Another January, another CES. Seriously, if I hear “the future is now” one more time, I think I might actually scream. Look, I’ve been trekking through those Las Vegas convention halls for fifteen years, watching folks try to sell us on everything from flying cars that never quite take off (literally) to smart toasters that just… toast your bread. But CES 2026? Yeah, it was a thing. And if you believe the headlines – like the one over at Engadget – your future apparently started there. I’m not so sure.

Alright, Another Year, Another CES Circus

You know, every year it’s the same song and dance. Someone trots out a gadget, slaps “AI” on it, and suddenly it’s “revolutionary.” This year? Oh man, this year was AI-palooza, even more than usual. We’re talking AI in your toothbrush, AI in your fridge (still), AI in your dog’s collar (I kid you not), and, get this, AI-powered “emotional support” devices for your plants. Plants! Who cares if your ficus is feeling down? Just water the damn thing!

But okay, okay, some stuff actually caught my eye. Or at least made me raise an eyebrow. The automotive sector was, as always, trying to outdo itself. We saw a new wave of electric vehicles – quieter, faster, and with range anxiety supposedly a thing of the past. But here’s the thing: they’re all starting to look the same, aren’t they? Sleek, minimalist, probably cost more than my first house. And every single one promised “Level 4 autonomy” that’s “just around the corner.” Heard that before. Like, a lot. For at least five years running, it’s always “just around the corner.” At this point, I think that corner must be in another dimension or something.

Then there was the health tech. This is where it gets interesting, and frankly, a little creepy. Wearables that don’t just track your steps but analyze your sweat for micronutrient deficiencies in real time. Smart contact lenses that monitor your blood sugar and project your notifications right onto your retina. I mean, sure, it’s cool. It’s really cool. But also, privacy? Anyone? You’re basically walking around with a full diagnostic lab strapped to your face, feeding data to who-knows-where. And what happens when that data decides you “need” a specific supplement, and suddenly your feed is full of ads for it? Just asking.

The “Smart” Home Strikes Again (And Probably Still Doesn’t Work Right)

And then there’s the smart home. My personal favorite punching bag. Every year, they promise seamless integration. Every year, it’s a tangled mess of apps, hubs, and devices that refuse to talk to each other. This time, we got “Proactive Home Intelligence Systems” that basically predict what you want before you know it. So your fridge orders groceries, your thermostat adjusts based on your predicted arrival time (and mood, apparently), and your lights change color to match your stress levels. Sounds great on paper, right? But I’m telling you, the minute one of these things decides I’m “stressed” because I forgot to take out the trash, and starts playing spa music when I just want to watch hockey, we’re gonna have words. And I’m not gonna lie, I’ve still got a smart lightbulb in my office that I can only control by flipping the wall switch like a caveman because it lost connection. Again.

But Really, Who Needs a Self-Composting Toilet?

I saw a self-composting smart toilet. A toilet. That analyzes your… output. And then composts it. Look, I’m all for sustainability, I really am. But some things just don’t need to be “smart.” Or analyzed. Or composted in my bathroom. It feels like we’re just adding tech for tech’s sake, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible without really asking if it’s necessary. Or desirable. Are we so starved for innovation that we’re making our porcelain thrones into data collection points? Is this the future we were promised?

“We’re seeing an incredible surge in what I’d call ‘solutionism without a problem.’ It’s tech looking for a place to happen, rather than a genuine human need being met.” – Dr. Evelyn Reed, a futurist who probably gets as frustrated as I do.

The Perpetual ‘Future’ Machine

The thing is, CES isn’t just about the gadgets. It’s about the narrative. It’s about showing us where the big tech companies think we’re headed. And from what I can tell, we’re headed into a world that’s even more connected, more data-rich, and possibly, just possibly, a little less human. Every aspect of our lives is being optimized, digitized, and put under the watchful eye of an algorithm. We’re talking about smart cities that track everything, augmented reality glasses that blend the digital with the physical in ways that are hard to distinguish, and robots that are getting scarily good at mimicking human interaction.

And yes, some of it is genuinely exciting. I’m not a total cynic. The advancements in accessibility tech, for example, are truly amazing. Or the breakthroughs in materials science that promise longer-lasting, more efficient devices. But for every genuinely useful innovation, there are ten things that just feel like a solution looking for a problem, or worse, a Trojan horse for more data collection. It’s a constant battle, isn’t it? The push and pull between genuine progress and just… more stuff.

What This Actually Means

So, what does CES 2026 really tell us? It tells us that the tech industry is still obsessed with efficiency, convenience, and making every single object in your life “smart.” It tells us that AI isn’t going anywhere, and it’s only going to get weirder and more pervasive. It tells us that privacy is probably going to be an even bigger headache in the coming years, as more and more personal data gets slurped up by devices we barely understand. And it tells us that flying cars are still two years away, I’m calling it now. It’s a cyclical thing, this future. We get excited, we get overwhelmed, we get a little bit cynical, and then we do it all again next year. The “future” starts here, they say. And sometimes, I just wish it would take a coffee break…