CES 2018: The Best of Pepcom With LaCie, Zagg, August, Ring and More

At CES, there are several major media events like Unveiled, Pepcom, and ShowStoppers, which often serve as a way to see the highlights of the best products on display at the show without having to brave the show floor.

Pepcom took place last night, and MacRumors videographer Dan was on hand to seek out some of the most interesting products and accessories that were being demoed.


Unsurprisingly, Pepcom, like Unveiled, was filled with smart home products featuring Alexa, Google Assistant, and HomeKit support, but the focus was definitely on the former two integrations rather than Apple's smart home system.

Ring was showing off its newly announced recent devices, including the Stick Up Cam and the Ring Beams, outdoor lights with motion sensing that integrate with existing Ring security cameras and doorbells. Though many would like Ring to introduce HomeKit support, the company has not done so.

Noon had a neat smart lighting system with light switches that feature integrated OLED displays. Noon's system is designed to work with traditional bulbs because it replaces standard light switches, but it's pricey and doesn't include HomeKit support.

There were multiple smart locks on display, including the August Smart Lock and a smart lock from Yale, both of which do, in fact, have HomeKit support and work with your HomeKit setup.

Other products on display at Pepcom that were of interest included Zagg's new iPad Pro cases that combine keyboards with rugged protection, the Alexa-enabled Voice One from KitSound, and the Lightning-equipped LaCie hard drive created in partnership with DJI. LaCie and parent company Seagate have several other new storage solutions debuting at CES, which are listed on the Seagate website.

LaCie's hard drive is designed to allow you to automatically back up drone footage, and it can be controlled and accessed using the DJI app, but it also works with other non-DJI cameras and products.

Make sure to stay tuned to MacRumors for additional CES coverage, because there's a lot more to come with the show floor officially opening up this morning. We're highlighting all of the new products and accessories relevant to Apple users. To check out what we've shared so far, take a look at our CES 2018 hub.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.2 Beta 3

Monday November 17, 2025 3:20 pm PST by
Apple provided developers with the third beta of an upcoming iOS 26.2 update, and there are still new features that are being added with each beta that we get. We've rounded up all of the changes that Apple made in beta 3. AirDrop Apple added new AirDrop functionality, providing a way for two people to share files temporarily without having to add one another as contacts. iOS 26.2...
Tim Cook WWDC 2018

Report: Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO 'as Soon as Next Year'

Saturday November 15, 2025 2:40 pm PST by
Apple is preparing for Tim Cook to step down as CEO of the company "as soon as next year," according to the Financial Times. The company's board of directors and senior executives "recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins," the report said. While the report said that Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, it went on to ...
applecare apple care banner

Apple Brings New AppleCare+ Options to India

Tuesday November 18, 2025 8:42 am PST by
Apple today announced an expansion of AppleCare+ coverage in India, with new options for monthly and annual plans, and the addition of Theft and Loss for iPhone for the first time. Options for monthly and annual AppleCare+ plans in India provide more choice and flexibility, allowing users to keep coverage for as long as they require. Apple's vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
best early black friday deals

Best Black Friday Apple Deals Live Now - Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches

Saturday November 15, 2025 1:45 pm PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
Apple Wallet ID Illinois

iPhone Driver's License Feature Launching in Illinois

Tuesday November 18, 2025 8:47 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Starting this Wednesday, November 19, the feature will be available to residents of Illinois. The announcement confirmed that the...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket Now Available to Order, But Already Selling Out

Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's 2026 Mac Plans

Friday November 14, 2025 3:23 pm PST by
Most of Apple's Macs are slated to get M5 chips across 2026, and there's a possibility we'll even see the first M6 chips toward the end of the year. Updates are planned for everything from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio. MacBook Air (Early 2026) The MacBook Air will be one of the first Macs to get a 2026 refresh, with an update planned for the first few months of the year. The MacBook...
CarPlay Liquid Glass Dark

Here's When Tesla is Expected to Add Support for Apple CarPlay

Sunday November 16, 2025 6:49 am PST by
In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reiterated that Tesla plans to add Apple CarPlay support to its vehicles "in the coming months." This is easily the biggest news for the regular version of CarPlay in years, should Tesla actually follow through with offering the system in its vehicles. As noted by Gurman, this would be a stunning reversal for Tesla and its CEO Elon ...
tvOS 26 Profiles

tvOS 26.2 Adds a Useful New Feature to Your Apple TV

Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account. In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...

Top Rated Comments

otternonsense Avatar
103 months ago
I feel old enough to remember Steve Jobs' media event stealing the spotlight from the drab CES carousel of TVs and appliances. Good times. Look at CES 2018 ('https://twitter.com/hashtag/CES2018?src=hash') now, all jam packed with goodies while Apple has turned into a bored rich recluse that endlessly rehashes its 5 year old heyday designs. :(
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
otternonsense Avatar
103 months ago
Cnet shows that Apple’s heydays are over. What, who is Siri?
We kinda knew that before CNET turned it into a clickbait article.

Just look at each one of Apple's media events of the past years. It's like watching a TV show that's been bad for three seasons hoping this is the episode where it all turns around.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
otternonsense Avatar
103 months ago
With CNET I meant CES (autocorrection is like SIRI, most of the time it doesn’t understand)
Ah ok. Well, Apple used to trounce CES in its absence. Now it's both absent and irrelevant.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
9081094 Avatar
103 months ago
I feel old enough to remember Steve Jobs' media event stealing the spotlight from the drab CES carousel of TVs and appliances. Good times. Look at CES 2018 ('https://twitter.com/hashtag/CES2018?src=hash') now, all jam packed with goodies while Apple has turned into a bored rich recluse that endlessly rehashes its 5 year old heyday designs. :(
Cnet shows that Apple’s heydays are over. What, who is Siri?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
9081094 Avatar
103 months ago
I spoke with Ring Tech Support yesterday and they said that the Apple Watch is only partly compatible with Ring right now but that they expect to have it fully compatible (Where you can watch video on the apple watch of what the ring camera recorded) by mid 2018.

I also asked about HomeKit support for the Ring Doorbell Pro and they told me they were excited to finally be allowed to officially announce that support would be added for Homekit this year (no specific date of course) but good to know that they are still onboard with doing that.

Just thought I would pass along the information!

EDIT: They also told me they had a mailing list for people to be notified when Homekit support would be made available so I asked to be added to that list as well. In the event some of you also would like to do this I would suggest contacting them. Otherwise I'm sure it will be pretty big news and you will hear about it pretty soon afterwards anyway.
For me I’ve got the feeling history repeats. There was a time Apple support was a no brainer. Today it’s like the mid nineties where all novelties happens on Android, Alexa first and maybe a future support for über priced Apple products where the possibilities will be crippled and minimal compared to the competition.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chupa Chupa Avatar
103 months ago
I feel old enough to remember Steve Jobs' media event stealing the spotlight from the drab CES carousel of TVs and appliances. Good times. Look at CES 2018 ('https://twitter.com/hashtag/CES2018?src=hash') now, all jam packed with goodies while Apple has turned into a bored rich recluse that endlessly rehashes its 5 year old heyday designs. :(
You think these are "goodies"? Yes, Apple's Jan event usually offer a lot more exciting stuff than CES, but different times. Now Apple is equally boring, not flipped with CES not being exciting... unless getting notifications from your dishwasher excites you. Everything I've seen as "best of" CES so far has been a rehash of another company's product or a marginal upgrade to their existing product. For me I have stuff like it or it really doesn't interest me. Another Wi-Fi security cam or Apple Watch band. Flip a coin to which one is more cutting edge.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)