Shacknews Best of CES 2024

The 2024 Consumer Electronics Show featured incredible gadgets, exciting announcements, and major leaps in technology. There was a lot to see in the realm of gaming, tech, and beyond. Surrounded by thousands of incredible pieces of tech, Shacknews walked away from this year's show with a lot to feel excited about. We're planning to go into our individual favorites later today in our Shack Chat feature, but we also have a few things we want to recognize overall from this year's show.

Let's dive in! Here are Shacknews' Best of CES 2024 picks:

Honda Afeela

Shacknews was present at the Sony CES press conference and was also watching from home. We were surprised to see Honda's CEO at the show and blown away by the introduction of the Honda Afeela prototype. The final product isn't going to actually work with a DualSense controller, but it was cool to see nonetheless.

Even without DualSense connectivity, we're heavily intrigued by the Honda Afeela and its intersection of vehicle mobility and artificial intelligence. Utilizing ideas like Microsoft Azure's OpenAI and incorporating features like AR navigation, a panoramic display, AI driving assitance, and sensors in nearly every corner, this truly feels like the car of the future. Plus, it allows for a whole new level of customization, allowing users to change their front face and panoramic display the same way one would change their desktop wallpaper.

There's still a lot that can change about the Afeela between now and its eventual release, but Honda's utilization of new AI tech crossed with continued advancements in electric vehicles and a continued commitment to building a more comfortable interior makes this car one worth keeping an eye on.

Rabbit R1

Few debuts at CES 2024 went over better than the Rabbit R1 pocket companion. Touted as a "personalized operating system through a natural language interface," the R1 fits perfectly in the palm of the hand and is able to perform a multitude of functions through the proprietary Rabbit OS. The operating system is able to perform those functions faster than some of the more well-known AI interfaces.

Whether anyone wants to play some music, make some calls (with the aim of the SIM card slot), or ask some random questions, the Rabbit R1 can perform numerous smartphone functions in a much smaller 2.88-inch package. The device looks to have a high ceiling of potential, so much so that it sold out quickly. We're interested to see how development on this new piece of tech progresses.

NVIDIA ACE

The NVIDIA Avatar Cloud Engine has come a long way since it was first unveiled last summer. Now working with Convai, NVIDIA has moved forward on responsive NPCs powered by artificial intelligence. It's possible to communicate with these NPCs, ask them questions, and even watch as they converse with one another naturally while a player character goes idle.

The increasingly sophisticated NPCs can do more than just talk, though. They also have a degree of spatial awareness. That means it's possible for them to lead players to points of interest, fetch and deliver items, and perform other actions that can move a story or side quest forward.

The AI-powered reactive NPCs could be a major game-changer. This technology can potentially allow developers to focus more on main character design or other, more intense aspects of game development. NVIDIA plans to continue iterating on this tech, adding to its AI Avatar capabilities and making it enticing to use on major gaming engines like Epic's Unreal Engine.

MSI Claw

There's no shortage of Steam Deck competitors out there and MSI is the latest to throw its hat into the ring. The MSI Claw, however, has a few things that other handheld manufacturers do not.

The Claw immediately stands out for its use of Intel tech. It operates with an Intel Core Ultra 5 or 7 processor with Intel Arc integrated graphics. MSI is hopeful that the Intel touch will help the Claw stand above its competitors in terms of performance.

At the very least, the Claw looks gorgeous, able to project crisp and clear visuals, while also feeling mostly comfortable. It's a massive beast, boasting a 7-inch 120Hz 1080p display across a chassis filled with vents to help keep it from the type of overheating that a device of this caliber can create. Plus, the 53Wh battery ensures that the Claw will can run longer than some other Steam Deck competitors.

In terms of gaming, the Claw will run the exclusive MSI App Player, able to help users navigate their PC library and browse Windows titles. It also supports Android titles, which puts it on par with last year's Razer Edge.

We didn't get to try out every MSI Claw feature, barely scratching the surface on the Thunderbolt 4 connector or the macro key feature, but the little time we had with it left us impressed. While we're not placing the MSI Claw above the Steam Deck OLED by any means, we can give it a round of applause as one of the more appealing Steam Deck competitors.

Holobox

Are we really at an age where we can start interacting with actual holograms, like something out of Star Trek? Dutch company Holoconnects has brought humanity closer to that reality than ever before with the Holobox. The Holobox utilizes an 86-inch transparent LCD screen in order to fit a life-sized holographic projection of a human being. On top of that, the 20-point IR advanced touch system allows users to interact with the hologram as if it were real.

