The best of CES 2023: Here’s the tech to watch this year

Though definitely not vaporware, the LG Z3 is our pie-in-the-sky pick because of its ultra-premium OLED display, which comes resplendent in 8K resolution. But we figure, go big or go home here at CES 2023. Available in 77 or 88 inches, the TV stood out from the pack with an attractive rectangular base, and it's up to 40% brighter than the previous OLED models (something especially important if you're in a sunny room), according to LG. You’ll get all the same bells and whistles that are featured on the more traditional G3 and C3 OLED models, but it’s the 8K resolution that knocks the Z3 into our runner’s-up status. If you haven’t seen 8K in person, take our word for it — with an almost 3D look, it will be game-changing when there is finally enough content available. Alas, there is no pricing for the Z3 yet, but we can assure you it won’t be cheap when it’s available later this year.

Anker makes some of our favorite charging products, and the company had no shortage of them at CES 2023. But the Anker 675 USB-C Docking Station truly stands out from the pack by combining the benefits of a USB-C docking station and a sleek monitor stand all in one. This attractive accessory features 12 ports for all of your charging and connectivity needs as well as a wireless charging pad to keep your phone or earbuds juiced up while you work. We were especially impressed by how sleek and compact the docking station looked up close, especially considering that its raised design leaves room for your mouse, keyboard and laptop when you're not using it.

With so many more of us working at home, it’s nice to have as much flexibility with your desk as you do with your schedule. This electric standing desk is not only ergonomically friendly, but you can use the onboard switch to raise it up to 50.6 inches?and lower it to 25 inches to serve as a traditional desk as well (numbers comparable to our best standing desk pick). ErgoAV even added pressure sensors to make sure it won’t hit a pet if you’re taking it all the way down. We also love that it has all our power issues in mind, with a built-in 15W wireless charging pad that will raise out of the desk to face you when you place your phone on it — something not found on even our favorite tested models. Finally, you can keep your valuables close by in the Ergo AV’s drawer, which can be locked via the desk’s compatible app. It will be available in March for $1,500 and comes in Meteor Black and Wood colors.

Whereas the Dell G15 stands out with its loud pop art design, the MSI Stealth 14 Studio goes the opposite direction by offering a design that wouldn't look out of place in a coffee shop. This is one of the most compact and coolest-looking gaming laptops we've seen from CES, packing all the specs you need for immersive PC gaming and visual design work within a gorgeous design that felt comfortably lightweight to pick up — complete with your choice of blue and white color schemes that both looked fantastic in person.

Govee already makes responsive, affordable LED lights to enhance the video gaming experience and takes it even further with the AI Gaming Sync Box Kit, an HDMI box trained to see what’s happening on screen and respond with real-time lighting effects.

Govee developed its own AI and trained it on a handful of video games, including League of Legends, so it triggers a specific lighting effect based on the game. We watched as it glowed green after killing a boss, just to name an example. The HDMI box with three HDMI IN and one out supports input switching, making it the first HDMI AI box that supports up to 240Hz, perfect for those fast-paced games.

Whereas the Neo G9 offers the best resolution we've seen on an ultrawide monitor, the $1,700 Acer Predator X45 stands out by harnessing the rich colors and deep contrast of OLED. This display's huge 45-inch screen allowed me to take in every detail of a Microsoft Flight Simulator journey, and features important tech specs like a smooth 240Hz refresh rate and a mix of DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI for both PC and console gaming.

Ring is expanding its watchful eye from your front porch to your driveway with the Ring Car Cam, a camera that attaches to your windshield like a dash cam. While dash cams typically record everything going on while you drive, the Ring Car Cam has a dual-facing camera to keep an eye on your car’s interior as well as its surroundings. Like your video doorbell, you can get alerts, check in on what’s going on and get recorded video evidence in case of an accident or break-in. We got to see a promising demo of the Car Cam in action, and we're eager to see how it stacks up to our favorite dash cams.

We saw a ton of smart cooking appliances at CES, but none was more versatile, easy to use and downright attractive as the Brava Glass. The countertop oven maker has improved upon its original model by adding a glass window to the door, so — like a real oven — you can watch your food cook using the brand’s patented, energy-efficient infrared and visible light technology. This is, of course, in addition to the camera that streams an overhead view of the food directly on the oven’s smart interface and to your mobile app. It’s more than just an oven, though: The Brava Glass is able to air fry, roast, bake, sear, toast, reheat, rice cook, slow cook, dehydrate and keep food warm, and choosing your cook time is a cinch with over 7,000 preloaded recipes (or make up your own). If you have the counter space, pick up one of your own, along with two glass trays, two metal trays, a muffin tin, a square pan, a loaf pan, an egg tray and the cast-iron chef’s pan included, for $1,995 in early 2023.

A beauty innovation that raised many an eyebrow at CES? That would be L’Oréal’s Brow Magic, an at-home electronic eyebrow makeup applicator that indeed would have us questioning the existence of witchcraft if we didn’t know any better. The device uses Modiface AR technology via a mobile app to scan a user's face and 2,400 tiny nozzles and printing technology with up to 1,200 drops per inch printing resolution to provide on-demand, customized microblading, micro-shading and/or filler effects in mere seconds, all with just a simple swipe across the brow. (The resulting look comes off with regular makeup remover.) There’s no word on pricing yet, but L’Oréal Brow Magic is set to launch later this year, so feel free to toss out your eyebrow pencils and cancel that tinting appointment.

It may not be the most appetizing name, but the Typhur Instaprobe does one thing, and boy does it do it well. This extremely good-looking food thermometer, with a 4.3-inch probe, can tell you the temperature of any kind of food, from gooey candy to finicky filet, in under one second. Using what it calls a DCTiTM (Direct Contact Thermal Integration) process for these ultra-fast readings, its temperature range can go from -58 to 572 degrees Fahrenheit, and can be read easily on its OLED backlit display — perfect for that nighttime BBQ or culinary-forward camping trip. It's also waterproof for easy cleaning and will conserve battery life with a built-in motion sensor that will wake the thermometer when shaken. Of course, all this comes at a pretty price, and the Instaprobe will be available from Typhur in January for $107, though the company is offering a limited-time $30 discount. Or wait until it’s up on Amazon this March.

Withings already makes a number of health and fitness devices to give consumers insight into their overall health, like smart scale body metrics and blood pressure measurements. Now it’s bringing a urine lab to your own toilet.

The Withings U-Scan is a Wi-Fi-enabled device that sits in your toilet bowl and analyzes your urine for specific markers. The company is starting with ovulation tracking, nutrition and hydration info and certain vitamins. We got to see the U-Scan up close, and it looks impressively compact and easy to set up for what it does — and will feature swappable cartridges that each offer different types of tracking (for example, there's one specifically for cycle tracking).

In the future, Withings hopes to use this as an easy and accessible way to conduct more health-related tests like biomarker assessments and screen for bacterial infections. And yes, it can even determine which household occupant is using the toilet!