TikTok<\/a> selfie videos, but are always up for a gadget that makes life better. Here\u2019s what I found:<\/p>\n1. The memory-jogging smart ring<\/h2>\n
In terms of \u2018I could use that and almost afford it\u2019, the standout for me this year was a smart ring being launched by Pebble, the start-up that made the first smart watch in 2012, only to be squished out of existence by the Apple Watch three years later.<\/p>\n
The new Pebble Index 01, which will cost around \u00a375, has one job \u2013 to help you note down things you need to do, fleeting thoughts you\u2019ve had during the day and so on. All you need to do is click a button on it and speak. The swim-proof device records what you say and wirelessly transfers both the recording and a transcript to your phone. Just open the accompanying app and you\u2019ll find all your brilliant on-the-hoof thoughts ready to hear and read. The Pebble ring never needs charging and doesn\u2019t require an annoying subscription, a big plus in gadget land.<\/p>\n
2. The power-up for your legs<\/h2>\n
Another product that would have been unimaginable even two years ago is the exoskeleton, coming in from China and designed to make walking, running and cycling easier. An exoskeleton is a motorised harness: you strap the belt around your waist and its two robotic arms gently cup the back of your thighs. They then help push up each leg in turn as you step.<\/p>\n
Exoskeletons are aimed at people who have problems walking and those who don\u2019t, hikers and runners included. It doesn\u2019t do the walking for you, but means you get ten to 40 per cent more power, depending on the setting, for the same effort. So the device leaves your heart thumping as it should during exercise, but your legs notably less tired.<\/p>\n
Exoskeletons from one of the leading brands, Hypershell, range from \u00a3700 to \u00a31,600 for the Ultra X version I tried.<\/p>\n
3. The fridge you can speak to<\/h2>\n
Gadgeteers have been obsessed with fridges for decades. They can\u2019t leave them alone, inventing fridges that track the food you use and order more, fridges with video cameras inside that you can log into from the supermarket\u2026 All rubbish and not useful. However, one innovation promised at CES by Samsung is interesting. Its Family Hub smart fridges (priced around \u00a32,000) now have a new feature: voice-activated door opening and closing. When your hands are loaded with groceries, or are covered in pastry, you\u2019ll be able to say, \u2018Shut the fridge door\u2019, or \u2018Open the door\u2019, and it will do just that.<\/p>\n
Gadgets you can talk to have never been as handy as you\u2019d think. We had a bin that opened when you asked it \u2013 the snag was, it could only recognise an American accent and putting one on sounds very silly. I do think self-opening fridge doors could catch on, though, especially if they understand the King\u2019s English.<\/p>\n
4. The four-in-one health scanner<\/h2>\n
Health is a topic of some interest to us over-50s \u2013 and gadget-makers are keener than ever to help us track our vital signs. French company Withings has been devising products for what doctors call \u2018the worried well\u2019 \u2013 people not ill but anxious to pick up symptoms of anything nasty early \u2013 for nearly 20 years and its stuff is excellent. At CES there was a lot of media fuss about its new \u00a3450 (seriously) bathroom scale, the Body Scan 2, which takes so many measurements that they call it a \u2018longevity station\u2019 rather than a weighing scale.<\/p>\n
I was more impressed, though, by the Withings BeamO. This is a neat handheld device costing a mere \u00a3230, which is a four-in- one health scanner featuring a contactless thermometer, an ECG checker, a digital stethoscope (for lungs and heart health) and a pulse oximeter to check on your blood-oxygen level.<\/p>\n
5. The AI home help<\/h2>\n
A lot of over-50s have aged parents to worry about \u2013 and at some point may think of looking into an AI electronic companion for them.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
![](\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\")
<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
ElliQ hasn\u2019t launched yet in the UK, but it\u2019s becoming popular in the States and is promised for us soon. It\u2019s not a clinking-clanking, tea-spilling robot, but a tabletop or bedside machine that has a huge range of capabilities: messaging, reminding you to take medication, health tracking, entertainment, flagging up relatives\u2019 birthdays and much more. It\u2019s likely to cost about \u00a3250 plus a \u00a350-a-month subscription.<\/p>\n
6. The sound booster<\/h2>\n
Do you find yourself unable to follow what\u2019s being said in your favourite TV shows? British company Geemarc, which specialises in devices to aid hearing, is here to help. Its \u00a3198 Sonarya ports the sound from your TV wirelessly to a stylish portable speaker, using AI to enhance the audio clarity.<\/p>\n
7. The really handy recording device<\/h2>\n
My final pick of the goodies from CES 2026 is the \u00a3149 Plaud NotePin, a tiny recorder that you can keep on you all day to track conversations. I\u2019d often imagined \u2013 mostly as a joke \u2013 a life recorder that helped sort out domestic arguments. \u2018Did you really remind me to put the rubbish out? Let\u2019s check the transcript from this morning, shall we?\u2019<\/p>\n
You wouldn\u2019t really use it so creepily, but you\u2019ll find a dozen practical applications for the NotePin, which automatically relays recordings and transcripts to your phone. I\u2019ve used it (with permission) in meetings with lawyers and doctors, work discussions and elsewhere. It really is useful, I promise. Unlike that infamous Canadian singing beer mug\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"… come up with. This is CES<\/span> \u00e2\u0080\u0093 the Consumer Electronics Show<\/span> \u00e2\u0080\u0093 and I\u00e2\u0080\u0099ve been … caught on. Among my proudest CES<\/span> finds is the selfie stick … . However, one innovation promised at CES<\/span> by Samsung is interesting. Its … pick of the goodies from CES<\/span> 2026 is the \u00c2\u00a3149 Plaud …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70658"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70658\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}