The vast CES Gadget Fest is a global stage for AI and its hype.
SAN FRANCISCO, USA, January 3, 2026 (BSS/AFP) – When the Consumer Electronics Show opens in Las Vegas on Tuesday, dreams of the vast potential of artificial intelligence will collide with cold, hard reality.
In science fiction, AI is portrayed as a superintelligence that can operate faster, better, and autonomously than humans.
But the technology is currently being used for very specific tasks, such as gadgets that translate languages during conversations, monitor health symptoms, and provide information about people's surroundings through smart glasses.
Even the AI embedded in humanoid robots is still under development, with human remote operators monitoring the robot's operations remotely.
“The gap between AI technology hype and customer experience expectations will only widen at CES 2026,” Forrester Principal Analyst Thomas Husson predicted.
“If software and AI models move at the speed of light, energy and hardware move at the speed of physics.”
Nevertheless, he expects CES to feature a slew of “AI-powered smart everything devices” for consumers, including televisions, home appliances, computers, cars, and wearables like the health-monitoring Ring.
Analysts expect the annual trade show, which attracted more than 142,000 attendees last year, to be a massive event with vendors touting products ranging from humanoid robots and exoskeletons to AI-powered toys and giant autonomous mining vehicles.
This week-long gathering of thousands of exhibitors includes connected cars, heavy equipment, AI shows, and more. Demos, presentations, and meetings are held in the large convention center as well as ballrooms and suites throughout the city.
“There's no question that part of it will be AI cleaning,” Techsponential analyst Avi Greengart said of the expected hype at CES.
“But truly useful features will also emerge, with advances in machine learning delivering new capabilities for everything from phones to TVs, wearables, digital health and cars.”
Smart glasses like those made by Meta, which partnered with Ray-Ban, are likely to spark an AI wearable race with about 10% of consumers trying them out by the end of this year, Hasson said.
Greengart said he expects there will be a focus on personal computers as Intel, AMD and Qualcomm compete to produce chips that offer more AI features while reducing power consumption to extend battery life.
Greengart warned that “a big cloud is gathering over the PC industry'' due to soaring prices for computing and memory chips.
As chipmakers focus on meeting the needs of AI data centers, supply is dwindling as prices for the basic components of laptops and gaming consoles soar, Greengart said.
“AI is definitely a story that overlaps with CES in terms of new features, but it also comes with new pricing pressures,” Greengart said.
～Pressure of trade war～
The analyst also said that while major Chinese consumer electronics companies such as Lenovo, Hisense and TCL are expected to attend CES, many of the country's smaller manufacturing companies will be absent due to the trade war with the United States.
“The presence of Chinese vendors is certainly smaller than it was under past administrations,” Greengart said, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump.
“This is truly a geopolitical issue.”
He said electronics companies are dealing with frequent and unpredictable changes in strategy regarding U.S. tariffs.
“It's been very distracting and very difficult in an area where the president of the United States has basically changed tariffs or imposed tariffs over 100 times since he took office,” said Gary Shapiro, president of the Consumer Technology Association, which runs CES.
Still, CES is a gathering to make deals, and there's value in meeting in person, Greengart said.
“CES isn't necessarily the place you go to find the next big event.”
“But what we see at CES is a clear view of industry trends and where investments are being made.”
