During CES, people walked an average of 80,000 steps. We've summarized 10 answers about the future of AI technology.

On the flight back to China from the United States, as a member of the Lei Technology CES 2026 reporting team, Xiao Lei typed the last line of this summary article. Recalling this CES exploration and reporting journey, even at this moment, Xiao Lei's heart is still unable to calm down.

From January 6th to 9th local time, the annual CES (Consumer Electronics Show), the International Consumer Electronics Show, was held in Las Vegas, the United States.

At CES 2025 a year ago, the Lei Technology CES reporting team observed that "Chinese brands had taken their seats at the main table." A year later, at the just - concluded CES 2026, led by Luo Chao, the founder and chief editor of Lei Technology, the largest - scale CES reporting team in Lei Technology's history carried out unprecedented high - frequency, professional, and three - dimensional reporting on - site in Las Vegas. So, what did the Lei Technology CES reporting team observe this time?

According to incomplete statistics, the members of the Lei Technology CES 2026 reporting team walked an average of 20,000 steps per day and produced a total of 83 pieces of content (including 38 in - depth observations/high - end interviews, 35 exploration news/new product reports, and 10 exploration videos), with the total content exceeding 160,000 words.

This year's CES was extremely popular. Even the unveiling exhibition before the official exhibition became the focus of competition among brands and manufacturers of all sizes, which was unimaginable before.

Filmed on - site at Lei Technology CES 2026

Lei Technology has been continuously reporting on the four major technology exhibitions, CES, MWC, IFA, and AWE, for many years. As a convention, after the exploration and reporting of the exhibitions, Lei Technology will conduct a systematic review and summary of the exhibitions through Q&A.

This time, after each member of the Lei Technology CES reporting team walked an average of 80,000 steps, they also sorted out 10 questions about CES 2026. The following are the answers given by Xiao Lei on the flight back to China from the United States.

Q1: What new trends in consumer electronics and AI technology have you observed?

In Xiao Lei's view, as the well - deserved number one global technology exhibition, although CES 2026 still bears the title of "International Consumer Electronics Show", many emerging categories, especially those related to intelligence, AI, and embodied intelligence, have become the new protagonists of this stage.

So, which enterprises and categories are leading the new wave at CES?

• In terms of booth area, they are Hisense, TCL, LG, Panasonic in the exhibition hall, as well as Dreame (intelligent cleaning), Sony - Honda Mobility, etc.;
• In terms of queuing popularity, they are Rokid (AI glasses), Insta360 (intelligent imaging) in the exhibition hall, etc.;
• In terms of off - site influence, they are NVIDIA, AMD, Lenovo, Samsung outside the exhibition hall, etc.

Yes, you read that right. A year later, even emerging Chinese technology brands like Dreame, Rokid, and Insta360 have started to take their seats at the main table of CES. I wonder if this is the first time in nearly 60 years since the inception of CES.

Filmed on - site at Lei Technology CES 2026

According to the common path for startups to participate in CES, they first start at the Eureka Park on the first floor of the Venetian Expo, which is specifically for startups. Then they can move up to the second floor of the Venetian Expo, and then to any of the South/North/West Halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center. Finally, they can reach the heart of the CES exhibition: the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

As a result, the Lei Technology CES reporting team witnessed the arrival of a new era truly belonging to technology hardware in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center this year:

• Intelligent cleaning: Cleaning appliances, once regarded as "small household appliances", are catching up with the new wave of intelligence and robotization and are becoming the new C - position category of household appliances. Their leap towards home service robots is even more full of a sense of the future;
• AI glasses: Smart glasses, which have been in the cold for many years, have become the "queuing king" category in recent years thanks to the application of AI technology and the evolution of product forms;
• Intelligent imaging: Accessory imaging devices, once regarded as something only for a small circle of enthusiasts, are trying to break into the mainstream market with the popularization of professional technology and the dividends of the creative economy, aiming to become the new mainstream "professional" imaging devices.

Intelligent cleaning, AI glasses, and intelligent imaging have become the three new hardware categories of popular technology with the most rapid growth, and they are just the "outstanding ones" among many new technology hardware categories.

Filmed on - site at Lei Technology CES 2026

In the field of consumer electronics, AI and embodied intelligence (robotization) are becoming the issues that more and more existing and new categories have to face. Xiao Lei's biggest feeling on - site is that "AI is everywhere, and there's no need to emphasize it", and the same goes for embodied intelligence.

After passing the conceptual stage, both AI hardware and robotic devices are emphasizing solving the specific and practical pain points of customers (individuals/industries). This has also made AI and embodied intelligence the new underlying technical architecture that any category (product) aiming to become a mainstream new hardware must build.

In this process, global chip giants represented by NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm, relying on the infrastructure of "full - stack AI capabilities" they have built, especially super - computing platforms, intend to regain full control and even dominance from AI application platform manufacturers and even AI hardware manufacturers (the so - called "OEM" manufacturers in the new era).

Source: NVIDIA

At CES 2026, the gathering of global chip industry giants such as Jensen Huang, Lisa Su, John Tu, and Cristiano Amon in Las Vegas was a significant event in this process.

