Better Offline: CES 2026 – Part Eight (Friday)

Podcast: Better Offline
Host: Ed Zitron (Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts)
Air Date: January 10, 2026

Episode Overview

The Friday episode of Better Offline’s CES 2026 coverage is a sprawling, candid look at the current state of the tech industry, as seen through the lens of the world’s largest consumer electronics expo. Host Ed Zitron convenes a dynamic roundtable including tech journalist Sherlyn Lowe (Engadget), author/activist Cory Doctorow, YouTuber and Clicks co-founder Michael Fisher, and others, to dissect the gadgets, trends, and underlying industry anxieties witnessed on the show floor. The conversation roves from hardware nostalgia to legitimate accessibility innovations, and lambasts the wave of “AI slop” and LLM wrappers flooding CES 2026.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Clicks and Hardware Nostalgia

[04:00–13:00]

• Clicks Communicator Demo: Michael Fisher introduces the Clicks Communicator, a new Android-based phone with a physical QWERTY keyboard, aiming to revive BlackBerry-style productivity for niche users (“thick with two Cs”—Sherlyn Lowe, 06:18).
• Target Audience: Designed for people who carry two phones or crave focused communication devices, rather than multimedia “slabs.”
• Hardware Iteration: Improved keyboard (30% larger keys), tactile feedback, capacitive swiping for gesture functionality, and attention to modularity and durability.
• Single-Purpose Devices: Parallel drawn to manual typewriters as an example of functional, distraction-free tools.
• Notable Quote:

  “We’ve always made products for a small segment of the market, but as long as 1 in 1000... small batch hardware.”
  —Michael Fisher, [08:04]

2. Gadget Recap & CES “Vibes”

[13:44–17:00]

• CES Fatigue: Panelists reflect on how the show feels “peculiar,” “hollowed out,” and dominated by incremental, uninspiring gadgets amid AI hype.
• Missing Segments: Notably absent are major car/EV showcases (Honda, etc.) due to regulatory and economic pressures.
• Attendance Issues: Immigration, global events, and risk aversion lower international exhibitor/attendee numbers.

3. Gizmos, Doodads, and E-waste Debates

[18:44–22:34]

• LEGO’s Smart Brick: Polarizing takes on LEGO’s new electronic, location-aware bricks. Concerns about e-waste but acknowledgment that the “play experience” can remain non-digital for purists.
• Appreciation for “intentional toys”: Open-source fidget gadgets, purely for tactile pleasure or creative hacking, are championed.
• Notable Quote:

  “The whole point of LEGO is imagination…”
  —Ed Zitron, [20:06]

4. Surveillance and Security Tech

[38:33–47:35]

• Ring & Amazon’s Surveillance Tower: Cory Doctorow recounts interrogating an Amazon product manager about data privacy, police access, and encryption around a massive, mobile Ring surveillance tower aimed at job sites or wealthy “McMansions.”
• Vulnerabilities: Highlights Amazon’s internal track record of poor access control and potential for insider threats.
• Societal Risk: Ring's evolving features presume total neighborhood saturation, facilitating both consumer “pet finder” tools and broad surveillance capabilities.

5. Notable & Promising Innovations

[51:21–55:38]

• Wheel Move: A simple motorized wheelchair device that enhances mobility over difficult terrain, praised for real-world impact and design for both temporary and permanent wheelchair users.
• LED Beauty Masks: L’Oréal’s next-generation flexible and transparent LED facial masks for light therapy—actual shipping product, not “vaporware.”
• Assistive Tech Trends: Braille keyboards, cryptek (assistive/adaptive) tech like enhanced Braille readers and wheelchair mods are seen as fulfilling true CES promise.

6. The Swamp of AI “Slop”

[64:45–68:18]

• AI Wearables and Landfill Fears: Many showcased “AI native” devices (pendant emotion trackers, AI rings, robotic companions) are derided as e-waste in waiting.
• LLM (Large Language Model) Wrappers: Proliferation of touchpoint devices that simply wrap ChatGPT/Claude APIs in hardware with little differentiation, adding to “vaporware” perception.
• Pervasive Skepticism:

  “This is like—the most nihilistic CES ever. …How do we charge you for using the ChatGPT API?”
  —Ed Zitron, [125:47]

7. Ethics and Absurdities of Digital Necromancy

[86:11–95:34]

• Virtual Grief Therapy (Resolve XR): Discussion on South Korean VR platform enabling people to say goodbye to deceased loved ones via therapist-puppeteered avatars (with voice cloning) is met with discomfort, caveats, and concerns about closure and exploitation.
• Uncanny Valley Tech: Sex robots and robotic companions elicit both revulsion and critique about the misunderstood intersection of AI and human needs.

