Best of CES 2019 Awards: All the best gadgets at CES this year

Best of CES 2019 Awards: All the best gadgets at CES in Las Vegas this year

We’ve been scouring the CES 2019 show to find the finest tech and gadgets to get excited about this year. Here are our favourite CES TVs, smart home tech, phones and more.

The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) takes place in Las Vegas every January, kicking off the year with a mouthwatering look at all the juicy tech we can expect to follow. Here we round up the more interesting products we’ve seen; look out for further additions throughout the week.

Vive Pro Eye

The Vive Pro Eye represents a big step change for VR, bringing eye tracking to the platform. Building on the already excellent Vive Pro headset, the Vive Pro Eye not only makes the experience more immersive and enjoyable, but more accessible, too.

While this is a device aimed at industry users first and foremost, there’s plenty of scope for fun and games to be improved here and traditionally, innovations in the business sphere have a habit of moving over to the consumer space very quickly.

The Vive Pro Eye should, along with the upcoming launch of the Viveport Infinity all-you-can-eat subscription service, catalyse studios and developers. The Pro Eye looks all set to become a standard bearer for a new generation of VR experiences.

Honor View 20

With its hole-punch cutout concealing the front camera, the Honor View 20 manages to give us a full-screen feel without a distracting notch. If this is a sign of things to come in 2019 then we’re already excited.

The View 20 is also the first big flagship of the year and it packs the kind of specs you’d expect from such a release: a 48-megapixel camera with a secondary 3D sensor, 4000mAh battery and the latest version of Android 9

LG Signature OLED TV R

LG’s rollable TV was a behind-the-scenes prototype at CES 2018, so few thought it would re-appear at CES 2019. But it did – and it even managed to upstage LG’s own 88in 8K TV. Seeing the credit-card-thin 4K OLED panel wind back into its base is truly amazing and an impressive feat of innovation. Roll up, roll up.

Intel Ice Lake

Intel’s reveal of its upcoming 10nm processors is easily one of the biggest announcements of CES 2019 and could well revolutionise the computing industry. By cutting down the size from Intel’s previous 14nm++ CPU, the new Ice Lake processor presents laptop manufacturers with the opportunity to create more powerful and compact devices in the future.

While specifications and release dates are yet to be revealed, we believe that the innovation on show with the Ice Lake processor is of such a magnitude that it deserves to be lauded.

LG Gram 2-in-1

The LG Gram was one of the very best ultrabooks in 2018, boasting an incredibly light design and a super-powered performance. Enter 2019, and LG looks to have improved an already excellent product by turing the Gram into a 2-in-1 convertible.

While the new 2-in-1 LG Gram might not feature massive alterations from the standard laptop, the inclusion of a 14-inch touchscreen Full HD IPS display, bundled LG Stylus Pen and versatile design could well elevate the Gram to be one of the very best ultrabooks of 2019.

Panasonic GZ2000

Panasonic has managed to secure a number of “world firsts” with its GZ2000 4K OLED TV. It’s the first to support both HDR10+ and Dolby Vision HDR, plus it’s also the first TV to incorporate upward-firing Dolby Atmos speakers into its design.

From first impressions, Atmos works; it creates bigger, more spacious sound that’s free from the tinny experience other TVs pump out. We shouldn’t forget the HCX Pro Intelligent processor – fine-tuned with help from Hollywood colourists – that pumps out vivid and crystal clear HDR picture.

Withings Move ECG

Withings is back – and this time its fitness trackers aim to look after your heart as well as your overall fitness. The Withings Move ECG isn’t the first wearable that lets you take an electrocardiogram (a snapshot of your heart’s health), but it does trump the Apple Watch Series 4 by being significantly cheaper at $130 – and, arguably, more stylish.

Beyond its headline ECG feature, the Move ECG can also track your sleep, log your exercise (it auto-detects walking, running and swimming) and piggyback your phone’s GPS to map your movements. Oh, and the battery life is an impressive 18 months.

Asus ROG Mothership GZ700GX

Asus ought to pick up an award for the ROG Mothership GZ700GX for sheer bravura alone. As well as coming up with something that looks like it could take on a Gundam in a fight and win. Asus has quite literally turned the concept of a gaming laptop on its head here, because all of the heavy, heat-generating components are housed behind the monitor, instead of under the keyboard.

