Samsung Q950TS 8K QLED TV (price TBD — mid-2020)
With a gorgeous, 8K QLED panel and a stunning, bezel-less design, the Samsung Q950TS is shaping up to be the flagship TV to beat in 2020.
There are a lot of impressive 8K TVs at this year’s CES, but no new display has managed to stand out from the crowd quite like Samsung’s virtually bezel-less Q950TS. While borders around TV panels have been getting thinner and thinner every year, Samsung has now taken this premium design element to a new level. With an impressive screen-to-body ratio of nearly 99%, you’re presented with a TV that’s nearly all display, creating a gorgeous “Infinity Screen” effect. This almost borderless style is then further complemented by an incredibly thin profile that measures just 15 millimeters.

Of course, style is only one element that makes the Q950TS a showstopper. Across the board, the display features all of the high-end picture quality and smart connectivity features you’d expect from a leading flagship TV. The 8K QLED LCD panel offers some of the brightest performance we’ve ever seen on a consumer TV, resulting in stunning HDR playback. Black levels are also deep and inky, thanks to a full-array local dimming backlight.

Unlike many other TVs with very basic speakers, the Q950TS also includes a unique audio system with built-in drivers on the top, sides, bottom, and rear of the display. Special AI-powered technologies have also been employed to help the TV intelligently adapt its sound and image based on the room it’s in, making this one of the smartest smart TVs there is.

Yes, it’s true that native 8K content is still a ways off, but with advanced upscaling technology, the Q950TS is able to enhance all the 4K and Full HD videos you can watch right now. It also features support for the AV1 codec, which will ensure you can stream native 8K videos when they eventually start popping up on various services. Samsung has not revealed how much the Q950TS will cost when it launches later this year, but models will be available in 65, 75, and 85 inches. — Steven Cohen, technology editor

The best laptop of CES 2020
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
Monica Chin/Business Insider
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold ($2,499.00 — mid-2020)
The first-ever laptop with a foldable display is undoubtedly a highlight of CES 2020 — a futuristic device that you can actually buy this year.
Way back in May 2019, Lenovo made a lofty promise while showing off a prototype device: that it would release the first-ever laptop with a foldable display, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold, in 2020. Now, Lenovo has clearly made good on that promise.

The tested, stylized version of the product shown off almost a year ago — with literal support tape on it and without a name — easily sells the idea of what foldable screen technology could accomplish in a mobile computing device.

Magazines could look fantastic on the ThinkPad X1 Fold, and with the bundled Bluetooth keyboard, people could work on that document while watching the latest episode of “The Witcher” on Netflix above. These are quaint scenarios, and barely business-related as the “ThinkPad” name would suggest, but these are the first ideas that come to mind.

The $2,499.00 price tag essentially shrinks the audience for this first foldable outing to just well-off executives and other financially fortunate technology enthusiasts — including some creative pros despite the suit-like ThinkPad branding. Regardless, the ThinkPad X1 Fold captures our imaginations, which makes it all the more exciting to be releasing in 2020. — Joe Osborne, senior technology editor

The best phone of CES 2020
Samsung Galaxy S10 Lite
Monica Chin/Business Insider
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Lite and S10 Lite (price and release date TBD)
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 Lite and Galaxy S10 Lite are slightly pared-down versions of its flagship phones at a friendlier price point. While the phones are missing some premium features, using them feels pretty similar to using the real thing.
Samsung unveiled a number of new smartphones at CES 2020, but its Galaxy Note 10 Lite and Galaxy S10 Lite are the standouts. They have most (though not all) of the same features as their more-expensive counterparts, but when using the phones myself, I can’t feel any sort of difference.

The phones run the same Android operating system as their respective flagships. The Note 10 Lite also works with Samsung’s signature S Pen stylus. The most significant compromises were made in design; the phones aren’t water-resistant, and they don’t support wireless charging or power sharing.

The Note 10 Lite and S10 Lite have slightly worse displays and older processors than the Note 10 and S10 respectively, but using them feels just like using the real thing. They also have slightly different camera arrays, which Samsung tells me aren’t necessarily better or worse than those of their predecessors — just different. If you’re trying to decide which phone to buy, keep an eye out for reviews of these devices where you can check out the photos side by side.

Overall, we’ll have to wait for the prices to come out before we can determine for sure whether these are good value. But, if the prices are decently lower than those of Samsung’s flagships, they could be a big step towards bringing the Galaxy lineup to a demographic of users that currently find the flagships inaccessible. (Maybe I’ll actually be able to afford one, for once!)

Both phones will hit shelves in early 2020. — Monica Chin, senior reporter

The best wearable of CES 2020
Suunto 7
Suunto
Suunto 7 smartwatch ($499 — preorders available now, ships January 31)
The Suunto 7 features Google’s WearOS, making it the brand’s first legit smartwatch. It also offers plenty of multi-sport functionality which lets it compete with the likes of Garmin’s Fenix line.
Suunto unveiled its first bonafide smartwatch at CES 2020 this year dubbed the Suunto 7. Outfit with the Google-powered operating system, WearOS, and packed with more multi-sport compatibility than most people will know what to do with, the Suunto 7 looks primed to go toe-to-toe with Garmin’s similar jack-of-all-trades Fenix series ­— for a fraction of the cost, at that.

Available in five different colorways and starting at $500 (as opposed to $700 for the new Fenix 6 Pro), the Suunto 7 is perfect for anyone who likes to keep active. It has built-in GPS and a heart-rate monitor, is water-resistant up to 50 meters, and even offers the ability to download offline outdoor maps for free (a first for any Suunto watch). This means it’s not only designed for the gym or running through the park but also as a suitable companion for exploring the backcountry.

The watch also comes standard with Google’s suite of WearOS features like Google Pay, Google Assistant, and Google Fit, as well as access to the Google Play store. For sport-tracking, the Suunto 7 offers compatibility with more than 70 different activities like biking, swimming, and running, and also allows wearers to sync their headphones to their watch to control their tunes while they workout. Amassed activity stats are able to be viewed via Suunto’s companion app, or easily transferred to apps like Strava or Endomondo. There’s even Suunto Heatmap compatibility which shows wearers the most popular training routes for running or biking in their area.

Suunto’s long made reliable fitness trackers but the Suunto 7 represents an impressive foray into smartwatches. With a clean design, long list of available features and uses, and WearOS functionality, it should likely be a strong competitor to the Garmin Fenix or Apple Watch when it releases on January 31. — Rick Stella, fitness editor

The best gaming tech of CES 2020
Alienware Concept UFO
Alienware
Alienware Concept UFO game console (price and release date TBD)
Dell’s gaming division has brought PC gaming closer than ever to console gaming with its Alienware Concept UFO device that’s essentially a Nintendo Switch for PC gaming.
It’s definitely too easy to dismiss this concept device as Nintendo Switch knock-off, and you wouldn’t necessarily be wrong, but we are in love with the Alienware UFO’s goal to bring PC gaming to a Switch-like concept.

Using Windows 10 as its operating system with access to Valve’s Steam PC game service, the UFO can detach its controllers for single-player tabletop play, making PC games more portable than they’ve ever been before.

We’re 100% for mobile and portable gaming here, and seeing PC games on even more mobile devices is incredibly exciting. Plus, the UFO has a sharper, 1,920 x 1,200-pixel display and Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) connectivity, so it’s aiming to be a bit more premium than even Nintendo’s portable marvel. Here’s to hoping this sees store shelves before the end of 2020. — Joe Osborne, senior technology editor