Google previews new Gemini features for Google TV

Image Credits:Google

Google is showing off a series of new Gemini features that will soon arrive on its Google TV platform, making it possible for viewers to deep-dive into topics via AI, search for and “reimagine” their personal photos and videos with AI, and, perhaps best of all, tell the TV what to do instead of having to navigate through complicated settings.

Step aside Moflin, there is an AI panda in the town

Casio launched an AI pet last year called Moflin. Now, there is a new AI pet in town: a panda called An’An from Mind With Heart Robotics. The company is showing off the panda at CES 2026, which has more than 10 sensor suites to respond to touch. The company said the Panda bot is made for elderly care, and it learns about behavioural patterns, including voice. There is also a B2B version for health institutes.

How thin can TVs get?

TechCrunch reporter Ivan Mehta noted in his report on LG that a significant portion of the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is about TVs. And dang, they keep getting thinner.

For instance, LG is showing off a new Wallpaper OLED TV that is just 9mm thick. To put that into perspective, an Apple iPhone 16 is a skosh thinner at 7.8 mm.

Withings debuts a new smart scale that offers hypertension risk detection

Body Scan 2Image Credits:Withings

Withings, the French tech company that introduced the first connected scale in 2009, has launched the Body Scan 2, described as a “home longevity station” aimed at transforming preventative health. This new smart scale features a tempered glass surface and a retractable handle with a screen display for viewing weigh-in results.

More notably, the Body Scan 2 can capture over 60 biomarkers in around 90 seconds, providing notifications about hypertension risk (a first for a home scale) and assessments of cardiac efficiency and metabolic health. The health metrics sync with the companion app and can also connect to the Apple Health app. The scale will be available in the second quarter of 2026 for $599.95.

Amazon debuts new TVs that look like art

Launching at CES, Amazon’s new Ember Artline TVs are the company’s latest televisions that ship with a frame that can match your room’s style and colors. They’ll come in 55-inch and 65-inch options, starting at $899. The new TVs themselves offer 4K QLED screens with 800 nits of brightness. The display is also thin, at one-and-a-half inches, and has a matte screen finish to reduce glare. The TVs also support Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and Wi-Fi 6.

You can choose from colors like Walnut, Ash, Teak, Black Oak, Matte White, Midnight Blue, Fig, Pale Gold, Graphite, and Silver for the frame.

Amazon revamps Fire TV

Amazon at CES announced it’s rolling out a Fire TV redesign that puts more focus on the content, while also simplifying the navigation and layout. The update represents the first major Fire TV release in years from a user experience perspective, the company says, and is accompanied by a refreshed version of the Fire TV app and the arrival of new premium Fire TV televisions with colorful frames.

The new user interface features several design changes, including rounded corners, varied gradients, consistent typography, and increased spacing between content to make the interface feel less cluttered. It also offers more room for your apps.

Subtle’s earbuds can capture your voice in loud places

Voice AI startup Subtle has launched a new $199 pair of earbuds that can capture your voice in noisy areas. The startup is using its own noise isolation models to power these buds. It said that apart from sounding good on calls, the earbuds can help you with accurate dictation and voice notes. The company also plans to release a Mac and an iOS app to let you chat with an AI assistant.

Image Credits: SubtleImage Credits:Subtle

Allergen Alert is making a portable ‘mini lab’ for on-the-go food allergy tests

Allergen Alert got my attention at CES. The company, a spin-off of global diagnostics firm, bioMérieux, is trying to make eating out safer for people with food allergies.

The company offers a portable device called the mini lab, which it claims can offer lab-grade results in minutes. To use the device, you collect a sample of the food with the scooper from a disposable collection kit and insert it into a pouch for testing. The “secret sauce” is the technique it uses to extract the protein and analyze the sample to see if the allergen is present.

Of course, allergy detection isn’t something you can get wrong. The company notes the technology behind the consumer-focused mini lab has already been licensed and used clinically, after 10 years of R&D and 3 patents. Some customers include Michelin-star restaurants in France.

The mini lab will initially support tests for gluten and milk, but expects to support the top 9 food allergens in this form factor by 2028.

Alexa+ is coming to your car

Image Credits:Amazon

BMW and Amazon have worked together for years and the eventual aim of that relationship was to bring a next-generation voice assistant into the German automaker’s cars. That’s finally happening; and it will
come with a generative AI upgrade.

Amazon said Monday at CES that the 2026 BMW iX3 will be equipped with Alexa+, the same generative AI tech that launched in millions of the e-commerce giant’s smart devices last year. This will be the first vehicle to come with Amazon’s next-generation voice assistant.

They made an AI Tamagotchi

Tamagotchis aren’t dead — my daughter got one as a gift recently. But a startup at CES, Takway.ai, has an idea for a small, virtual pet that brings AI into the equation. The device, called Sweekar, hatches from an egg and then proceeds through life stages while it’s shaped by your care, developing its own personality. The AI allows it to talk, remember its owner’s voice and stories, and create its moods. You can also change its outfits. The pet will hit Kickstarter in 2026 and is expected to cost between $100 and $150.

Plaud has a new AI pin and a software notetaker

Hardware AI company Plaud added to its lineup of AI-powered notetakers with the new NotePin S. The new device brings a physical button for starting/stopping recording and highlighting a point during a conversation.

Image Credits:Plaud

The company also has a new desktop app, which can transcribe meetings and summarize them using AI while showing action items without a bot joining the meeting. This is the company’s first product that focuses on online meetings, as its hardware products have focused more on in-person meetings.

LG’s new karaoke speaker uses AI to fade out vocals

There is no CES without AI in different gadgets. LG is trying this new trick for its party speakers, where it is using AI to remove vocals from “virtually any song” and also adjust the pitch. This party speaker is called xboom Stage 501, and the AI feature is designed for karaoke. The speaker has a 99wh swappable battery that allows you to play tracks for longer. LG said the speaker’s output power is 220W when plugged in, and 160W when it is on battery.

Image Credits: LG