The Verge Awards at CES 2024
12.01.2024 - 20:15
/ theverge.com
We always look forward to CES. Not just because it kicks off the year, or because it brings nearly every major tech company under one roof, or because it means a flood of new products. We love it because of the surprises: every year, without fail, there is some strange and surprising new tech that captures our attention and makes us want to tell everyone, “come look at this.”
This year was no exception. AI took physical form, screens bent and disappeared, car platforms morphed. Even some of the more practical stuff — common standards and simple spec bumps — made a difference.
But there were also a bunch of products that we simply couldn’t get out of our heads. And to those, we’re giving our annual Verge Awards — our recognition that they’re doing something exciting, unique, or ambitious that might just push their categories forward. Or, at least, that makes us want to put them in our homes.
Samsung’s flagship OLED TV for 2024 adds a new glare-free screen treatment that severely reduces annoying reflections — even in sunny rooms. Many top-tier TVs already have respectable anti-reflective coatings, but Samsung’s S95D takes a bigger step toward eliminating distractions without negatively affecting picture quality. It’s a quality-of-life improvement that anyone can appreciate.
The S95D is also rumored to be using Samsung Display’s very latest QD-OLED panel, which is measuring peak brightness levels upward of 3,000 nits. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean Samsung Electronics will crank the display that hard on the S95D, but even if it doesn’t go full blast, you’re still in for a wonderful viewing experience. Sure, some of the Mini LED TVs from TCL and Hisense on the CES show floor can go even brighter, but OLEDs still get my pick for their viewing angle flexibility.
Unfortunately, like all Samsung TVs, the S95D continues to omit Dolby Vision, which makes the whole thing a nonstarter for some home theater enthusiasts. If you want Dolby Vision and a superb OLED experience, LG’s G4 is worth serious consideration. But Samsung’s S95D adds something practical — and a lot of people are going to enjoy simply seeing their TV better. —Chris Welch
Our pick here isn’t an individual product, but more of a call for “more of this please.” MSI, Phanteks, Asus, and Maingear are all working on reducing or eliminating the cable clutter that you have to deal with when building a PC.
At CES, MSI launched its Project Zero motherboards that put the connectors on the rear so you don’t have to route as many cables. Meanwhile, Asus has a new RTX 4090 that ditches the power connector for a cable-free look, and Phanteks is making changes to its NV9 case for Maingear to ship in pre-built systems. Combined with the industry moving to