AI was everywhere at CES 2026, from robots to toilets and toys. The race to define the next computing interface is on, agentic ad tech is emerging, and health wearables are pushing further into physiological data. Best in show: Lego’s Smart Brick.

The news: Nvidia is facing a new obstacle in its ability to sell chips to China—Chinese authorities are urging ByteDance, Alibaba, Tencent, and others to halt purchases of Nvidia hardware. This follows an agreement between President Donald Trump, Nvidia, and AMD that requires the two companies give the US government a 15% cut of Chinese chip revenues in exchange for permission to sell hardware there, per Bloomberg. Our take: ability to develop and deploy AI models for things like algorithm recommendations, content moderation, and generative AI (genAI) features. Marketers should diversify their AI-powered marketing tools to stay ahead if TikTok’s ad products and UX features develop more slowly.

he news: At WWDC 2025, Apple announced its upcoming macOS 26 Tahoe, marking the final operating system supporting Intel-based Macs and the end of a computing era. Apple’s transition will accelerate replacement cycles for millions of business users and marketing technology stacks. ur take: The shift will require a massive reset for Apple-reliant companies. They will need comprehensive technology audits across devices and software to weed out unsupported tools. Organizations delaying transitions, particularly for models that have already lost support, risk security vulnerabilities and performance limitations, affecting campaign execution and creative production timelines.

The news: The gaming industry is doubling down on handheld consoles. Nintendo’s Switch 2 shattered single-day sales records with an estimated 3 million units sold at launch, outpacing the Sony PS4’s historic numbers. Meanwhile, Microsoft announced its first handhelds—the ROG Xbox Ally and the ROG Xbox Ally X—partnering with Asus to blend Xbox and PC gaming in a portable format. They’re expected to launch during the holidays. Our take: As cloud and console experiences merge into portable form, game design and ad models are set to evolve fast—opening up fresh real estate for marketers, game studios, and tech platforms alike.

Biden’s proposal to restrict AI chip exports to 120 countries faces backlash from Nvidia, which says the policy risks stifling innovation and harming economic growth.

Uncertain returns drive interest in scalable infrastructure, with power demands outpacing consumer buy-in.

Amazon’s program democratizes access to compute resources and raises concerns about aligning corporate goals with academic freedom.

With on-device AI capabilities and standout benchmarks, the M4 can help Apple justify premium Mac prices and offset tepid iPhone sales.

With AMD and MediaTek entering the market, Nvidia and Qualcomm may face pricing pressure. Affordable AI tech could drive adoption in emerging markets, reshaping global competition.

Data center industry growth is on the horizon as AI adoption rises, with cloud giants like AWS leading the shift from the “Cloud Era” to the “AI Era.”

The world's largest chipmaker forecast a 16% sales tumble in Q2 as the tech sector slows down. Its plans for new factory locations could be in peril.

A big cloud services drought could amount to involuntary AI slowdown: Cloud server chips and energy supplies buckle under the weight of generative AI demands, adding to monopoly likelihood.

Taiwan is still the cradle of chip innovation: TSMC committed to its home country even as it broke ground in America, maintaining Taiwan’s dominance in chip production at a time of heightened geopolitical conflict.

Throttling processors risks slowing innovation: Semiconductors are a battleground in the tech cold war between the US and China, and now manufacturers are scaling down performance to comply with chip bans.

Positive movement in the chip sector: Samsung aims for 2 nanometer chips, Intel tries its luck with GPUs, and Micron plans to invest $100 billion in a New York factory.

Competition coming for the Switch: More powerful devices that can leverage 5G connectivity and vast libraries of popular PC and mobile games will be the foundation for next-generation handheld gaming.

US-China conflict over chips intensifies: AMD and Nvidia stocks plunge on reports of new government sales restrictions of chips to China and Russia. US chipmakers could be forced to abandon potential sales.

Qualcomm comes for data centers: Nuvia unlocks potential for Qualcomm to diversify into server chips for data centers, effectively meeting pent-up demand with faster, cooler, and more-efficient cloud server solutions.

TSMC is raising prices for the second time in a year: The company blames increased costs and expansion. Long-term effects may be loss of business from customers feeling the squeeze.