The Finest Devices of January 2026

On the planet of client tech, Christmas is available in January. Not actually, however CES, which takes place simply after the New 12 months, tends to precipitate devices in volumes that might make even Santa say, “Rattling, that’s a bit a lot, don’t you assume?”

This yr—to nobody’s shock—wasn’t any completely different, and for those who’re the kind of one who loves gawking at new tech, nicely, there was a lot to gawk at—and never all of it was because of CES. On your ogling functions (shout out to all of the oglers), we’ve gone forward and compiled the perfect devices we noticed this previous month, and boy, have been there rather a lot.

I didn’t count on Lego to make its approach to our month-to-month “finest devices” checklist, however right here we’re. At CES 2026 (the corporate’s first-ever CES), Lego unveiled a sensible brick that’s full of sensors, permitting it to work together with different good tiles which can be close by. The result’s an interactive Lego expertise with lights and sound that’s in contrast to something Lego has completed earlier than. Plus, Lego is prioritizing discovery, permitting builders to experiment by introducing good bricks and tiles throughout universes. What occurs while you put a T-Rex subsequent to an X-Wing? There’s just one approach to discover out.

On one hand, it appears mistaken to make good Legos in an outdated man waving your fist on the sky type of manner, however I’d be mendacity if I mentioned I wasn’t intrigued in regards to the prospects.

See Smart Bricks at LEGO

Open-ear audio is nice in a number of methods, but when there’s one factor that it’s been sorely missing, it’s noise cancellation. The explanation that open wi-fi earbuds historically haven’t had noise cancellation is as a result of they only don’t go in your ears—they sit on the surface. The loopy geniuses at Shokz appear to have discovered a approach to sidestep all of that, although, giving their most up-to-date open-ear wi-fi earbuds “noise discount” tech.

I attempted the OpenFit Professional wi-fi earbuds on the present flooring at CES 2026 and was impressed with their degree of noise cancellation in addition to their sound. Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds have lengthy been considered one of my favourite open wi-fi earbuds, however Shokz appears poised to unseat Bose, particularly since they’re newer, cheaper, and so they have noise discount.

See Shokz OpenFit Pro at Best Buy

Depart it as much as Lenovo to up the ante within the wacky laptop computer recreation. This yr, the corporate pushed the boundaries (no pun supposed) with a rollable laptop computer display for players, turning its Legion Professional 7i into one thing ridiculous.

The Legion Professional Rollable expands from a 16-inch gaming laptop computer to an ultrawide orientation of as much as 24 inches in “area” mode. This isn’t Lenovo’s first experiment with a rollable display, however it’s the first time gearing the entire rollable factor towards a gaming laptop computer. The wild half is that the Legion Professional Rollable would possibly truly get made, too, no less than if its ThinkBook Gen 6 Rollable is any indication.

After 5 lengthy years, Apple has up to date its AirTag, bringing just a few perks to its solely official merchandise tracker. First, there’s a brand new Extremely Wideband chip, which permits the brand new AirTag to be situated from 50% farther away in comparison with earlier generations. There’s additionally improved Bluetooth and Precision Discovering, which works with Apple Watch Collection 9 or later and Apple Watch Extremely 2 or later.

If that wasn’t sufficient of an improve, Apple additionally made its new AirTag louder—like, rather a lot louder. Based on Apple, the brand new AirTags at the moment are loud sufficient that they are often heard from “as much as 2x farther away” in comparison with the unique.

Fortunately, Apple is pricing the brand new AirTag the identical as the unique, that means you will get one for $29 or a four-pack for $99. Higher and cheaper? Say no extra.

See AirTag (2nd Gen) at Amazon

Fender Combine

Fender made its entry into the over-ear wi-fi headphone recreation with the Fender Combine this previous month, and its first product appears like a surprisingly sturdy begin. Perhaps my favourite factor in regards to the Fender Combine is that it comes with a USB-C dongle stashed contained in the earcups that permits for hi-fi playback with very low latency.

