The New Tech Making Apple Look Bad | One More Thing

I'm back from CES. I got a lot of notes and we got to talk about the future of Apple products because after spending a week at this giant tech show, there are three things I noticed happening. Number one, there is a big drive to make tech to help cure us from iPhone addiction or get us away from looking at phone screens because of what the tech has done to our brains. Number two, if Siri wants to win the AI assistant wars, it needs more than just Google's help. It's that when you strap on an exoskeleton to your legs and you use it to walk faster on the show floor, it can make you look amazing and give you a strut like a supermodel. But if the setting's too fast, it does look like you got a wedgie or something, just so you know. Okay, that's not really a helpful lesson, but there are some cool accessories I came across, several of which can make Apple products better. So here's the tech I saw at CES that Apple should pay attention to because maybe Apple needs to copy or steal. I mean, partner with this new tech to level up. I'm Bridget Carey, and this is One More Thing. This week, Apple and Google announced a partnership to have Siri's next AI upgrade be built with help from Google's Gemini models, and Apple's going to put its own twist on it. Now, this is not that shocking because Apple has partnered with other companies when it needs to take an evolutionary leap forward. Remember, the original Siri voice assistant was an acquisition by Apple. So even though Apple does not formally exhibit at the big CES tech show, you know Apple has its eyes on the trends. And one trend I noticed is tech and AI devices are all trying to help you be less dependent on the iPhone screen, putting all the smarts in accessories. Now, something pretty neat came from Klix. This is a company that makes old school physical QWERTY keyboards for smartphones, and now there is one that attaches with MagSafe, and it's also a battery, and it Bluetooth connects to all sorts of devices. Just listen to the satisfying slide of the new MagSafe power keyboard. But even more interesting is a device coming that is meant to be your second phone when you want to be a little more mindful and less distracted and in the moment. Klix made this. It's called the Communicator because it's a messaging tool. The team here is made up of former designers at BlackBerry, and it's also co-founded by tech reviewer Michael Fisher, who many know as MrMobile on YouTube. And I'm curious to see more when they are ready to show working models. And on the topic of being more mindful, I am always looking at my phone right before bed and when I wake up. But the Dreamy by Startup Ambient came out with a bedside glowing clock to help us stop scrolling in bed. Now, aside from the adjustable lights, it also plays music, and soon it's going to play podcasts, and there's a mode to track sleep quality. And yes, I know the iPhone can also track sleep, but it's still an iPhone with apps next to you in bed. Our smart watches and phones can track a ton of data now, and the next data frontier seems to be all about finding a way to track our mental sanity. Everything I passed seemed to want to track our emotional health. Sometimes it was a headband tracking brainwaves or cameras tracking our face reactions and the tones in our voices. The Mentor Ring 2 is a smart ring and it's supposed to help support awareness of our shifting moods and energy levels. And it tracks subtle fluctuations so you can better understand how you're feeling, but it's not giving you a goal to actually fix anything about you. So get ready for more high-tech mood rings. Oh, you closed your movement ring today? That's nice. I want to close out my crashing out ring. But perhaps more meaningful to Apple is this product called the Isaac, of all names. It's in development to track blood glucose levels without pricking the skin. Instead, you just blow into it. It detects something called acetone breath. It's a common diabetic symptom. Now, Apple has been long on a quest to get blood glucose censoring in the Apple Watch without pricking you. Could tech like the Isaac inspire Apple to have us all blowing into our watches? Maybe not. It's working on regulatory review by the FDA. I also saw a number of wearable AI audio recorders. Amazon was doing this bracelet called the Bee. There was no camera, but it's supposed to record conversations to make notes about your day. And there was a smart ring, the Bosey. It had a little button on the side that you click with your thumb to record audio conversations. And then you can just see everything that was said with AI instead of pulling out your phone to record. Now, the ring stores the audio and transcribes it to an app later. There's just a lot of jewelry becoming spy tools. And I wouldn't be surprised if AirPods or the Apple Watch could go in this direction to record us. Although I am more of a fan of the AI assistants that are not sneaking around. And to warm you up to the idea of using AI assistants, they all have little cute faces. The Luna Desk Mate is a MagSafe iPhone stand that puts a little AI assistant face on your phone and it turns your iPhone into something that looks alive. This is exactly where I see Apple's Siri going next, because Apple has been working on robotics for the desk. And we have seen some of that research where Apple teams created a robot that resembles a little cartoonish smart lamp that looks like it has emotions. Now, who says Siri can't be cute or have emotes? Let's bring back character to computing. I saw it all over the place in ways robotics and screens turned AI into desk buddies or floor pets that watch out for you or give you companionship. But all of that feels so far out in the future. Do you want something cool for right now? Here's something I saw that you can try today. Liquid Canvas Art is an app that transforms the Apple TV so you can display art on it, including animated art, or turn the Apple TV into a connected picture frame and send photos to other family members. It actually works with a lot of TVs, not just on Apple. It's also on Google Play. I was also impressed with something for the blind community coming very soon. It's the Pocket Dot. It translates what's on the screen into braille on the back side in real time. So Siri doesn't have to read everything aloud all the time, and it's also a special keyboard for braille. It just connects easily to the back of the phone with MagSafe. And Skoshe, it makes a ton of accessories now that all have tracking and compatibility with Find My. So let's see if Apple comes out with new types of AirTags this year, as has long been rumored to be happening soon. What in the list has you most curious to try, regardless of cost? And what do you think would actually better your life in 2026? It's going to be a big year for Apple. It's the company's 50th anniversary, so even if we don't get wild CES tech, I think we'll have plenty to talk about. So subscribe, and I'll catch you next Friday for one more thing in the world of Apple.