Our picks for the best of the show.
Another whirlwind CES has come to a close, and that means it's time to round up the products from the show that caught our eyes. CES isn't always the biggest show for Android and mobile news, but there's still plenty to discuss and get excited about from the 2016 edition. A few phones, a Chromebook, virtual reality and wearables galore highlighted the show from an Android Central perspective.
If you want to see all of our coverage from the show (and we bet you do), be sure to check out our CES 2016 page — and then read on to see our top picks!
1. ASUS ZenFone Zoom
A year (as in, literally 365 days) after first being revealed, ASUS is finally ready to start selling the ZenFone Zoom with its crazy camera system in February for $399. That's a pretty penny for a phone that's getting a bit long in the tooth before it has even been released, but the novelty of this optically-zooming camera will be enough to drive many to give it a try.
Beyond the draw of the camera, you're getting a plenty capable phone in the Zoom, with specs that are similar to that of its cousin, the ZenFone 2. You'll get an Intel Atom processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB base storage and a 5.5-inch 1080p display. When you take into consideration the engineering work that went into the camera as well, it's a pretty impressive package.
2. Huawei Mate 8

Though Huawei formally announced the Mate 8 back in December, albeit with a sparse amount of details, the phone was unveiled for all to see and touch here at CES 2016. The 6-inch behemoth shares more than a little resemblance to the Mate S and Nexus 6P of last year, with a solid metal build and rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. Huawei's own Kirin 950 processor runs the show with 4GB of RAM in support, but there are a few odd shortcomings like a 1080p resolution on that big screen. The standard Huawei pain point of software issues still exists, but there's still a lot to like about this phone.
Though those of us in the U.S. know the Huawei name from a variety of products, the most topical of which being the Nexus 6P, we haven't really seen the Mate line here before. But remember, this is an international show, and the Mate 8 is ready to go on sale internationally — though the price may scare a few potential buyers away.
3. Lenovo 13 ThinkPad Chromebook

After offering Chromebook models that either target the education market or super low-end consumer market, Lenovo is finally making a solid mid-range ThinkPad-branded Chromebook. Bringing in the ThinkPad name is important for brand recognition, but also for what it means for the actual quality of the product. The ThinkPad 13 Chromebook is built well and made to live through a bit of a beating, even if that means it isn't the sleekest or lightest thing out there.
Importantly for those who intend to use a Chromebook a lot the ThinkPad 13 offers solid processor options — up to an Intel Core i5 — as well as a choice of up to 8GB of RAM to together power a 1080p display. Lenovo has also included a USB-C port, which means it's ready for future use with new peripherals (or maybe just your new Nexus). The ThinkPad 13 Chromebook unfortunately won't be on sale for a few months, but if you're in the market for a mid-range Chromebook and aren't in a rush to buy, it's definitely worth giving this one a look.
4. HTC Vive Pre

If it feels like there's a lot of talk about HTC Vive, you'd be right — and for good reason, it's one of the leading (if not the leading) virtual reality kit being shown off right now. At CES HTC unveiled its second generation of the Vive, called the Vive Pre, which made several important changes that are aimed at improving the user experience.
The visor itself is now smaller and a bit sleeker to look at, but most importantly now integrates a front-facing camera that can help you interact with the world around you while using Vive. The wireless controllers you use with the Vive have received a dramatic redesign to be simpler and also more functional (and better looking, to boot), and importantly the controllers are now simply rechargeable over MicroUSB.
We're still multiple months away from a commercial launch of Vive, these improvements to the experience of using Vive on a regular basis are very important to its eventual launch plans.
5. Under Armour HealthBox

It's been nearly six months since HTC chose to shelve its Grip wearable, and the fruits of that continued labor are here with the HTC and Under Armour HealthBox. Under Armour is now the one taking the lead here, with this suite of connected fitness devices that better suits its marketing prowess and customer base. HTC is really taking a step back to be a design and manufacturing partner here.
The HealthBox encompasses three products — the UA Band, a wearable fitness tracker, the UA Scale, a Wi-Fi enabled home scale, and the UA Heart Rate, a super-accurate chest heart rate monitor. The three together report back to the UA Record app, which can track every aspect of your body, fitness and activity for a comprehensive look at things.
The brand, positioning and $400 price should give you a good indication of who the HealthBox is for — those who want high-quality fitness tracking and data aggregation they can get from consumer products. These devices offer more than your average one-off connected fitness items, but of course you'll have to pay for it — but with Under Armour now at the helm, it has a shot.
6. Honor 5X

Though the Huawei Mate 8 won't be making an appearance in the U.S., the Honor 5X will be. After a brief introduction of sales in China, the 5X is headed stateside for a smooth $199 unlocked. That's a great deal for a metal phone with a fingerprint sensor, a good screen and capable internals. But though the software is actually an improvement over what's on the Mate 8 in some areas, it still comes up short of what most people would consider top-tier.
Still, the Honor 5X coming to the U.S. at $199 just shows how much the market of mid-range unlocked Android phones has grown, and how much the quality for the dollar has improved. We're looking forward to spending more time with this phone going forward.
7. ZTE Grand X 3

