The 10 most interesting health and wellness tech I've seen at CES 2026 so far
I'm already seeing some wacky tech and health wearables on display at CES 2026, from allergy detection systems to ultra-thin smart rings.
Nina Raemont/ZDNET
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CES 2026 is here. ZDNET's team of experts has already gotten a good look at some of the most exciting tech stories coming out of Las Vegas.
Also: CES 2026: Live updates
As ZDNET's health and wearables editor, I've been running along the Vegas Strip, talking to health and technology brands about their new products, and getting properly excited about what's next in the consumer health and wellness space. Below you'll find a list of the coolest and most compelling products I've seen so far. I'll be updating this list throughout the week, adding my favorite devices that wowed me -- and including hands-on demos when possible.
Almost all women experience perimenopause, the period of transition leading to menopause. During this transition, which can last up to 15 years, hormone levels fluctuate and women experience a whole slate of new symptoms and bodily changes, whether that's hot flashes, night sweats, sleep and mood changes, or heightened anxiety.
Peri is "purpose-built for perimenopause," Heidi Davis, its CEO and co-founder explains to me at CES. The device attaches to the stomach and includes several sensors, including an accelerometer for movement, EDA for electrical activity monitoring, PPG for blood flow, and temperature sensor for body temperature. Peri's algorithm is built to detect perimenopausal symptoms like the ones mentioned above.
Also: I saw this perimenopause tracker at CES - and it made me excited about the future of women's health
People undergoing hormone therapy can track the impacts of their therapy using the device, and the Peri app includes daily, weekly, and longitudinal trend insights on sleep, menstrual cycle, and perimenopausal symptoms.
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I don't know one person who enjoys their period -- it's often a painful, fatigued time of the month for menstruating individuals. This neurostimulation device by OhmBody aims to make menstrual periods a little more comfortable.
The device targets the auricular branches of the trigeminal and vagus nerves to regulate menstrual cycle symptoms and help the body return to a rested state.
Women on their period can use the device, which includes a patented earpiece and a handheld device resembling a baby monitor, for two hours during the days they're menstruating. The earpiece supplies stimulation to the aforementioned nerves, which OhmBody claims helps the nervous system return to a rested state and reduce symptoms like heavy bleeding.
Also: This device could help make menstrual periods more comfortable
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This is one of the more unique sleep earbuds I've seen -- and I've tested my fair share of them. Not only do these earbuds offer up audio and soundscapes to whisk you to sleep, but it also claims to deliver more restorative sleep thanks to the EEG technology in the earbuds. Let me explain.
To take an EEG (or electroencephalogram) in the past, people had to put 20 electrodes around their skull, adhere them with sticky gel (especially for those with longer hair), and measure brain electrical activity in a lab. NextSense is bringing that tech into its new earbuds, no sticky gel required.
The NextSense Smartbuds can take EEG, but instead of 20 electrodes, there are three electrodes in each of NextSense's earbuds. The flexible parts of the bud are made of conductive polymer to perform dry electrode recording, in place of that sticky gel.
Once the earbuds have sent a user to sleep and they get to deep sleep, NextSense uses slow wave enhancement to increase restoration while sleeping. Slow wave enhancement uses pink noise at a certain frequency to nudge brain waves to produce more slow waves "You get more of that restorative brain rhythm without adding more time in bed," NextSense's Caitlin Shure explained in an interview with ZDNET.
The earbuds are available to pre-order and ship in February.
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I love seeing how health trackers are slowly but surely getting smaller and smaller. This Yuwell smart ring is far thinner than my Oura Ring -- and lighter, too.
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Going out to eat at a restaurant with a serious food allergy can be complicated. Those allergic to common ingredients often have to over-explain to waiters and double-check their plates to ensure they won't get an allergic reaction after taking a bite of their food. While restaurants aim to avoid cross-contamination, accidents can still happen.
Allergen Alert is taking the guesswork out of cross-contamination. This square device samples your order inside its pouch, smashes the sample, dilutes it, and then assesses the sample for traces of lactose or gluten. Allergen Alert CEO Antoine Burgaud says it's FDA-approved and already being used in Michelin-starred restaurants to check cross-contamination.
Also: This handheld device could save you from your next allergic reaction - here's the pitch
The allergy-detecting device will launch in mid-2026, testing for lactose and gluten. Burgaud aims to add more common allergens to Allergen Alert soon.
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Vivoo's smart pad is one of those classic-CES conceptual picks that doesn't have much concrete information nor an availability timeline. But if we can suspend disbelief for a second and lean into the idea that this smart menstrual pad could turn period blood into data insights, then we'd get the FlowPad.
As I explain in my news story, the FlowPad looks like your run-of-the-mill menstrual pad but is built with a microfluidic diagnostic layer underneath that directs menstrual blood into biomarker zones for testing fertility, ovarian health, and perimenopausal hormones. The results of the test show up in Vivoo's app after a user scans the pad's results through their phone camera or enters them manually.
The pH indicator on the back of the pad can uncover insights into overall vaginal health, like a balanced or unbalanced microbiome. It could also serve those with for fertility and conception, and perimenopausal and menopausal customers can use it to stay on track with hormone treatments.
Also: This menstrual pad takes period blood and turns it into data diagnostics
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ZDNET readers absolutely love the RingConn smart rings, so when I saw RingConn's booth at CES, I was happy to learn a new product is coming soon (though the details on it are sparse). What we do know, though, is that the third-generation smart ring will come in five finishes, include smart vibrations for health alerts and notifications, a longer battery life (though we don't know how long), and blood pressure insights, following the lead of other health trackers du jour.
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This smart scale does more than measure and track your weight gain or loss. The Withings Body Scan 2 assesses hypertension risk, ECG, cardiac efficiency and reactivity, arterial stiffness, metabolic efficiency, and more. In less than 90 seconds, the Body Scan 2 measures and delivers these biomarkers to you.
Also: Withings' new scale gives its most detailed health reading yet
Withings says the guidance offered through the scale and app is helpful during periods of cardiometabolic imbalance, whether that's chronic stress, a sedentary lifestyle, weight gain or loss, or menopause and perimenopause.
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If you work at a desk all day, you might not be outside for long enough to reap the benefits of daily sunlight. Near-infrared light is one component of sunlight that keeps your energy up, your mood boosted, and your skin acne- and wrinkle-free.
Also: This near-infrared light could bring the benefits of the sun to your laptop monitor
Sunbooster attaches to your monitor, laptop, or tablet and projects near-infrared light as you work in front of it for around two to four hours each day. You can track daily sunlight dosage on the device, which has three near-infrared lights inside. The company behind Sunbooster, SunLED Life Science, is also prototyping a phone case and a monitor with near-infrared light, turning screen time into sun time.
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Pebble returns with its second-generation smartwatch almost 11 years after its first-gen debut. The Pebble Round 2 is almost as thin as the Pebble Time Round and delivers 10 days of battery life.
Also: Cult favorite Pebble returns with Round 2 watch - and it's nearly analog
Pebble CEO Eric Migicovsky wanted to make the smartwatch as thin and analog as possible, with a larger, more readable e-paper display.
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