CES 2026 is reaching its climax in Las Vegas, with the show floor opening to the public after days filled with press conferences from Nvidia, Sony, AMD and more, and previews for Sunday’s Unveiled event.
As with the past two years of CES, AI is at the forefront of many companies’ messaging, but the hardware upgrades and quirky elements that have long characterized the annual event still have their place on the show floor and in adjacent announcements. While we collect the biggest reveals and surprises here, you can catch instant reactions and thoughts from the team on the ground through our live blog here.
Let’s take a look at Monday’s leading players.
Nvidia releases AI models for self-driving cars, unveils Rubin architecture
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang gave an unexpectedly long presentation at CES, taking a victory lap celebrating the company’s AI-driven success, gearing up for 2026, and yes, hanging out with some robots.
The Rubin computing architecture was developed to meet the growing computing demands of AI adoption and will begin replacing the Blackwell architecture later this year. There are speed and storage upgrades, but Russell Brandom, our senior AI editor, dives into the nitty-gritty of what makes Rubin special.
And Nvidia continues its efforts to bring the AI revolution to the physical world, showcasing its Alpamayo family of open source AI models and tools used in self-driving cars this year. As senior reporter Rebecca Beran points out, this approach reflects the company’s broader efforts to make its infrastructure the Android for general-purpose robots.
AMD keynote highlights new processors and partnerships
AMD Chairman and CEO Lisa Su gave the first keynote at CES, with a presentation featuring partners including OpenAI President Greg Brockman, AI legend Fei-Fei Li, Luma AI CEO Amit Jain, and more.
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October 13-15, 2026
Beyond the partner showcase, senior reporter Rebecca Szkutak detailed AMD’s approach to expanding the reach of AI through personal computers with Ryzen AI 400 series processors.
A notable weirdness at CES
Let’s be honest, by this point in the show major announcements have been made, products have been showcased, and it’s time to take a look at some of the most eyebrow-raising announcements of CES. We’ve started a list of those that stood out as odd and noteworthy, but we welcome more suggestions.
CES Breakout Session Highlights
CES isn’t all about hardware showcases and show floor attractions. There will also be plenty of other high-profile industry panels and speakers. We monitored some notable highlights, from Palmer Luckey promoting a retro aesthetic to why the days of “learn once, work forever” are over, a preview of the new Silicon Valley-based series “The Audacity,” the expansion of Roku’s $3 streaming service, and All-In host Jason Calacanis putting up a $25,000 prize for a genuine Theranos device.
Ford’s AI assistant debuts
Ford aims to launch Assistant in its app in advance of its release to its vehicles in 2027. Hosting is managed by Google Cloud, and the Assistant itself is built using off-the-shelf LLM. However, as we noted in our news coverage, little details were provided about what drivers should expect from the assistant experience.
Caterpillar and Nvidia partner on autonomous construction equipment
As part of their continued pursuit of AI’s impact on the physical world, Caterpillar and Nvidia announced “Cat AI Assistant,” a pilot program demonstrated at CES on Wednesday. Deployed on one of Caterpillar’s excavator fleets, the system is running in parallel with another project that uses Nvidia’s Omniverse simulation resources to help plan and execute construction projects.
Clicks Communicator in action
One of the most eye-catching reveals at the show was Clicks Technology’s debut mobile phone, the $499 Communicator. It recreates the BlackBerry feel with a physical keyboard, and also comes with a separate $79 slide-out physical keyboard that you can use with other devices.
Check out the full rundown from the show floor here. But according to consumer editor Sarah Perez, communicators make a good first impression.
“In our hands-on testing, the phone was comfortable to hold, not too heavy or light, and easy to grip. Gadway told me that the company went through dozens of 3D printed shapes before settling on the final shape of the device. The winning design for the phone features a contoured back that makes it easy to pick up and hold.
“The device’s screen also rises slightly from the body, and the chin curves up to create an indentation to protect the keys when placed face down.”
Check out Skylight Calendar 2
This family planning tool caught our eye at the show floor not only for its calendar and planning features, but also for its AI features that allow you to sync calendars from various sources, create new to-dos based on messages and photos, event reminders, and more. Read the full review here.
Boston Dynamics and Google partner on Atlas robot
While Hyundai’s press conference focused on its robotics partnership with Boston Dynamics, the two companies revealed that they are working with Google’s AI Lab, rather than a competitor, to train and operate the existing Atlas robot and the new humanoid robot unveiled on stage. Transportation editor Kirsten Kolosek provides a detailed overview.
Amazon’s AI-centric updates to Alexa+ received a predictable response at CES, with the company launching Alexa.com for early access customers who want to use chatbots through their browser, and also offering a similar revamped bot-centric app. Consumer Editor Sara Perez has the details on Amazon’s refresh to Fire TV, with news about the new Artline TV, which comes with its own Alexa+.
On the Ring front, consumer reporter Ivan Mehta breaks down the many announcements, from fire alerts to an app store for third-party camera integration and more.
Razer joins the AI flood with Project AVA and Motoko
In the past, Razer has made headlines at CES with outrageous hardware, from triple-screen laptops to haptic gaming cushions to masks that were fined by the federal government. Two high-profile announcements this year involved Project Motoko, which is intended to function similarly to smart glasses, but without glasses.
And then there’s Project AVA, which puts an AI companion avatar on your desk. Check out the concept video for yourself.
Lego Smart Bricks marks company’s first CES exhibit
Lego attended CES for the first time with a private showcase of its Smart Play System. The Smart Play System includes bricks, tiles, and minifigures that can interact and make sounds, and both debut sets are Star Wars themed. Senior writer Amanda Silberling has the details here.