Most of us strive to buy the nicest phone we can get, and are willing to pay a bit extra for it. But that doesn't mean we should turn our attention completely away from the less-expensive market, where tens millions of phones sell annually. ZTE is known for its ability to crank out solid, inexpensive devices for prepaid carriers in the U.S., and the Grand X 3 is a great example of that.
For a phone that costs just $129 off-contract from Cricket (that's AT&T's MVNO), you get a heck of a lot of device in the Grand X 3. Its 5.5-inch display looks great, and while the Snapdragon 210 processor won't amaze you it'll get the job done when paired with 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage. The hardware is what you'd expect of a phone costing closer to $200, and the fact that it includes a USB-C port shows that ZTE is paying attention to the market.
Sure it isn't the flashy phone that everyone lusts after, but anyone picking up a cheap prepaid phone should consider this Grand X 3.
8. Casio WSD-F10

CES 2016 turned into quite the smartwatch show, with Casio coming out of the gate with its first Android Wear offering, adding in the expertise you expect from this tenured watchmaker. One look at the WSD-F10 (oh, and that name ...) will tell you all you need to know, really — this is a rugged watch for rugged people who do rugged things.
Not only can it take more punishment than you'd want to put your own arm through that the watch is attached to, it also has some extra sensors and know-how (how about a barometer for your watch?) that you just don't find on an average Android Wear watch. There isn't going to be a huge market for the WSD-F10, and the $500 price reflects that as well. But those who need the features now have an option, and it's always a positive to see the Android Wear market grow.
9. Fossil Q54 Pilot and Q Grant

We've already seen Fossil's Android Wear smartwatch, the Q Founder, and now we had an opportunity to see its "non-display" smartwatches, the Q54 Pilot and Q Grant. Fossil is using these two models to bridge the gap between its traditional watch lines and the all-electronic Q Founder, and is doing so in a really interesting way.
When you glance at the Q54 Pilot and Q Grant you wouldn't think twice about them being traditional watches, but underneath the back plate is a basic smartwatch setup. The watches connect to your phone to pull in notifications, which alert you with LEDs on the sides and a vibration motor, as well as sensors to track your movements and record that data back to your phone where you can send it over to your favorite fitness tracking app.
Best of all, these watches look really nice for the price, which ranges from $175 to $215 for these models. That's not a whole to pay — about $50 more than the "dumb" models of these same watches — for fitness band-like functionality baked right into a nice-looking watch, and in all is likely cheaper than whatever full-on smartwatch you may be considering.
10. Fitbit Blaze

After making quite a name for itself with standard fitness trackers, Fitbit is stepping up its game into the smartwatch arena. The $199 Blaze is definitely priced more than your average fitness band, pushing into the smartwatch market, and the feature set seems to match the price. You get all of the great Fitbit fitness tracking, including personal training recommendations and great heart rate monitoring, but it's now put in a more watch-like frame.
The watch still looks a bit like a gadget, even more so than some smartwatches out there, but with its stainless steel frame and choice of rubber and leather bands it can masquerade quite nicely as a watch you can wear all day and not stand out much. It's important for Fitbit to expand up into this arena, and be able to do a bit more with a larger screen, which it seems to be making a solid first step at with the Blaze.

