My Five Favorite Products From CES 2024
I just returned from CES 2024 and what a week it was. I was able to spend four days in Las Vegas checking out products and companies, sharing news, and showcasing my products. This was no small feat: this year’s show featured more than 4,000 exhibitors , spanning 12 venues and over two million square feet of exhibit space. My Apple Watch is very happy with my fitness routine.
While I saw a ton of cool, unique, and weird technology during my time at CES, there were a few devices that really stood out. Here are five of my favorite products from CES 2024.
LG OLED T
There were a lot of TVs at CES this year. Perhaps too much. Samsung showed off its micro LED TVs, Hisense showed off its mini LED displays, and everyone was trying to prove that they have the biggest screens. (I believe Hisense takes the cake with its huge 163-inch display.)
But what impressed me most was the LG TV. It was impossible to miss, even if you missed their press conference on Monday: as soon as you walked through the first entrance to the Las Vegas Convention Center, you immediately crashed into a massive wall of their OLED TVs.
OLED T might be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. This “T” stands for “transparent.” When turned off, the TV is a transparent glass box. However, as soon as you turn it on, the “glass” suddenly starts playing video, while remaining transparent . You can see through it and also watch your shows and movies. Is this practical? Not really, so the curtain on the back of the TV can be lifted to turn the T into a more traditional OLED TV.
LG wasn’t the only company to demonstrate transparent display technology. Samsung had it too, as did companies like RCA and Dongwoo Fine-Chem. LG, on the other hand, made the biggest impression, thanks in no small part to the real estate of this top-notch conference center.
Samsung Bally
I was first introduced to Bally during Samsung’s press conference on Monday, but the smart robot has been in the works since 2020 . He’s come a long way since then – he used to look like a huge tennis ball. Now it looks like a big tennis ball with wheels. In short, it’s cute AF.
Ballie is designed to be a smart smart hub. That’s not a typo: this little guy can analyze your home and adjust all your smart devices accordingly. You can check it out from your phone and see your home through its eyes. For example, Samsung’s demo video shows Bally checking out your dog, and I would have loved that if I wasn’t sure Bally would scare the crap out of my dog.
Ballie also has a built-in projector that allows you to display video on any surface in your home. You can project a workout video on the wall in a room without a TV, or a cooking video on the kitchen wall while following a recipe. It also has a long enough range that it can display video on the floor or ceiling, whichever makes the most sense.
Anyone need Bally? Probably no. Anyone want a transparent TV too? Sometimes things are cool because they are cool.
Cold weather
ColdSnap drew a big crowd during its CES presentation, and it’s clear why: free ice cream. Plus free ice cream that only takes two minutes to prepare. The ColdSnap is what you’d get if Keurig made an ice cream maker: you insert a flavor into the machine, press a button, and after 120 seconds, a bowl of ice cream comes out.
The best part? This is actually very good ice cream. I don’t know if this is “the creamiest, most delicious ice cream available anywhere” as the commercial claims, but I’m seriously impressed that it is. I tried the bourbon flavor and it was great. (Unless it was the bourbon talking.)
Poport
As an apartment-living dog owner, I often think about how great it would be to have a dog door in my home, especially when I’m in the elevator at 11 p.m. taking my dog to the bathroom. While a regular dog door will greatly improve your quality of life, Poport convinced me that a smart dog door makes a lot of sense, too. (It helps that the device fits over existing dog doors. Not that I have one. Sigh.)
Pawport works by opening the dog door whenever it detects a companion Bluetooth device that you attach to your dog’s collar. You can choose how sensitive its rangefinder is, as well as how quickly the door opens, how far it opens, and how long it takes to close, among other options. You can also use the app to check some statistics, such as how long your dog has been outside and how many times your dog has come and gone through Poport.
Perhaps most importantly, you can schedule when Pawport will be open and when it will close up shop if you don’t want your dog running in and out of the house all night—and the company assured me it’s a one-way lock, so if your the dog will be outside when the schedule goes into effect, he will still be able to go back inside. Plus, there’s a built-in battery so if the power goes out, your dog won’t be stuck inside or outside.
Improved XGIMI IMAX Projector
As with TVs, I’ve seen a lot of projectors this year. I was impressed by many: one of Hisense’s “laser TV” projectors has a folding screen that allows you to adjust the aspect ratio of the projection. One ultra short throw 4K 3D projector from AWOL Vision offered a fixed projector with a cinemascope aspect ratio (2.35:1), meaning you won’t have to deal with black bars when watching many widescreen movies.
However, what intrigued me the most was the XGIMI “Horizon Max” projector. XGIMI has partnered with IMAX to offer the first long throw projector with “IMAX enhancement”. The company dedicated an entire demo booth to showcasing this technology, and wow ! When the picture switches from the traditional 2.35:1 aspect ratio to the IMAX square ratio, it fills the wall with the movie you’re watching. Of course, this effect works best with films shot in IMAX ( Oppenheimer anyone?), but I’m definitely interested in converting my home theater to IMAX. That is, if I had a home theater.