You can’t go without touching an AI gadget at this year’s CES, as artificial intelligence is now embedded in almost every wearable, screen, and device across the show floor, not to mention an army of AI-enabled companions, toys, and robots.
But this is just the beginning. We’ve seen AI show up in much weirder places, too, from hair clippers to vacuum cleaners, and in at least one case where even the manufacturer itself wasn’t sure what made its products “AI.”
Here are the gadgets we’ve seen so far at CES 2026 that really get their “intelligence” from “artificial intelligence.”
Glyde sharp hair clippers
This is a product that would be stupid enough without AI add-on. These sharp hair clippers assist amateur hairdressers achieve the perfect shade by dynamically changing the intensity of the cut, aided by a sinister face mask that looks like it belongs in an optician’s office.
But a real-time AI trainer takes it to the next level, which provides feedback as you cut. Glyde told me that he’s also working on voice control for AI, and that he’ll eventually be able to recommend specific hairstyles, provided you’re willing to trust his style advice. Are you there?
“Where Pills Meet Artificial Intelligence.”
This was the message displayed at the SleepQ booth, where company representatives were handing out boxes of pills – a multivitamin with ashwagandha extract, according to the box, supposedly good for sleep, although I wasn’t brave enough to test this claim on a plane trip.
Manufacturer Welt, originally from a Samsung incubator, calls its product “artificial intelligence-enhanced drug therapy.” It’s really just using biometrics from a smartwatch or sleep monitor to determine the optimal time to take sleeping pills each day, with plans eventually including anti-anxiety medications, weight-control medications, pain-relieving medications, and more.
There may be an argument that adjusting the time at which people take the pills could make them more effective, but I feel safe and sound in saying that we don’t need to start by throwing around the term “AI-enhanced drugs.”
Startup Deglace says its almost unnecessarily sleek-looking Fraction vacuum cleaner uses artificial intelligence in two different ways: first to “optimize suction,” and then to manage repairs and replacements of its modular design.
It says its Neural Predictive AI monitors vacuum cleaner performance “to detect problems before they occur,” providing health scores for each vacuum cleaner component that can be conveniently replaced by quick parts ordering from the included app. A cynic might worry that this is being done in the name of selling exorbitant and proprietary replacement parts to users, but I can at least make good on the promise of modular upgrades – assuming Deglace can keep that promise.
Most digital photo frames allow you to display photos of your loved ones, elderly vacation photos, or your favorite pieces of art. Fraimic allows you to view AI errors.
This is an E Ink photo frame with microphone and voice control, so you can describe any image you want and then the frame will generate using OpenAI’s GPT Image 1.5 model. The frame itself starts at $399, which gives you 100 image generations per year, with the option to buy more if you run out.
What makes the artificial intelligence in Fraimic so questionable is that it could be a pretty great product without it. The E Ink panel looks great, you can operate it to showcase your own pictures and photos, and it uses so little power that it can work years no need to connect. We’d just like it a lot more without the extra confusion.
Infinix, a smaller phone maker that has found success across Asia with its affordable phones, didn’t bring any fresh products to CES this year, but it did introduce five concepts that could fit into future phones. Some are clever, like the various color-changing rear finishes and some liquid cooling designs. And then there’s ModuVerse AI.
Modular phone concepts are nothing fresh, so it’s artificial intelligence that makes ModuVerse unique – in theory. One “modus” makes sense: a meeting attachment that magnetically connects to generate AI transcriptions and live translation on a mini display on the back.
But when I asked what made everything otherwise AI, Infinix didn’t really have any good answers. The gimbal camera has AI stabilization, the vlogging lens uses AI to detect faces, and the microphone has AI voice isolation – all technically AI-based, but not intriguing in any way. When it comes to stackable magnetic power banks, Infinix officials have finally admitted that they don’t actually have any artificial intelligence at all. Color me shocked.
The trend of artificial intelligence and robotic kitchen equipment is growing – EdgeJen Tuohy reviewed the $1,500 robot chef last month, but the Wan AIChef is something entirely less impressive: an AI-enabled microwave oven.
It runs on a device that looks suspiciously like Android, with recipe suggestions, cooking instructions, and a camera inside so you can see your preparation progress. But… it’s just a microwave. So it can’t cook anything for you except heating the food to the right temperature (exactly, just right plus or minus 3 degrees Celsius).
It will also create meal plans, track your food, and count calories, which all sounds great as long as you’re willing to commit to eating all your meals from the AI Microwave. Please, I beg you, do not eat all your AI microwave meals.
The technology industry definitely loves reinventing a machine and marking it with robotics or artificial intelligence, and AI Barmen is no exception.
This setup – apparently already used for private parties and corporate events – is actually just an automated cocktail machine with some sharp AI on top.
The artificial intelligence uses your connected webcam to estimate your age – in my case it was off by eight years – and confirm that you are sober enough to have another drink. He can also create drinks to order, with mixed success: when asked about something that would “fuck me”, he suggested the Funky Tequila Fizz, which is tequila, triple sec and soda. What, no absinthe?
Photo: Dominic Preston / The Verge
Should you buy your child an AI toy that will provide them with a complete LLM-based chatbot they can talk to? Probably not. But what if this AI chatbot looked like a chibi Elon Musk?
This is just one of many avatars offered by Luka AI Cube, including Hayao Miyazaki, Steve from Minecraftand Harry Potter. Kids can talk to them about their day, ask for advice, and even share the Cube’s AI camera feed to show the AI avatars where they are and what they’re doing. Luka says it’s a fun but also educational tool, offering various learning activities and language options.
The elephant in the room is whether you should trust any company’s guardrails enough to give your youthful child access to an LLM. Elon Musk’s AI guidance – whose AI, Grok, is currently busy undressing children – doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.