Best of CES 2023: The important gadgets, TVs, cars, and announcements

CES 2023 is under way and the tech news and announcements are flying in.

Companies often drop news at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and this year has been no different. Per usual, there have also been some pretty interesting gadgets and innovations highlighted at the major conference. Mashable is on the ground in Vegas reporting on the latest news. We've summarized everything that's gone on thus far and will update as more info comes in.

The metaverse might've been the buzzword at CES 2023, but its ability to actually be the Next Big Thing might depend on virtual reality experiences that don't rely on glasses. Mashable's Matt Binder found new glasses-free products, like the Breylon Fusion display, to be impressive and perhaps the main way the metaverse could one day go mainstream.

Content creators know the struggle of trying to film with the tiny flip-out LCD screen on lots of high-quality DSLR cameras. The SeeMo turns your iPhone or iPad into a real-time monitor of what your filming via a simple HDMI adapter. Even better: The adapter from Accsoon can record the video directly to your Apple device, which could make sharing the footage to social or with collaborators so much easer.

Mashable caught up with Jonathan Knight, head of games at The New York Times, which means he's in charge of stalwarts like Wordle, Spelling Bee, and The Crossword. The Times announced at CES that they're partnering with Delta to offer its games for free to SkyMiles Members during flights.

In case you're wondering, even the head of games at the Times forgets to play sometimes.

"I always do the Wordle," Knight said. "In fact, I broke my 48-day streak on New Year's Eve, which was really annoying. So I'm starting all over with a new streak. I'll usually do 30, 40, 50 days in a row and then I'll miss for some reason."

Mashable's Christianna Silva tried out TCL's new tablet and found it ran smoothly and had a wonderfully soft, paper-like screen. Even with the great screen, Silva wrote, it remains a "basic, mid-level android tablet."

Vehicles in 2023 are basically moving computers, which means the car tech at this year's CES was definitely impressive. Mashable's Alex Perry wrote about the best car tech at CES 2023, including Android Auto's facelift and Harman's AR-based Ready Vision.

There was plenty of cool gaming gear this year at CES. Mashable's Alex Perry rounded up some of the best gaming tech at the convention, including Sony's accessibility-minded controller and a gaming head rest with haptic feedback.

Delta dropped some huge news for frequent flyers at CES 2023: The airline will soon offer free WiFi on most domestic flights. About 80 percent of its fleet will offer free WiFi by February. The catch, however, is that you must be a member of its SkyMiles frequent-flier program to access the free WiFi.

John Deere — yes, the green and yellow tractor company — has debuted some of the most innovative products at CES 2023. It showed off the ExactShot, its robotics-based fertilizer system and its new electric excavator. The ExactShot uses sensors and robotics to place fertilizer exactly where it's needed, rather than just continuously dumping it. The electric excavator, meanwhile, produces zero emissions without sacrificing power.

"Why should you care about farmers when they represent less than two percent of the U.S. population?" John May, CEO of John Deere, said at a CES keynote. "You will not find two industries that have a larger impact on our world and all of us than agriculture and construction."

Qualcomm announced Snapdragon Satellite at CES 2023, which will effectively allow people who buy new Android phones later this year to send two-way text messages using satellites. The idea is that the feature could come in handy for folks who need to communicate but don't have cell coverage.

Google rolled out a new feature at CES 2023 called "uninterrupted listening," that'll automatically move your current music or podcast from one device to the next, depending where you are. For users dedicated the Android ecosystem, that means you could, for instance, exit your car and have your music playback automatically transfer to your phone.

The peripheral gaming brand announced it made a head cushion that attaches to your gaming chair and delivers haptic feedback tied to the game you're playing. There were not yet any details on price or availability.

The in-car Android experience got a major redesign, Google announced at CES 2023. Among the changes: moving the Map view closer to the driver, a quick-launcher for frequently used apps, and a progress bar for podcasts and songs.

BMW showed off its concept car, the i Vision Dee, that would allow drivers to change and mix 32 different colors on the car.

Sony announced at CES 2023 that it is teaming up with Honda to make an electric car it has dubbed Afeela. It'll have a number of cool features like a display built into the front bumper. It's scheduled to ship in 2026.

