The CES 2024 show floor is open, and people are walking through Las Vegas’ sprawling convention centers and hotel ballrooms to see the newest and weirdest tech products. The Engadget team presents here our cardio workouts that time car traffic and people’s faces and hands (and other body parts?), with the most interesting demos, while companies don’t stop holding press conferences and announcing new products. If you don’t have time to analyze each title individually, or you’re here in Vegas and want to know where to go, here’s a roundup of the biggest news from day two of CES 2024.
As always, one of the biggest stands at the show was Google, and the company also had a lot of news to share. In keeping with the “Better Together” policy it has followed for several years, Google shared its software updates between devices like Fast Pair and announced that it was working with Samsung to integrate the “Nearby Share” function and renamed it . Quick Share”, which is the current name of Samsung’s version of the same. . Hopefully this will simplify things for Android users and give them a more integrated alternative to Apple’s AirDrop. There are few details on whether there will be any changes for Samsung users, but those with shares nearby should see a new icon very soon.
Google has added support for Chromecast TikTok videos on compatible TVs and displays, and will bring its apps to some Ford, Nissan and Lincoln cars later this year. Android Auto can also share your electric car’s battery level with Google Maps, so charging stations, charging times and stops on your route can be taken into account. Again, this is similar to a feature found in Apple’s next-gen CarPlay.
Talking about electric cars, Honda has also introduced new electric car concepts called Saloon and Space Hub. The saloon is a sedan with an aerodynamic design and low floor height, while the Space Hub is a small, boxy minivan with seats that face each other. While Honda has announced that it will launch a sedan model for the North American market in 2026, there is no word yet on the Space Hub.
In other transportation news, Hyundai brought an updated version of the S-A2 air taxi to the show. The S-A2 is an electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle that reaches a speed of 120 miles per hour at an altitude of 1,500 feet. It is designed for short-haul flights of 25 to 40 miles, and the company envisions it as a daily transportation solution for urban areas.
We’ve got more smart home news from companies other than Google, including Amazon, which announced it will adopt the Matter standard for broadcast but won’t support Chromecast or Apple’s AirPlay. How sweet. We saw new door locks with face and palm recognition, smart outdoor lights from Nanoleaf and a new, cheaper and more versatile smart grill from Weber Searwood.
There was some cell phone news, including an iPhone keyboard case from Click and a surprisingly cool device called the Rabbit R1. It’s launched as an AI assistant in a smart, square walkie-talkie developed in collaboration with Teenage Engineering. It has a small 2.88-inch touchscreen, an analog scroll wheel, two microphones, a speaker, and a 360-degree camera that you can rotate to point at you or at the back of the phone. You press a button (like a walkie-talkie) and talk to the rabbit AI and ask it to do things, like book an Uber or find a recipe based on your specific ingredient list.
There was a lot at the show, but I wanted to take a moment to announce several interesting accessibility products. We looked at the OrCam Hear system, which is designed to help people with hearing loss distinguish sounds from certain speakers in crowded environments. There’s also the GyroGlove, hand-stabilizing gloves whose hands vibrate, as well as the Mouth Pad, which lets you control your phone, tablet or laptop with your tongue.
We also saw an update to the audio radar system, which provides players with hearing problems with visual cues to help identify where sounds are coming from and what kind of noise they might be. It’s very encouraging to see all these advances in assistive technology at CES, especially when the industry often spends so much time and money on low-value endeavors.
As we near the end of the show and as we prepare to roam the show floor for the final time, the Engadget team is also looking back and reflecting on the best things we saw at CES 2024. We’ll collect our best so come back soon for the Best of CES Awards list to remember the show winners.
We’ll be reporting live from CES 2024 in Las Vegas from January 6 to 12. Stay updated with the latest news about the show here.
