CES 2018: the hottest stuff from the world’s biggest tech show

It’s that time of year again: CES. The world’s biggest tech trade show, or a tech journalist’s worst nightmare.

But you don’t care about the long, sleepless nights in Las Vegas hotel rooms, running purely on terrible coffee and whatever scrounged canapes were left out at the last press conference. All you want are the announcements—a sneak peek at the biggest gadgets of 2018, months before they go on sale.

Whether you’re after a new TV, smartphone, camera or that next cool piece of wearable tech, it’ll be at CES. Think of it as the tech fuel to the shiny fire that burns for the rest of the year.

What’s in store this time around? Well, as ever, CES 2018 should see its fair share of big reveals, in-the-flesh demos of kit we’ve been hearing about for months already, and of course a handful of surprises. Here are the things most whetting our gadget appetite at CES.

Smartphones

Samsung Galaxy A8

Want the best bits of Samsung’s ace Galaxy S8, but without spending a huge wedge of cash to get them? The Galaxy A8 should fit the bill. It doesn’t have a curved screen that bends around the sides, but the bezels stay pretty skinny, and the hardware is still top notch. There’s even a second camera up front for some bokeh blurring selfies.

OnePlus 5T Sandstone White

OK, it arrived before CES actually kicked off, but we love it, so we’re sticking it in here anyway. OnePlus has released a limited edition Sandstone White 5T, complete with grippy, textured rear that should help you keep it in your mitts—no cracked screens here, thank you very much. It’s on sale now, and we’ve already reviewed it—see our in-the-flesh snaps and first impressions right here.

Nokia 6 (2018)

Technically not a CES debut—or at least, not yet. HMD Global revealed a new Nokia 6 for 2018 in China a week before the show began, so we’re fully expecting an American debut this week. It’s shaping up to be a great budget phone, too, with an uprated Snapdragon 630 processor, slicker design and (hopefully) the same great price as last year’s model.

Sony Xperia XA2

The XA2 proves that snazzy smartphone cameras aren’t just for premium smartphones. this mid-range packs the same 23MP Exmor RS sensor seen on the high-end Xperia XZ range, which means 4K video recording and an ISO range that goes up to 12,800—perfect for capturing board game night in your dimly lit pub. It’ll be available from Feb.

Wearable Tech

Garmin Vivofit 4

If you’re the kind of healthy eating, super-fit exercise machine that lasts longer than your fitness tracker does, it might be time to strap Garmin’s Vivofit 4 to your wrist. It’s got the juice to last an entire calendar year on a single battery, meaning it’ll keep going long after you’ve called it a day and hung up your running shoes.

Garmin Forerunner 645 Music

Been waiting till the January sales for a sports watch? You might want to hold off for one more month. The Forerunner 645 Music is shaping up to be the best Garmin all-rounder yet thanks to built-in music storage—a first for the Garmy army. You can also store offline Deezer tunes (although sadly not Spotify ones) and the 645 packs the same goodies as Garmin’s other premium multi-sporters, including GPS and Garmin Pay.

SGNL

No CES is complete without a sci-fi wearable that we inexplicably want despite its extreme frivolity. Enter SGNL, a wristband that can work alone or connected to your smartwatch and lets you take phone calls by putting your finger in your ear. Why? We haven’t fully prepared our excuse for buying one, but it’d certainly be easier than fishing for the phone when out cycling. It’s out in March 2018 for $249.

TV and Home Cinema

Samsung The Wall

Yes, The Wall is a massive, impractical telly, but it’s much more interesting than that. It’s our first glimpse of MicroLED tech, which is Samsung’s new competitor for OLED. So while you won’t be buying this particular 146-inch set (well, unless your lotto numbers came up this weekend), it might just be the tech that powers your next Samsung telly. Here’s our lowdown on everything you need to know about it.

Samsung NW700 soundbar

If soundbars wore dresses, Samsung’s NW700 would wear a size zero. It’s s super-skinny bar meant to be mounted on your wall, matching your already slim TV. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for speakers, but Samsung reckons it can still give your movies and games a big boost over using your telly’s built-in sound.

LG HU80KA projector

A 4K, HDR projector that doesn’t take up as much space as your sofa? LG’s HU80KA is good for a 150-inch screen, but takes up less floor space than a waste paper basket. It’s designed to be luggable, so you can wheel it out for movie night then hide it away again once the popcorn has been polished off.

Panasonic FZ950 OLED TV

Hollywood-approved color correction is Panasonic’s latest attempt to win the coveted “best OLED TV” crown, giving the FZ950 OLED TV image processing that can change color profiles on the fly, instead of just when you first hit play on a Blu-ray disc. HDR10+ support and a Technics-tuned soundbar look pretty promising, too.

