CES 2026 Shows Why Discipline Is Becoming a Competitive Advantage in Tech

Article

January 16, 2026

By Josh McConnell

This year felt less like a science fair and more like a shipping roadmap, revealing an industry increasingly focused on discipline, practicality, and trust. 

CES has long been a Rorschach test for the technology industry. In some years, it’s a stage for ambitious moonshots and far-off visions of the future. In others, it’s a noisy inventory of incremental upgrades. This year felt like something else entirely. 

Despite once again being held in Las Vegas, CES 2026 reflected an industry recalibrating. One that’s less interested in spectacle for spectacle’s sake and more focused on what’s viable, valuable, and ready to meet people where they are right now. 

Across the show floor, the strongest signals weren’t about what might exist someday, but what companies are confident enough to ship soon, support responsibly, and stand behind long term. 

Here are the themes that stood out most after walking the show floor. 

1. CES felt unusually short-term, and that’s not a bad thing. 

For years, CES has been a playground for moonshots and “maybe someday” concepts. This year felt different. A lot of what was on the floor looked like things you’ll actually be able to buy in the next 6–18 months. Lawn mowers, monitors, keyboards, smart lighting, pool cleaners, wearables, bird feeders, speakers — they’re all practical items solving real problems. It felt less risky and more grounded. Companies seemed focused on shipping rather than speculating. 

2. AI is now the default setting, even when it doesn’t belong. 

AI was everywhere. Sometimes meaningfully, sometimes gratuitous. In health and med tech, it often made sense, with AI used to support decision-making, reduce friction, or help people navigate complexity. Elsewhere, it felt like AI had replaced Bluetooth or Wi-Fi as the checkbox feature that needs to be in everything. One company’s booth tagline was simply, “AI in everything we build.” 

But some products and services were simply built on top of LLMs the companies don’t actually own or control, like ChatGPT or Claude. When your entire business depends on access to someone else’s foundation model, it’s hard to see a long-term future. There were also moments — music creation tools especially — where AI crossed into creative territory, raising questions about authorship, art, and intrusion rather than augmentation. 

3. Health, med tech, and life sciences felt like the right focus for this moment. 

Given where AI and hardware actually are today, health tech just made sense at CES this year. Wearables, exoskeletons, mental health tools, or brain interfaces were all practical applications addressing real needs on the show floor. It felt less speculative and more responsible. 

Pet tech followed a similar logic. Products like smart bird feeders and AI-powered cameras were emotionally resonant, clearly useful, and easier to justify than some broader “smart everything” narratives. 

4. Chinese manufacturing is astonishing but software is the bottleneck. 

The speed and quality coming out of Chinese manufacturers were impossible to ignore. Beautifully designed and well-built hardware could be seen everywhere, with many often based on ideas conceived just 6–12 months ago. That level of speed and execution is incredibly difficult to replicate in North America right now. 

But the gap showed up quickly in software. Robots that looked like they belonged in a Boston Dynamics demo would freeze, fall over, or fail basic tasks. The hardware is ready but the software often isn’t there yet, and that’s becoming the new race for many of these companies. The result is a growing gap between what hardware can promise and what software can reliably deliver. 

5. Purpose-built tech quietly won the show. 

Amid all the noise, the products people kept talking about after they got home were the ones that did one thing well. Devices with a clear reason to exist. Phones with keyboards designed for communication. Digital clocks designed to be clocks with an artistic flair. Dartboards designed to help you play better.  LEGO’s smart bricks. TVs and monitors with focused new capabilities. Smart lights that don’t try to be platforms.  

There was a noticeable skepticism toward bloated, do-everything tech and genuine enthusiasm for tools that respected attention and intent. That signal showed up again and again, including in mainstream CES coverage. 

Final Thoughts

At CES this year, restraint wasn’t a limitation. It was the differentiator. 

CES 2026 suggested a tech industry in the middle of a quiet self-correction. Less chasing hype and over-promising. More focus on usefulness, credibility, and follow-through in the near term. 

What stood out wasn’t who had the boldest vision of the future, but who showed discipline in how technology showed up in people’s lives. The products that resonated most didn’t try to do everything. They did one thing clearly, reliably, and with an obvious reason to exist. 

For brands, that’s the signal worth paying attention to. Audiences are no longer impressed by intelligence for intelligence’s sake. They’re looking for clarity, accountability, and proof that technology is being applied with purpose. 

 Josh McConnell is a VP of Technology based in New York where he helps companies navigate complex narratives at the intersection of innovation, reputation and culture. He brings over 15 years of experience across journalism and corporate comms, with leadership roles at Uber and Xero. As a journalist, he regularly interviewed tech leaders including Tim Cook, Satya Nadella and Jack Dorsey.