CES 2019 is here: A cleaner litter box, a Bread Bot and more early highlights
From TVs to video doorbells to musical Bluetooth rings, there's already so much to see at CES 2019 in Las Vegas.
We were welcomed to Las Vegas Saturday night with rain and a small flood that reminded us of last year's desert deluge. But with CES 2019 kicking into high gear two days before the show floor officially opens, we barely had time to dry off. As the sun came out this morning, we saw some amazing things: Here's what we've seen so far.
Health tech
The Y-Brush continues a recent CES trend of high-tech toothbrushes that are a step above the free samples you get from your dentist. Thanks to its mouthguard-like shape and vibrating motor, it promises to clean half your mouth in one go.
Withing's Move fitness watch has an electrocardiogram that can check for atrial fibrillation. It's water resistant, it measures steps and sleep and (pending FDA clearance) it will cost about a third of the $399 Apple Watch S4.
Train your brain to sleep better with the somewhat uncomfortable-looking Urgonight headband.
KitchenAid's Smart Display has a 10-inch screen.
Smart home
KitchenAid stepped beyond its iconic line of stand mixers to show a Smart Display that will respond to your voice commands through Google Assistant.
Scoop less poop with the LavvieBot self-cleaning litter box. Of course, there's also an app for that.
Pour-over coffee is great, but it's such a pain having to heat your water beforehand, right? Well, percolate no more with the Heatworks Duo Smart Untethered Carafe, which heats water to your chosen temperature as you pour.
The Maximus Answer DualCam Video Doorbell has two cameras to watch for guests and people stealing packages off your doorstep.
Is this 219-inch TV big enough for you?
TV and audio
Usually we talk about TVs getting bigger, but Samsung's 75-inch MicroLED TV is the smallest incarnation yet that achieves 4K resolution. But if bigger is what you want, Samsung also showed a 219-inch version of The Wall. And over in 8K Land, the 98-inch Samsung Q900 QLED TV is one of the most massive 8K TVs announced so far.
No, Apple still isn't at CES, but iTunes and AirPlay 2 will be viewable on Samsung's 2019 line of Smart TVs. The same screens also will support Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
Jabra's making big promises about its new Elite 85h over-ear premium wireless headphones. The company says you'll get the "best-in-class" performance when they ship in April for $299.
Look at that lovely OLED display on the HP Spectre x360.
PCs
Keep nosy people from seeing your screen with HP's Sure View privacy filter. HP expanded the technology from laptops to monitors and desktops for the first time.
You need a laptop? We not only have laptops, but also a few Chromebooks! AMD processors are a common theme, starting with Asus's new TUF FX505 and TUF FX705 budget gaming machines. HP showed a Spectre x360 laptop with an OLED display and an AMD-powered Chromebook that will go on sale this month for $269. And Acer will have its own Chromebook with AMD's A-series processor and a new version of its Swift 7 laptop.
Could the Bread Bot be the greatest thing ever? Maybe.
Other stuff that blew our minds
The Matrix PowerWatch 2 runs completely off solar power and body-generated heat and has all the features CNET's Scott Stein wants in a smart watch: heart rate, step counting, 200-meter water resistance and notifications.
The Square Off is a chessboard that allows you to play online chess, but on a real board. When each player moves a piece on their individual board, the corresponding piece on their opponent's board slides magically into place.
Sphero, perhaps best known for Star Wars BB-8 and R2-D2 robots, relaunched a musical motion-enabled Bluetooth ring. It's weird and difficult to explain so watch the video. It involves lots of pretty colors, as well.
Bread Bot proves that carbs really are wonderful. It's a fully-automated bread making vending machine that mixes, kneads, proofs, bakes and sells wonderfully-smelling warm bread.
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