Best in Show: The finest tech from CES 2023 chosen by our experts
CES, or the Consumer Electronics Show, is the traditional start to the year of big tech releases.
After CES 2022 was blighted by big names pulling out due to Covid surges at the time, CES 2023 seems to be back to its best with major players in the tech industry converging in the Las Vegas desert to show off new products and technological advances.
This is our look at our favourite new launches from the huge show all chosen by our team of experts. Below you’ll find everything from multi-screened laptops, ridiculously bright TVs, innovative tablets and far more.
(additional reporting by Ryan Jones and Kob Monney)
Samsung 77-inch QD-OLED (S95C)
We were wowed by Samsung’s first QD-OLED last year and once again we were impressed by the updated 2023 model here at CES 2023.
Now available in a larger 77-inch model. Samsung’s new QD-OLEDS support a faster 144Hz refresh rate and a higher maximum brightness that should make HDR images even more immersive.
LG Signature OLED M3
The LG Signature OLED M3 is a fascinating 4K OLED TV. It doesn’t require any cables to be plugged into the back to connect to all of your gadgets, Blu-Ray players and more. Instead, your devices are plugged into an external hub which can be set up to 10 metres away from your TV.
The LG OLED M3 is available in three different sizes, including 97, 83 and 77 inches. There are also plenty of game-ready features here too, such as a 120Hz refresh rate, Wi-Fi 6 and G-Sync/FreeSync.
Motorola ThinkPhone
The ThinkPhone might be the most fun business-focussed phone we’ve seen in a long time.
Featuring many of the classic ThinkPad design touches, including a new interpretation of the red keyboard nub, alongside a focus on security the ThinkPhone has been built to work well with the ThinkPad laptop range. The same charger, for instance, will juice up both at full speed and a new Think 2 Think software feature lets you use the phone as a webcam.
It doesn’t lack high-end phone features either, with a durable design, big battery and a 120Hz OLED display.
TCL NxtPaper 12 Pro
TCL has been experimenting a lot recently, and we were very impressed with the NxtPaper 12 Pro Android tablet.
The unique feature here is the display, which is designed to mimic paper. This makes drawing on the tablet feel a lot more natural than it does elsewhere, while the matte finish is easier on the eyes and less prone to glare in bright situations.
Lenovo Smart Paper
Smart notebooks are becoming a bit of a tech trend and Lenovo’s Smart Paper is the latest competitor. Similar to the Amazon Kindle Scribe and Remarkable 2, this is an e-ink tablet with multi-week battery life that lets you make and save notes
The 10.3-inch monochrome display is responsive and sharp, while the textured glass really makes it seem like you’re writing on paper. Lenovo even includes both a pen and folio case in the package, so you’ll be ready to go right away.
Lenovo Yoga Book 9i
The Lenovo Yoga Book 9i is a dual-screen laptop, with the two 13-inch OLED screens connected by a hinge. There’s no keyboard integrated into the laptop, with an external Bluetooth keyboard bundled with the device instead, along with a stylus and versatile stand.
Such a unique form factor allows for a variety of use cases, whether you want a dual-monitor experience or to use it just like a classic clamshell laptop. We think it’s a great alternative to foldable laptops, with a more affordable price point and fewer software quirks.
Vive XR Elite
Vive has been in the VR space for a long time now, but CES 2023 marks the very first time it has challenged the Meta Quest with an all-in-one headset. It also has a special trick up its sleeve, with a full-colour RGB passthrough camera allowing you to blend VR creations with the real world.
The headset can run independently, or even be plugged into a PC to access more immersive experiences. HTC has also confirmed the headset will see the launch of the face and eye tracker unit later on in 2023, making this one of the most advanced VR headsets we’ve seen to date.
Asus ProArt StudioBook 16 3D OLED
We all thought 3D technology was dead and buried, and yet Asus has launched a new laptop with autostereoscopic 3D technology that doesn’t require a pair of 3D glasses to function. This means on-screen objects look like they’re projected out of the display, making it easier for creators to check out a 3D creation from multiple angles.
This isn’t the first 3D laptop we’ve seen in recent months, but it is the first we’ve seen to combine 3D with an OLED panel. This ensures you’re getting top-notch picture quality and super-accurate colours that are essential for professional creators. Asus has also thrown in powerful components, such as an RTX 4070 GPU, to ensure you’re getting a super speedy performance.
