🤖 2026: The year your tech gets physical

🎊 Happy New Year! As you’re pulling together your 2026 resolutions, you’re following a tradition that’s over 4,000 years old. Yep, new year, new ancient tradition. While the Babylonians were promising to return borrowed farm tools (actually), I read that 85% us will try to spend less time on our phones, which is a noble goal we’ll all inevitably fail at while scrolling through “10 Tips to Reduce Screen Time” at 2:00 AM.

Flash-forward to this day in the year 2000. We were warned of a full-on tech meltdown featuring planes dropping, toasters quitting and banks erasing our savings. Nothing really happened, but still, the threat had a catchy name.

😳 Can you guess the perfectly branded panic? A) The Silicon Slip, B) The Millennium Bug, C) The Binary Blackout or D) The Gregorian Glitch? Take your pick, the answer is at the end. No reboot required. 

Help a friend avoid a digital meltdown: Know someone who’s still using 123456 as a password, or worse, someone who thinks ChatGPT is their new therapist? Do them a favor and hit the forward button. Let’s get them on the path to tech enlightenment. It’s the best New Year’s gift you can give. — Kim

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While 2025 was the year we all talked about AI until we were blue in the face, 2026 is when the tech starts showing up in our physical lives. We’re moving beyond simple chatbots and into a world of robots in your kitchen, satellites in the sky and Apple finally making a phone that bends. 

Here is the list you need to know as we kick off day one of 2026.

After years of watching Samsung dominate the foldable market, Apple is expected to once more copy Samsung, I mean, launch its first foldable iPhone this year. It’ll be a book-style device that opens into a mini-tablet. Hopefully, Siri will get some real AI smarts, too. 

In true Apple form, it won’t be cheap. Expect to pay $2,000 or maybe more. Apple’s betting its loyal fan base will stand in line to pay a small fortune for a phone that fits in your pocket but gives you a massive screen for movies and work. And we will. No doubt.

What’s the one chore you hate doing around the house? For me, it’s folding laundry. Every time, I contemplate becoming a nudist, then I remember I don’t have a 20-year-old body anymore. 

2026 is the year we stop talking about robots and start letting them into our homes.

The big players are moving fast. Elon Musk’s Tesla is pushing the Optimus bot toward home use, while companies like Figure (backed by OpenAI and Jeff Bezos) and Apptronik are racing to get their versions into your living room. 

These aren’t Roombas. These are machines that can move like us and actually help around the house. I’ll name mine Obi-Wan Cleanobi.

As AI agents get smarter, the internet is becoming a dead mall of bots. 

Remember a few months ago when Apple and Google said, “Aside from your driver’s license, you can put your passport in your phone’s digital wallet now! Oh happy day!” Were they being thoughtful? No.

In 2026, your phone will store a verified, government-backed ID that you’ll use to prove you’re not a bot when buying concert tickets, going through TSA or logging into the bank. Say goodbye to those annoying puzzles where you have to click every crosswalk or bike. This is about making the internet safe for real people.

2026 is the year no bars officially becomes a thing of the past. Massive satellite constellations are fully operational, blanketing the Earth in high-speed connectivity.

This isn’t only for rural areas. It means high-speed internet with no dead zones on every airplane and ship. Someday, I’ll tell my grandchildren about having to sit on a grueling 10-hour flight from London with no internet. 

Keep an eye on the news, too. Elon Musk will finally take SpaceX or its Starlink division public this year, which would be the biggest IPO in tech history. I’m in.

Meanwhile, AST SpaceMobile launched the largest low-Earth satellite ever. BlueBird 6 is the size of a three-bedroom apartment. Its superpower? Beaming 5G directly to your regular phone, no dishes or boosters needed. Signal everywhere, all the time. Oh, and it’s brighter than actual stars. 

They’re planning on launching 50 more next year, and they already have partnerships with AT&T, Verizon and others. Go out tonight and get a good look at the stars while you can still see them. 

For years, the main knock on electric cars has been the battery. That changes this year. Major automakers like Mercedes-Benz and Toyota are slated to move solid-state batteries from the lab to the production line in 2026.

These batteries are a game changer. They don’t catch fire, they charge in about 10 minutes, and they can go up to 1,000 miles on a single charge. That’s New York to Florida without stopping for a charge. The electric car finally becomes more convenient than the gas car.

2026 is more than a new year. It’s the beginning of an era when the digital and physical worlds merge. Stick with me, and I’ll make sure you’re not only ready for it, you’re ahead.

Share this forecast! Who’s ready for a 1,000-mile car or a foldable iPhone? Forward this to a friend or use the share icons below and see which one they would pick first.

AI will steal jobs. It will also create them. These are the careers to look out for. Also, the White House is on a hiring spree for tech talent. Plus: Zoom’s new AI companion, why you could be getting a ChatGPT downgrade, and the secret to a cheap Uber at the airport.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Or listen now wherever you get your podcasts, search for “Komando.”

Simple tools take your goals from “impossible” to “no biggie.”

💪 Lose weight: A vibration plate (21% off, $110) works your muscles while you stand there. There’s even Bluetooth built in for playing music during your workout.

Chaos, organized: Start the new year with a pocket-size mini label maker (24% off, $19). No ink or cartridges needed. Just open the app, print and stick.

😴 Get better sleep: This sound machine (31% off, $25) blocks out all the noises keeping you awake. Doubles as an alarm clock with a dimmable screen.

Energy savings: These smart light bulbs (39% off, $15, three-pack) let you turn off lights from your phone, so you waste less power. They work with Alexa and Google Home.

🤩 Resolution reinforcements: Explore New Year’s lightning deals and stock up on smart goodies that help you stick to your goals.

