Must-Have Gadgets from CES 2026 That Caught My Eye
Hey there, gamers! Welcome to Installer No. 111, your go-to source for the coolest and quirkiest tech in the gaming world. If you’re new here, welcome aboard! I hope you had an awesome holiday season. You can catch up on all the previous editions on our homepage.
This week, I’ve been diving into topics like gerrymandering, watching conventions, and catching up on F1 and the Mission: Impossible series during flights. I also attempted a daily journaling habit (which didn’t last long), got hooked on the Debt Heads podcast, learned some intriguing facts about mail processing, and snagged a bunch of vintage gadgets on eBay to spice up my video call background. Oh, and I narrowly avoided catching the CES flu!
Speaking of CES, I’ve gathered some of the most exciting highlights from this year’s event! Our team has done an amazing job covering all the latest news, and you’ll definitely want to check out the awards for the standout products. For this roundup, I focused on the most interesting and practical items that are actually set to ship and deliver value. It’s a tough task during CES week!
Before we dive in, a quick update: this newsletter will now go live on our website at the same time it hits your inbox. Since it’s all for subscribers, there’s no reason to wait a day anymore! You can read it in email, on the site, or via RSS every Saturday morning. Let me know if you encounter any issues! Now, let’s get to the good stuff.
(As always, the best part of Installer is hearing from you! What are you watching, reading, or listening to this week? Share your thoughts at installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone who might enjoy this newsletter, feel free to forward it and encourage them to subscribe!)
**The Drop**
* **The Clicks Power Keyboard**: This might be my favorite gadget from CES! While the Communicator is cool, the Power Keyboard is more polished and practical. It connects to your phone and works as a Bluetooth keyboard for your iPad, smart TV, and more. I can see this living on my coffee table.
* **The Lego Smart Brick**: This is the standout story of CES, based on our comments and traffic! It’s a simple yet brilliant idea that enhances your favorite Lego sets. I do have some concerns about needing to charge a Lego, though.
* **The Ikea Kallsup**: Ikea is on a roll with smart home devices! I love the idea of placing these little speaker cubes around the house to create a vibrant audio system. At just ten bucks each, it’s a fantastic deal.
* **The Lenovo Legion Go 2**: The latest handheld console from Lenovo runs on SteamOS instead of Windows, which is a win. It’s pricey, and I expect competition to heat up before its June release, but it ticks a lot of boxes for handheld gaming.
* **The Pila Energy Home Battery**: With power outages becoming more frequent, I’m tempted to invest in a backup battery. These look surprisingly good, which might justify their higher price.
* **The Corsair Galleon 100 SD**: After years of using a Stream Deck, I believe a keyboard is where it truly belongs. This mechanical keyboard is a powerhouse, and while I usually prefer quieter options, I can’t help but think I’d be unstoppable with this one.
* **The Shokz OpenFit Pro**: Shokz continues to be my top recommendation for open-ear headphones. These new buds not only provide solid noise reduction but might also replace my trusty OpenRun Pro 2 headband.
* **The Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold**: I’m still figuring out the purpose of foldable phones, but this one expands to a much larger size, and I can’t resist the allure of it.
* **The Amazon Ember Artline TV**: I have my gripes with the Frame TV I bought, but I’m all in on the art TV concept. It’s exciting to see more companies, including Amazon, embracing this idea. Hopefully, my next art TV won’t be so sluggish.
* **The Govee Sky Ceiling Light**: As I sit in my dim basement, I can’t help but think this faux skylight could brighten my days. Or maybe I just need to get outside more!
**Screen Share**
Soon, I’m going to splurge on an e-bike, and it’s all Andy Hawkins’ fault. He’s our transportation editor and a huge advocate for ditching cars in favor of cargo bikes. If you ask him, he’ll even lead your bike bus!
I asked Andy to share his homescreen this week, given all the exciting transit innovations at CES. (Side note: I test-drove an Infinite Machine Olto while in Vegas, and it was fantastic.) Although Andy didn’t make it to Vegas this year, he was happy to share his setup.
Here’s Andy’s homescreen, along with details about his favorite apps:
**The phone**: iPhone 16. I was content with my iPhone 11, but my mom insisted I join her family plan, so I upgraded last year. It’s slimmer than my old phone, which took some getting used to. Unfortunately, my kid accidentally touched the screen with a sparkler, leaving a weird burn mark in the corner. Cool, right?
