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Five CES 2024 products I'd buy as soon as they'd take my money
In recent years, CES has gained a reputation for being a show of splashy introductions of products that will never come to market -- even though the roots of CES are based in retail stores previewing the year's upcoming products to decide what to stock on their shelves. Thankfully, CES 2024 had no shortage of real product launches along with strong pitches for recently released tech gadgets.
Also: CES 2024: What's Next in Tech
ZDNET has posted its editor's pick for best of show. I thought I'd also share my personal list of products that I would pay good money for as soon as they are available to buy. These five products are at the top of my queue.
1. Roborock Flexi Pro
I've been very impressed with the quality of Roborock's robot vacuums for the past couple years, because even though they weren't first to market they have out-innovated the industry to create 2-in-1 robots that vacuum, mop, and work more reliably than their competitors. I was even more impressed after talking to Roborock's president Quan Gang at CES, where he told me that the first two products that Roborock ever made they scrapped because they weren't happy with the quality and the third product had to succeed because they were out of money. It was an instant hit and now they are one of the top-selling robovac makers globally.
Also: EcoFlow Delta Pro Ultra and Smart Home Panel 2 just launched at CES 2024 and ZDNET tested it
But the product I loved from CES wasn't a robovac. It's a smart, upright, wet/dry vacuum called the Roborock Flexi Pro (because sometimes a robovac can't get everywhere or you just need a quick cleanup). The Flexi Pro has a beautiful, minimalist design, works as both a vacuum and a mop, is self-cleaning, and has 17,000Pa of suction power (twice the power of most robovacs). The price and release date haven't been announced yet, and I can't wait to learn more.
Roborock Flexi Lite (left) and Flexi Pro (right)
2. Ecobee Smart Doorbell Camera
When Ecobee launched its Smart Doorbell Camera in Q4 2023, most of the industry shrugged and thought it was an odd late entrance into a market that has a ton of entrenched competitors from the likes of Ring, Google, Logitech, and Eufy and low-cost stalwarts like Blink, Wyze, and Arlo. But after getting a demo of the Ecobee Smart Doorbell Camera and talking to Ecobee CEO Greg Fyke at CES, I came away very impressed with the fact that the Ecobee team got into smart doorbells because there were specific issues with the existing products on the market and they were confident they could improve on them and deliver a better product.
Also: The best smart home tech at CES 2024
The biggest improvement is the field of view. Most doorbell cameras are great for seeing someone coming to the door, but they can't see a package that's set right in front of the door. The Ecobee doorbell has a 175-degree field of view so that it can see something that's set flush against the door. I tried this in my CES demo and it works great. I have this problem today and so I have a second camera on my porch to see packages. And since I already have an Ecobee thermostat and have been very happy with the quality, features, and usability, another nice feature of the Ecobee doorbell is that it can use the screen on your Ecobee thermostat to view the doorbell camera. It also previews on Apple Watch. You can also use the Ecobee thermostat as your doorbell chime. Keep in mind that it's wired only, so it won't work for everyone. Still, the Ecobee Smart Doorbell Camera retails for $160, is available today, and I'd love to use it to replace my current two-camera setup.
Ecobee Smart Doorbell Camera
3. Samsung S95D OLED TV
Okay, I should preface this by saying I would LIKE to buy this TV as soon as it's released -- whether I can afford to buy it will be a different matter. (We'll see when it comes out this spring.) Nevertheless, I've already called the S95D "the best TV of CES 2024" and the TV with the best picture quality in the world right now. Last year's model (S95C) was already among the consensus top three TVs in the world based on picture quality -- the other two being the LG G3 and the Sony A95L -- at least among TVs consumers can buy at retail.
Also: I saw Samsung's CES 2024 deluge of new TV tech and these 4 products impressed me
And then Samsung announced a new feature at CES 2024 that changed the game. The S95D now has a glare-free screen and in my time with the product at CES I was blown away by how effective it is. Glare is one of the biggest drawbacks on virtually all OLED TVs. They have amazing dynamic range, intense colors, and impressive black levels, but it's hard to use them in bright rooms because they don't have the strong backlight of LCD and QLED TVs and because they become mirrors for windows and lamp lights. The S95D overcomes this with its new anti-reflective display. We tested it with a bright flashlight on a smartphone camera and was amazed at how well it dispersed the intense light and turned it into a soft glow that the TV's picture could overwhelm. That's why I consider it the TV with the best picture quality a consumer can buy, and why I'd like to get one. Pricing won't be announced until spring, but I expect it will start around $2,500 for a 55-inch model before it gets discounted during the fall shopping season.
Samsung S95D OLED TV with glare-free display
4. Vasco Translator E1
One of the most impressive demos I had at CES 2024 was with the team of the Vasco Translator E1, an earpiece that uses AI and an app to translate 49 languages in real time. We tested it with a member of the Vasco team speaking a Polish, my ZDNET colleague Sabrina Ortiz speaking in Spanish, and me speaking in English and the E1 earpiece automatically translated between the three languages in our ear as well as displaying the translations in text on the phone app. There was a slight delay and the translations were about 80-90 percent accurate, but it was remarkable how well it let us communicate across the barrier of three different languages. The product will be released in Q2 2024 and pricing isn't available yet.
Also: The 12 best mobile accessories at CES 2024: iPhone call recorder, Qi2 chargers, and more
The team already has a product available, the Vasco Translator V4, a handheld mobile device that translates 108 languages and has a built-in SIM card that works in roughly 200 countries and includes connectivity for the lifetime of the device. The V4 costs $389 and it will work with the E1 earpiece when it's released. My colleagues Kerry Wan and Sabrina Ortiz also demoed a competing product, the TimeKettle X1 Interpreter Hub, and found it to be a little more accurate than Vasco's products and it worked better in loud spaces. However, in the volunteer work I do in community building and with a youth literacy program, I regularly collaborate with immigrants who speak less common languages that are covered by Vasco (such as Swahili and Persian) and are not covered by TimeKettle, and that's why I'm more interested in Vasco's product. Oh, and the fact that the TimeKettle device costs $700 -- although it does include two earpieces similar to the E1 as well.
Vasco Translator E1 (black earpieces) and Translator V4 device (middle)
5. Oclean X Ultra S smart toothbrush
Smart toothbrushes have a long and interesting history at CES. I've lost count of how many I've demoed over the years. But none of them ever convinced me to put aside my old school Philips Sonicare toothbrush that I've been using for almost a decade (while regularly replacing the brush heads, of course). This year I think I might have found the one I've been waiting for, though. The Oclean X Ultra S has a built-in display to give you instant feedback on any spots you missed and a brushing score, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity, a bone-conducting speaker that tells you if you're brushing too fast or applying too much pressure, Apple Health integration, and 4-6 months of battery life.
The Oclean X Ultra S will come to the US market in Q3 and will cost $130. Considering that high-end smart toothbrushes from market leaders Philips and Oral-B cost $300 to $350, the Oclean X Ultra S can bring tech-enabled brushing to a lot more people. The Oclean app is currently not rated nearly as well as Philips, Oral-B, Colgate, and other smart toothbrush apps on the Apple App Store, so Oclean may still have some work to do to improve usability and the overall digital experience. But based on what I saw at CES 2024, this product has a lot going for it and is coming in at a price that I finally feel comfortable paying for a smart toothbrush.
Oclean X Ultra S smart toothbrush and carrying case