Flying cars, solid-state batteries, and more from CES 2026

Flying cars, commercial solid-state batteries, and a mind-boggling feature in Samsung's latest projector. Here are some things that caught my attention at CES.

CES 2026 was a massive, sprawling event across the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), the Venetian Expo, and probably another dozen locations large and small.

I don't claim to have been everywhere. But I walked really fast and even spotted an intriguing new data centre cooling technology.

Solid-state batteries

Solid-state batteries are the stuff of the future. I can't even remember how many years I've read about them. Now, Donut Labs claims to have done it.

The technology replaces the flammable liquid electrolyte in batteries with a solid electrolyte material. This means much safer batteries, higher energy densities, faster charging, and far more charge cycles.

Here are the claims by Donut Labs: 100,000 charge cycles, 400 Wh/kg energy, full charge in 5 minutes, and lower cost than lithium-ion.

They would not say much to me, but the magic apparently revolves around the material used and a radically different manufacturing method.

The bike shown in the photo uses their solid-state batteries and will ship Q1 this year. Another partner showed off a car chassis, and Donut Labs touted the concept of a drone using their batteries.

Samsung's practical innovations

I also dropped by Samsung's incredibly well-done exhibit at the Wynn and got a taste of its user-centric innovations.

Here are two that got my attention.

The Freestyle 2 blew me away with its automatic Keystone Correction, a feature that adjusts skewed images back into a perfect rectangle when the projector isn't perfectly aligned to the screen. Watch how it adjusts within seconds to the moving curtains!

I was also impressed by a new stereoscopic monitor that Samsung showed off. It offers 3D-like images, no glasses required. The device has head tracking too, so you can literally shift your head for a better view. The game must support it, though.

Notable mentions

A couple of notable mentions.

I did mention flying cars earlier, didn't I? Well, Rictor showed off a car that literally takes off. Just 20 minutes of flight time, but no need for a flight licence in the US. It should be out this year. And no, I didn't try.

By the way, Asus is gunning for business users with its ExpertBook Ultra. The specs are highly compelling: 3K tandem OLED, latest Core Ultra at 50W TDP, full complement of ports, and 0.99kg weight.

What do you think?