EVERY JANUARY, MORE THAN 100,000 TECH OBSESSED ATTENDEES FROM ACROSS THE PLANET GATHER AT CES IN LAS VEGAS FOR A GLIMPSE INTO TOMORROW. BELOW, FIND INNOVATIVE STANDOUTS IN HOME, PHONE, AND HEALTH WITH REAL-LIFE UTILITY

BY EVAN MONROE

Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold

Samsung’s new flagship foldable might just have the goods to go beyond gimmick. The tech powerbrand’s first tri-fold device, it reframes the smartphone as a genuinely flexible workspace, unfolding like a brochure into a tablet-like display before collapsing back into a slim handheld. Notables include a 200MP camera system and 5,600mAh three-cell battery. Price TBA, samsung.com

Eli Health Hormometer

CES health tech loves a moonshot, but this one is refreshingly practical: an at home, saliva-based hormone test starting at an astoundingly thrifty $8 per test, aiming to make hormone tracking feel as routine as checking your steps. Instead of traditional blood draws or mail-in lab tests that take days or weeks, this system delivers real-time insights in about 20 minutes right on your phone, offering real-world insights into what’s driving your fatigue or stress. $8+, elihealth.com

LEGO SMART Play System

LEGO did something rather sneaky-brilliant: instead of shoving kids (and parents) into yet another app ecosystem, it built a screen-free smart brick system that layers responsive sound, light, and interaction directly into physical play. The clever bricks react in real time, triggering audio cues, lighting effects, and simple feedback loops so kids get a sense of cause and effect without ever touching a tablet. The first wave launches with Star Wars–themed sets in March. $69.99+, lego.com

Roborock Saros Rover

Robot vacuums have been nifty little helpers for years until they get stuck in a corner or under a chair. Meet Roborock’s Saros Rover, shattering the limitations of robo-vacs past with a stair-climbing design that can purportedly ascend steps one at a time, intelligently map multiple levels, and clean as it goes, turning what was once a single-floor assistant into a whole-home power-machine. Price TBA, roborock.com

VIGX AI Terrain Camera Exoskeleton

Wearable robotics went full sci-fi this year: this light weight exoskeleton uses an AI terrain camera to read the ground ahead – slopes, steps, uneven terrainand dynamically adjusts assistance in real time, delivering extra support exactly when and where your body needs it, whether you’re navigating city stairs, hiking rough trails, or carrying heavy gear. At under 2kg, it’s compact and portable enough to toss in a backpack and deploy on demand. Price TBA, vigx.com

Dreame Pilot 20 AI Intelligent Hair Dryer

One of the show’s more unexpected standouts, this beauty breakthrough rethinks the humble hair dryer as a responsive grooming tool, using dual robotic arms – one to continuously sense scalp and hair conditions, the other to dynamically adjust airflow and temperature in real time to help minimize heat damage while improving drying efficiency. Under the hood, a 150,000-RPM motor delivers salon-grade power with algorithmic restraint. Price TBA, global.dreametech.com