The best gadgets of CES 2021, and the weirdest too

The strangest CES ever is now over. But no one is going to climb kiosks in Las Vegas or rush $ 1,000 a night in hotel rooms today with all the cool gadgets they’ve been showing off all week. This is because there weren’t a lot of new technologies presented. Much of CES was a repeat of the previous weeks – and even months – of announcements. This made the whole digital thing even stranger! But there was still some cool stuff that left us pumped for 2021 and absolutely wild stuff that made us laugh, cringe and scratch our heads in turn. daring.

We’re only going to see more stuff over the year. Countless companies have hinted at big news in the coming weeks, and with big competing shows like IFA and Computex likely to roll later in 2021, many companies could have their finest gadgets for TV shows. consumer electronics that people can actually attend in person.

The best gadgets of CES 2021

Lenovo X1 Titanium Yoga

While Lenovo hasn’t tried to reinvent the 2-in-1, combining an even sleeker design with a new titanium-coated case to create its thinnest ThinkPad ever, the new Yoga ThinkPad X1 Titanium just feels a little more special. And as someone who appreciates good multitasking, not only does the X1 Titanium Yoga have a 360 degree convertible chassis, it also comes with full stylus support for drawing and note taking, and updated specs, including 11th Gen Intel chips, Thunderbolt 4, and a 3: 2 big screen perfect for all kinds of productivity. The ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga is quite simply a high-end laptop made beautiful. – Sam Rutherford

All 6E Wi-Fi Routers

Last year, the Wi-Fi 6 standard promised to improve wifi speeds and performance on a congested network by using smart engineering tricks to increase the bandwidth of each wireless channel so that more devices can operate simultaneously with less cross-channel interference. But it was more of a one-time solution to an ever-growing problem. The promises of Wi-Fi 6E to wifi will stand the test of time for a while by introducing a new 6 GHz band to the existing 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands of wifi. The 6 GHz band offers 59 separate channels without overlap so that multiple devices can operate at higher bandwidths at the same time. (Think 8K smart TVs streaming 8K content.) The best part is that older legacy devices won’t be able to access the 6 GHz band, only newer devices (which are expected to arrive later this year) should ensure that the new one tape does not immediately fill with traffic. – Andrew Liszewski

Apple Mudra watch strap

the Mudra Group is a bracelet for Apple Watch that allows you to control it with one hand. There are sensors that read electrochemical signals to interpret your different hand gestures. For example, you can press your index finger and thumb to reject a call, or close your thumb to skip a music track. There is a ton of potential for this type of device, in terms of accessibility, but also hands-free convenience. And it’s not vaporware. The group costs $ 180 and is expected to ship in March. – Song Victoria

Asus ROG Flex X13

It’s a 2 in 1 gaming laptop. Yes, a real 2 in 1 with 360 degree hinges. The included GPU might pack a better punch (it’s just a GTX 1650), but the rest of the specs are pretty solid: a new AMD Ryzen 9 5980HS mobile processor, liquid metal instead of thermal paste. classic and a choice between a 120 Hz or UltraHD 4K screen covered with Corning Gorilla Glass. For anyone who wants the option of a better GPU, the X13 flow partners with Asus’ XG Mobile, a compact eGPU that supports up to an RTX 3080. The price of both together is expensive – $ 3,000 – but hopefully Asus will sell the Flow X13 separately or from the less will soon make the XG Mobile available with other GPUs. – Joanna Nelius

Samsung Bespoke 4 Door Flex

I know it can be weird to be so excited about a refrigerator just because it makes a new kind of ice cream, but innovation in the refrigerator space has been pretty rare in recent years. Everything seemed to revolve around screens or windows in doors and it’s just not something most people need or want. Good ice cream is something anyone can appreciate, and while Bespoke is probably way overpriced for the average person, its ability to make good ice cream, or roll, means this technology is finally coming to refrigerators. If that means that a refrigerator in four years can help me make such a satisfying drink as Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper at Sonic I’m all in. – Alex Cranz