Sphero Specdrums

They may be a rebranded version of a Kickstarter toy from last year, but the Specdrums are still one of the most fun gadgets we had the pleasure of seeing at CES 2019.

These music-making rings respond to colour, whether from the included mat or anywhere you find them in the real world. Tap the ring on a colour and it will turn it into a sound or pitch, which you can then mix together with other noises into a song. It’s easier than it sounds, and Specdrums will also soon have an app that teaches kids (or musically stunted adults) basic music theory.

LG HomeBrew

We’ve been looking for ways to take our craft beer one-upmanship to new levels, and luckily LG obliged at CES 2019 with the HomeBrew. Like a Nespresso capsule machine for beer snobs, you load it up with your choice of beer – American IPA, English stout, Czech Pilsner, American Pale Ale or Belgian Witbier – then pick up your five litres of amber nectar after a two-week brewing process.

A gloriously lazy final touch is that it even cleans itself in preparation for your next batch. We haven’t tried its beer yet, but the realisation of the concept itself is worthy of a gong in our book.

Ring Door View Cam

If you thought that there was little innovation left in the smart doorbell market, you haven’t seen the Ring Door View Cam – the smartest peephole you’ll see.  Replacing an existing peephole, this is the easiest smart doorbell to install ever. And, since there’s no need for any drilling or screws, it’s ideal for renters or for use in apartments.

The Ring Door View Cam has an extra trick up its sleeves: an impact sensor that can pick up when someone knocks rather than pushes the button on the front. If nothing else it should put an end to those sneaky couriers that quietly knock then run away.

Samsung MicroLED modular TV

Why be limited to the size and shape of TV that a manufacturer has decided? With the Samsung MicroLED modular TV design, you don’t have to, as you can bolt together displays to create the size and shape of screen you want. Still in early demo mode, modular TVs aren’t likely to be available until 2020, but this remains an innovative and fascinating look at the future.

Adding panels is super-easy, with the base units bolting together and a magnetically attached display going on top. Displays can be built to practically any shape and aspect ratio, providing a way to display art as well as the latest films.

HP X Emperium 65

It’s been a year since Nvidia announced its BFGD standard for large gaming monitors and twelve months on, we finally get to see the fruits of HP’s labours here. The HP Omen X Emperium 65 ticks a the basic boxes for gamers – 4K resolution, 144Hz max refresh rate, 1000 nits peak brightness – but as it measures 65-inches diagonally, could also comfortably double as a smart TV as well.

There are no TV tuners inside the HP Omen X Emperium 65, so you’d have to connect a set-top box, but there is Nvidia Shield, which comes with access to Netflix and Amazon Video. Thanks to its support of the HDR10 standard, streamed 4K content should look fantastic too. HP Omen X Emperium 65 even comes with its own soundbar, so you’ll have everything you’ll need out of the box.

Alienware Area-51m

Gaming laptops have long been hamstrung by their inability to be upgraded, forcing owners to shell out on an entirely new portable machine if they fancy getting a more powerful graphics card.

The new Alienware Area-51m puts an end to this, becoming the very first gaming laptop to be fully upgradeable so owners can freely swap in a new CPU or graphics card. This represents a major milestone for the industry, and such innovation unquestionably deserves to be celebrated.

Technics SL-1210MK7

 

 

DJs of the world got a treat this year with the launch of the Technics SL-1200Mk7 (SL-1210MK7 in Europe). An updated version of the old DJ favourite, the new model has some smart new tech to make it even better and more reliable.

Customisable starting torque and brake settings help control the sound; there’s a coreless motor to reduce cogging (a rotational irregularity); a reverse mode; and an LED to illuminate the stylus. Expect to see this turntable in lots of clubs, and in a fair few homes, too.

Lenovo Smart Clock

Google Assistant continues to pop up throughout CES 2019, and thanks to Lenovo it’s even on your bedside table. Basically a mini-Google Home Hub doubling as an alarm clock, the Lenovo Smart Clock is an adorable gadget that combines a smart speaker with a hub for all your connected home tech. Its fabric body looks good and there’s a handy USB port on the back for charging your phone.

We’ll be updating our Best of CES 2019 list throughout the week. What’s your CES highlight? Tweet us @trustedreviews.

Thanks to Joby for supplying the Trusted Reviews team with GripTight Pro Video tripods for our CES 2019 video coverage.