Beyond making science fiction into science fact, the use cases for the Holobox are numerous. Picture holograms delivering speeches remotely, acting as an MC for a big gala, interacting with the elderly or disabled, or any myriad of practical ways to perform simple tasks from a distance.

Holoconnects' technology has the potential to change the world. It may even change gaming. The Holoconnects website has PlayStation listed as a client.

Transparent TVs from LG and Samsung

Every few years, there appear to be major advancements in televisions. This year will be remembered as the year of the transparent TV.

LG and Samsung each brought transparent televisions to this year's CES. LG's model uses OLED tech while Samsung utilizes micro LEDs. The result is largely the same, showing a TV show or movie where only the action is visible and everything else is completely see-through. It's not only meant to dazzle the eyes, but can also help the TV blend into surrounding decor, whether it's placed on a stand or mounted on a wall.

While LG certainly had this idea covered in its booth, Samsung used its transparent tech to convey layered imagery, putting forth a faux 3D effect. With multiple displays put together side-by-side, Samsung demonstrated a potential larger use case for transparent displays, potentially setting the technology up for use by larger clients, like sports teams or theme parks.

LG hopes to have its transparent OLEDs ready before the end of 2024. Samsung notes that its tech needs more time in the oven than that. For those following TV tech, this will be an arms race to watch.

Razer Blade 16

While last year felt like a more iterative year for Razer's line of premium laptops, 2024 looks like a massive jump for the Razer Blade 16. That's because Razer partnered with Samsung Display for a crystal clear OLED 240Hz display, the first of its kind for a 16-inch laptop.

The difference isn't noticeable until it's seen in person. The display is truly eye-catching, able to present a clear 2560x1600 resolution through its mini-LED screen. With Samsung Display working to make more vibrant colors and darker blacks, the Blade 16 almost instantly becomes one of the most enticing gaming laptop choices on the market. The Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 make it that much better of a gaming option.

The Blade 16 also has plenty of options for those into designing and editing. In addition to coming pre-installed with NVIDIA Studio drivers, the Blade 16 offers the ability to switch resolutions for the task at hand. Those looking to game can use the UHD 120Hz option, then switch over to the FHD+ 240Hz option to get into their creative suite.

The downside for the Blade 16, naturally, is the price, coming in at a whopping $2,999.99 USD. But, given what comes in this package, it's hard to say no to this one.

MSI MPG 491CQP QD-OLED gaming monitor

There were some impressive monitors at CES this year. Names like Samsung, Alienware, and Acer brought the goods, but none caught our eye more than MSI with the MPG 491CQP QD-OLED. This 49-inch curved monitor has just about everything a PC owner could ask for from a gaming display and looks like it's built to last for a long time.

The MPG 491CQP QD-OLED gives users a crisp 1440p (5120x1440) ultrawide resolution with a 144Hz refresh rate along with HDMI 2.1a support. The QD-OLED display allows for more vibrant colors and is certified VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 for some of the blackest blacks on the market. The monitor's Adaptive Sync tech works with a PC's GPU to reduce screen tearing for an even clearer picture. The Graphene film included in the QD-OLED panel works in conjunction with the monitor's heatsink design. This means a fan-less design that's able to dissipate heat while also reducing the chance of screen burn-in, ensuring this monitor runs at a high quality for years.

The Type-C 90W connector is an eye-opener. This port allows for users to hook up an external laptop, such as a MacBook Pro, and it will serve as both a display port and a charger. Feel free to plug in that laptop and get those vibrant colors all while giving it the charge that it needs.

This is a feature-heavy monitor, ideal for both PC owners and console players. The striking colors that it presents along with the potential to keep them bright for a long time makes this our pick in an admittedly-packed field of amazing displays.

Samsung 2D/3D gaming monitor

We covered the Samsung 2D/3D gaming monitor in great length earlier this week. At the risk of repeating ourselves, this is an incredible piece of technology that harkens back to Nintendo's original idea for glasses-free 3D on a handheld and blows it up to a much more massive scale.

For more on the Samsung 2D/3D gaming monitor, we'll refer you to our impressions feature from earlier this week. Suffice to say, if Samsung can stick the landing on this, it can be a big deal, especially if it can open up VR gaming to people without the use of a cumbersome headset.

That's what stood out to us when walking the floor of this year's Consumer Electronics Show. As noted, keep an eye out later today for our Shack Chat feature, where the rest of the staff will talk about their favorite things from the show. We've spent the past week covering the show, as well, so be sure to check out the CES 2024 topic page to catch up with everything from the show.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?