TCL XL collection

For TV buyers looking for the biggest screen possible on the tightest budget, I have good news: TCL is set to grow in 2021. The company’s new XL collection will feature three 85 inch screen models, including a 4K QLED powered by Roku TV, a 4-Series with Roku TV, and an 8K QLED TV. Options! We don’t yet know how much TCL will charge for two of those three, but we do know that the Series 4 (85R435) will cost $ 1,600, which is a ridiculously good deal for a screen of this size (and if you can wait a bit, this price will probably drop closer to the holidays). Everyone is making their monster screen debut this year, but TCL’s XL screens are likely to be hard to beat. – Catie Keck

The weirdest gadgets of CES 2021

Razer Brooklyn Project and Project Hazel

Weird doesn’t necessarily mean bad, and in the case of Razer’s two concept gadgets for CES 2021, Razer is showcasing different methods for dealing with some of the everyday issues people might face this year. A hand Brooklyn Project represents the ultimate evolution of a gaming chair, and even with its 60-inch roll-up OLED display and RGB lighting, it’s something virtually every gamer would love to have at home. Meanwhile, Hazel Project is an innovative take on a standard reusable mask, providing the kind of protection people need against airborne viruses while solving many of the problems people encounter with traditional cloth or paper coverings. Honestly, the gist of keeping these concepts in weird territory instead of moving on to our best list is that both are closer to fiction than to something you can actually buy. – Sam Rutherford

Cold wave

Keurig dominates the pod-based food space, while others like Juicero have failed to try to find his way. While machines promise that experience is all about convenience, there are big tradeoffs to be made. Pods need to be made and recycled, and the cost per pod usually means that if you don’t use the device multiple times a day, it just isn’t worth it. the Cold wave looks like a beast of a machine too, and it looks like it would take up a LOT of space on your counter for the convenience of soft serve ice cream in just 90 seconds. You can buy ice cream makers for under $ 100 which take longer, but you can also use all your own ingredients. – Andrew Liszewski

Panasonic Nanoe Hair Dryer

the Panasonic Nanoe Hair Dryer (EH-NA67-W) takes its name from a feature in which the hair dryer draws moisture from the air around it (which is presumably very humid after a bath or shower) and then detonates your hair. strands with “tiny moisture-rich particles” which Panasonic says are “1000 times wetter” than the ionic charged particles other hairdryers use to achieve the same moisturizing effect. It also has a unique quick-drying oscillating nozzle that moves quickly back and forth in an attempt to dry hair faster and with less effort. At $ 150, it falls somewhere between a cheap hair dryer in a department store and premium offerings from Dyson and it might be good if that sound very strange technology in fact works. – Andrew Liszewski

AMD and NKeynotes from vidia

AMD and Nvidia had some great mobile-related news at CES 2021, but new news doesn’t mean exciting news, and a massive shortage in GPU space meant both companies appeared to have refrained from making the much bigger announcements fans had come to expect. We will one day have the Radeon 6700 and the RTX 3070 Super, but not at CES. – Joanna Nelius

Harman Personal audio headrest platform

Speakers integrated into the headrest of your car seat that jump to channel the music into your ears is a really great idea, but I’m not sure it’s necessarily a practical idea. The speakers on either side of your head seem as a good way to damage your head in an accident, and it will be absolutely annoying if you are driving with a friend and they suddenly deploy their speakers. There’s also the way it kills vocals in the car that’s practically necessary if you have two or more people in a car and someone is a kickass with the AUX cable. I do not hate you Harman Personal Audio Headrest Platform, but it is definitely seems like a strange solution to a problem that few people have. – Alex Cranz

Samsung Eco remote control

I’m excited to see a TV maker moving away from single-use AA or AAA batteries that will likely end up in the trash. If we are to believe Samsung, its new Eco remote control—Which will ship with all of its new 2021 4K and 8K QLED TVs – can be recharged via light as well as through a USB-C port, and Samsung says the remote can last up to two years on a single charge. It’s not too bad if you buy a TV that you hope to have for the next 10 years or more. I’m cautiously optimistic about this remote, but I’d like to see it in action before I get too excited about the future of TV sticks. For sure seems as a step in the right direction, however. – Catie Keck

Morari patch

It’s a soiling … dressing …which zaps the no man’s land between the scrotum and the anus to stop premature ejaculation. Do I really need to elaborate? – Song Victoria