AI Hardware Takes Center Stage as CES 2026 Opens Next Week — What to Watch For

TradingKey - With just one week remaining until the official opening of the 2026 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), global attention from the tech industry, capital markets, and manufacturing supply chains is rapidly converging on Las Vegas. As the largest and most influential annual technology event, CES 2026 will run from January 6 to 9, widely regarded as the New Year’s compass for the global technology sector.

AI Goes Mainstream

Artificial intelligence is undeniably the central theme permeating CES 2026.

Wedbush analysts note that this year’s CES may herald a pivotal year for the consumer AI revolution, with an estimated $3–4 trillion in global capital expenditures dedicated to AI over the next three years.

Analysts state: “While enterprise AI dominated headlines in recent years, we now believe the consumer AI revolution will fully ignite in 2026.”

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang is confirmed to speak at the event, detailing his latest strategy on data centers and physical AI (including robotics), alongside new progress on the Cosmos foundational model platform. AMD CEO Lisa Su is expected to spotlight the Ryzen AI 400 series chips, new GPUs, and advancements in gaming and edge computing.

From chip giants like NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel to device brands such as Samsung, Lenovo, Xiaomi, and TCL — all will unveil next-generation PCs and hardware featuring built-in AI processors and locally deployed neural network capabilities.

The imminent release of GPT-5, the rollout of the “Copilot+ PC ecosystem,” and Google’s Gemini system have already signaled the arrival of the “on-device intelligence” era. How companies achieve closed-loop applications for edge AI will become the focal point of competition among major players.

Humanoid Robots and Next-Gen Glasses Take Center Stage

This year’s CES will dedicate an entire exhibition hall to robotics displays, marking a "full-scale capability showcase" phase for humanoid robots. Solutions will span home companion models to industrial-grade operational systems.

LG will debut its CLOiD Home Robot for the first time; Agility Robotics will showcase star products like the AGIBOT X2 and Atlas G2, while further refining human-robot interaction capabilities. Unitree plans to exhibit its latest embodied action recognition model, while U.S. startup Tombot introduces Jennie, a companion robot dog targeting overseas elderly care markets.

Smart glasses will also dominate as a hotspot for new products. Brands including Xreal, Vuzix, and Rokid will demonstrate multimodal AI applications — from shooting assistance to real-time translation.

Meta has confirmed its participation but is expected to focus on showcasing new software or iterative features rather than hardware updates, following its prior launch of the first smart glasses with built-in displays.

TV Technology Upgrades

Televisions and display technologies remain a critical CES highlight. Chinese, Japanese, and Korean brands — including TCL, Hisense, Sony, LG, and Samsung — will collectively intensify competition in the premium large-screen market.

TCL will unveil printed OLED displays, new high-color-gamut Mini LED models, and eye-care screen technologies. It will also launch the world’s first HDR10 visual-quality AR glasses. Integrated smart home devices will feature prominently across its exhibition. Hisense will spotlight flagship TVs powered by next-generation RGB Mini LED technology alongside multiple new AI home appliances.

Upstream display panel manufacturers such as BOE Technology, Tianma, and TCL CSOT will also exhibit next-generation screen solutions for automotive cockpits and flexible small-format devices.

Simultaneously, the entire show may become the main battleground for RGB display technology. Sony is rumored to unveil its first RGB LED-backlit LCD TV, while LG continues its OLED dominance with transparent OLED panels and Micro RGB LCD innovations.

PC Revolution Ignites

Intel and AMD will each unveil next-generation high-performance processors, spearheading the next wave of laptop innovation.

At CES 2026, Intel will introduce the Core Ultra 300 Series processors, built on the new Panther Lake architecture and 18A process node. These chips mark the first introduction of multi-chiplet packaging design in mobile devices, integrating up to 16 CPU cores, 12 Xe GPU cores, and 180 TOPS of AI compute power — significantly enhancing graphics performance and on-device inference capabilities.

AMD will launch the Ryzen AI 400 Series "Gorgon Point" processors, featuring a hybrid Zen5 + Zen5C architecture, next-generation Radeon integrated graphics, and a built-in 55 TOPS NPU. In leaked benchmarks, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 (12 cores/24 threads) demonstrated exceptional performance with boost clocks reaching 5.25GHz.

As both chip giants roll out new silicon, major OEMs will rapidly follow suit:

Lenovo will debut the ThinkPad X9, Yoga Pro, and other ultrabooks/gaming laptops powered by Intel or AMD’s latest platforms.

ThundeRobot will release the ZERO Ai gaming laptop and the Aibook 14 Pro — a portable model weighing just 1.0kg.

Other Key Trends to Watch

CES 2026 will also spotlight breakthroughs across multiple domains, including smart automotive technology, digital health, and sustainable energy solutions.

In automotive tech — where CES has become the second-most important auto showcase after Detroit—brands will reveal next-gen Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), near-production autonomous driving solutions, and AI-driven digital cockpit experiences. Software is now the core value driver for next-gen vehicles, with artificial intelligence taking center stage.

Global auto supplier Bosch will unveil its new AI Cockpit Expansion Platform at CES — a high-performance computing unit enabling rapid deployment into existing vehicle systems for proactive interaction and intelligent driving. Future cockpits will evolve beyond stacked display screens into integrated digital assistants with perception and contextual understanding capabilities.

In health technology, wearables are expanding functional boundaries beyond traditional fitness tracking. Next-gen devices integrate advanced sensors and algorithms for sleep monitoring, blood oxygen assessment, and physiological tracking for women/infants—delivering precise, personalized health insights and intervention suggestions.

For energy and sustainability, products will incorporate renewable materials, high-bioplastic chassis designs, high-efficiency chipsets, and AI-driven real-time power optimization. From home energy storage systems to smart grid solutions, multiple "green hardware" implementations will debut at this year’s show.