Color-Changing Nails and an AI Perfumer: VGTimes Interviews at CES 2026

At CES 2026, we saw a wide range of smart devices — from smart footwear and home SPA systems to AI-powered toys designed for emotional support. However, VGTimes Editor-in-Chief Rodion Ilin also had the chance to explore more unconventional innovations, including smart nails that can change color and an AI-powered fragrance device capable of creating scents on its own. We spoke with representatives of these brands to learn more about the technologies behind them.

Sarah Homrich: Hi. This is iPolish — the world’s first digital nails. Essentially, the wand device connects to a smartphone app via Bluetooth. You choose the color you want in the app, sync it to the wand, and when you insert your nail, it instantly changes to that color.

VGTimes: What’s the secret behind this technology?

Sarah Homrich: The color change is based on a chemical reaction. There are no LEDs inside the nails and no batteries. The contacts on the back of the nails communicate with the contacts inside the wand, and that interaction changes the color.

VGTimes: But first you need to put the nails on, right?

Sarah Homrich: Yes. These are press-on nails. You glue them on, and after that you can change the color whenever you want.

VGTimes: What if someone decides to stop wearing them? How do you remove the nails?

Sarah Homrich: We sell a glue remover — a debonder — which is acetone-free. You apply it to the nails and it dissolves the glue. Typical wear time is about two to three weeks, depending on nail growth. After that, you remove them and apply a new set.

VGTimes: When will this be available to buy?

Sarah Homrich: Right now, they’re available for preorder on our website. Shipping is scheduled for June.

VGTimes: And the price?

Sarah Homrich: The starter kit costs $95, and refill kits are $24.

VGTimes: So you can choose virtually any color?

Sarah Homrich: Yes. The app currently offers 440 colors.

VGTimes: That’s a lot. Can users create custom colors — not just basic ones like red or yellow, but mixes?

Sarah Homrich: With the first generation, we only support solid colors. However, the second generation is already patented and will support designs, patterns, images, and even user-uploaded visuals. So generation one is colors only, generation two will be much more advanced.

VGTimes: Patterns like butterflies, for example?

Sarah Homrich: Exactly.

VGTimes: Do the nails have to be this long, or are there different sizes?

Sarah Homrich: We’re launching with two shapes: a longer version and a shorter one. In addition, we currently have five more shapes in production.

VGTimes: How many times can you change the color using the device?

Sarah Homrich: Technically, you can change the color hundreds of times. As long as the nails stay on your fingers, you can switch colors as often as you like — to match outfits, events, dates, meetings. I’ve been changing mine repeatedly over the last three days here at CES.

VGTimes: Can I hold the wand device? It’s not heavy.

Sarah Homrich: No, it’s very light. And the nails themselves are lightweight as well.

VGTimes: If there’s anything else important, feel free to add it.

Sarah Homrich: These are the world’s first digital press-on nails. There’s nothing else like this on the market. The technology is protected by 23 patents, so you won’t find a similar product anywhere else.

VGTimes: (pointing at an unusually shaped vial) What is this?

Sarah Homrich: That’s the glue. It comes with our kits, and it’s also available separately.

VGTimes: And there’s already a mobile app, right?

Sarah Homrich: Yes. The app is free and connects directly to the wand via Bluetooth.

VGTimes: Thank you very much.

Sarah Homrich: Thank you.

Marko Matuevic: This is Ininum — the world’s first smart fragrance device powered by AI.

Inside the device, there are three different fragrance pods. Using a very precise internal mechanism, Ininum can create more than 100 different scent combinations based on those three fragrances.

Everything is controlled via a smartphone app. You can manually create your own fragrance by adjusting the percentages of each scent, or you can let the AI do it for you.

You simply take a photo, upload it, and the system creates a fragrance based on how you look — your outfit, your style, and the context. It analyzes the image for a few seconds and then gives you a detailed description and a fragrance recommendation (Marko Matuevic takes a photo of himself and uploads it to the AI).

For example, here the AI identified a business-casual outfit — a black polo shirt, worn in what appears to be a professional environment like a convention or a tech event.

Based on that, it recommends a specific scent combination. Once you confirm it, the device loads the fragrance immediately and it’s ready to use. You just spray it — and that’s it (the scent is sprayed onto a paper scent strip).

VGTimes: Okay, let’s try it on me.

Marko Matuevic: Sure, take a photo.

The Wi-Fi here is very fast, which is why the analysis happens almost instantly.

VGTimes: It’s analyzing what I’m wearing… and it’s done.

Marko Matuevic: The style is identified as casual.

Here’s the recipe. We load the scent — it uploads to the device — and now it’s ready to use.

VGTimes: That’s nice. It’s sweet. I like it. And it’s very different from the first option it created earlier.

Marko Matuevic: Yes. Thank you.

VGTimes: Cool, thank you.

Article by Rodion Ilin and Fazil Dzhyndzholiia.

VGTimes has been operating since 2011 and during this time has attended dozens of exhibitions and festivals where our journalists gathered numerous exclusive materials. For example, in 2019 we attended a closed Cyberpunk 2077 showing at gamescom, in 2017 we prepared a photo report from WG Fest, in 2020 we were at Central Asia's largest gaming event CAGS, and we also visited "IgroMir" several times, where we saw Hideo Kojima and other famous developers. Last year, we traveled to the land of the rising sun for TGS 2024, where we were amazed by the scale of the event. And this year we saw with our own eyes one of Asia's major gaming exhibitions — ChinaJoy in Shanghai and gamescom asia in Bangkok.