Reader comments
These are Android Central's Top Picks for CES 2016!
[yawn]
Guess how big CES 2016 was...!
http://newswatchtv.com/2016/01/13/ces-2016-how-big-was-it/
im a newbie my samsung galaxy s6 (bought used from amazon) did not come with a sim)( my carrier doesnt require one to work)) do i need to buy one or can i skip it?
I was afraid I missed something at CES. Guess not
So glad about the larger size, less expensive phone options I will have + all the new features that will be available, can't wait to see them in person so I can decide which one to get !
Happy to see the Zenfone Zoom part of the list! I'm definitely going in for this one!
I'm just glad to not be still living in Vegas, it was the ces show that marked the comming of the new year which was fine. But it was the entire month that area residents could hardly get cell service. The local air waves with cellular activities were so exhausted, calls more often would drop or just not connect. It was good for a month of credit, if you contacted your service provider. But never makes up the real loss of business during a time of year it's most needed!
But then every month in Vegas has something similar that clogged the area cell service from good service taking place, maybe it's changed and they figured out how to accommodate everyone in hell, I mean sin city?
Frankly, there is no effin' way the Zenfone Zoom should be on this list shipping with Android 5.0.2.
Hey guys, would it be too much to ask to identify the items as to what they are? For example, "mobile phone", "smartwatch". Just giving the mfgr's names like "GeeWiz 74yxc-24" is just a little, no a LOT, obtuse..
Thanks, that's been a major peeve of mine with so much and everywhere. I mean some will say if you don't know what it is you don't have any business bothering with it. It's a consumer market and only hugely to the manufacturers advantage to increasing sales by including as much information of any given product as possible. And I further understand the limited space available to list or post items, but maybe to be able to houver over the name as an option instead of being routed to another page it could include more identifying information application just basic stats? IDK but I do know many more items would draw my interest with just a tax more information included than what often is. Some may just be driven in that direction to be all up in the latest of the electronics industry but many more I would bet are not so much?
It would be great if we could hold the cursor over the name of the item and it says .... CDMA or GSM.....! ! ! Anything to make shopping easier....! ! !
I think Casio is going to run away with the Android Wear market. They've been the kings of the gadget watch arena for a long time now and with the addition of a really solid OS they're going to make some unbelievable products. Just my opinion of course.
Hoping they make a washer / dryer that will have a sensor that will go off if we try to wash /dry our wearable item....that will be an expensive mistake....it is one thing to use an ice cube to get the gum out of the washer / dryer, just costs time and patience...but to wash our wearables whoa that will be quite costly !
The biggest problem with the Casio watch is price. Otherwise, I think I would be all over that one.
I've not gone since 2014. It seems like the industry is at a maturity level where new excitement is harder to generate. I like the list though. I may get the fitbit.
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Damn, not a single phone.
Looks like good times
From what you guys where able to see at CES which of the VR headsets do you think looks more promising between Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive?
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The Honor 5X looks really good for the price. My only concern with many of these sub $200 phones is the lack of NFC for Android pay. If I'm going to buy a new phone I would like it included in case I want to use Android pay in the future.
The Honor 5x piqued my interest. If the camera is as advertised for $199 I may be all over it.
Let's talk VR
How much do you expect the Vive to cost? I'm expecting around the ballpark of $600, since the Oculus Rift costs $600.
That and having a system that's up to snuff ya need at least 8 gigs of ram and a gtx 970. I only fit one of those two requirements lol
Posted from my Nexus 6/Nexus 7 2013/Surface Pro 3
Yeah the video card will be the big hitch for most people. RAM is cheap as hell at the moment, but the GTX970/R9 290 are very much enthusiast level cards. Although it is understandable given that it's basically 2 HD displays.
I've got an R9 280 and it's run everything I've played on ultra at 1080p, luckily I've got zero use for VR so I won't need to upgrade lol.
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Hey well you could get the R9 290 for 250 back in November but they don't sell it anymore. As for me I have a gtx 950 I use that runs every game I have except crysis 2 on max.
Posted from my Nexus 6/Nexus 7 2013/Surface Pro 3
The GTX 970 isn't that pricey since it's usually a $380 card brand-new though you'll find cards with 4GB of GDDR5 hovering from $320 to over $400 depending on manufacturer and clockspeeds on Newegg.
It's not that pricey, but assuming you don't have one, that amounts to about $1000 for a VR experience, which is actually very expensive.
That said, I have friends who use a GTX 970 in their rigs and I actually spent some time with one. It's a great card and certainly offers great value if you can afford one and are looking to upgrade.
I'm thinking more. Perhaps closer to 1000.
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The last time I rebuilt my pc (only the case and CD drive are original) was for gaming, so I don't mind doing it again for vr. The vive and the Samsung laptop were the most interesting to me.
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Meh.
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Man, I want to be excited for VR but even though my system can handle it now I won't realistically be able to take the dive for probably a couple of years. Not all bad, give the technology time to mature and get some killer apps but I was really looking forward to jumping right in.
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I'm exited about the media pad m2 from hauwei
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I'm inclined to agree with this. I'll probably be in the market for a new tablet in the next year or so but nothing in the 10" Android space has really impressed me.
I think technology is plateauing so everything seems kind of boring.
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The Honor 5X coming to the U.S. at $199 just shows how much the market of mid-range unlocked Android phones has grown, and how much the quality for the dollar has improved.
Hands-on with the Honor 5X http://www.androidcentral.com/hands-honor-5x
Honestly, the only thing that excited me with CES was the HTC Vive Pre, and we already know it will be past most consumers' price range once it becomes available.
Cynicism Evolved
I don't know, CES seemed pretty boring from afar this year. Maybe it was better actually being there.
same here, that Lenovo Chromebook is kinda interesting, but pretty uninspiring showing this year ... not that I expected much, but still
It was definitely slow for Android/Google folks
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Funny how the news during ces wasn't.
Posted from my Nexus 6/Nexus 7 2013/Surface Pro 3
Looks like the smart watch isn't only here too stay, it's growing in demand and popularity.
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Growing yes... It's too early for anyone to predict stay.
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When I was a kid, there was a thing called a Tamagotchi. Everyone had one, they were everywhere, including thousands of cheap knock offs.
That lasted for about 2 years.
I'm not saying smartwatches will necessarily be the same, just pointing out that fads are a thing that happens, and it's impossible to tell what will stick and what will be a flash in the pan.
Now, where did I put my POGs...
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Where would my Troll Dolls fit into the que...?