CES 2023: Our Top 20 Home Tech Products
This year’s CES had more than 3200 exhibitors and 115,000 attendees, far from the record but still nearly three times as many people as last year. Parties and shaking hands were back.
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The last two years of chip shortages and supply chain challenges had an impact across the industry and it showed. We saw more incremental changes than jaw-dropping new products. But we still found plenty of home tech innovations worth sharing and reviewing.
These are our 20 favorite home tech products that we believe are worth watching for in the coming year. We already have a few of these at home ready to test, so look for video reviews coming soon. If you haven’t already, make sure you subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
Productivity
Nuwa Pen
More info: NuwaPen.com
We might have been able to write this story faster with a Nuwa Pen. It’s a real ballpoint pen that uses built-in cameras and computer vision to digitize as you write.
The Nuwa Pen captures text and doodles on any kind of paper and in low-light conditions. Your handwriting is saved and encrypted on the pen itself then you can securely transfer it to your phone or upload it to the Nuwa Pen cloud.
In the Nuwa Pen App, you can search your notes based on time, location and other filters and the app can recognize text like phone numbers and email addresses and sync them with other productivity apps.
The Nuwa Pen is available for pre-order and is expected to ship in August.
Entertainment
Displace TV
More Info: Displace.tv
In the LG booth, they were showing off their new Wireless TV, the Signature OLED M. While that is a beautiful TV, it still needs to be plugged in to power. The Displace TV, however, is truly wireless, battery-powered with no cables or ports.
The Displace TV is a 4K 55 inch OLED panel that weighs under 20 pounds. You can stick it to virtually any wall in your home and join up multiple panels together to make an even larger screen. It comes with four hot-swappable batteries that will power the set for about a month depending on your viewing habits.
You’ll be able to control the Displace TV with your voice, touch, or gestures. It connects to a wireless base unit that you can keep anywhere in your home.
You can reserve a Displace TV on their website with a fully-refundable deposit and it’s expected to ship later this year.
Mirai Speaker
Buy: Amazon
If you’re watching TV with your extended family there might be someone who can’t hear as well. Instead of using closed captioning or headphones, now you can use the Mirai Speaker.
The Mirai speaker has a unique curved frame that makes soundwaves easier to hear. The founder of the company developed the speaker to help his elderly father, and after multiple prototypes, his father could hear sound clearly without his hearing aid.
The Mirai speaker has already sold more than 140,000 units in Japan and is now for sale in the US. We have ours and will be doing a full review soon.
Yaber Pico T1 Projector
More Info: Yaber.com
Yaber, a leading entertainment projector brand showed a number of larger smart projectors, but we really loved the Pico T1, their portable device you can use to watch your content anywhere.
The Pico T1 weighs just 5.3 ounces but it can project an image up to 100 inches wide. You can plug it in or connect to it wirelessly, and it’s compatible with QuickCharge (QC) power banks so you can watch movies all night long.
Fitness
King Smith WR 1 Compact Water Rower
More Info: King Smith Fitness
King Smith’s Walking Pad X21, a foldable treadmill, was named one of Time Magazine’s top inventions of 2022. At CES they demonstrated several Walking Pad models in different sizes and colors but what really caught our attention was their new foldable rowing machine, the WR1 Compact Water Rower.
The WR1 is a beautifully-designed water rower that runs super smoothly and can fold up quickly to save space in your home. When it’s folded, it takes up less than four square feet of space. You can use it on its own or with programs on the KS Fit app.
The rower will be available in the US market by May of this year.
Robots
Aiper Seagull Series
Buy Seagull SE and Elite Pro: Amazon
More Info: Aiper.com
Most pool cleaners have a long unsightly cord, hose or both. The Aiper Seagull Series are cordless and hoseless robots that keep your pool clean.
The flagship Seagull Pro will clean pools up to 3,200 square feet, with up to three hours of battery life. It navigates underwater, picking up debris as it goes, and it will even climb up the walls to clean those as well.
There are four different Aiper Models you can choose from based on the size of your pool and your budget.
You can buy the original Seagull SE and the new Elite Pro today on their website and on Amazon.com; the Seagull Plus and Seagull Pro models will be coming in February and March.
Enabot Ebo X
More Info: Enabot
We’ve seen plenty of smart home robots demoed at CES over the years, but the Enabot Ebo X is the first one we’ve seen that is both useful and ready to buy.
The Ebo X Family Robot Companion can see and hear in your home thanks to the 4K camera and far-field sound sensors. It auto navigates around your home and recognizes if someone falls or is going into a room where they don’t belong, and if it hears someone call for help it will trigger an alert and call through its companion app.
The Ebo X also includes Alexa voice control and a Harman AudioEFX speaker for great sound.
The team plans to launch the device on Kickstarter in March and offer it for sale through retail channels in Q2 of this year.
