CES 2024: The Best New Tech Gear, From Laptops and All-in-One Tablets to Keyboard Phone Cases
CES 2024 took place in Las Vegas from Jan. 8-12, and The Hollywood Reporter‘s shopping editors and product reviewers were on the ground scouting the best new products in consumer tech from over 4,000 exhibitors. From transparent TVs and home theater essentials, to cutting-edge beauty devices and smart home gadgets and beyond, we’re sharing our top finds from the expo. Follow all of our CES coverage here.
It’s an understatement to say that there’s a lot to see at CES, from stunning big screens to innovative beauty tech. During our week in Las Vegas, there were plenty of new and soon-to-launch gear and gadgets in the electronics and accessories department. Our team spent days getting face-to-face time with hundreds of products, keeping an eye out for the most promising innovations in tablets, laptops, smartphone accessories and more. We looked at utility, design and value, and took time to play around with user interfaces and overall look and feel while we were at CES.
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Ahead, we’ve rounded up our favorite finds from CES 2024 — read on for our top picks.
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BEST LAPTOP
Asus Zenbook Duo (2024)
Why have one display when you can have two? The Asus Zenbook Duo (UX8406) is a dual-screen laptop that’s designed with two 14-inch OLED touchscreen displays. Each one has a resolution of up to 3K, while the laptop comes with a detachable Bluetooth-enabled magnetic keyboard that rests on the bottom display. Now you have the choice to use it as a traditional laptop or a dual-screen computer with more screen real estate. It’s powered with Windows 11 and an Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of on-board storage.
Asus hasn’t announced pricing and availability yet, but it’s likely to be released sometime early 2024.
BEST PHONE KEYBOARD CASE
Clicks Keyboard Phone Case
This cool smartphone case throws it back to tactile texting.
For those who remember the Blackberry and the T-Mobile Sidekick, or for techies love tactile texting, the Clicks keyboard is for you. Featuring a vegan leather back cover and available for iPhone 14 Pro, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max ($139-$159), the cool case’s backlit keys let you thumb-type quickly and accurately while maximizing your screen space by doing away with the on-screen keyboard. The Clicks case also allows you to create shortcuts and supports wireless charging.
BEST IPHONE CHARGER PACK
Mophie Juice Pack
The OG battery pack case has returned, and it’ll be an on-the-go essential for iPhone 15 owners.
$99
Mophie’s chunky Juice Packs were fashion week fixtures on the backs of stylish editors’ iPhones — and now, they’re back. The company is bringing back its beloved charging cases for the iPhone 15, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, extending the the battery life by 50 percent while protecting those precious screens. Features include a low profile design that’s easy to hold and a status indicator and on/off button. They’ll be available starting in February, with pre-orders starting soon here.
BEST NEW ECO ACCESSORIES
OtterBox Symmetry Series Cactus Leather Accessories
Eco-conscious quiet luxury for your iPhone 15 and Apple Watch.
Prickly pear cactus is the main ingredient of OtterBox‘s new eco-conscious “leather” phone cases, which feel just as luxe and durable as the “real” animal-derived thing. It offers stylish protection for sustainability-minded techies, as the material requires less water, land and resources than traditional leather. The nopal cactus plant remains alive even after its prickly pear fruits are harvested for the leather, allowing it to continue to absorb carbon dioxide which OtterBox says helps to reduce the product’s carbon footprint.
It’ll come in the brand’s Symmetry Series cases for all iPhone 15 models (15, Plus, Pro and Pro Max) for $60 each, Watch bands ($40) and MagSafe wallets ($50). The accessories launch this spring in Noir Ash (black), Cactus Grove (green), Plum Lux (purple) and Rich Adobe (brown) colorways.
BEST CHARGER FOR IPHONE 15
ESR 25W Qi2 3-in-1 Travel Charger
Apple aficionados won’t want to leave home without this 3-in-1 MagSafe hub.
Surprise: wireless charging upgrade with the new Qi2 technology, which is twice as fast as standard Qi (up to 7.5W) at 15W charging. ESR’s new three-in-one wireless charger station makes it even easier for Apple users to stay powered up wherever they are with MagSafe, and this travel-friendly hub works with the iPhone, Watch and AirPods.
Apple’s iPhone 15 and 15 Pro already support Qi2 charging and it also just rolled out to iPhone 13 and 14 with the iOS 17.2 update.
BEST TABLET FOR TAKING NOTES
TCL Nxtpaper 14 Pro Tablet
TCL’s latest technology makes reading e-books, watching movies and playing games even easier on the eyes.
TV maker TCL unveiled the third generation of its Nxtpaper technology at CES, bringing eye health-optimized display to its new Nxtpaper 14 Pro tablet and other devices. The 14-inch Android tablet boats a 2.8K display and an e-reader-like screen that mimics the experience of reading paper in natural daylight, and the improved adaptive color temperature automatically adjusts based on the time of day and ambient light.
Also under the hood, the Nxpaper 14 Pro’s impressive specs include a MediaTek Dimensity 8020 processor, 120Hz refresh rate 12GB RAM and 256GB storage — all to say that it’s an excellent option for reading your favorite e-books, watching movies and mobile gaming on a matte, glare-free screen. It also boasts 33W fast charging and works with TCL’s smart pencil, so it’s great for taking notes.
TCL hasn’t released pricing yet; the Nxtpaper 14 Pro tablet is expected to arrive later this year.
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