I'll be your eyes at CES 2026
When this is published, I'll be on a plane headed to Las Vegas.
The Consumer Electronics Show happens every year in early January like clockwork. Prior to working for The Intelligence, where we skipped it, I headed to Vegas every year for CES. This week, I’m doing it again.
I already know secrets I can’t share
CES is weird. Publications often write headlines like “here’s what we expect from CES 2026.” That’s difficult for me to write, because journalists like myself have embargos. In other words: I already know some of the things that will be announced at CES, but I’m supposed to keep it confidential. That gives us a chance to write news coverage ahead of time.
I can’t tell you these secrets just yet because PC manufacturers would stop sharing details with me in the future. I can share the details when the information is public and available all over the web. So I can’t deliver any scoops.
As a journalist, I have to get vague about my predictions: New PC hardware will be big, as always. Everyone will want to talk about AI.
As far as Windows and PCs, it’s all about new hardware and not software: New processors from AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm will make their way into PCs. Nvidia will likely be talking more about AI than gaming. There will be a lot of new hardware and gadgets.
Pricing may unfortunately be high — with RAM prices skyrocketing and PC prices already up after the waves of tariffs, expect next year’s laptops to cost more than last year’s models.
As far as value in PC hardware? Clearance sales on last year’s models, keeping your existing hardware working, and maybe even turning to used PCs might be the future. Maybe people will one day buy used PCs as often as they buy used phones.
Want eyes at CES 2026? I’ll be them!
One thing I do want to do is see whether I can deliver that direct journalist-to-reader experience with CES 2026. I’ll put up a thread for my paying subscribers in a few days with some thoughts. Want to ask me a question? Or, do you want to check out something in particular — maybe something you saw a cool news article about? I’ll do my best to make it happen!
(This is a dangerous game I’m playing — Las Vegas is huge, traffic is bad, and it can take hours to get from one location to another to check something out. But I bet I’ll be able to answer questions and share interesting things! We’ll figure it out.)
If you’re interested, spend a few bucks to help pay my travel costs — I’m paying for the hotel, flights, and everything else out of pocket — and stay tuned for more!
If you’re already a paying subscriber: Thank you!
🎆 Happy New Year! Stay tuned for more PC hardware from CES next week. And stay tuned for more Windows after that.
I attended CES in 2009 for work. It was a great week! Upgraded my subscription to follow your coverage. Have fun!
When the ai bubble bursts it'll be a bad day for the markets and most everyone's retirement portfolios. But at least the price of memory and drive space will crash down to more normal. Wonder how many companies it'll take with it. How much damage Nvidia will suffer.