The Best Electronics of CES in 2022

CES 2022 is running throughout the week, and after two days of presentations from some of the biggest names in tech, we’re now getting a steady stream of exciting new announcements. While CES 2022 is certainly very different from previous years due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the gadgets we’ve already seen suggest that 2022 is going to be a great year for technology.

But, we won’t be physically at the event, unlike previous years. In late December, the CTA said COVID-19 PCR tests were required of all attendees before they enter any of the venues. However, many companies ended up announcing that they would not be attending CES 2022 in person.

Many publications, including TechRadar, decided not to physically attend. This has led to CES 2022 being a ‘hybrid’ show, where there are some in-person events, with the rest being online only.

Even though we’re covering CES 2022 remotely, that won’t stop us from bringing you the latest news and announcements from the show. Check out our CES 2022 news and announcements live blog where we’ll be keeping you up to date with all the most exciting news coming from CES 2022.

What about safety?

In the face of a rapidly-spreading Omicron COVID variant, a significant portion of tech media plans to cover CES remotely (including TechRadar). However, the in-person is continuing. CTA executives shared this statement with TechRadar earlier in December, although it has since been revised to January 5-7:

“CES will be Jan 5-8 in Las Vegas with strong safety measures in place. The event will have a global technology focus, including innovations developed to fight COVID-19. Thousands of entrepreneurs, businesses, media and buyers are planning to come to Las Vegas. Top leaders from federal and state and foreign governments are attending. And, we have received several thousand new registrants since late last week. Given CES’ comprehensive health measures – vaccination requirement, masking and availability of COVID-19 tests – coupled with lower attendance and social distancing measures, we are confident that attendees and exhibitors will have a socially distanced but worthwhile and productive event.”

Several major exhibitors have changed their CES plans, including Microsoft, Lenovo, Meta, Amazon, and Twitter (as of Dec. 22, the CTA put the number of companies canceling at 72 but noted that it added 60 new companies).

These companies will no longer host in-person presences but most will be run streaming press conferences and host digital exhibits. These changes are in addition to multiple brands taking a more virtual presence (LG), or sending a skeleton crew (JLab Audio). You can read more in our piece exploring CES vs Omicron and we examine the efficacy of huge in-person conferences here.

• CES 2022 cancellations: over 75 companies now out of in-person event

CES 2022 dates and hours

Officially, CES 2022 runs from Wednesday, January 5 through Friday, January 7, 2022 – with a day being taken off to reduce the risk of COVID infections. That’s when the show floor will be open, with attendees able to walk around to check out the different booths – as long as they have official documentation that they’ve been vaccinated.

Like previous conferences, however, there are two days of press conferences that happen before the show floor opens that take place on Monday, January 3 and Tuesday, January 4.

That includes CES Unveiled that took place on Monday, January 3 and the big press events from LG, Samsung and Sony that happened on Tuesday.

When most folks get there on Wednesday, the CES show floor will be open from 10am PST until 6pm PST then from 9am to 6pm PST from Thursday to Friday. CES 2022 will officially wrap up at 4pm PST on Friday, January 7.

Despite only a few keynotes mentioning TVs, manufacturers have been rolling out announcements for their 2022 lineups periodically throughout the week.

First up was Samsung who announced some new QLED TV models that use mini-LED. The new series have a redesigned New Home Screen UI that has a number of organizational improvements and an NFT Store (yeah, it’s a weird year) and the ability to hit 144Hz when connected to an Nvidia 30-series GPU. Samsung also announced a smaller lineup of MicroLED screens – but given how expensive that technology has been, we’re not expecting to see them inside most folks’ homes anytime soon.

LG stuck to its tried and true game plan at CES 2022 by announcing two new series of OLED models – the C2 and G2 – that use the new Alpha a9 Gen 5 processor. The C2 Series will come in a 48-inch and a 42-inch size, making it a great pickup for gamers. Expect new QNED models coming this year with better contrast control to rival those QLED TVs Samsung rolled out.

One of the last manufacturers to announce its models was Sony – but arguably it had the best showing of the bunch. That’s because Sony was the only manufacturer to show off a consumer-ready QD-OLED screen in the form of the new A95K. It promises 200% the color saturation of an LED-LCD screen with better black levels, better viewing angles and support for 4K/120Hz. It’s looking like the TV of the show for us, and one of the most interesting TVs coming our way this year.

Lastly, Hisense and TCL announced a few models as well at CES that are worth mentioning. Hisense’s 2022 line hits every price point, and even has a model called the U7K that could dethrone the TCL 6-Series as the best mid-range model on store shelves. TCL sadly didn’t have news to share on the 6-Series, but did say that it will roll out its next version of its mini-LED technology this year. The problem? The TV TCL is rolling out is expected to cost $9,999 so it’s not exactly cheap.

