Shack Chat: What is the coolest thing you saw at CES 2024?

The Consumer Electronic Show, more commonly known as CES, took place this week and brought with it some truly incredible bits of technology. It’s always so enlightening to see what developers and creatives have dreamt up, and while everything looks intriguing, we decided to try and pick one thing we liked. One thing each, that is. But we also want to hear from you – what was your favorite product from CES 2024?

Question: What is the coolest thing you saw at CES 2024?

NVIDIA ACE AI-powererd NPCs - Ozzie Mejia, Senior CES Attendee

It's one thing to see a demo like the one embedded above. To see NVIDIA's AI-powered NPCs in person is another. I was amazed at how adaptable the NPCs in this demo were and believe this has some wild ramifications for games and beyond. If NVIDIA and Convai can hammer out the kinks on this idea (the bartender couldn't so much pronounce "sake" properly), this has the potential to change game design in a big way.

Transparent TVs - TJ Denzer, likes a clean, uncluttered aesthetic

I gotta say, the thing that stood out to me the most by far this year were the transparent micro OLED TVs from LG and Samsung. They both looked incredible in their own way. I agree with the design philosophy that once you’re done with the TV, you just have this big, ugly black panel in your room. This looks like a solid path to enjoying televised entertainment while eliminating visual clutter. It also looks like it could lead to even more subtle designs.

I know these aren’t quite practical yet. It will probably be a long time before they have any kind of reasonable price tags on them. However, the innovation they seem to bring to the table seems like not only could it reduce clutter and provide a pleasing aesthetic, but also reduce waste of plastics and old technology that still currently goes with getting rid of an old TV. What we have here as sort of a starting point looks promising and I hope it catches on so I can have one of these in my living room someday.

Holoconnects Holobox Virtual Presence Box - Asif Khan, Shacknews CEO/EIC/EIEIO

1 hour into #CES2024 and I’m already a hologram @holoconnects pic.twitter.com/IurwmOccHD

— Emily Dreibelbis (@electric_humans) January 8, 2024

CES 2024 was full of a lot of random robots, AI devices, and other stuff, but the one thing that caught my attention was Holobox by Holoconnects. Holograms are more futuristic than ordering pizza with an AI assistant or controlling a car with a DualSense, so Holoconnects wins my vote for coolest thing I saw this year at the show.

BeamO - Bill Lavoy, Medical Gadget Freak

Sign me up for the BeamO, folks. The entire reason I bought an Apple Watch was for the heart rate monitor, and the entire reason I bought a new Apple Watch was for its increased abilities with monitoring your heart and health. The BeamO might not be as subtle as a watch, but its capabilities intrigue me.

The list of features with the BeamO is extensive, including the ability to read your body temperature and provide your blood oxygen level and heart rate. It also boasts a medical-grade ECG and digital stethoscope.

Now, there may never be a substitute for visiting a doctor, but that’s not always easy or possible. With devices such as the BeamO, though, we can reach a level of health awareness that wasn’t possible in the past and that can save lives in the future.

R1 Rabbit - Sam Chandler, Pocket computer

While I’ve got a mobile phone that can do absolutely everything and anything I need it to do, I cannot help but be interested in something like the R1 Rabbit. This little orange device is basically the pocket computer written about in early sci-fi books. Press a button, ask it a question, and receive your answer. I love the form factor of this thing too.

Elgato 4K X External Capture Card - Dennis White Jr.,

While a 4K option has been around for a while as far as internal Elgato capture cards go, I’m really excited to see a new external device hit the market. There hasn’t been a new external capture device  from the brand since the HD60 dropped in 2019. The new 4K X External supports HDMI 2.1, and can record up to 4K144 or 1080p at 240 Hz. With more of these kinds of devices on the market, there’s a higher chance of capturing high quality footage at fighting game events without needing as many production elements.

Samsung’s 3D gaming monitor - Donovan Erskine, 3DS owner

I hadn’t heard of Samsung’s 3D gaming monitor until I read about it in Ozzie’s feature article. As someone who spent his early teen years mesmerized by the Nintendo 3DS, the thought of a modern attempt at glasses-free 3D gaming is kind of exciting. It’s dope that the device naturally activates and deactivates its 3D feature when necessary, removing the headache of having to constantly adjust a slider myself. 3D is admittedly gimmicky, but it’d be a pretty dope way to play some games on PC.

BeamO At-Home Health Checkup - Steve Tyminski, Not a Dr. but play one on TV

What was the coolest thing I saw at CES 2024? There were quite a few things that look and sound pretty cool in my opinion. Having a transparent television in my living room that doesn’t stand out too much sounds neat. Also the idea of driving an actual car with a video game controller sounds cool too. However, I think the thing that made the biggest impression on me was the BeamO at-home health checkup device. I have a few elderly relatives and the idea of them not having to leave the house for a medical checkup sounds nice. Being able to check all your vitals and send it via email to your doctor sounds really good. I think the best feature is the EKG function. Not having to go to a specialist for that is a great idea.

Those are all the neat products, technologies, and devices we saw (and probably want to buy) at CES 2024. Let us know in the Chatty thread below about some of the coolest things you’ve seen discussed or revealed at this year’s Consumer Electronic Show.

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.