The Best Automotive Tech at CES 2026

If you’re turned off by the noise of “agent AI” in the cars, EVs, eVTOLs, trucks, big rigs, fleets, robotaxis, and even boats bouncing around the halls of CES 2026, you can find some impressive automotive tech on display. Of course, AI is not just a buzzword and it has some very essential and powerful vehicle applications, especially for advanced and autonomous driving. There were also exclusive prototype cars and proofs of concepts, but that’s what makes the biggest tech show of the year. Amidst the impossible ideas, some very real vehicles and in-car tech showed us what’s coming in the car world. Here’s what came out.

Sony Honda Mobility Afila 1

We’ve already dubbed the Sony-Honda EV collaboration’s massive front screen as the best dashboard at the show, but it bears repeating. The front dashboard is the way we all interact with our cars, and the Afila 1 understood the assignment. The huge panoramic screen that extends to the passenger door is made up of two displays, one 12.3 inches and the other 28.5 inches. With Sony behind connected car technology, it’s not surprising that the wide screen is made for gaming (and wireless PlayStation Remote play) and media viewing, complete with themes based on popular Sony games like M>Astro Bot. Honda will find the moment when the Afela 1 will actually be drivable. The EV is believed to reach California by the end of the year at a price of more than $100,000.

read more

Best Concept Car

qualcomm snapdragon digital chassis

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon digital chassis car will never be a production vehicle, but that’s not the point. The showcase car was created for CES to bring to life the infotainment, AI assistants, and automated driving and safety features that go together behind the scenes of a car. The concept car, equipped with 13 cameras and 20 speakers, was capable of providing driver assistance for a knocked-out driver and calling security operators if the driver was unresponsive. It actively took a photo of the cabin to describe the scene to a human operator and checked the driver’s smartwatch to monitor vitals. While an impressive example of what an AI agent could one day do in a car, a more realistic concept was the car’s ability to navigate to the first meeting on the driver’s calendar and select a restaurant for dinner.

read more

(Note: Qualcomm sponsored my trip to CES by providing travel, accommodations, and meals. No other compensation was received and Qualcomm had no editorial input or influence on my content.)

best driverless taxi

Waymo Ojai

Waymo’s driverless robotaxi fleet has become synonymous with the Jaguar I-Pace EVs used in cities across the country. But at CES 2026, the autonomous vehicle company showed off its latest vehicle: the Ojai. This is the name Waymo has given to the Zeekar electric minivan made by Chinese company Geely Auto, which is now finished in a new Waymo color. Many of the 13 cameras, six radars and four LiDAR sensors will be located atop the new Waymo Ojai, similar to the I-Pace design, so there’s no mistaking it for anything other than an autonomous vehicle. The new Wemos is expected to arrive in San Francisco later this year.

best cooperation

Uber’s Lucid Gravity Robotaxi Powered by Neuro and Nvidia

Speaking of robotaxis, Uber is back in the game with a big collaboration. The company is powering a fleet of Lucid Gravity EVs loaded with Level 4 self-driving capability from Nuro and Nvidia compute power. The driverless taxis were unveiled at CES 2026 as prototypes, which will be deployed in the San Francisco Bay Area later this year, pending certification.

The taxis take advantage of Lucid Gravity’s three-row SUV, large cargo hold, and built-in backseat screens that control things like heated seats and air conditioning — which are vital for driverless cab rides. Without destroying the sleek looks of the electric SUV, the restyled version looks like an autonomous vehicle with high-resolution cameras, LiDAR sensors and radar riding on the roof and throughout the car. Ultimately, Uber plans to operate robotaxis everywhere it has a presence around the world.

best volume control

Cerence AI’s XUI

Agent AI is a big thing for cars, where voice control makes the driving experience more interactive than ever. Chinese carmaker Geely Auto, which owns Volvo, announced at CES 2026 that it has selected Cerence AI’s agentic AI platform, called XUI, for cars. In a demo showing the voice-controlled agent at work, it became immediately apparent how easily (and naturally) the Cerence system connects to navigation, climate, car controls, media, and even productivity tools through Microsoft 365 integration. Immediately, drivers can set up “voice shortcuts” to control a set of functions, for example, using a phrase to open all windows. During just one demo, the system didn’t falter when things went off script, and the driver could speak normally and colloquially without any hiccups. Cerence AI has long shown how to use voice control in a car, so I wasn’t surprised that its latest version can impressively handle complex situations like multiple tasks from different seats in the car.

best proof of concept

Garmin’s in-cabin Meta Neural Band

That’s what CES is all about: proofs of concepts that are completely unnecessary, but force you to rethink the car passenger experience. I couldn’t stop thinking about Garmin’s innovative use of the Meta’s Neural Band in the car. By wearing the wristband, you can use your thumb, index and middle fingers to control the touchscreen – without touching the screen. The band reads electrical signals from your wrist and converts mid-air gestures into swipes and onscreen clicks. The Neural Band is by no means an essential device, but it does bring a new way for passengers (and perhaps even for drivers to park, charge, or in the future drive the car into fully autonomous mode) to interact with the car’s infotainment features.

read more

Gizmodo will be in Las Vegas all week long bringing you everything you need to know about the technology being unveiled at CES 2026. You can follow our CES live blog here and find all of our coverage here.