Computing at CES 2022

CES 2022 saw some major reveals on the computing front, from new laptops to new graphics cards, as well as some concepts we really hope make it to production.

Starting off, Concept Nyx from Alienware absolutely grabbed our attention this year. The idea is basically a home entertainment system for PC gaming, capable of streaming multiple PC games on high settings over your home network to compatible connected devices like smart TVs, Chromebooks, tablets, and even phones. It pretty much puts the power of several high-end gaming PCs into a local server that your entire family can then stream from, which is, like, the future.

The other major platform innovation we saw was the Asus ROG Flow Z13, which is essentially taking the Lenovo Duet 5 Chromebook and loading it up with high-quality gaming laptop hardware to produce a bonafide PC gaming tablet.

With up to a RTX 3050 Ti GPU and an Intel Core i9-12900H processor, this is more than powerful enough to play the latest AAA games at 1080p with respectable, if not high, settings, and it’s a product that the entire computing team is fighting over for the chance to review like a bunch of siblings at Christmas.

Finally, we saw some major iterative developments on the graphics card and processor fronts, as well as some new 4K gaming monitors with some seriously fast refresh rates. Intel Alder Lake mobile and the new AMD 6000-series mobile processors were announced, but with Intel’s 12th gen chips supporting the faster DDR5 RAM, Intel will definitely hold onto its dominant lead in the mobile computing space.

Nvidia also announced its flagship RTX 3090 Ti graphics card, which very few people are going to be able to buy, along with the RTX 3050 graphics card, which is the first “budget” Ampere card, which will at least bring DLSS to budget gaming rigs.

Phones at CES 2022

The two headline-stealing phone launches of CES were the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE, a lower-cost version of the popular S21, and the OnePlus 10 Pro – though the latter was more hype-building than an actual launch.

We saw loads of budget phones too, with four Nokia mobiles and two TCL devices, including a few surprisingly low-cost 5G handsets, all of which will be on sale in the US later in the year.

The TechRadar team’s favorite new phones, though, were the Vivo V23 series – these are good-looking handsets with top selfie capabilities, and are the mobiles we’ll remember most from the show.

As per usual, smartphones weren’t a huge element of CES 2022 with most of the focus being put on the world of TVs, computing products and even car tech.

Audio at CES 2022

CES 2022 has been really exciting for audio – but it wasn’t the big players that caught our eye this year. Instead, smaller companies really came to play, bringing some incredible innovations to the show floor.

One of the most exciting products we’ve seen is the Noveto N1, a pair of invisible headphones (yes, you read that correctly). Looking a bit like a small soundbar, this clever audio device beams ultrasound to form little pockets of sound just outside your ears – so you can hear your music without wearing headphones or disturbing people around you.

We also saw a new kind of driver from startup Mayht, which could revolutionize the way smaller speakers sound. Known as HeartMotion technology, its special design means it’s capable of producing sound as powerful as a speaker ten times its size (at least, that’s what Mahyt claims). And, it’s been integrated into a cool prototype that’s kitted out with Exeger’s Powerfoyle material, which can convert any light source into energy – essentially giving it an infinite battery life.

Wearables at CES 2022

We’ve seen a small bundle of wearables at CES 2022, the most exciting of which are two new watches from Garmin. The Venu 2 Plus (which first appeared in a leaked photo back in November) is the first Garmin watch with a microphone so you can take calls directly from your wrist mid-workout or use the voice assistant on your phone.

The Vivomove Sport is a new addition to Garmin’s range of hybrid devices, with a combined digital/analog display. It has essentially the same specs as the Vivomove 3, but at a slightly cheaper price.

CES 2022 has also given us a glimpse of two new Google Wear OS smartwatches – the Skagen Falster Gen 6, and the Razer x Fossil Gen 6. The key selling point of these will be the ability to upgrade to Wear OS 3 later this year.

Elsewhere, startup Movano is challenging Oura with a new smart ring that will track all the same stats, at a lower price point. The Movano ring will monitor sleep, heart rate, heart rate variability, respiration, temperature, blood oxygen, steps, and calories – and the company hopes to add non-invasive blood glucose and blood pressure monitoring to a future model. The company is currently awaiting FDA approval for some of its sensors, and we’ll be interested to see how it compares to the more established Oura when it launches later this year.

Car Tech at CES 2022

CES is becoming more auto focused each year, and at CES 2022 we were treated to a number of exciting announcements. Mercedes showed off the Vision EQXX EV with a staggering 1000km range (although it can’t even hit 90mph), while BMW turned heads with its witchcraft-like color-changing car, the iX Flow. BMW also showed off a 31-inch, 8K ‘Theatre Screen’ it plans to put in upcoming cars.

