The 2026 CES parade of giant TVs and AI robots didn’t disappoint — but it’s the practical, useful gadgets that truly stole the show.

CES 2026’s first official show day kept the pace up with a mix of near-term gaming upgrades, ambitious new form factors and a few reminders that not every gadget needs to do everything. NVIDIA announced important gaming news,

Razer's always good for a couple of neat concepts at every CES, though they don't necessarily work well as eventual products. The first one is Project Ava, a hologram-in-a-tube avatar that works with AI software, essentially giving your chatbot a face (and body too).

In the past, many trends showed up on this list repeatedly, like the smart home, fitness tech and electric cars, because the tech took time to mature. (Not everything pans out; while those last two examples became hot, smart home technology still has some rough edges.)

It's the first week of a new year and there's no time for the tech world to slowly ease back into things following the holidays. That's because CES 2026 is in full swing, with all manner of companies descending on Las Vegas to reveal their latest innovations and what they're planning to bring your way in the near future.

From AI-powered wearables to smarter doors and feeding systems, these were the pet tech companies that made the biggest impact.