Tech powerhouse Lenovo dropped a number of products, perhaps weirdest among them was a headset-free metaverse device. Project Chronos, as it's code-named, would capture a person's movements down to their facial expressions so they'll be able to participate in an event occurring in a virtual setting.

Aeolus Robotics showed off its cute robot named Aeo that's designed to do tasks like disinfect surfaces, open doors, and carry things. It even takes selfies. Oh...and it can also function as a security guard thanks in part to its 360 degree night-vision camera — a bit less playful.

After a number of delays and false starts, customers are now able to pre-order a Ring Car Cam. Amazon's popular security company designed a cam with a dual-facing camera, a feature to detect break-ins, and the ability to check in with your car via the Ring app.

The Frenz brainband connects to your phone and uses AI to curate audio and soothing sounds designed specifically to help your sleep. It'll learn, via your heart rate and other data, what helps you relax and perform better over time.

Sony plans to release a controller that'll help folks with disabilities game, the company announced at CES 2023. Codenamed Project Leonardo, it'll be customizable to help address common problems for gamers with limited motor control.

At CES 2023, Samsung previewed a mode called Relumino Mode that'll help folks with limited or low vision. Relumino Mode highlights outlines, sharpens contrast, and enhances colors to make things easier to see onscreen.

Sony showed off a trailer for Gran Turismo, the video-game-based film starring David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, and Darren Barnet.

TCL unveiled its new augmented reality glasses at CES 2023. Mashable's Christianna Silva called the glasses — which can display GPS navigation and auto-translation, along with phone call and message notifications — "big, blocky, and very cool."

Yes, you read that right. Apparently the codes will act as a customizable digital display for the car scheduled to come out in 2026.

At CES 2023, Panasonic dropped it X Portable Air Purifier, which is a travel-mug-sized device that'll combat odor and air pollutants. It works to fight food smells, pet dander, and inhibits viruses and mold.

LG showed off more features of its MoodUp fridge at CES 2023, including the ability for panels to change colors or go transparent with a simple knock.

Imagine your TV flush against the wall, or on a stand, with no wires in sight. That's the future LG is imagining with its 93-inch LG M3 television it showed off at CES 2023. The catch: The wires and ports are tucked away in a wireless receiver box.

Roku announced at CES 2023 that it'll start making its own TVs, ranging from 24 inches to 75 inches, all priced under $999. While Roku has licensed its OS to TV manufacturers like TCL for years, it'll now make its own affordable TVs running the popular Roku software.

Samsung-owned HARMAN launched two cool driver-safety features at CES 2023. One, called Ready Vision, projects AR images onto your windshield — meaning direction information can actually pop up into your field of view. The other feature, called Ready Care, claims to have used neuroscience and machine learning to come up with a system for detecting if a driver is distracted.

Garmin showed off the new Dash Cam Live at CES 2023, which can give you a live view of your car's exterior at any moment. It also features theft alerts.

Sure AI and the metaverse might be the buzzy subjects at CES 2023, but the more straightforward tech actually stands out, wrote Mashable's Matt Binder from Vegas. Sometimes something as simple as a great gaming mouse is worth celebrating.

Taiwanese company Q-bear showed off its AI-powered device at CES 2023 that promises to analyze and determine why a baby is crying. The company's small device can apparently determine if your baby is crying for any of these four reasons: Hunger, a diaper needing to be changed, sleepiness, and need for comfort.

Finally the age-old problem is solved: an at-home urine lab is finally a reality. Withings, a health tech company, announced at CES 2023 a gadget you can put in your toilet bowl, which will continuously analyze your pee.

LG showed off a number of new, slim laptops, most notably the LG Gram 2-in-1 hybrid laptop/tablet. It comes in 16-inch and 14-inch models and weighs just 2.7 pounds.

Neutrogena launched a cool, new bit of beauty tech at CES 2023. Using Neutrogena's Skin360 App, people can get a customized skincare supplement "stack" — sort of like a tiny little vitamin sandwich — which can now be 3-D printed by Nourished, a company that produces "super nutrient" gummies.

For the always online chef, Samsung launched an oven that can live-stream the interior of your oven. The Bespoke AI Wall Oven can take pictures or stream your food as it cooks via an internal camera.

TopicsCES