Smart Home
Matter Devices
Devices using Matter, the new smart home standard backed by Amazon, Apple, Google and Samsung, were all over CES.
Matter was first announced in late 2019 as Project CHIP and while we saw some early demos last year, this was the first time companies had devices ready to ship.
Three of our favorites came from Matter members Nanoleaf, Switchbot and Yeelight.
Nanoleaf Sense+ Controls
More Info: Nanoleaf
Nanoleaf announced five new Matter-compatible smart home products at the show.
Our favorites were their new Sense+ controls, wired and wireless switches plus the Nala Learning Bridge.
Working together, the Sense+ products learn your preferences and routines and personalize your lighting.
The switches have motion and ambient lighting sensors along multiple controls to let you not only dim a light, but change the color temperature as well.
The Bridge itself doubles as a Thread Border Router that can help control other compatible devices and a color-changing nightlight to make it even more useful in your home.
Nanoleaf plans to launch the Sense+ controls in Q3.
SwitchBot Hub 2
More Info: SwitchBot
SwitchBot launched their first Matter Hub. the SwitchBot Hub 2.
Coming in late February, the hub will make SwitchBot’s extensive line of Bluetooth products Matter-compatible, including their very popular SwitchBot Curtain.
We love that SwitchBot also added a temperature and humidity sensor on the Hub 2, plus two scene keys on the front to make it even more useful.
Yeelight Cube Smart Lamp
More Info: Yeelight
Yeelight’s first Matter-compatible product will be the Yeelight Cube Smart Lamp.
You can assemble multiple cubes to make interesting lights, or even group them together to make a clock.
You can control the lights with Siri, Alexa, Google or Samsung SmartThings thanks to Matter support.
Yeelight plans to introduce other Matter-compatible lights soon and make its entire Yeelight Pro line compatible with an over the air update before the end of Q2.
SkyX SkyPlug
More Info: SkyXPlatforms
SkyX was all over CES this year and they hope to be all over the United States soon with their SkyPlug smart lighting base.
The SkyPlug turns any light fixture into a smart light that can be controlled with an app. It integrates with multiple platforms and voice assistants such as Siri, Alexa, Google and even Cortana. Is anyone still using Cortana?
Anyone who has ever tried to install a hanging light fixture or ceiling fan knows what a pain it is and the SkyPlug makes it simple and safe.
The technology was recently voted into the US National Electric Code and the team hopes it will soon become a US household standard for ceiling fixtures.
The SkyPlug comes in five different finishes and is available to reserve now on their website.
Wagz Tagz
More Info: Wagz.com
We met Wagz at CES last year and saw their Freedom Smart Collars that create a wireless fence to keep dogs contained outside. But what about keeping Fido off the couch or away from the garbage can?
To help dogs stay safe indoors, Wagz created Wagz Tagz. Just put one of the tags anywhere you don’t want your dog to go, and set up a virtual Keep Out Zone with the app on your phone. Your pet will get a shock-free “correction” whenever she wanders into the area.
You can buy Wagz Tags individually or in packs of three and they work with multiple dogs in the same household. Each dog will need their own Freedom Smart Collar.
Safety and Security
Lockly Smart Safe
More Info: Lockly.com
Lockly has brought their innovative rotating keypad and 3D biometric sensor technology to their new Lockly Smart Safe, a heavy-duty steel safe designed to keep your most valuable possessions secure in your home.
The safe stores up to 99 fingerprints and can be opened in less than 0.3 seconds and if someone tampers with the safe, you’ll immediately receive a notification.
The app allows you to unlock, lock or check the status of your safe from anywhere, and you can also grant access to others while you’re away.
Oh and if someone is forcing you to open the box, you can set up a second finger that will open the safe and alert the authorities. Now you just have to remember which finger is which.
Expect to see the Lockly Smart Safe for sale starting this Spring.
Eye Detekt
More Info: EyeDetekt.com
While smoke alarms have added smarts and apps over the last few years, the underlying technology around detecting smoke hasn’t changed for decades.
Forge Technologies used their background in the fire detection industry to create Eye Detekt, a new fire detector that senses a flame and alerts you immediately.
It’s perfect for kids rooms, offices, attics, and anywhere you never want to see a flame.
For kitchens and other spaces, the Eye Detekt Pro uses advanced radar and infrared motion sensing to make sure people are in the room (and awake!) to help prevent unattended flames from getting out of control.
Both the Eye Detekt and Eye Detekt Pro are available for pre-order from their website and are expected to ship later this year.
DeNova Detect Natural Gas Detectors
More Info: DeNova Detect
Most homes in the US are now required to have both smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
But what about Natural Gas? More than 4,000 fires are caused every year as a result of natural gas leaks.
New Cosmos USA has built upon their experience with gas alarm technology to develop the DeNova Detect, the first residential, battery-powered, wireless natural gas alarm.
