Each year, technology companies prepare to unveil their most outlandish experiments at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The wall-to-wall array of zany gadgets, which range from vertical meat grillers to baby cry translators, instills wonder about what the future holds for consumer technology. Gawking aside, most of the innovations never hit shelves—but that’s part of the fun. At CES, companies focus on pushing the envelope and tickling the imagination rather than hashing out price points and production.

This year’s convention has no shortage of innovation. As expected, AI makes a major showing and is being incorporated into just about everything and scientific advances are paving the way for eco-friendly innovations. Read on for the biggest trends to know.

1. Transparent displays. Prototypes of transparent TVs have been teased on the CES floor for years, but LG makes a compelling case for making your living room into a makeshift scene from Minority Report. The OLED Signature T demoed at CES may not be final and lacks the brand’s Micro Lens Array technology for optimal brightness, but the 77-inch display is impressively crisp with dazzling depth effects that messed with one reviewer’s head. The Samsung MicroLED display’s sharpness and color also stuns. The technology might not be best for offices—no one needs coworkers spying on their screen from behind—but may upend retail design and relieve staffers from regularly restyling displays.

2. Green technology. Major strides in tackling the environmental crisis tend to get overlooked in CES’s cluster of mind-bending futurism, but the monolithic WC-100 WaterCube from Genesis Systems is an interesting solution for drinkable water in arid climates—one writer says it tastes better than his Vegas hotel tap water. (At 600 pounds and a $20,000 price tag, this one still seems far off.) Unsightly solar panels may soon be a thing of the past thanks to inQs, whose solar technology resembles stained glass. It uses transparent silicon quartz—not opaque cells like traditional panels—to harness ultraviolet and infrared light.

3. AI everywhere. There’s no greater metaphor for AI encroaching on every aspect of modern life than Microsoft updating its Windows keyboard with a button that summons Copilot—the device’s first design refresh in three decades. AI may soon power everything in your home from baby translators to vertical meat grillers, but what about pillows that silences snorers? Motion Pillow’s headrest identifies snoring sounds and slowly inflates to rotate one’s head and open airways. Meanwhile, high-tech vehicle touchscreens may be moving too fast for some, but not Volkswagen, which is integrating ChatGPT into its voice assistant for Tiguans, Passats, and Golfs. Ditto for Mercedes-Benz’s new CLA Model, which sports dashboard-wide screens with a generative AI assistant that eliminates the need to constantly summon it.

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Each collection by Le Pére is a blank slate—the rising menswear label focuses on making clothes in collaboration with the designers, illustrators, musicians, and photographers that most inspire their community. It’s fitting that the New York label’s debut flagship store, located on a quaint corner in the Lower East Side, would follow suit. BoND, the local interiors studio founded by Noam Dvir and Daniel Rauchwerger with a penchant for projects in the fashion and art realms, proved an ideal collaborator for the job. They crafted a predominantly muted home base that brings out the vibrance of the clothing’s bold patterns, visuals, and textures, whether a plush fleece pullover by collagist Ian Woods or painter’s trousers emblazoned with Cherry Kim’s hand-drawn illustrations of wrestlers.

A giant exterior billboard emblazoned with seasonal campaigns and artwork by brand collaborators draws passersby in, as does a yellow neon-lit central column emitting a sunny glow that extends to the fitting rooms. Combined with the ample sunshine pouring in through corner windows, the yellow forges a soothing yet sprightly aura that perfectly complements a custom curved bench fabricated by local woodworkers Lesser Miracle and vintage Artek furniture. Such personal touches make the boutique venture beyond a sterile white cube and feel more akin to a lived-in art studio that you want to spend time in.

Art-world multihyphenate Marina Abramović is no stranger to the world of merch. After all, the Royal Academy of Arts Shop has a standalone section of goods designed with the artist and performer. You’d be forgiven for thinking her latest launch, a beauty line created with holistic wellness practitioner Dr. Nona Brenner, straddles performance art and earnest drop. The four-piece collection is dubbed the Marina Abramović Longevity Method in a nod to her eponymous series of mindfulness techniques. The assortment of Immune, Anti-Allergy, and Energy Drops is accompanied by a face lotion, all inspired by formulations created for Abramović by Brenner. It launches with a limited run of 8,000 of each product, in packaging designed by Abramović to include both her and Brenner’s fingerprints.

The balm of a breathtaking vista, the soothing effect of taking in a snippet of one’s idyllic surroundings, is made manifestly better by the comfort of one’s perch. To that end, Henrik Pedersen’s newly unveiled Bellmonde collection for Dedon makes a fitting roost for both idle daydreaming and spirited gatherings alike. The secret to the subtle ergonomics of the Bellmonde collection’s lounge and armchairs lies in their woven build. Dedon stands out in the crowded outdoor furniture market thanks to how it manufactures both its own furnishings and the woven textiles that give each piece its characteristic structural integrity and resiliency to the elements.

Earlier this week, Miami Dolphins linebacker Jaelan Phillips hosted his teammates and Miami’s creative crowd for The Art of Giving Back: a silent auction and exhibition benefiting charity organization Dolphins Challenge Cancer. Artist-designer and founder of Gallery Dept. Josué Thomas joined Phillips as co-host for the evening, which culminated in the debut of a jersey designed by artist Bisa Butler. Proceeds from the auction, which featured merch and one-of-a-kind experiences with the Miami Dolphins, Rapha, and Gallery Dept. were collected to benefit cancer research at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.

When was it? Jan. 8

Where was it? Miami Design District

Who was there? Craig Robins, Jason Taylor, Nik Needham, DeShon Elliott, Brandon Jones, and Emmanuel Ogbah.

When: Jan. 12–April 19

Where: R & Company, New York

What: More than 30 of Ackerman’s tapestries and mosaics capturing her distinct embrace of abstract and figural motifs star in the first solo show of her work outside of California, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of her birth. Her intricately made tapestries, produced from full-size drawings with detailed instructions color-keyed to yarn samples, often featured flowers, trees, animals, and people, drawing inspiration from modern and folk art movements. Together with her husband Jerome, she played a pivotal role in fusing craft and design to reach the broadest possible audience of interior designers and architects yet remains under-appreciated today.

Cultus Artem features three collections: fragrance, skincare, and one-of-a-kind fine jewelry, all of which are made by hand in the company’s San Antonio atelier. Across its divisions, Cultus Artem explores traditional, labor-intensive techniques using precious materials rarely used in the beauty and jewelry spheres.

Surface Says: From premium packaging to the bespoke formulations within, a deep appreciation for beautifying rituals underscores Cultus Artem’s approach to skincare and fragrance. Their fine jewelry makes a fitting last step in any routine.

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