Inside Dreame’s wild launch event — packed with products no one can buy

Hundreds of influencers , media folks, and a few C-list celebs (sorry, Woz) filled the cavernous halls of the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts last week. They were assembled for Dreame’s launch event, ostensibly into both America and a much bigger ecosystem of products. Across the four-day showcase, the Chinese robot vacuum company pitched an AI-wrapped future that extends beyond floor cleaning to smartphones , smart rings, smart cars, and more robotic arms than any cat would be comfortable with. The event, called Dreame Next 2026, leaned heavily on spectacle and vaporware. While there were some actual launches in the vacuuming , air-purifying , personal care , and home appliance categories , the focus was on attention-grabbing concept gadgets. From a fridge with a robotic arm that puts your groceries away and a robot that folds your laundry to a rocket-powered EV , everywhere you looked was an ambitious new product. What was harder to find were firm details about what was inside these products, when they would launch, or what they would cost. Dreame has grand plans that span from hypercars to humanoids , and at the very least, the event offered a glimpse of what it thinks that could look like. The Verge sent a photographer to the event, which ran from April 27th to April 30th, to see what was real — and just how many influencers showed up. Sparkly smartphone promises A crowd follows Steve Wozniak as he demos haircare products at the Dreame Next event. …