CES 2021: What We’re Most Looking Forward To

In a truly unprecedented year (not to mention week), a virtual version of the Consumer Electronics Show ranks low on the list of strange-but-true things that happened, but even though people weren’t able to convene in Las Vegas this year to see Cadillac’s flying taxi or Moflin the furry robot, there were some unveilings from this year’s CES presentation we’re looking forward to learning more about. From a smarter pet door to a small but powerful soundbar, these are the things from CES 2021 that we’re anticipating.

A practical smart home

myQ Pet Portal System, spring 2021, $3,000

At first blush the myQ Pet Portal seems like the worst kind of frivolous techno-bauble—a toy for people with more money than sense. The idea is that this highfalutin doggie door opens and closes automatically when your pup approaches (thanks to a Bluetooth collar beacon), so you no longer come home to wet floors or risk having enterprising and small-boned burglars sneaking in. It has a camera built in so you can see what’s going on through an app, and it can control the door, keep track of how often your dog triggers it, or put the door on a timer so that your pets aren’t running around willy-nilly.

This thing requires installing a brand-new door and so is expected to cost an eye-popping $3,000 (I suspect that price will ultimately drop), which for many people is a dealbreaker, full stop. But to my eye, it’s exactly the kind of thing I love to see at CES—a little aspirational, maybe a bit silly, a dash futuristic, but a device that is ultimately useful. I mean, in past years, many people guffawed at the mere notion of colored light bulbs, learning thermostats, and talking speakers. And to be clear, I don’t even own a dog or a cat, yet I’m enchanted by the myQ Pet Portal precisely because it’s the kind of thing that makes life more convenient, more safe, probably more energy efficient, and just a little more fun in the process. To me, that describes the potential of the smart home, and it’s also why I look forward to seeing what comes out of CES every year.

—Jon Chase, editor, smart home

Wi-Fi 6E: Do we need this yet?

Linksys AXE8400, spring/summer, $450

The new high-tech hotness is Wi-Fi 6E, at least if you follow networking manufacturers like Linksys, Netgear, and TP-Link. In short, Wi-Fi 6E opens up new radio channels in the 6 GHz frequencies, bypassing congestion on the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencies that current Wi-Fi routers and mesh networks use. (It’s called “6E” because it employs the technologies and standards established by Wi-Fi 6 but extended to the 6 GHz frequencies.)

Most networking companies are releasing new Wi-Fi 6E routers and mesh networks for CES 2021, but like all new products, the first examples will be high-end and expensive, on the order of $1,200 for the three-piece Linksys AXE8400 mesh kit ($450 for a single router) or $600 for the Netgear RAXE500 router.

Mainstream laptops, phones, and tablets are just starting to upgrade to Wi-Fi 6 (without the “E”), so it will be a while before 6E becomes a must-have technology. For now, we anticipate that Wi-Fi 6E will be most effective as the wireless connection between mesh-networking satellites and their base router. It will be a few years before 6E is on the majority of phones, laptops, and media streaming devices. In the meantime, new Wi-Fi 6 routers and mesh networks will be the focus in 2021. We’ll be testing both Wi-Fi 6 and 6E networking devices this year.

—Joel Santo Domingo, senior staff writer

True wireless earbuds offer more than ever

Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro, available now, $200

Samsung has announced and released the Galaxy Buds Pro earbuds, which are to Samsung what the AirPods Pro are to Apple. They offer two levels of active noise cancellation, the always-listening Bixby (Samsung’s answer to Siri), speech-activated ambient awareness mode, background-noise-reducing microphones, and dual-device-pairing capabilities. With a rating of IPX7, the Galaxy Buds Pro earbuds are very water resistant, so you can drop them in a puddle and not stress out. We have a pair, and we’re working on testing them now. Our initial impression is that they’re a solid option for Samsung devotees but may not be as appealing to people who don’t own Galaxy devices.

What’s next

The Cleer Ally Plus II true wireless earbuds offer adaptive active noise cancellation and app-based EQ and noise-reduction customization. They’re notable because they boast an impressive 11-hour battery life per charge—even with active noise cancellation enabled—plus an additional 22 hours of use from the wireless-charging-compatible case. That’s a massive jump, and if they do manage their battery life well, it could set a benchmark for what we can expect in terms of play time from true wireless earbuds in the future. The Ally Plus II earbuds will cost $130 when they become available in March.