Virtual & Augmented Reality

ACE Eyewear

If you dig the idea of Snapchat spectacles, but aren’t really down with the kids enough to pull a pair off, maybe some ACE eyewear will be a better buy. They can take 8MP still pics, record HD video, or live stream to any social network—not just one that’s aimed at pre-teens.

Merge 6DoF Blaster

Fancy a bit of lounge-based Laser Quest? Merge’s promising 6DoF Blaster gun has a slot for your iOS or Android smartphone and uses positional tracking to let you look around (and unload rounds at) its 360-degree world. It’s neither VR nor AR, but it does sound like a lot of fun.

Intel NUC8i7VHK

Intel’s built-it-yourself range of little PCs have long been favourites among the Stuff‘s tinkerers—and this one’s powerful enough to create smooth virtual reality worlds. It’s got some serious specs for one so small and, best of all, there’s a glowing skull on the lid. Just in case you were in any doubt about its gaming credentials.

Laptops & Computers

Dell XPS 13

If The Last Jedi has you yearning to leave the dark side for something a little lighter, the 4th gen XPS 13 should fit the bill. It swaps the silver and carbon fiber of Dell’s superb ultra-portable for rose gold and white, with a world’s first glass fiber construction keeping those colors sparkling. The seriously skinny bezel Infinity Display makes a return, too, only now those edges are slimmer than ever.

Lenovo Thinkpad X

Any Thinkpad feels like a blast from the past—even one with a 360-degree hinge for flipping from laptop to tablet and back again whenever you like. The Thinkpad X is that, and more. USB-C fast charging and an 8th-gen Intel Core processor are present and correct, as they should be on every 2018 laptop, and you can doodle on the touchscreen with Lenovo’s active pen stylus, too.

Acer Swift 7

A laptop so thin you could practically shave with it. The freshly updated Swift 7 doesn’t have the latest or greatest parts, making do with a 7th gen Intel CPU, but when it’s a barely-there 8.98mm thick, being a little down on power doesn’t matter all that much—it’ll slip into the skinniest of man bags for carrying between meetings. Read the full Acer Swift 7 hands-on review here.

Acer Nitro 5 (2018 edition)

Holy dynamic duo, Batman! Acer has bundled AMD’s Ryzen CPU and Radeon graphics into one surprisingly affordable gaming laptop, which looks pretty much perfect for a spot of Rocket League or Overwatch, without squinting at low-res textures. Read the full Acer Nitro 5 hands-on review here.

HP Spectre x360

Its name might not be too auspicious given recent security news, but the Spectre x360 is a promising option for those looking for a powerful 2-in-1 convertible laptop. It packs the new AMD Vega chips that should make watching and editing 4K video a breeze.

Hi-fi & Audio

LG Thinq speaker

A smart home isn’t very smart if your gadgets don’t actually talk to each other. Light bulbs and thermostats are easy enough, but what about washing machines, microwaves and dishwashers? That’s the idea with LG’s Thinq range of white goods—they’ll all work with voice commands through the Thinq speaker. It should sound pretty decent too, and a helping hand from Google means it’ll do all the usual Google Assistant cleverness as well.

Cameras

DJI Osmo Mobile 2

Shooting silky smooth videos on your phone used to cost a fortune, but DJI just slashed the cost for would-be smartphone Spielbergs. The Osmo Mobile 2 is half the price of the original, with simpler controls, a built-in battery (no hot-swapping this time around) and a new nylon construction that should make it a bit easier to lug around, too.

Automotive

Byton Concept electric SUV

Here’s a first—a car with a screen that’s probably larger than the TV sitting in your front room. Chinese car co Byton might not be a household name, but with the man behind the amazing BMW i8 at the helm, there’s every chance the Byton Concept electric SUV with a giant 40-inch touchscreen for a dashboard will actually make it into production.

Smart Home

Hive View

Combine a GoPro with a guard dog and you’ve got a good idea what makes the Hive View security camera so special. Pop one off its mount and it’ll record for up to 90 minutes, letting you keep an eye on something special until you’re back in the room. Person detection means shadows and sunlight won’t bombard your phone with alerts, too.

Best of the Best

Pitta drone

No, this isn’t a quadcoptor built to deliver delicious Greek flatbreads through the air—the Pitta drone a whole lot more flexible. Dock it and it’s a security camera, hold it as an action cam, or hook up some rotors and record from the air, complete with advanced features like auto-follow and one-touch flying.

Asus Bezel-Free Kit

Can’t unsee those annoying bezels breaking up your incredible gaming monitor setup? Asus has a solution in the form of its Bezel-free kit, which attached between each monitor and somehow makes them appear as one screen.