All week long, CES 2024 has been giving us a first look at some of the year’s newest, coolest, and even weirdest tech. Ranging from the newest 2024 edition TVs to Qi2 chargers and just about every product category imaginable embracing AI, we’ve been covering the biggest reveals. Now, it’s time to hand out this year’s 9to5Toys Best of CES awards. Head below for all of our top picks from 2024’s event.
OtterBox stands out with new cactus-based iPhone cases
Trying to beat Apple at its own game already makes a case for being one of the best CES 2024 reveals this year, and OtterBox just might have pulled it off with its new cactus-based iPhone cases. The company started off the week by showcasing a new type of material that it will be using this year to make all kinds of accessories, from those covers to Apple Watch bands and MagSafe wallets.
Apple infamously tried to ditch leather from its accessory portfolio last fall with the debut of its new FineWoven material, only for the reception to be about as poor as we’ve ever seen from a new Apple release. OtterBox thinks it can do sustainable leather better than everyone’s favorite Cupertino company, and so if there’s one upcoming product that I am most excited about getting my hands on this year, it’s seeing just how true that sentiment is.
Handheld gaming PCs mature as the MSI Claw debuts
On the gaming front, I loved seeing MSI finally throw its hat into the ring with its first gaming handheld. We’ve seen these portable PCs at previous Las Vegas trade shows over the years, but 2024 feels like the first year that a company is really going all-in on one. Don’t get me wrong, the Steam Deck is still going to be one of the most popular options out there. But to see MSI and its new Claw handheld
hit the scene with such new hardware is pretty thrilling. I don’t want to say that other handhelds have made performance an afterthought, but it certainly wasn’t as big of a priority as with MSI’s latest. The new Intel Core Ultra chips at the center of the package put the latest processors on the market to use while also offering some other compelling specs. It’s kind of like with folding smartphones. Where the first few iterations used last year’s hardware to help offset the cost. Now that the handheld PC market has matured enough, MSI can go in guns blazing with a familiar, and even more powerful take on the concept.
CES 2024 debuts the world’s first transparent display tech
LG and Samsung have always brought competing displays and TVs to CES, but this year both of these behemoth brands had world’s first transparent tech on display in full force. LG with its high-end wireless see-through OLED TVs and Samsung with its bezel-less transparent MICRO LED screens, both brands made headlines with the new glass-like technology.
Some of the most eye-catching and interesting gear spotted on the show floor every year gives us a glimpse into the future and might not actually be consumer-ready technology. This is indeed the case here to some degree, but this see-through TV tech does appear to be on the horizon. The Samsung MICRO LED glass displays that deliver a sort of floating transparent panel and measure out at just a centimeter in thickness might be even more futuristic, but are still just in the prototype/concept phase. However, LG and its “world’s first wireless transparent OLED TV” with the Zero Connect Box wireless video and audio transmission tech appear to be bringing the see-through evolution to market much sooner than later.
New Blade laptops and haptic feedback gamers cushions from Razer
Razer is another brand that landed in Las Vegas with an impressive display of technological advancements, featuring its new next-generation Blade gaming laptops and the “world’s first HD haptic gaming cushion” known as Project Esther.
The new Razer Blade 16 and Blade 18 gaming laptops are looking to bring some of the best new display technology to the portable ready battlestation space with the “world’s first OLED 240Hz 16-inch display”and the “world’s first 4K 165Hz 18-inch display,” respectively. Get a closer look at both of the new models right here.
Project Esther – the latest in the brand’s experimentation with haptic feedback – brings full body immersion to your gaming battlestation at home, allowing gamers to take “seat at the forefront of gaming immersion and dive into a whole new world of full-body, high-definition positional haptics.” Loaded with 16 haptic actuators and automatic audio response in a customizable wireless cushion, gamers might soon be able to strap the new Razer HD haptic cushion to the gaming throne they already own. Here’s everything we know about it.
Garmin makes heart rate tracking more accessible
Over on the health side of the CES 2024 showcase, we asked our own fitness editor Laura Rosenberg to chime in on the conversation. While smart rings may be finally hitting their breakout moment for connected health, it was actually Garmin’s new heart rate monitor that excited us above everything else. The new HRM-Fit looks to stake a claim against wrist-worn monitors thanks to sporting a more inclusive design than other standalone accessories. The monitor steps over other chest straps by featuring an option to ditch the strap altogether in favor of clipping right onto your sports bra.
The Garmin HRM-Fit is a great reminder that sometimes innovative products aren’t just about slapping the newest actual tech or hardware inside of something. Opening up a market to new users is just as important, and the folks over at Garmin deserve plenty of kudos for doing just that with their new heart rate monitor – not to mention a spot on our list of best reveals from CES 2024.
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