THIS WEEK’S UPDATE

The best thing I saw at CES

Happy new year to you all! I’m writing this from the Media Room at CES in Las Vegas. For the uninitiated, this is the only quiet corner of this brilliantly bonkers city during the world’s largest tech convention (outside of my hotel room, obviously, although I checked out of that earlier).

This is my third CES, and I can’t ignore the fact that the products on display aren’t as genuinely exciting as they were three years ago. It’s AI Everything, and there are about eight million robot lawnmower manufacturers showing off how well their little grass terminators can undertake formation dances on fake grass. Which is impressive, but pointless when you consider what those things are actually used for. You know - cutting grass.

It was rather risky of me to film the first Tech Diary video of the year on the show floor. But that’s what I did, and you can see exactly what happened on my second channel, now if you’ve run out of stuff to watch on the internet.

As for what has excited me at CES, it boils down to the Clicks Communicator, Samsung’s TriFold, the viaim RecDot earbuds and a brilliant little wall charger from Anker, which identifies your iPhone model and displays charging information on its tiny display. All three felt far more like genuine innovation than pretty much anything else I saw while wandering around CES. You can read more about my best CES picks in-depth here, but there’s a summary below!

I’ll be back next year, obviously.

TOP 5 CES FINDS

1. viaim RecDot Earbuds

Forget backflipping robots, I partnered with viaim this year to check out their RecDot earbuds, and they were the smartest bit of kit I saw at CES. These things are AI voice recorders, transcribers, and real-time translators, all disguised as a sleek pair of earbuds.

They’re incredibly easy to use and sound great when used as normal earbuds, too!

2. Clicks Communicator

If you don’t know who Clicks are, they began by making phone cases that came with a built-in keyboard to transform your iPhone into something like a BlackBerry. Now they’ve gone the whole hog and actually made a phone with an integrated physical keyboard. 

It feels excellent in the hand and I can’t wait to properly give it a go.

3. Samsung Galaxy TriFold

This isn’t a concept anymore, Samsung’s TriFold is real and boy is it glorious. A three-panel folding device that turns into a 10-inch tablet is truly a game-changing device. Samsung aren’t the first to do this, but their version is arguably the best already due to a few factors like its thinness.

4. Cambridge Audio L/R Series Speakers

I’ve never been more tempted to redecorate my entire house than after seeing the new Cambridge Audio L/R series. The lovely people there paid for my flights and accommodation at CES, and I’m so glad they did. These are proper bookshelf speakers with punch, clarity, and a design that looks luxurious without restraining itself to black and white monotones.

5. Samsung 130-inch R95H TV

Ok, this one is a bit silly, but Samsung rolled out a 130-inch MicroLED display this year and, put simply, it’s an eye-watering flex of engineering. The R95H makes every other TV at CES look like a postage stamp. MicroLED means true blacks, insane brightness, and none of the OLED burn-in. Will any of us ever own one of these? No. But it’s still cool!

MUST-WATCH

HONOR Magic8 Pro Review: Android’s Answer to the iPhone!

This year, Honor hasn’t done anything crazy with its latest flagship. There’s been no wild redesign and no obsession with thinness. And that has resulted in a very good device that excels in some specific areas, some even better than the latest iPhone. But there is one major problem for the Magic8 Pro, which I’ll leave you to find out…

MUST READ

The Tech I Miss – and Want Back – in 2026

In last week’s newsletter, I briefly went over my plan for 2026, so this week I went a bit deeper. There are some burning tech passions I haven’t yet explored as a content creator, and I’m determined to make this the year I get around to it!

WATCHLIST

What I Watched On YouTube This Week

🤣 Ricky Gervais: Roasting Celebrities At The Golden Globes & Giving MILLIONS To Animal Charities (The Romesh Ranganathan Show) - I’ve just discovered Romesh’s channel, and it’s utterly brilliant. What an interview to kick things off, too.

⌨️ Meet Clicks Communicator & Power Keyboard: Tools for Action (Clicks) - This really does feel like a phone for today. And, trust me, it feels great, too. Can’t wait to get the full retail version in my hands later this year.

🎤 Stephen Merchant: Letting Go Of The Office & Being The Awkward Guy (The Romesh Ranganathan Show) - If you’ve watched the Ricky interview, you might as well get straight into this one, after.

ON THE ‘GRAM

Finally hands on with the BRAND NEW Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold...

Does more folds = better?

Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter! It’s been a crazy start to the year, but we get back into a bit of normality for the next few weeks as some of the big boys start gearing up for new releases. Stay tuned!

~ Mark