4 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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CES

The Consumer Electronics Show, or CES, is one of the biggest and buzziest tech events of the year, offering a first look at next-generation TVs, laptops, smart home gadgets, cars, and more. In 2026, the event is being held in Las Vegas from January 6–9, and The Verge will be on the ground covering it all. Follow along here for the biggest news from the show floor.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Ring is launching an app store.

You’ll soon be able to browse through third-party integrations that can add more features to your camera. Meld, for example, uses your Ring camera to analyze your dog’s behavior and alert you to anything concerning, while PoolScout can send real-time notifications before an unattended toddler or pet reaches your pool.

Ring says the new store will be available within its app in the “coming weeks.”

I tested Apple’s hands-free Home Key — and it’s a big upgrade

Aqara’s new U400 smart lock is the first to use Apple’s UWB-based hands-free unlocking, and it works every time, even with full hands.

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Cameron Faulkner
Cameron Faulkner
Google and Xreal extend hardware partnership for Android XR.

Google enlisted Xreal to bring Android XR to life in a compact set of AR glasses, resulting in Project Aura. They’ll launch in 2026, but Google is already locking down Xreal’s hardware chops for another couple years. It’s now designated as a lead hardware partner for Android XR.

Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
A futuristic flashlight that shines UV and lasers at the same time.

I love how flashlights have evolved in the past decade with powerful LEDs, lithium-ion batteries and USB-C charging, and while this Olight ArkPro is way pricier than my Wuben X4, it feels way more elegant, compact, and offers both a green laser beam and UV light as well as up to 1700 lumens of white.

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Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
OhSnap is already building two new MCON sliding gamepads that aren’t so dang thick.

I had a blast with the OhSnap MCON viral sliding gamepad, save for one teensy thing — it’s incredibly impractical to keep your phone attached to it because it’s thick and blocks the cameras. The upcoming ~$100 MCON Slim and ~$60 MCON Lite might fix that, but they don’t have the spring loaded action. The Lite uses 3DS-style Circle Pads, the Slim has touchpads. Tentatively coming September.

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Barbara Krasnoff
Barbara Krasnoff
TCL’s next-gen smart lock brings Matter-over-Thread support.

As a result, the D2 Pro Palm Vein Smart Lock will work with both Alexa and Google. It also offers improved palm vein recognition, which, according to TCL, “uses infrared technology to detect unique vein patterns beneath the skin,” using AI local processing to tweak recognition data each time it’s used. Along with the new D2L Fingerprint Lever Lock, it will be available in the second quarter of 2026; no price was announced.

Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
Speaking of LG Display and Samung Display, their RGB monitors are rad.

We wrote RGB is the next big thing in monitors, and today we got a look. John and I agree LG Display’s 27-inch 4K RGB-stripe OLED panel looked wonderfully crisp, a way better demo than Samsung Display’s 34-inch RGB-stripe ultrawide. Also, LG has a 39-inch 5K RGBW OLED ultrawide with 1,500-nit peak brightness, if you don’t mind the extra white subpixel...

<em>LG Display’s 27-inch 4K 240Hz RGB-stripe panel.</em>
<em>Close up of the RGB subpixels, as captured by LG’s camera.</em>
<em>Samsung Display’s 34-inch 1440p ultrawide RGB-stripe QD-OLED gaming panel.</em>
<em>LG Display’s new RGBW (not RGB) panels, which have the same Tandem RGB layers for extra brightness as its new TV screens.</em>
<em>LG Display’s 5K ultrawide.</em>
<em>LG Display’s 5K ultrawide.</em>
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LG Display’s 27-inch 4K 240Hz RGB-stripe panel.
Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge
Sean Hollister
Sean Hollister
Battle of the ‘world’s brightest’ 4,500-nit TVs.

How can both Samsung Display and LG Display claim to have the world’s brightest TV when they offer the same 4,500-nit brightness peaks? Not convincingly! But the extra 500 nits is still a milestone over last-gen tech, and boy are these new OLED screens gorgeous in person. You can’t say OLED is lacking brightness anymore.

<em>LG Display’s flagship 83-inch “Meta” panel, with its Primary Tandem RGB 2.0 tech.</em>
<em>Samsung Display’s new 77-inch QD-OLED.</em>
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LG Display’s flagship 83-inch “Meta” panel, with its Primary Tandem RGB 2.0 tech.
Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge