CES 2026 Unveiled: Smart Cars, $4,990 Smart Toilets & Music-Playing Candy That Transmits Sound Through Your Teeth
Las Vegas—The future arrives in bewildering packages. This year's Consumer Electronics Show didn't just iterate; it lobbed curveballs from the connected bathroom to the literal inside of your mouth.
The Automotive Theater
Forget self-driving—the new buzz is 'self-feeling.' Major automakers rolled out vehicles with biometric cabins that adjust climate, audio, and even seat massage patterns based on your heart rate and stress levels. The tech promises a commute that de-stresses you, though early test drives suggest the system gets confused by gripping thrillers on the car's built-in screen.
The $4,990 Question in Your Bathroom
The showstopper, for better or worse, was the fully integrated smart toilet. For a cool five grand, it offers health analytics, automated cleaning, and personalized ambient lighting. It syncs with your home ecosystem, so your shower can start warming as you finish. A staggering price for a throne, making one wonder if the R&D budget bypassed practical affordability studies entirely. It’s the kind of luxury tech that makes a gold-plated faucet look like a sensible, frugal investment.
Bite-Sized Beats
Then came the oddity that had everyone talking: a hard candy that plays music through bone conduction directly to your inner ear. You bite down, and a micro-transmitter delivers a private soundtrack. It’s a novelty with viral potential, though the demo playlist was heavy on corporate jingles—a cynical, if clever, brand integration play.
The Bottom Line
CES 2026 delivered a classic mix of genuine innovation and head-scratching extravagance. It proves the industry's relentless drive to digitize every facet of existence, from the road to the restroom. The real takeaway? The line between 'smart' and 'superfluous' is getting thinner by the year, and your wallet is the ultimate beta tester. It's enough to make you want to invest in something simple and tangible—like, say, Bitcoin.
Uber returns to robotaxis
Uber is getting back into the game with its own branded driverless vehicle. The company teamed up with Nuro, which makes autonomous driving systems, and Lucid Motors to create the new car. The vehicle is built on the platform used for the Lucid Gravity electric SUV.
Nuro handled the cameras and sensors, while Uber took care of designing what passengers will see and use inside the car. People using the service can pick their own music and change how warm or cool the cabin feels.
Last year, Uber put $300 million into Lucid to help make this vehicle a reality.
Giant television draws crowds
Samsung brought a 130-inch Micro RGB TV to the show this week. The screen sits in a slim metal frame that can barely hold the massive display. This type of screen uses tiny red, green, and blue LEDs that light up the picture directly. The goal is to make images brighter with better colors than regular LED televisions.
Some people who are serious about home theaters still say OLED screens look better. But the sheer size of this 130-inch model had plenty of people stopping to look at it on the show floor. A smaller version measuring 115 inches came out last year and was priced at $30,000.
Photo frame brings pictures to life
Taking inspiration from moving paintings in Harry Potter movies, a picture frame called Vinabot uses AI to make photos MOVE and talk. Users upload photos and write a short script, then the system creates a video of that celebrity, character, or family member having a conversation. The project plans to launch on Kickstarter.
Nails that change color with a button
A product called iPolish claims to be the first digital nails that can change color. These press-on acrylic nails connect to a phone app with over 400 different shades. To switch colors, users put the nail tip into a small wand. The wand uses technology similar to e-readers, which allows the color to change almost instantly.
The starter package costs $95 and comes with the wand, glue for attaching the nails, and two sets of nails. Additional sets should sell for about $6. The company hopes to launch during the summer and get shelf space at major beauty retailers.
Device checks food for allergens on the spot
People who deal with serious food allergies now have a new option from a French biotech company called Allergen Alert. The device costs $200 and is small enough to bring to restaurants. The company says it can deliver results as accurate as what labs provide.
To check a meal, someone puts a bit of food into a pouch, which come through a monthly subscription, and slides it into the device, which is about the size of a paperback book. Results usually come back in a few minutes. Right now, it only tests for gluten, but the company will have dairy-specific kits coming soon. The plan is to cover most common allergens, including nuts, by 2028.
Candy that plays music through your teeth
Among the stranger audio products on display is the Lollipop Star, which costs $9. This candy uses bone-conduction technology to create sound. Rather than using regular speakers, the electronics inside send vibrations through teeth and jaw bones straight to the inner ear.
Each flavor plays certain songs that were loaded onto it already, like “Beautiful Day” by Akon. The product should go on sale after the show wraps up.
Desktop AI companion with privacy features
The Lepro Ami is an AI companion meant to sit on a desk. It has an 8-inch curved OLED screen. Unlike AI chatbots on phones, Ami is built to be a physical device in the room that uses cameras in the front to track eye movement and a camera in the back to place its 3D avatar in the user’s actual space.
Because some people worry about devices that are always on, this one includes physical covers for both cameras and microphones. A company representative said all information from interactions stays on the device itself instead of going to the cloud. Ami is not available to buy yet.
Toilet technology gets a safety upgrade
A company from South Korea is showing off the VOVO Smart Toilet Neo, which costs $4,990. It has the expected high-end features like a bidet and flushing that happens automatically. But the company says this version also includes a sensor that checks urine and shows health information on a screen mounted to the bathroom wall.
While standalone devices for checking urine have appeared at past shows, this toilet has a different feature meant for taking care of older adults. Users can set it up to send a message to relatives or caregivers if nobody has used the toilet for over eight hours. This gives people a way to check on elderly family members without being intrusive.
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