SlashGear's Best Of CES 2022

Nobody knew quite what to expect from CES 2022 but, even for the most part virtual, the Consumer Electronics Show has had its fair share of big news. TVs, cars, laptops, and the smart home all featured strongly this year, often with a nod to green technology and a new era where we're spending more of our time at home. They're themes that have unsurprisingly helped shape our annual Best of CES list.

OnePlus has come a long way, and the OnePlus 10 Pro illustrates that nicely. Combining style with high-end specifications, OnePlus hasn't forgotten the fundamentals either, with a 5,000 mAh battery and incredibly high-speed 80W charging. Factor in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor and cameras co-developed with Hasselblad, and you can see why we're excited.

CES is no stranger to concept cars, but the Mercedes-Benz VISION EQXX grabs the attention in more than just design. Previewing a shift in how electric vehicles deliver extended range, the aerodynamically-smooth sedan skips a bigger battery in favor of greater overall efficiency. That's a strategy that sounds all the more appealing as we move toward reducing not only emissions but our overall environmental footprint.

With a third of our lives spent in bed, just what we're sleeping on is a bigger deal than many appreciate. The Coway Smart Care Air Mattress does away with traditional springs in favor of individually-controlled Air Cells, making for not only a longer-lasting bed but one which can dynamically adjust firmness according to how you're sleeping.

Chromebooks no longer need to prove themselves in the laptop world, and the Acer Chromebook Spin 513 epitomizes just why that is at CES 2022. With a $600 price tag, 360-degree hinge, and 10 hours of battery life, it's portable, affordable, and flexible enough for both school kids and home workers alike.

If working from home has taught us anything, it's that you can probably never have too much screen real-estate. The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 takes that to an unexpected but appealing conclusion, with both a 17.3-inch main display and a second, 8-inch touchscreen alongside the keyboard. That flexibility makes it a standout among a CES full of laptop news.

Monitors aren't normally objects of lust, but the Samsung Odyssey Ark manages to appeal in ways regular displays can't quite deliver. 55-inches is impressive to begin with, but then you add in the wild curve and the fact it can be flipped from landscape to portrait orientation.

CES is never short on TV news, but a new Sony Master Series is always something special. In the case of the Sony A95K, it's the company's first QD-OLED TV, with 4K resolution and the promise of even greater dynamic range. If home movie nights have helped keep you sane during the pandemic, this could be the upgrade your eyes deserve.

Color-changing cars sound like the stuff of Bond movies, but BMW has made the idea real with its iX Flow with E Ink concept. Wrapping its all-electric SUV in the same screen tech that powers a Kindle allows it to flip from black to white, but while it's striking, there are practical reasons, too. Changing body color could make a big difference in heat absorption or reflection, depending on the season, and leave more EV battery for driving rather than adjusting cabin temperature.

Sometimes it can feel like if you want a smartwatch then you have to give up on style, but Garmin's Venu 2 Plus upends that trend. While it'll gather all the fitness metrics you'd expect, it also looks far more mainstream than most wearables.

Sometimes it's the little things that make the biggest difference. Samsung's new Eco Remote might not be as exciting to look at as the company's 4K and 8K TVs, but its ability to passively recharge from the RF energy pumped out by your WiFi router means one less headache with no batteries to change. It's a convenience feature that's actually convenient, not to mention better for the environment: a winning combination that earns it the SlashGear Best of CES 2022 award.