Razer Blade 18
The Razer Blade 18 is the company’s first laptop to feature an 18-inch display. Razer hasn’t needed to substantially increase the overall size of the laptop to fit in this display, instead shaving away the bezel to accommodate the largest panel.
The massive laptop also benefits from the cutting-edge components recently announced by Intel and Nvidia, ensuring this will be one of the most powerful laptops in 2023. It’s just a shame that the Blade 18 misses out on a 4K resolution, as well as an OLED or Mini LED display.
Panasonic MZ2000
Panasonic makes some of the best OLED TVs around, and at CES 2023 it unveiled the MZ2000. Colour accuracy is key here, with an improved Filmmaker Mode and Hollywood tuning both adding to the fantastic HDR image this set is capable of producing.
Another new addition is the Micro Lens Array (MLA) tech which should allow for brighter images, something that has often been an issue on OLED sets before.
Razer Leviathan V2 Pro
The Razer Leviathan V2 Pro may just look like your standard soundbar and subwoofer double act on the surface, but it’s actually the world’s first beamforming soundbar with head-tracking AI. This means the soundbar is able to provide a similar experience to a sound setup, with 3D audio hiking up the immersion. This tech comes from Audioscenic, a company that has demoed it at CES before.
The soundbar uses an IR sensor to detect the position of your head, before using beamforming technology to send audio in different directions to your head. This means you’ll be able to hear the direction of enemy footsteps approaching, just like when you’re wearing a headset.
LG Gram Style
The LG Gram series has wowed fans with its lightweight laptop designs for years, but they could be accused of looking a little generic. That changes with the new LG Gram Style, as LG has a classy glass design, an iridescent finish and a trackpad that can disappear from sight.
LG has also thrown in some extra exciting features, such as 13th Generation Intel Core processors and OLED screens. This is an exciting evolution for the LG range, and we can’t wait to put this new model to the test.
Lenovo Tab Extreme
The Lenovo Tab Extreme could be the closest thing we get to an iPad Pro running Android this year.
Features include a whopping 14.5-inch OLED display with a pin-sharp resolution and Dolby Vision HDR along with a Display Port input for plugging in external devices. There’s a Magic Keyboard-inspired folio that raises the tablet up to a comfortable height for typing and support for a stylus too.
Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti
The Nvidia RTX 4070 Ti is the latest graphics card in the company’s new RTX 4000 range, offering even more power than an RTX 3090 Ti. That’s thanks to improvements made to the new Ada Lovelace architecture, as well as performance boosts via the DLSS 3.0 software.
At $799, it’s currently the cheapest graphics card in the RTX 4000 range, although we’re expecting that to change following the inevitable launch of the RTX 4060 later in 2023. But if you want to play games in 4K with features such as ray tracing and DLSS 3.0, this looks to be an exciting option.
Victrola Stream Carbon
The Victrola Stream Carbon is a high-priced, high-performance record player that boasts wireless support allowing users to stream vinyl straight to a Sonos speaker – with no additional equipment required.
This deep Sonos integration has many benefits, including volume control on the player itself and full support for the S2 app.
Sony PlayStation VR 2
The Sony PlayStation VR 2 is an upcoming VR headset for the PS5. It features a high-resolution OLED display, eye-tracking technology and ergonomic controllers that are a massive improvement on the originals.
We were incredibly impressed with the headset during our hands-on demo, with the launch game Horizon Call of the Mountain proving to be one of the most immersive VR experiences we’ve tested yet. That game library only looks to get better in the future, with Resident Evil Village, No Man’s Sky, Gran Turismo 7 and Beat Saber already confirmed.
Samsung ViewFinity S9
If you’ve had an eye on Apple’s Studio Display but wanted something with a few more ports, the ViewFinity S9 looks like a smart way to go.
Like Apple’s monitor, the S9 has a 5K resolution (still something of a rarity) and measures 27-inches. Colour accuracy is key here, with Samsung claiming there’s support for 99% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut that’s so important to creative professionals. Calibration can be done via the Smart Things app and a 4K webcam can be clipped to the top.
Spin the monitor around and there’s plenty of I/O, including HDMI (you won’t find that on the Studio Display), USB-C, Thunderbolt 4 and DisplayPort.
Panasonic Lumix S5II
Panasonic used CES 2023 to announce its latest full-frame mirrorless hybrid camera, the brand’s first camera to use phase detection autofocus (PDAF). There’s a 24.2MP 32mm full-frame CMOS sensor inside capable of recording up to 6K video.