**The wallpaper**: Usually a photo of my kids. I recently set it to change every hour, and I love seeing old baby pics and random sunset or cityscape shots.
**The apps**: Camera, YouTube, Weather, Bluesky, Google Maps, Slack, Photos, TikTok, Phone, Instagram, Spotify, Gmail, Messages, Chrome, Telegram. The top half of my homescreen is organized into folders for streaming, news, navigation, and social media. The bottom half features my most-used apps: Instagram, Spotify, Google Maps, Photos, Camera, and The Verge. I sometimes shuffle them around to cut down on doomscrolling. My dock is reserved for essentials: Gmail, iMessage, Telegram, and Chrome. My wife’s phone, on the other hand, is a chaotic mix of random apps across multiple screens. Not my style!
I also asked Andy to share some of his current favorites:
* I’ve been enjoying Letterboxd lately. It’s not the best-designed app, but as an aspiring film snob, it satisfies my need for escape and distraction. Sometimes, you just want to read hilarious one-sentence reviews of movies.
* I’ve been watching a lot of pre-code films, like Howard Hughes’ *Hell’s Angels* and classic gangster flicks like *Scarface* and *Little Caesar*. The acting can be a bit cheesy, but the dialogue and practical effects are top-notch.
* Geese’s *Getting Killed* album. As a 46-year-old white guy, this is my jam!
* I don’t want to sound repetitive, but nothing beats biking, especially with kids. My son just got his first geared bike, and it’s been a game changer. We ride the bike bus every Friday, even in winter, and it really lifts my spirits. The world can feel dark, but riding down a hill with my kid yelling “Wee!” makes it all better.
**Crowdsourced**
Here’s what the Installer community is into this week. I want to hear your recommendations too! Email installer@theverge.com or message me on Signal — @davidpierce.11 — with your favorite picks, and we’ll feature some of them here each week. For even more great suggestions, check out the replies on Threads and Bluesky.
“*Slow Gods*, by Claire North. It’s a banger!” — Eliot
“Martha Wells’s *Murderbot Diaries* was the perfect, sassy romp I needed this holiday season. I’m pairing that with Margaret Atwood’s memoir for a little highbrow balance, all while enjoying espresso from my Profitec 600, kept warm by my Ember Mug 2.” — Lauren
“I’m relistening to old Retronauts pods. The more Bob Mackey, the better!” — Brad
“I started using Retro because Instagram decided authentic content was meaningless. I got a free year of premium and am using it as a personal photo journal instead of a social network.” — Ryan
“This hilarious video, ‘Durrr ChatGPT,’ captures my mood perfectly. It’s mind-boggling to see how people use it for everything these days. It’s made with pure rage, and you can feel it!” — Yagya
“I just got Pixel Buds 2a after realizing I don’t need expensive earbuds. They’re lightweight, work perfectly, and even act as a temporary Find My tracker—all for $99!” — Anshuman
“This deep dive into the ATSC 3.0 NextGen TV rollout is both fascinating and infuriating!” — Eric
“I recommend the Espro portable coffee maker. I travel to Italy for work, and the coffee volume problem is real for Americans. The Espro gives me a decent volume with easy cleaning and storage.” — Sean
“I’ve been meaning to recommend Mr. Owen Cutts on TikTok. His Old Music Friday is awesome! He plays classic soul and R&B, and his passion for the music is infectious.” — Brian
“I recently started using ChatGPT to play a solo RPG. Instead of writing simple sentences, I have ChatGPT craft paragraphs from my plot points, and then I use ElevenLabs to narrate the scenes. It’s honestly a blast!” — Albert
**Signing Off**
One of my New Year’s resolutions is to scroll less and game more. I’m not trying to eliminate phone time; I just want to spend it in a way that feels good. So, I’m limiting social apps and diving into the NYT Games app, Puzzmo, Balatro, and other games where I can lose track of time.
This shift has unexpectedly made me fall in love with Apple Arcade. For just $6.99 a month, I get access to exclusive games and, more importantly, a ton of games without ads or in-app purchases. As a result, I’m playing more games and trying new ones like never before. I even picked up Asphalt 8 again, which is way more enjoyable without constant money requests. Now, I just need to remember how to stop crashing!
Catch you next week!