Then Sony got pulses racing as it unveiled its second generation Vision-S concept car while dropping a heavy hint that it was seriously about to get into the electric car game. Meanwhile, LG was up to its old quirks with the introduction of the suitably wacky Omnipod self-driving concept which crosses a car with your front room and a camper van.

Bringing things back closer to being a reality this year, chip maker Qualcomm announced new collaborations with Volvo, Honda and Renault as the car makers commit to using the Snapdragon Digital Chassis – which will bring a host of connectivity, safety and infotainment features to future vehicles.

And something that many Android owners may love, Motorola of all brands has announced a wireless dongle for Android Auto users, which will stop you having to fumble for a USB cable every time you want to use Google’s automotive service in your car. Ford best watch its back too, as GM has announced a direct rival to the F-150 Lightning – the fully electric Chevrolet Silverado EV.

Major manufacturers at CES 2022

Now we’ll talk you through each of the major manufacturer’s announcements from CES 2022.

LG at CES

LG was out in force at CES 2022, following a video teaser from EGOT winner John Legend which hyped up its January 4 CES 2022 event called “LG World Premier”.

We got to see LG’s line of weird, movable TVs and a powerful new – its first – gaming laptop. The LG 17G90Q is so big (17-inch screen), hardcore (Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Max-Q graphics card), and exciting that it’s already won a CES 2022 innovation award.

The new laptop and crazy TVs are just scratching the surface of what LG has in store for CES 2022.

The latest LG CES 2022 news:

• LG OLED TVs are about to get even better
• Your next OLED TV could hold your Elf on a Shelf, too
• LG is bringing flexible OLED to a wild, rotating easy chair
• LG has announced its first gaming laptop, and it’s a BEAST
• LG’s next Dolby Atmos soundbar bounces voices off the ceiling for better clarity
• LG’s indoor gardening fridge looks like something out of The Martian
• These new LG 4K monitors are set to supercharge your work from home setup
• LG unveils the weirdest OLED and LED-LCD TVs you’ll see all year
• LG CES 2022 press conference recap

Samsung at CES 2022

From TVs to phones to appliances you’ll be able to buy in 2022, as well as chef bots and ball robot concepts that may never reach the market, Samsung always has a lot to show at CES, and CES 2022 has been no different.

There’s the brand new Samsung Galaxy S21 FE. We may get a hint at the Samsung Galaxy S22, and Samsung has also lifted the lid on its exciting 2022 lineup of TVs, which feature a range of new technologies that aim to make your movies and TV shows look better than ever, including MicroLED, mini-LED and QLED.

Samsung is a force to be reckoned with in the TV world, so we can’t wait to check out these new products. They’re sure to be impressive.

The latest Samsung CES 2022 news:

• Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is official, and now we know how much it’ll cost
• Toss the batteries! Samsung’s amazing new remote uses your Wi-Fi to charge
• Samsung’s 2022 QLED TV lineup uses Shape Adaptive Light Control for near pixel-perfect contrast
• Samsung CES 2022 ‘Age of Togetherness’ live blog

Sony at CES 2022

Sony had a big and varied CES 2022 showcase. The biggest headline is the introduction of the PlayStation VR 2 and its PlayStation VR Sense Controllers.

There wasn’t a huge amount of detail, but Sony confirmed the handset will come with eye-tracking, haptic feedback, 4KD HDR, Foveated rendering and a 110-degree field of view.

Sony also confirmed it is making its way into the vehicle space with a new company called Sony Mobility Inc. The company revealed a new Vision S prototype car, which was an SUV.

It also confirmed it will be working on a commercial launch of the first Sony EV. We don’t yet know when that’ll be, but it’s coming at some stage in the future.

Sony’s TV tech wasn’t part of the show, but it revealed some new technology before the show began. The Sony Master Series A95K is the first-ever commercial QD-OLED TV. Sony says it boasts 200% color saturation of a normal LED-LCD TV with wider viewing angles and better black levels.

The latest Sony CES 2022 news:

• Sony announces the first QD-OLED TV of CES 2022
• Sony could take on Tesla with its own EV range – with PlayStation on board, naturally
• PlayStation VR 2 specs and official name revealed at CES 2022
• Sony’s AI Hawk-Eye tech could finally solve soccer’s VAR controversies
• Twisted Metal officially coming back but not as you know it
• Sony CES 2022 live blog: how the event happened

TCL at CES 2022

TCL has embraced CES as a launchpad for its new products coming out in the year and concepts we might not see for a while.

