STAR TECH

THERE'S NOTHING ARTIFICIAL ABOUT HOW USEFUL AND ENTERTAINING THESE LATEST GADGETS WILL BE

- JUSTIN CONNOLLY

WHEN I saw it was again time for us to talk about the latest gadgets shown off at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, I felt sure among them would be some kind of time machine.

How can it be 12 months since some of tech’s big hitters showed off what they had up their sleeve for 2025?

Alas, a closer look reveals no time machine, but a whole load of AI shoved into places it has no business being. It doesn’t get much duller than that in my book, and as a whole I thought the show lacked some of the more entertaining ideas we've seen a lot of in the past.

So this year, instead of focusing on all the daft stuff that'll likely never happen anyway, I thought we'd have a change.

Here are eight things that caught my eye at the show that not only are real and on the way - some of them very soon - but also look like they might actually be useful.

TWELVE SOUTH VALET

One thing that’s always annoyed me about modern portable tech is how many wires you have to rig up to keep them charged. This has moderated somewhat in recent years with the arrival of so-called wireless charging (spoiler, there’s still a wire), but this new gadget from TwelveSouth takes a different approach.

The stylish Valet is a tray designed primarily as a storage space for stuff like your watch and rings... but it also has a Qi2 charging pad so can keep your phone juiced up in there at the same time. A hidden USB port also allows for charging a second device... with a wire, of course.