CES 2026 Actually Needs You to Personal a Holographic Anime Girlfriend

Should you had “holographic anime girlfriends” in your CES 2026 bingo card, congratulations; you’re each unhinged and appropriate. I personally didn’t see this development coming, however after strolling the present ground and getting briefed by Razer on its waifu-coded Project Ava, the proof is within the pudding—and the pudding this yr is otaku-flavored.

As I discussed, the splashiest of the waifu holograms comes courtesy of Razer, which ported its AI gaming assistant right into a desktop hologram. I obtained an opportunity to see and work together with the newly anime-ified Challenge Ava myself, and it’s, uh… attention-grabbing. The holographic chamber comes with a digital camera, which lets you work together along with your waifu avatar, and, in flip, it could actually lay “eyes” upon you and bestow you with AI-generated model ideas. To be clear, there are different avatars you possibly can select to populate the Challenge Ava chamber, however Kira, the waifu one, feels just like the star of the present.

So, that’s it, proper? Thus concludes the CES listing of holographic AI girlfriends? Unsuitable. So unsuitable. There’s one from an organization known as Dipal, for instance, that may be a lot like Proejct Ava, however in no way geared towards gaming. I reluctantly stepped right into a sales space and chatted with “Pearl,” the AI companion trapped inside Dipal’s holographic chamber, and, yup, it’s a waifu hologram, alright.

We talked about anime, sports activities, her identify… then anime once more. Pearl was tremendous into the whole lot that I used to be into—what an ideal match. Loves, One-Punch Man. I feel we’re going to get married! Hopefully that’s not paywalled by some form of month-to-month subscription or one thing (tear drop anime face).

However that’s it, no extra waifu hologra—simply kidding! There are waifu holograms in every single place I seemed. The advertising and marketing division for this one, known as Lepro Ami, takes the weirdness of digital companionship even additional by calling the gadget your “AI soulmate.” I didn’t get an opportunity to see or attempt Lepro Ami myself, however I’ll offer you one guess what a number of the avatars seem like. I’ll wait.

On one hand, I’m caught off guard by the variety of choices for holographic anime girlfriends, however it additionally makes lots of sense. AI-powered chatbots are extra pervasive than ever, they usually’re getting crammed into just about any gadget that may accommodate one. And if there’s one factor they’re form of good at, it’s being mindless sycophants, which I assume is precisely what fairly a number of corporations assume you want in a digital companion.

So, right here we’re. Mark this one down, people. That is the yr of the waifu hologram.

Gizmodo is on the bottom in Las Vegas all week bringing you the whole lot you should know in regards to the tech unveiled at CES 2026. You’ll be able to observe our CES live blog here and find all our coverage here.