CES 2022 hasn’t been any different, and we’ve seen it announce new products for the TV space as well as mobile products. The company has confirmed it will “upgrade its entire lineup of TVs” this year. We don’t have a huge amount of detail on all of that.

What we do know about is its next 98-inch TV called the 98R7. It’s already on sale for $7,732 for those in the US, and we’ve yet to hear if it’s coming to the UK or Australia.

There’s also the TCL X925 Pro which is an 8K 85-inch TV that is meant to be incredibly bright. Sadly, we’ve yet to see this one in person.

In the world of mobile, we’ve seen two new cheap phones from the company, three tablets and a pair of smart glasses. The phones aren’t super exciting, but one of the tablets uses E Ink technology and it’s a color version.

The smart glasses seem interesting as well – they’re called the NXTWEAR Air – and they include two Full HD screens. You’ll have to connect these to an additional device for them to work.

The latest TCL CES 2022 news:

• TCL TVs are about to get a whole lot better at motion processing
• TCL’s new tablet for CES 2022 is like a Kindle, but it’s in color

Intel at CES 2022

Intel used CES 2022 to introduce a variety of mobile processors that we expect to see in many of the laptops and ultrabooks at the show. Its new H-series chips – the most powerful of the range – will be coming to over 100 laptop designs.

The flagship is the Core i9-12900HK with six performance cores (with hyper-threading) and eight efficiency cores (without hyper-threading) making a total of 14-cores and 20-threads.

Intel claims this is its fastest mobile processor ever, and it is said to be 28% faster when gaming when compared to the 11980HK. There are eight products in the H-series, while the P-series features six products and the U-series has five.

The latest Intel CES 2022 news:

• Intel Alder Lake laptop CPUs look seriously impressive at CES 2022 – can AMD compete?
• Intel CES 2022 On the Road to the Future as it happened – more Alder Lake

Nvidia at CES 2022

Nvidia isn’t showing products on the show floor at CES 2022, but it has still revealed a new graphics cards. The brand revealed two new desktop GPUs and two new mobile GPUs.

Nvidia confirmed the new RTX 3090 Ti is coming, but there weren’t a huge amount of details and we only got a quick glimpse of the processor itself. You should also expect this to be incredibly expensive.

There’s also an RTX 3080 Ti and the RTX 3070 Ti laptop GPUs. The first of those two is supposedly going to be capable of driving equivalent performance to the Nvidia RTX Titan but in a laptop. You can learn more about these below.

The latest Nvidia CES 2022 news:

• Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 Ti specs, price and leaks – everything we know
• Nvidia CES 2022 Special Address as it happened

AMD at CES 2022

AMD didn’t give us the most exciting launch of CES 2022, but it remained an important one of the computing calendar. Its new Ryzen 6000 series mobile processors were the stars of the show,

AMD claims these will be more powerful and more power efficient than previous iterations… but it would say that. In fact AMD says these will allow for 24 hour battery life on some laptops in certain scenarios.

The latest AMD CES 2022 news:

• AMD RX 6500 XT arrives at CES 2022 to challenge Nvidia for budget GPU crown
• AMD CES 2022 Product Premiere event as it happened

Panasonic at CES 2022

Panasonic used CES 2022 to reveal its first ever 77-inch OLED TV. It’s called the Panasonic LZ2000 OLED TV and it comes with a 4K HDR panel and HDMI 2.1 compatibility.

The unique element is the audio, which includes a new “beam-forming technology” speaker array that replaces traditional front-firing speakers. The idea is this can better direct sound toward the viewer.

There are three modes to choose from, which are Pinpoint mode for specific spots, Area mode for larger spaces and Spot mode for something in the middle that focuses the volume at a specific seat.

We don’t yet know how much this is set to cost, but Panasonic says it’ll go on sale sometime between June and August.

The latest Panasonic CES 2022 news:

• New Panasonic 4K OLED ditches front-firing speakers for something even better

Hisense at CES 2022

Hisense never gets the same amount of airtime as companies like Sony, Samsung and LG at CES, but it’s still worth a stop at the company’s booth if you’re walking around the Las Vegas Convention Center.

This year, there’s lots to talk about. The highlight is its new top-end L9G TriChroma Laser TV, plus there are brand new Hisense U7H, U8H and U9H models that add mini-LED backlights and more contrast controls.

The latest Hisense CES 2022 news:

• Here’s everything you need to know about the new Hisense range

CES 2022: how to register

Registration for CES 2022 is available now to the consumer technology industry now at the CES website. In terms of cost, the CTA plans to charge a $300 fee. The fee will apply to most attendees, including retailers, but like in past years, credentialed journalists and analysts will be exempt.

• The next big show is set to be MWC 2022