8. Best of CES Awards—Bright Spots

[104:27–109:10]

• Engadget’s Picks:
  • Lego Smart Play (controversially voted Best in Show)
  • LG Wallpaper TV (extremely thin, futuristic design)
  • Lenovo Legion Rollable Concept (laptop with expandable rollable OLED display)
  • IXI Autofocus Adaptive Eyewear (electronically shifts prescription as user looks around—potential breakthrough for bifocal/multifocal wearers)
  • Wheel Move (as above)
• Form Factor Innovation: Rollable, foldable, and modular designs represent the few meaningful leaps forward.
• Glasses Tech: “Spectacle technology hasn’t changed since the 1950s—so for something like this [adaptive eyewear] to happen is cool.”
  —Sherlyn Lowe, [111:40]

9. Industry Trends and Pessimism

[129:10–134:00]

• The AI Bubble: All agree that the show feels overtaken by unsustainable, “AI-wrapped” concepts versus actual innovation.
• Comparison to the IoT Years: The uncreative, stampede-like behavior is reminiscent of past consumer tech “wrappers” (IoT, beacons, etc.) which went nowhere and left behind e-waste.
• CES Attendance/Booth Decline: Halls are sparser, major brands missing, international booths thin; some speculate this is a necessary “AI bubble” dip before a back-to-basics indie renaissance.
• Notable Quote:

  “If you are someone with the CEA [Consumer Electronics Association], or you’re someone putting stuff here—please think of actual people, because it’s getting a little sad.”
  —Ed Zitron, [133:39]

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “As a Canadian, don’t trust Canadians.” —Garrison Davis jokes about BlackBerry alumni, [12:34]
• “There are people who come here with the intention of deceiving.” —Ed Zitron, [58:27]
• “There’s a bajillion AI cooking products...you still have to do all the prep work yourself.” —Tech Journalist, [97:10]
• “Closure isn’t always clean. Life is messy.” —Sherlyn Lowe, [93:36]
• “Personal helicopters should be given to the top 0.5% as a trophy—you won society.” —Tech Journalist (tongue-in-cheek), [113:23]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Clicks Communicator and Keyboard Nostalgia: [04:00–13:00]
• CES Vibes and Missing Segments: [13:44–17:00]
• LEGO Smart Bricks & E-waste Debate: [18:44–22:34]
• Amazon Surveillance, Data Privacy: [38:33–47:35]
• Wheel Move & Assistive Tech: [51:21–55:38, 63:01–64:08]
• AI Gadgets Slop & Critique: [64:45–68:18, 79:03–81:15]
• Digital Necromancy & Grief Therapy Tech: [86:11–95:34]
• Sex Robots & Uncanny Valley: [118:28–121:20]
• Engadget Best of CES Awards Recap: [104:27–112:07]
• Industry Trends, AI Bubble, Sparse Show Floor: [129:10–134:00]

Tone & Style

The episode’s tone is irreverent, skeptical, but earnestly passionate about technology’s potential when properly directed. Panelists don’t shy from criticism (of sloppily conceived e-waste, AI marketing theater, or privacy trade-offs) but consistently celebrate meaningful progress in accessibility, form factor, and “gadgets that actually DO things.” Banter is colloquial, candid, peppered with dry wit and inside tech jokes.

Takeaways

• CES 2026 reflects a tech industry at a crossroads: Progress and enthusiasm for focused, user-centric hardware (Clicks Communicator, Wheel Move, adaptive glasses) clash with the flood of barely-differentiated AI wrapper devices, raising e-waste and sustainability alarms.
• Surveillance, accessibility, and AI ethics are top-of-mind: Both the abuses (Ring, un-audited “smart” devices) and opportunities (crytech, assistive Braille readers) are prominent.
• The panel’s hope lies in hardware realism and accountability: Real innovation is in “stuff that works,” not vaporware or “LLM as a service” gadgets; next year’s CES may be lean but richer in genuine creativity.

For Further Reference

• Check out Engadget’s full “Best of CES 2026” list for detailed reviews and video demos.
• Read Cory Doctorow’s “Pluralistic” blog for deep dives on hardware security, open-source chips, and the AI bubble.
• See Michael Fisher’s YouTube channel for hands-on with Clicks and other niche tech hardware.

End of Summary