Eight inventions with North Texas ties make Time's 2026 best inventions list

Time magazine has released its list of the 300 best inventions of 2026, and eight of them have ties to Dallas-Fort Worth. According to Dallas Innovates, the local picks cover autonomous freight, synthetic biology, consumer electronics, medical devices and connected fitness.

Plano-based Samsung Electronics America accounts for three of the eight. The first is the Galaxy S26 Ultra smartphone. Time called its built-in privacy display the phone's "biggest selling point." The display dims when someone looks at the screen from an angle, so the stranger in the next seat can't easily read your texts. Samsung's Bespoke AI Family Hub refrigerator also made the list. With Google Gemini built in, it can identify more than 2,000 packaged foods, read handwritten labels and warn you when food is about to expire. The third Samsung pick is the Odyssey G8 gaming monitor, which has 6K resolution, a step beyond the 4K standard.

Aurora Innovation, which runs a corporate and operations hub in Coppell, was chosen for Driver 2. It's the company's second-generation hardware and software system for driverless 18-wheelers. Colossal Biosciences made the list with an artificial egg.

Another pick could matter to families with aging parents. Helpany makes a ceiling-mounted device that uses radar and AI to notice small changes in how senior-living residents move and to flag those at high risk of falling. The company says the technology can cut falls by as much as 72%.

Dallas Innovates said the picks show how the region's mix of corporate headquarters, operations hubs and manufacturing plants has made DFW a launchpad for new products. Time's full list is posted on its website.

This story is based on original reporting by CultureMap Dallas, with additional reporting from Dallas Innovates.