The smart detectors take advantage of the Amazon Sidewalk network for continuous connectivity and are expected to last either six or seven years depending on the model you choose.
The company also demonstrated a product that detects both natural gas and carbon monoxide that is expected next year.
You can sign up for more information at the DeNova website.
VoltSafe Home
More Info: VoltSafe.com
VoltSafe is a new smart plug that measures energy consumption. Doesn’t that sound exciting?
Well, the VoltSafe is much more than that.
They claim they have reinvented the electrical plug to make it the simplest and safest since we started using electricity in our homes.
Add the VoltSafe extension to the end of a regular pronged plug and it becomes a magnetic connector you can use with their VoltSafe smart outlet. The magnetic connectors are safe to the touch and easy to connect and disconnect quickly.
The first product, VoltSafe Home, will have two outlets and multiple finishes and will support 15 Amps at 120 volts.
Sign up to learn more at their website.
Sustainable Tech
Dry Water Power Shower
More Info: PowerShower.app
We consume a lot of water when we shower, and many times, we waste a lot while we wait for the water to get warm.
In our smart home we’ve tried to improve that by automating our water circulator, but it can still take a long time for it to come to temperature.
The Power Shower replaces your regular shower head and is powered by water flow – you never have to charge it yourself.
Use the app to set your desired temperature and turn on the shower. When it’s warm, it will shut off the water, light the ring red and hold until you’re ready to get in.
Once you’re in the shower, the motion sensor sees you and starts the water. You can stop the flow by moving away.
You’ll be able to track your usage on the app and even start your shower with your Amazon Echo or Google Assistant.
The Power Shower we saw at CES is a patent-pending prototype. You can sign up on their website to get further updates.
Geneverse HomePower Pro
Buy HomePower Pro: Amazon.com
More Info: Geneverse.com
Geneverse got started in 2019 when California was going through another season of wildfires and windy conditions causing PG&E to shut down power to hundreds of thousands of customers (including us).
They developed their first back-up electric generators with solar panels and have been innovating ever since.
The Geneverse HomePower Pro can support 99 percent of home appliances with up to seven days of essential power and can be recharged by plugging into a standard AC outlet or using the optional solar panels.
The larger HomePower ProPlus, comes in a motorized cart for easier portability and can be attached directly to your home’s grid with the Geneverse Transfer Switch, or taken on the road to power an RV.
The HomePower Pro is available now through Geneverse’s website or through major retailers. The HomePower Pro Plus will be available in Q2.
Coplanar Hydrogen Power Station
More Info: Coplanar.co
While we saw many electric and solar batteries and chargers, we only saw one Hydrogen Fuel Cell Power Station.
Coplanar technologies was demonstrating their prototype device, using a carbon fiber hydrogen tank to connect to the fuel cell charging unit.
The tank was surprisingly light – hydrogen is much more energy dense than fossil fuels and lithium batteries.
Hydrogen is one of the cleanest fuel technologies available, with water and heat as its only byproducts.
Since there aren’t many hydrogen fueling stations yet, Coplanar said they planned to have a service to deliver full hydrogen tanks to your home. Kind of like swapping out your grill’s propane tank at your local home improvement store.
Neoplants Neo P1
More Info: Neoplants.com
Air Purifiers were huge at CES 2022 and there were plenty on display this year as well.
If you’d rather clean your air the more natural way, you might be interested in getting your own Neo P1, the first plant bioengineered to purify your home’s air.
The Neoplants team of 20 scientists bioengineered the P1 to capture and recycle four of the most dangerous Volatile Organic Compounds commonly found in your home: formaldehyde, benzene, toluene, and xylene. They even sound scary!
One P1 is the equivalent of 30 regular house plants in terms of air purification.
If you don’t have a green thumb, don’t worry, your Neoplant comes with a specially-designed shell and watering system.
You can learn more and join the waiting list at neoplants.com.
Sustainable Tech from Ukraine at Eureka Park
We saw two of the most innovative sustainability solutions at CES downstairs at Eureka Park, in the Ukraine Tech booth. These are both business to business solutions but we thought they’re worth sharing.
Releaf
More Info: Releafbag.com
Releaf makes high-quality natural paper from fallen leaves, and turns it into sustainable bags and corrugated cardboard containers to sell to businesses.
You can even buy the bags yourself in quantities of 100 or more.
Rekava
More Info: Rekava
Rekava makes biodegradable tableware and cups from recycled coffee grounds.
Imagine getting your next cup of coffee in a coffee-based cup.
Rekava is also selling candles in a coffee-based container, without metal wicks, making them a biodegradable alternative to regular candles.
The six different scents of the Ukraine collection represent typical scents from different cities and regions of the country.
Summary
We were happy to get back to CES this year to meet old friends and new. We hope you enjoyed our favorites. Did we miss something? Please let us know on Facebook or Twitter.