(CNN) –
CES 2021 is here, and the largest annual technology fair in the world has never been so different. But while this year’s event replaces the crowded Las Vegas ballrooms in favor of an all-online experience, there are as many cool gadgets and exciting innovations to get excited as ever.
From eye-popping 8K TVs to laptops and desktops that make working at home easier than ever, we’ve seen a ton of great products coming out of this totally virtual CES. In order to cross the sea of shiny new technology and find the best products that we think are worth your money, we met with large and small manufacturers for detailed briefings, comparing these gadgets with our most tested choices in terms of specifications and features and , in some cases, we even get our hands on the first units.
With that in mind, here are our picks for the best CES 2021 gadgets you’ll really want to buy this year.
The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook is our current recommendation for the best 2 in 1 Chromebook you can buy, but it sells for $ 999. The new Galaxy Chromebook 2 retains the best aspects of its predecessor (including a vivid screen and a Fiesta Red design impressive), while starting at $ 549 much more attainable with more modest specifications. Don’t call it a downgrade, however – the Galaxy Chromebook 2 is the first Chromebook with a QLED screen, offering much more vibrant colors and finer details than you’ll find on a standard LCD laptop screen. The beautiful screen and responsive keyboard on the Chromebook 2 performed well in our first practice tests, and their eye-popping design makes other CES Chromebooks look boring.
If you’re looking for a game monitor to use with your PS5 or Xbox Series X, the new Acer Nitro XV282 KV should be on your radar. This 28-inch screen features the latest HDMI 2.1 standard, which you’ll need to take full advantage of the smooth 120 frames per second gameplay that the new PlayStation and Xbox consoles are capable of. It is also a great option for PC gamers, with AMD FreeSync Premium technology to eliminate screen breaks and 1 ms response times for minimal input delay. The Nitro XV 282K KV guaranteed our best of CES choice because its HDMI 2.1 support makes it one of the first monitors to make the gameplay of your next generation console as smooth as possible – and could usher in a new wave of PS5-optimized game monitors and Xbox Series X. Look out for it in May with a starting price of $ 899.
Like most other smart vacuum cleaners, Samsung’s latest one doesn’t have the most attractive name. But, after a demonstration and a personal briefing (conducted safely), the JetBot 90 AI + proved to bring a lot to the table. It goes beyond other smart vacuum cleaners that feature only LiDAR sensors through cameras and object recognition. That way, he can really identify what’s in his path and change direction. Avoiding obstacles is the * chef’s kiss * on the JetBot 90 for exactly that reason – it can get around a cable, a pair of sneakers or the dreaded do-it-yourself dog. It will even send an alert via the connected app to let you know what happened. This is the first vacuum cleaner to have this next level object avoidance technology, so it makes other smart vacuum cleaners look pretty stupid. We don’t have prices yet, but the JetBot 90 AI + has a set of features that will leave other smart vacuum cleaners in the trash.
Laptop webcams are often terrible, which is a problem that HP seems to be solving with the new HP Elite Dragonfly Max. This powerful 2-in-1 business notebook features a 5MP webcam, which, combined with advanced controlled sound technology by the laptop’s AI, should make it as presentable as possible during important Zoom meetings. Combine that with a 13.3-inch screen with features like HP Eye Ease and HP Sure View Reflect to keep your documents safe from eavesdroppers while minimizing eye strain, and Dragonfly Max is preparing to be the best laptop to work at home. Although we haven’t tested it directly, the design, specifications and feature set of Dragonfly Max seem to rival the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon – our best laptop choice for business users – making it the most impressive laptop we’ve seen at CES until now .
The UltraSharp 38 Monitor not only offers an expansive screen, but has the right specifications. This 37.5-inch curved WQHD + screen has a resolution of 3840 X 1600. Although not exactly 4K, with this high resolution we expect it to be sharp and probably difficult to detect individual pixels. The panel should allow the production of a wide range of colors like previous UltraSharp monitors, one of our current choices for the best monitors. Those working on creative applications like Photoshop and Illustrator will be able to handle detail-oriented editing with relative ease. And in daily use, we expect it to provide plenty of space for emails, spreadsheets and web browsing. The real difference is the integrated productivity hub – there are two HDMIs, a DisplayPort, two USB-Cs, an Ethernet connector and four USB-A ports, among others. It is an all-in-one plug-in solution that we believe is truly a plug-and-play experience. This is not something that all monitors can match. If you’re squinting on an old monitor and struggling with all kinds of dongles, this seems like the complete package. We look forward to testing the UltraSharp 38 Monitor when it launches on January 28th.
Samsung’s Neo QLED aims to increase the level of brightness, color vibration and deepen black levels compared to previous generations. This does not happen with totally new technology or even with a dramatically new processor, but with miniLED. Samsung’s Quantum Mini LEDs are about 1/40 the size of a conventional LED backlight and remove much of the packaging. Reducing the size allows more LEDs to be placed inside, and the TV can control LED lighting by LED. This is closer to the pixel-by-pixel image creation found in OLEDs. We had to see it in person, and the 8K Neo QLED attracted our eyes with its increased levels of vibration without causing flowering or leakage. Given Samsung’s experience with imaging and scaling, we have a feeling that it will surpass our current overall choice for better TV, the TCL 6 Series. The specificity that Samsung can offer with miniLEDs should increase the level of clarity and provide brightness to a new level. We don’t know the price yet, but Samsung’s Neo QLEDs will be available later this spring.