Q2: What products or technologies impressed you the most?

Actually, there are quite a few.

In terms of products, in the area of AI kitchen appliances, Wandekit only displayed multiple units of the same model, the Wan AIChef ultra cooking intelligent agent, in its not - small exhibition area. During the on - site demonstration of the actual machine, Xiao Lei witnessed the complete "AI cooking" process from precise ingredient recognition, intelligent recipe planning to fully automatic temperature control. "Put in the ingredients, close the door and start cooking, and leave the rest to AI." Isn't this the vision of the "future kitchen".

Compared with Wandekit, which focuses on a single category or even a single product, NAVEE in the field of intelligent mobility offers another approach. At CES 2026, NAVEE broke away from the single electric scooter model and established high - performance mobility solutions for scenarios ranging from short - distance urban travel to professional outdoor scenarios such as golf and off - road. Its electric golf cart is equipped with AI visual recognition, UWB ultra - wideband, and GPS navigation technologies. It can also achieve AI intelligent obstacle avoidance and automatic following through the precise environmental perception provided by the left and right binocular depth cameras. AI technology is fully penetrating such segmented and vertical application scenarios.

Filmed on - site at Lei Technology CES 2026

At the Torras booth, Xiao Lei saw the 3.0 version of the mobile phone case, which has become a productivity tool for content creation. The most eye - catching thing on - site was the specially built "Pivot Shot" experience area. The latest Ostand series of mobile phone cases from Torras features a "all - around physical add - on" that can stand, hang, and be adsorbed anywhere for shooting.

In terms of technology, AI is "popularizing" at an unprecedented speed in various products and industries. Even embodied intelligence and robot technologies such as dexterous hands and robotic arms are being applied at an unprecedented pace. The underlying application concept has also shifted from the previous showy type to the current practical type.

The application of AI technology can be hidden in mirrors, pendants, and earphones and come into play when people need it, rather than being sold as a conceptual selling point as in the past.

Embodied intelligence technology doesn't have to be in the form of humanoid robots. As long as it can function, non - humanoid, quadruped, or wheeled forms, or even the original form of the machine, can be applied. Xiao Lei also saw robots with only "hands" and robots with only "feet".

Filmed on - site at Lei Technology CES 2026

In the process of shifting from the "all - around" type to the "specialized" type, technologies such as AI, embodied intelligence, robotic arms, and dexterous hands will also achieve greater application value in silent work.

Q3: Which exhibition areas/booths were more popular? What do you think are the possible reasons?

It has to be mentioned that it is still the booth of the Chinese AI glasses brand Rokid, which was mentioned earlier. There was often a long queue at this booth, and it was very popular. There are mainly three reasons. Firstly, the "giant glasses" specially installed at the booth are quite eye - catching, including the pre - exhibition publicity; secondly, the trial - wearing experience at the glasses booth is time - consuming for each individual, which further lengthens the queue; thirdly, the shortage of Meta glasses has objectively allowed more AI glasses brands like Rokid to have an "overflow" audience.

Filmed on - site at Lei Technology CES 2026

Another area that impressed Xiao Lei was the humanoid robot exhibition area. Although the booth areas of Chinese humanoid robot manufacturers participating in CES 2026 were generally not large, through booth shows in the forms of dancing, fighting, and more sports competitions, and the first - ever "legion" - style participation of Chinese humanoid robot brands, they naturally attracted a crowd of onlookers. Especially Unitree Robotics, which is well - known in the US and global markets. Xiao Lei saw on - site that even near the end of the exhibition, there were still occasional onlookers, even though the robot performance competition of the day had long ended.

Moreover, the large exhibition areas of home appliance giants, such as those of Hisense, TCL, LG, and Panasonic, are located in the C - position of the whole venue and have the largest areas, so they naturally attract a large number of visitors. For Chinese Hisense and TCL (TCL CSOT), they not only have the best booths in the whole venue but also declare a new "leader" role in the great wave of technological changes in high - end TV display, rather than the past stereotypical "follower" image. At CES 2026, Hisense's Linglong four - core true - color backlight, TCL's ten - thousand - zone technology, and the new - generation RGB - Mini LED technology wave led by Chinese brands are all telling the world: The best TVs now come from China.

Filmed on - site at Lei Technology CES 2026

According to Xiao Lei's on - site observation, although Hisense and TCL have slightly different technical paths, they together form the "twin stars" of Chinese brands in the field of Mini LED display technology, squeezing the living space of OLED in the extra - large - size market to almost nothing. This leap from "scale leadership" to "definition leadership" is the most hardcore moment for Chinese brands at this year's CES, and it also deserves the best booth positions in the whole venue that Hisense and TCL have won.

And new technology category giants such as Dreame and Insta360 (including the Antigravity brand) have well - coordinated booth promotion, large total booth areas, multiple booth distributions in different exhibition halls, and the halo of technology star enterprises. Coupled with the display of many new technologies and dazzling technologies on - site at the booths, their popularity has remained high.

Finally, trendy category brands such as AfterShokz and Ugreen, which are quite popular among overseas users, always have popular booths at CES every year, and this year is no exception. At CES 2026, the AfterShokz booth was