On prime of that, the Fender Combine additionally deal with modularity, permitting customers to swap out earcups, headbands, and the battery when it begins to lose cost completely, as batteries do over time. From my temporary listening time with them at CES, they sound fairly good, too. Fender would possibly simply be licensing its title for these wi-fi headphones, however the Combine might show that a little bit little bit of branding isn’t a foul factor.

It’s arduous to consider, however Samsung’s tri-screen foldable is an actual factor with an actual value, we received an opportunity to see it for ourselves. At nearly $3,000, the Galaxy Z TriFold can and may push the boundaries, and from our hands-on time, that’s precisely what Samsung did.

When folded, the Galaxy Z TriFold has a 6.5-inch cowl display, however when unfurled, it expands right into a 10-inch pill. Certain, this factor remains to be a tank when it’s closed up, however when absolutely open, it’s extremely skinny. There are nonetheless a number of query marks that should be answered earlier than we are able to name the Galaxy Z TriFold a breakthrough (battery life, for one), however so far as telephone improvements go, Samsung actually gave us one thing to be enthusiastic about.

See Galaxy Z TriFold at Samsung.com

Lenovo isn’t having all of the enjoyable within the wacky laptop computer world. Asus’ Zenbook Duo takes laptops to new heights (actually) with a dual-screen setup that sits vertically. To unlock the facility of the Zenbook Duo, all it’s important to do is detach the magnetic keyboard to disclose one other OLED display beneath after which prop the entire thing up with a kickstand. Oh, and you need to use it book-style, too. As a result of, why not?

It’s excessive, however it’s additionally type of superior for those who’re the kind of one who needs to work away from dwelling however doesn’t like leaving the consolation of two displays. To not point out, it’s additionally surprisingly performant because of Intel’s Panther Lake chip. Certain, it’s important to be cool with being That Man, while you use the Zenbook Duo, however so long as you’re okay going there, there’s rather a lot to like in considered one of Asus’ wackiest laptops up to now.

Racing simulation is an entire factor, however simply because folks spend ungodly sums of cash to get near the expertise of burning rubber IRL doesn’t imply common outdated controllers can’t have some enjoyable.

The GameSir Swift Drive shoves a steering wheel inside a controller, and whereas that will sound like a questionable thought, Gizmodo Employees Author Kyle Barr received an opportunity to make use of this factor at CES, and the outcomes are fairly nice. Inside this controller, there’s a miniaturized drive motor and three different haptic motors that supply a extra tangible driving expertise when utilizing the wheel. Different key variations embody the usage of a small nub as an alternative of the suitable thumbstick, which ought to be nice since all you’re doing is racing with the Swift Drive.

The GameSir Swift Drive received’t be accessible till the second half of 2026, and it’ll doubtless price round $150, however for those who’re on the lookout for a greater approach to race with a daily controller, this might be your one-way ticket to a extra immersive expertise.

It’s arduous to get excited over work laptops, however that doesn’t imply they’re all created equally. Lenovo’s ThinkPad P1 Gen 8 is a reduce above. Certain, it’s not probably the most performant laptop computer you should purchase, however it’s received a 3.2K OLED display, an excellent keyboard, and it’s comparatively skinny and light-weight so far as workstations go.

Like different ThinkPads, the P1 Gen 8 has all of the allure of a jet fighter, however these are enterprise laptops, in spite of everything. In order for you one thing wacky, you should purchase considered one of Lenovo’s bizarre rolling display machines.

Is Ikea’s donut lamp probably the most high-tech gadget on the earth? No, no, it’s not. However generally model goes a good distance, and the Varmblixt lamp has that in spades. Whereas a earlier model solely got here in an amber shade, a brand new model can shift between colours, which is nice if it’s good to change up the vibe. And sure, it’s Matter appropriate.

It’s a little bit dear at $99, however to cite one Homer Simpson: mmm, donuts.