Next week, the "Technology Spring Festival Gala" CES will open, and NVIDIA and others need to prove to the market that AI can drive sales

The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is set to kick off next week in Las Vegas, where tech giants like NVIDIA, Samsung, and Lenovo will face a critical test: proving to ordinary consumers that AI hardware is worth purchasing. This year's tech extravaganza will no longer be limited to concept displays but will serve as an important litmus test for the real market demand for AI products. Companies need to demonstrate to the market that AI can not only be "created" but also "sold."

At CES, held from January 6 to 9, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang will showcase AI underlying technologies, while manufacturers like Samsung, Lenovo, and AMD will launch a plethora of consumer products centered around AI. Previously, AI hardware products like Humane AI Pin and Rabbit R1 faced commercial failures due to poor reviews, ringing alarm bells for the industry.

This year's exhibition will focus on showcasing hardware products such as AI smart glasses, humanoid robots, and wearable devices. The organizer, the Consumer Technology Association, has specifically allocated an entire exhibition hall for robot displays, highlighting the importance of this category.

AI Glasses Become One of the Highlights

Smart glasses will be one of the core highlights of this year's CES. According to Bloomberg, a large number of AI-driven glasses products are expected to emerge at the exhibition. Both Snap and Apple plan to launch their respective smart glasses products by the end of 2026, continuing the momentum of this category driven by companies like Meta.

Although both Meta and Snap have confirmed their participation, major hardware releases are expected to come from emerging brands like Xreal, Vuzix, Halliday Global, Rokid, and Even Realities. Meta has previously released its first smart glasses equipped with a built-in screen, and this exhibition may focus on showcasing new software or iterative features rather than hardware updates. Snap is also not expected to announce specific pricing and launch plans for its "Specs" glasses at this event.

In addition to smart glasses, the exhibition will also present AI hardware in other forms, such as rings, designed to allow users to directly invoke AI assistant functions without relying on smartphones, reflecting the tech industry's ongoing exploration and investment in "AI-first" interaction forms.

Humanoid Robots to Be Showcased

Humanoid robots will also be one of the focal points of this year's CES. According to the Consumer Technology Association, the exhibition has planned an entire hall dedicated to showcasing robot products, covering various application scenarios from home services to industrial manufacturing, logistics, and food service.

Several companies will showcase AI-integrated robotic solutions. Artly Coffee and VenHub Global will demonstrate AI-driven robotic café and unmanned convenience store technologies, respectively; California startup Tombot plans to launch a companion robotic dog named Jennie aimed at the elderly and those with cognitive impairments.

This year, many humanoid robot manufacturers are pushing the technology demonstration from single-task execution to multi-step complex operations, such as simultaneously achieving clothing recognition, grasping, and folding functions. Large tech companies like LG are also expected to unveil their robotic concept productsHowever, there is often a significant gap between the performance in a controlled demonstration environment and the final commercial capabilities promised by manufacturers. Manufacturers need to demonstrate to the audience during the exhibition that their products have practical commercial viability in terms of battery life, mobility, cost control, and safety reliability, rather than just showcasing technical concepts.

Incremental Innovations in TVs and Smartphones

Televisions have always been the focal point of CES, with brands like Samsung, LG, TCL, and Hisense continuing to showcase their annual flagship models. Sony Group has gradually adjusted its new TV releases to spring in recent years, thereby reducing its exhibition scale at CES.

Entering 2026, as high-end televisions generally meet consumer demands in brightness and resolution, manufacturers are expected to focus more on wide color gamut reproduction and other technological advancements that enhance the realism of images. Additionally, the "artistic design" trend sparked by Samsung's The Frame series has prompted the industry to follow suit, and this trend of aesthetic integration is expected to continue at this year's exhibition.

Although CES is not the main stage for new smartphone releases, Motorola may become an exception. Its parent company Lenovo will give a keynote speech for the first time at the exhibition, and the preview package sent to the media by Motorola strongly hints at the launch of a book-style foldable smartphone. If true, this will mark the company's first foray into this form factor after years of focusing on the Razr flip-style foldable screen.

Wearable Devices Expanding Health Monitoring

Wearable devices are continuously breaking the boundaries of traditional fitness tracking, with an increasing integration of functionalities from professional medical-grade equipment. This year's exhibition will showcase innovative products, including smart night guards, which not only prevent teeth grinding but also claim to monitor multidimensional health indicators such as sleep apnea, heart rate, respiratory rhythm, and sleep cycles.

Overall, the wearable device industry is expected to further focus on areas such as women's health management, continuous glucose monitoring, advanced cardiovascular tracking, longevity technology, and chronic disease management. These functional expansions indicate that manufacturers are committed to transforming wearable devices from auxiliary fitness accessories into comprehensive tools for daily health monitoring and management