Just for runners

Soul announced the retail version of the Blade true wireless earbuds, which work in conjunction with an app to offer real-time AI coaching with personalized tips on running form, step width, and heart rate, as well as the ability to set goals and challenge friends to virtual runs. The earbuds—previously part of an Indiegogo campaign—will feature transparent audio mode to help you stay aware of your surroundings as well as robust IPX7 water resistance. What truly sets these running earbuds apart is their motion tracking, which should take into account how heavy your footfalls are, whether you’re favoring one side, your stride length and width, your head angle, and more.

That said, the coaching doesn’t yet offer direction on how to adjust your training based on the data, so you may need to do some reading or share your metrics with a real-life coach. Regardless, folks looking to up their running game may find this kind of detailed information useful for preventing injury. Available in spring 2021, the Blade set will cost $200.

Bose Sport Open Earbuds, available for preorder, $200

For people who cannot stand the feeling of jogging with earbuds in their ear canals but want the portability and lightweight feel of true wireless, the Bose Sport Open pair might offer a solution. With eight hours of battery life, the Sport Open pieces each hook over the ear and direct sound toward the ear canal but don’t actually sit inside the ear. Bose says the technology enables you to hear your music but prevents folks around you from hearing it, and thanks to the Sport Open’s noise- and wind-reducing mics, your callers should be able to hear you, as well. The Bose Sport Open Earbuds are now on presale for $200 and will be available in stores mid-January.

—Lauren Dragan, senior staff writer

OLED gets brighter and cheaper

LG OLED A1, release date and price TBD

We’ve made no secret of the fact that we think OLED TVs provide the best TV experience you can get today, but they’ve always been too expensive for many people. Now, LG has introduced its first true budget OLED TV model, the A1. Compared with prior budget models, this one loses a number of features: It offers only 60 Hz instead of 120 Hz (lower refresh rates mean video signals can be less smooth), three HDMI 2.0 inputs instead of four HDMI 2.1 (a more advanced version of HDMI), a less powerful SoC processor (a system on a chip, basically responsible for everything the TV does, from image processing to smart-TV features), and no variable refresh rate (which allows a TV to match a game console’s refresh rate so the image remains seamless). But it still has the infinite contrast of OLED, which allows for blacker blacks and brighter brights, so movies, TV shows, and games will still look fantastic and better than on almost any LCD. It doesn’t have pricing yet, but we’re hoping it comes in well below what LG’s prior B-series budget models cost. The A1 series will be available in 48-, 55-, 65-, and even 77-inch sizes later this year.

—Chris Heinonen, senior staff writer

High-end room correction comes down in price

Onkyo TX-NR71000, June, $900

In our reviews of receivers, we’ve found that the only feature that actually impacts the sound quality in testing is how good the room-correction system is—basically, how the receiver adapts the sound to its particular surroundings. Dirac Live is as good as any room correction we’ve heard, and it’s way better than what you can find on most receivers, but in the past it has been reserved for devices that typically cost $2,000 and often much more. Pioneer and Onkyo have new receivers coming this year that support Dirac Live and start at just $900. The $900 Onkyo TX-NR7100, due in June, supports Dirac Live but also has seven HDMI inputs, full-sounding THX and Imax support, and all the streaming features we look for. They’re still more expensive than our normal receiver picks, but they promise better sound than what you can get from anything else in the price range.

—Chris Heinonen, senior staff writer

New processors for new PCs

Intel N-Series Pentium and Celeron processors and AMD Ryzen 5000 Series processors, first half of 2021

Both Intel and AMD have announced updated processors suitable for everything from thin-and-light ultrabooks to professional business laptops to gaming laptops to budget Chromebooks. Even desktop computers are getting some love. Any of these processors should give you a substantial performance bump if you’re replacing a computer that’s four to six years old, especially one that relies on an integrated graphics processor rather than a separate graphics processor (these computers typically are much less capable of playing modern games). We’ll be testing computers running on all of these new processors throughout the year as they become available.