💸 Influencers spill paychecks: The cream of the crop includes MrBeast (a billionaire on paper), Jeffree Star making $50K per stream, and JoJo Siwa, who was pulling six figures a month at 13. Top influencers aren’t making only ad dollars. They run full media businesses that include merch, product lines, sponsorship deals and staff. It gets even crazier in the adult world of OnlyFans, where some creators make incomes in the tens of millions. This isn’t normal, most creators make pennies, if that. 

Meta’s turnkey brain buy: Follow me on this one. Meta bought an AI agent startup called Manus for $2B+ that makes AI tools that can do actual work for small businesses. The Singapore-based company already crunched more data than most government archives. Picture a computer running inside a computer, doing research, checking data, sorting files. Multiply that by 80 million. That’s how huge it is. 

🛞 The old oil trick: In Palm Desert, two guys tried scamming a retired security pro by faking a blown engine. While one prospective buyer distracted him, the other dumped oil under the hood. Cue smoke, lowball offer and a very chill “I’ll give you four grand” for his $13K Mercedes. He didn’t fall for it, but let this be a reminder to meet sellers in public, bring backup and double-check anything suspicious.

Plug into AI jobs: All this AI talk? It runs on buildings the size of Costco. And they need electricians, badly. Demand for electricians is skyrocketing. We’ll need 130,000 sparkies by 2030 to keep the AI lights on. Google’s throwing $10M at training centers near the pipeline. Making a picture of you dancing with unicorns might feel like magic, but it comes down to wiring. For upcoming and new grads and those seeking a change with more job security, this could be your lightbulb moment. 

Slopflix and scroll: Apparently, over 20% of what YouTube recommends is AI-generated riffraff, aka slop. I’m talking pressure cookers exploding, bulldogs driving through candy forests, and muscular monkeys flying a tomato helicopter. The crazy part? These channels are raking in over $100 million a year and racking up billions of views (combined). So much for reality TV.

Brain beats: I keep seeing focus hacks everywhere, but finally here’s one that doesn’t involve waking up at 5 a.m. or chugging mushroom coffee. A new study found that 40 Hz binaural beats helped adults sharpen their focus during tests. It’s early science, but hey, it’s free to try. Don’t expect a miracle, though it might make locking in a bit easier, at least until your golden retriever barks at the Amazon delivery guy.

Stuck with a pile of online returns? Gemini’s new Nano Banana Tool lets you create a virtual model to try on clothes without leaving the house. Here’s how.

Listen on Komando.com →

🎧 Or listen now wherever you get your podcasts, search for “Komando.”

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Fix Wi-Fi dead zones with a soda can. It sounds like a myth, but it works. If your router has antennas and you need more signal in one specific direction, cut an empty, clean soda can into a radar dish shape and slide it over the antenna. It reflects the signal away from the wall and back into the room. It’s an instant, $0 signal booster. You’re totally gonna try this! Send me a pic.

Hit that fitness goal: No need to sign up for an expensive gym membership. Fire up your favorite AI chatbot and type in your age, height, weight, activity level and what you want to achieve. Ask for a workout plan you can do at home and a meal plan that fits your calories. You got this!

🔐 See where Facebook is logged in: You can view every device currently signed into your account. On mobile, open Settings > Accounts Center > Password and security > Where you’re logged in. Scan the list and log out of any old or shared devices. Do this before selling extra phones or computers from the holidays.

Before you list it: If you’re selling extra tech after the festive season, find out what it’s worth first. An easy way is on eBay. Click the Advanced button next to the search bar, type in your item, then tick Sold items under Search including. That shows what people really paid, not what sellers or lowballers are hoping for.

Forgotten Windows apps: Over the past few months, some apps may have been running in the background, and they’re still slowing down your PC. In Settings > Apps > Installed apps, sort by Date installed and remove what’s no longer needed. Also check Settings > Apps > Startup and toggle off anything that isn’t a priority.

👩‍💻 Leave cheap office chairs in 2025: You sit in it for hours every day. Look for adjustable seat height, tilt and lumbar support to keep your posture in good shape. And avoid those flashy gaming chairs kids want. A solid ergonomic one lasts longer and feels better on your back and butt.

Your backyard birds are about to get filmed like Olympic gymnasts.

Birdfy announced a 360° feeder that shoots 6K video and a hummingbird feeder that does 120fps slo-mo, because apparently birds deserve better cameras than your kids’ soccer games.

Seeds get air-pumped from below, so nothing blocks the shot, while AI auto-ID’s species and edits highlight reels. It’s like installing a Netflix documentary crew for animals that can’t sign releases.

All this, only to get bamboozled by a rogue athletic squirrel.

Don’t miss tomorrow’s Deep Dive. I’m exposing the shadow scores you didn’t even know existed. These hidden ratings quietly decide if you’re treated like a VIP or flagged as a problem before you ever reach a human. I’ll show you how to find them, force transparency and stop AI from silently down-ranking your life. 

🪲 The answer: B) The Millennium Bug (Y2K). Back in the late ’90s, folks were freaking out because most computers recorded years using two digits, so “00” for 2000 might be read as 1900. That tiny date glitch had massive potential to unravel everything from banking systems to air traffic control. In the final days of 1999, some employers even issued paper checks to staff, in case payroll systems went haywire at midnight.  

Governments and companies worldwide spent up to $600 billion updating code before the ball dropped. And it worked so well that some people thought it was all hype. But in reality, Y2K was one of the largest successful IT bug fixes and biggest coordinated engineering efforts in history. 

Y2K? Because 1K wasn’t enough.

🛸 Weird is a superpower. Use it. — Kim

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Photo credit(s): Gemini, Canupdog, Birdfy

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