We’re wrapping up coverage of the world’s biggest tech show. CES 2026 is almost over, and while we have a lot of news and conclusions to come, here are the most interesting products we saw, wrote about and analyzed/recommended. That includes our best picks for CES. We’ve given away 15 prizes and our best selection, and you might be surprised by some of our picks – I know I was.
Read on for some of the best things to come out of Las Vegas this week, but first, our Best of the Best winner, which was Lego Smart Play. As Engadget editor-in-chief Aaron Souppouris put it, “Lego almost seems like the antithesis of a typical CES product.”
Despite the trends, Lego has been persistent. And in 2026, it’s getting smarter.
Lego
The set consists of Smart Brick, markers and Minifigures. They are packed with modern technology, to respond to the way you play or the sets you build. The Smart Brick has a 4.1mm ASIC chip, which Lego says is smaller than a standard Lego stud. It senses things like movement, shape and magnetic fields, but it also has a small built-in speaker, which produces sound “tied to live performances,” not just canned clips.
It’s hard to explain in just a few words (we have deep dive hands), but what immediately drew me in was the lack of smartphone compatibility with screens. The ability of each part to find and communicate with the others can lead to some funny setups, whether it’s ducks and cops or a helicopter or an X-Wing.
Naturally, it is a little more expensive than the basic Lego, but not without the possibility of being a special gift or a birthday present. One of the first sets, with a smart Darth Vader Minifigure, one Smart Brick and one Smart Tag, is $70.
We will return to our regularly scheduled newsletter next week. Have a great weekend!
— Matt Smith
Some big news (and deals) this morning
Wait, IKEA?
Engadget
Without further ado, here are ours.
The best robot:
Best access technology:
Best TV: LG’s
Best AI hardware:
The best smart home:
Engadget
The best home theater:
Best sound:
Best outdoor technology:
Best toy:
Best PC or laptop:
Leading health technology:
Best game technology:
Best mobile technology:
The most promising concept:
Leading emerging technologies:
NVIDIA has begun production of its Vera Rubin supercomputer.
Engadget
On Monday, what feels like ages ago, Jensen Huang shared the latest from NVIDIA. While the presentation was more exciting than a bunch of new announcements, it was a low-key presentation, with lots of AI talk. Another announcement was Alpamayo, a family of open-source models designed to guide autonomous vehicles in difficult driving situations. The central feature is Alpamayo 1, a 10-billion-parameter thinking system that NVIDIA says can drive as much as a human.
When it comes to technology we all know it use itwe had to wait for a different event, when NVIDIA announced DLSS 4.5 and G-Sync Pulsar. For both features, you’ll need a 50-series GPU. You have, right?
Keep reading.
