Companion robots and transforming screens: the oddities of CES 2026

At CES 2026 in Las Vegas there was no shortage of big announcements on chips and artificial intelligence, but what stole the show – as per tradition – were the most curious ideas: prototypes, hybrids and “almost useless” objects which however tell a good story of where technology is going.

Between domestic robots with ambitions (and some excesses), screens that change shape and gadgets designed to get people talking about themselves, the fair showcased a future that is at times practical and at times surreal.

When AI meets toys

The most “CES” category of all remains that of robot-companion: not really household appliances, not really toys, but presences from home or desk. Engadget reported on the wave of small “cyber pets” that respond to voice and focus on relationships rather than function, like OlloBot.

TCL is also moving in the same direction, showing a concept at its stand Robot Companion (Ai Me) as a piece of AI-based “smart living”.

The cleaning robot challenges the stairs

If companion robots could open up new perspectives in the fight against loneliness, cleaning robots try to resolve a historical limit: the stairs. This year the generation of robot vacuum cleaners “with legs” has emerged: Roborock presented Saros Rovercapable of climbing and cleaning steps thanks to a wheel-leg architecture (wheels + limbs), in a demo that went around the web.

And Dreame has relaunched with a concept equipped with “legs”/supports to tackle a complete ramp, a fascinating and slightly disturbingbecause it changes the perception of what can move independently in the home.

The ‘desk’ soulmate

Among the objects that oscillate between “brilliant” and “creepy” there is AI as a personal relationship. Quartz cited the case of a desktop “soulmate”.: a small OLED screen that promises empathy and dialogue, closer to a digital company than a voice assistant. And the theme also returns in ads and product materials dedicated to desktop devices with curved displays and “emotional” interactions.

On the pure “wow” front, it’s impossible not to notice the race for out-of-scale screens. Samsung brought its to CES 130 inch Micro RGBtreating it almost like a piece of furniture: “Timeless Frame” frame, audio integrated into the structure and an AI optimization package for colors and contrast. It is the type of product that is created to amaze, but it says a lot about positioning: display as an “installation” and no longer just a television.

The computer changes shape

The other great category of curiosity is that of devices that they change shape. Lenovo showed rollable concepts in business and gaming versions: the ThinkPad Rollable XD and a Legion Pro Rollable designed to go from a “normal” laptop to an ultrawide, without external monitors.

On the stage of its event at Sphere, the company also insisted on personal “agents” (Qira) and “agent-native” conceptual wearables: ideas still in the experimental phase, but useful for understanding the direction towards devices that orchestrate actions between multiple screens and services.

Finally, there is no shortage of oddities that take a familiar object and bend it (literally) to the AI’s story. HP, for example, has focused on an unusual form factor such as EliteBoard G1aa “keyboard that is also PC”, designed to make the workstation more modular and transportable.

And, on the office side, he brought up the idea of ​​bringing Copilot inside the printers to summarize, translate and organize documents “from the device”, almost as if it were an extra colleague on the multifunction.

Small but memorable

To complete the picture, there are small but memorable gadgets: like the SwitchBot desk lamp that recalls the Sphere of Las Vegas in miniature with thousands of LEDs and pixel-art animations. And, among the transversal trends, “material” sustainability also becomes curious: TCL presented ECORAa composite that reuses porcelain and plastic waste to give a premium finish to electronic devices.