Linux at CES 2026: Tux is alive and well in IoT, cars, and AI

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ZDNET's key takeaways

• Canonical and Nvidia are showing off an Ubuntu-powered desktop AI supercomputer.
• Most of what's being shown off is embedded, car, and edge gear.
• The top TV vendors don't say it, but all their top-tier televisions run Linux. 

You'll have to search to find Linux on the show floors of CES 2026, but if you look hard enough, you will find it. 

Canonical, Ubuntu Linux's parent company, is the most visible Linux and open-source business in Vegas. While neither Canonical nor anyone else is showing off a new Linux desktop, the company, in partnership with Nvidia, is demonstrating Ubuntu Linux running on the NVIDIA DGX Spark. This is a desktop supercomputer featuring an Nvidia GB10 Grace Blackwell superchip with 128 GB of RAM and 4 TB of storage for $3,999. Now, this is my kind of desktop PC.

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The Canonical team will be demoing this computer at Booth #10562 in the North Hall. The company will also demonstrate Ubuntu Core as a long‑term support layer for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. These devices range from industrial products, such as Bosch Rexroth's ctrlX AUTOMATION platform, medical diagnostic devices, like Grundium's Ocus scanners, and the Elementary live AI vision system for performing visual inspections. 

Canonical is also reminding companies that with the European Union's (EU) Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) starting to take effect on September 11, 2026, anyone selling a device with software in it, which these days is pretty much everyone, must include a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) and be able to track and fix security vulnerabilities. That requirement is way beyond what most IoT vendors can do. Canonical's answer for this upcoming problem is Ubuntu Pro for Devices. This support plan provides IoT manufacturers with the support to meet the CRA's requirements. 

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Canonical is also joining with other companies to support the increasingly popular Linux software‑defined vehicle. Canonical is enabling the Anbox Cloud to deliver Android infotainment with ultra-low latency via WebRTC streaming and support for 8K displays. Instead of relying on emulators or hardware, vendors can deploy full In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) Android systems on any cloud and stream them to screens in real time.

According to Canonical, by virtualizing Android Automotive OS in the cloud, the company helps OEMs and tier one suppliers speed up infotainment development and testing on demand, without waiting for physical hardware. This brings the smartphone experience to the dashboard with greater efficiency.

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Other companies are demonstrating new car software at Elektrobit's CES 2026 EB Linux for Safety Applications. This open‑source-based automotive OS delivers real‑time performance and a safety‑certifiable cockpit demo with Telechips. SYSGO, meanwhile, is showcasing its PikeOS separation‑kernel hypervisor alongside the ELinOS industrial embedded Linux distribution. These technologies enable Linux-enabled cars to run Linux and real‑time workloads in isolated partitions that comply with ISO 26262 and other safety standards.

Beyond automotive tech, several exhibitors are using CES to legitimize Linux as the default platform for scalable edge AI and industrial IoT. SECO's CES 2026 announcement spotlights the Pi Vision CM5, an industrial Human-Machine Interface (HMI) platform built on Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 single-board computers.

Arduino is positioning its new UNO Q tech as an accessible Linux AI edge node that boots Debian Linux, launches Arduino App Lab, and runs object‑detection workloads when you plug in a monitor, camera, and USB‑C dock. This single-board computer behaves like a mini Linux desktop but is tuned for hands-on AI experiments, education, and low‑cost embedded vision.

Finally, under the hood, Linux powers most new smart TVs. In particular, LG's resurrected OLED evo W6 "Wallpaper" TV, along with its 2026 G6 and C6 OLED lineup, all ship with the latest webOS smart TV platform, a Linux‑based OS with LG's user interface and services on top. In addition, Samsung's new 130‑inch R95H Micro RGB TV and the refreshed 2026 lineup, including S95H OLED and QLED models, all run Tizen OS. This OS is Samsung's Linux‑based TV platform, which now comes with up to seven years of software updates.