The most interesting processors might be Intel’s latest N-series Pentium and Celeron processors, which are primarily aimed at the Chromebooks that end up in many schools. For years, N-series processors have been just a little too slow to recommend, making most $400-and-under Chromebooks unpleasant to use. Testing will tell, but here’s hoping the new ones will be fast enough to make video calling, basic browsing, and working on documents feel quick and responsive.

Both Intel and AMD have struggled in the past year or so to actually manufacture enough of their processors—we’ve noticed that AMD Ryzen laptops, in particular, are quick to go out of stock. Hopefully, as the year continues, both companies will be able to make enough processors to meet demand.

—Andrew Cunningham, senior staff writer

More powerful graphics for gaming laptops

Nvidia 30-series laptop graphics, shipping Q1

Nvidia has announced its next generation of mobile graphics, which will run modern games better and may pave the way for higher-resolution 1440p displays in laptops, up from the current standard of 1080p. The low-end RTX 3060 graphics card will appear in budget gaming laptops starting around $1,000, the midrange RTX 3070 will be in laptops priced around $1,300, and the high-end RTX 3080 will be available in the most expensive gaming laptops starting at $2,000. We expect the GTX 1660 Ti and GTX 1650 to stick around in cheaper models in the $600 to $1,000 range for now.

Acer, Asus, Dell, Gigabyte, HP, Lenovo, MSI, and other laptop makers are updating their lineups, including our current budget gaming laptop picks, with these latest graphics as well as newly announced processors from Intel and AMD. Most companies plan to ship new models in January and February—but supply was an issue for laptops, graphics hardware, and processors throughout 2020, and we expect such problems to continue into 2021. We plan to test these new models as soon as they’re available.

—Kimber Streams, senior staff writer

A step up for cheap record players

Victrola Eastwood, available now, $100

With the Eastwood, Victrola is trying to raise the bar for the notoriously chintzy all-in-one record player category. The Eastwood includes an Audio-Technica AT-3600L moving-magnet phono cartridge, which in our experience produces a clearer, more detailed sound than the cheap ceramic cartridges used on most inexpensive players. The AT-3600L also has a lower tracking force—2.5 to 3.5 grams, versus about 8 grams for typical ceramic cartridges—so the Eastwood shouldn’t wear out your records as quickly. Speakers are built in, and the Eastwood not only streams Bluetooth from your phone but also streams sound from your records to a Bluetooth speaker or headphones.

—Brent Butterworth, senior staff writer

A new way to know who goes there

Arlo Touchless Video Doorbell, release date and price TBD

The 7-year-old me would have been appalled at the idea of a doorbell you don’t get to push (let alone one you don’t get to push repeatedly), but after a year of sanitizing everything and anything, these days I think it makes sense that companies would come up with touchless video doorbells.

Alarm.com announced a professionally installed option that pairs with a doormat, while the Arlo Touchless Video Doorbell will use sensors to know when someone approaches. The hook on these devices is that they will automatically ring the bell as guests approach—alerting them (and you) with an audible tone.

We see even bigger and better purposes for these devices, mainly in accessibility. Video doorbells have always been a great option for those inside the home who have mobility and dexterity issues, allowing users to check who is at the door without actually having to go to the door. These new touchless options would work equally as well for guests on the other side of the door, allowing them to make their presence known without having to knock, ring the bell, or even speak.

—Rachel Cericola, senior staff writer

The incredible shrinking soundbar

LG QP5 Eclair, available June/July 2021, price TBD

For reasons we honestly can’t fathom, soundbars are getting smaller as TVs are getting bigger. We realized this when we tested the 14-inch-long Roku Streambar last fall, and the concept for a new model that LG revealed at CES 2021 is even more extreme. The QP5 Eclair measures just 11.7 inches long, but it’s as sophisticated as many top-of-the-line, 4-foot-long models. The QP5 offers support for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X immersive sound, HDMI input and output, and an optical digital audio input. A subwoofer is included, too. The device is still in the works, so LG representatives couldn’t be firm about the price, but the company predicts a summer ship date. Denon also announced the $600 Sound Bar 550, a more capable, one-piece model that adds multiroom audio technologies (Apple AirPlay 2 and Denon HEOS) and measures just 26 inches long. So that’s three models—and three’s a trend.

—Brent Butterworth, senior staff writer