, here are the criteria we used. We’ve tried to keep the number of those who win our Best of Show Award between five and seven. All on this list meet at least one of the following criteria:

• The product includes a concept or idea never seen before.
• The product tries to solve a major consumer problem.
• The product is a redesign or different approach to an existing product in a way that sets a new bar in terms of performance or quality.

Finally, to avoid rewarding products that may never see the light of day, we gave more weight to those with at least a calendar year release window or schedule, as opposed to products with no release date. planned outing or more nebulous.

LG’s 97-inch wireless OLED TV puts everyone else to shame

The 97 inch LG M3 Series Wireless OLED TV is a juggernaut that doesn’t skimp on normal high-end TV features. This gargantuan beast of a TV combines fantastic picture technology with its massive size to be one of the most exciting TVs in recent memory. What really beats it, however, is that it’s completely wireless.

Yeah, no more hassling with a bunch of wires behind your entertainment center to look like they’re not there. With this TV, they are not.

LG says the 97in should be released in 2023 with an 83in and 77in version. Don’t expect it to be cheap, though. The wired version of LG’s 97-inch TV costs $25,000, while its 77-inch OLED costs just $2,900. Just to set expectations.

Withings U-Scan will read your pee

Have you ever imagined that you could get on-the-spot health data at home, just by becoming number one? You will soon be able with the Withings U Scan pee sensor. The device is located at the front of your toilet. When you pee – and apparently it’s best to sit down when you do to get an accurate sample – it collects the urine, analyzes it and then sends the results to your phone via Wi-Fi.

What kind of results, you might ask? For starters, it can monitor daily ketone and vitamin C levels and test the pH level of your urine, which can indicate general kidney health. Use a different cartridge and women can use it to track their menstrual cycles.

We’ve seen home urine test strips that require you to be hands-on to get test results, but the U-Scan is designed to be a seamless experience. Just do your thing and move on. The fact that you can perform these tests daily without even thinking about it and have the results sent to you immediately is what really sets the U-Scan apart.

HTC Vive XR Elite is unlike any other VR headset we’ve seen

The HTC Vive XR Elite is the latest iteration of HTC’s VR/AR headset and, based on time spent with it, could be the best Vive yet when it releases in late February for $1,099.

Yes, we’ve seen VR headsets before, so what makes this one special? The main reason it’s on this list is because of its size. HTC has shrunk the VR headset down to nearly normal goggle size and less than half the weight of the Quest Pro Virtual Reality Headset.

If you wear glasses normally, you will not need to wear them during use. Adjustment dials, or diopters, can change the lens prescription in real time, meaning the user does not need to wear glasses at all. It’s a really useful feature if it works as well as expected. As someone who wears glasses but has degraded on VR over the past few years, the combination of the XR Elite’s small, lightweight chassis and the glasses-free requirement makes VR a much more desirable prospect. attractive to me.

I’m not about to rush out and buy a VR headset, but the technology here seems to be exceptional, so hopefully it catches on.

BMW i Vision Dee has a must-have head-up display

Yes the BMW i Vision Dee is a concept car, so my initial reaction was to take every feature here with a grain of salt, but BMW has confirmed that the coolest and most useful feature, the head-up display, will be coming to production cars in 2025.

Instead of a traditional dash display, the Dee instead uses the entire windshield as its HUD. It is an AR screen that uses the full width of the windshield and includes five levels of immersion. Level 1 gives you the basics – speedometer, some navigation info, etc. Levels 2 to 4 augment the information on the screen and optionally overlay navigation information on the road.

Level 5 can display a fully virtual environment and is not intended for driving. Or rather is not intended for driving and is instead intended for driving a car. It’s one of those that works best in motion, so watch the BMW i Vision Dee video to see it in action.

The concept car also has an E Ink cover on its chassis that can change color based on your own desire, and during BMW’s press conference, presenters gave the impression that it could have a conversation with you, as your own KITT, but BMW admitted to using an actress behind the scenes to show what it wants to do in the future. Again, only the HUD is confirmed to come to cars in the future, so that was the most useful thing to focus on.

Samsung S95C 77-inch QD-OLED TV gives LG some competition

The Samsung S95C is the company’s first 77-inch TV using its QD-OLED technology. It improves on the previous year’s model with better anti-glare technology and brighter images. Color in particular seemed to impress our TV expert David Katzmaier the most; however, the screen finish is a little grayer than LG’s, which tends to wash out the image somewhat.

Still, the main reason it’s on this list, beyond its high quality, is the potential it has to give LG a run for its money in the high-end 77-inch TV market, which which could possibly bring down prices in all areas. Great news for those of us looking to buy a large, high-end TV in the future.

The Schneider Smart Home system will maximize your energy savings

The smart home system from Schneider isn’t something I ever considered owning until I moved into a new, bigger house in 2020. Let’s just say I’m growing at least a few more gray hairs when a new bill comes . The system will save users money by scheduling when certain outlets are energized by controlling circuit breakers, switches and outlets to prevent energy vampires like TVs and chargers from drawing power when we we don’t need it.

For electric vehicle users, it can schedule when your vehicle charges, scheduling it to only charge when rates are lowest or, if possible, only using solar panels.

As home electricity rates go up – where I live they certainly have – and with more appliances that demand more load in our homes, having that kind of detailed control, without having to unplug a lot of stuff every time you leave the house or go on vacation, is indeed a welcome remedy.

Totally surreal Dolby Atmos in-car sound in a Maybach

Dolby Atmos is a sound technology – think 2.0 surround sound – that tries to completely immerse you in everything you listen to. Atmos has been around in cinemas and home theaters for a while, but the luxury Mercedes-Maybach S-Class is one of the first cars to use it.

So it’s good? The experience is hard to explain, but I’ll let CNET’s editor Bridget Carey do her best. She says: “I felt like the music was floating in the space around me – I couldn’t tell where the speakers were; it created a surreal sound. Listening to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, it was like Freddie Mercury was floating in front of me.”

Watch the video to get a better idea of ​​what Bridget went through in the $185,000 Maybach. For those of us who don’t have that kind of cash, Dolby says we could see Atmos used in more affordable cars. The team is working on adapting the technology to a traditional six-speaker setup, but it’s not clear when exactly yet.

CES 2023 returned with potentially useful technology. Some novelties, some improvements, but at the very least try to solve a known consumption problem. There were many more that were almost on the list. These are just the real stars. Be sure to check out the rest of CNET’s CES coverage for everything else.

Now Playing:
Look at this:

Best of CES 2023: All the best tech we’ve seen

5:31