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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JANUARY 5: CES, the world’s largest annual consumer technology trade show opens its door to visitors on January 5, 2022 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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From startups to silicon giants, here’s what we’re anticipating for January’s big event
More than anything , CES is a probability to plant a flag . Consumer electronics ’ massive trade show is strategically positioned within the first week of the year . All the vacation tech has been purchased , open and used or recall . It ’s all a distant memory for tech companies seem to assert themselves as leading innovator for the arrive year .
CES is a big show . The 2020 show , which made it just under the telegram in front of pandemic - connect occlusion , play host to 171,000 attendees , according to show organizer , the Consumer Technology Association ( CTA ) . For obvious reasons , the figures dwindle away in get along eld , but 2023 found the show hit a respectable 115,000 .
Over the years , CES ’s influence has full and waned . Prior to the pandemic , some of the event ’s largest exhibitors opted to stick with Apple ’s lead , saving the biggest announcements for their own events . As companies were forced to launch practical events in recent long time , that strategy solidify for many . After all , if you may draw in enough interest to your own standalone event , why get at releasing word during the noisy week of the year ?
Perhaps surprisingly , that shift has been a thanksgiving for the event in one key way : It has opened the show up to startups . If you have a smaller , New companionship , show like this are an opportunity to get yourself in front of the biggest journalists , distributor , maker , et al . in consumer electronics . As any inauguration who has pitched me will belike tell you , it ’s hard to stand out in amongst the hundreds of electronic mail I receive day by day ( LinkedIn , Twitter and Facebook , too — but please do n’t do this ) .
It ’s an chance to share a forcible space with the person you ’re pitch . This is specially valuable for computer hardware inauguration , who can gift their product in person . Most of these companies find themselves at Eureka Park in the Venetian Expo ( née Sands ) . This is the best part of the show . It ’s the most vital , interesting and chaotic . I suspect most of the faculty TechCrunch is mail would prefer to spend all week there . Unfortunately , I have a major back trouble at the moment , so my time there will be minimum .
I have , however , already signed up for a bunch of suite meetings — that is to say , hotel room meetings in places like the Venetian . These are generally company that do n’t have a base exhibit . This could be due to a lack of resources or because they ’re prove off some piece of technology that is n’t quick for the public eye .
Often because of the latter these are the most interesting briefings at the event . They ’re out of the style , so you do n’t want to stack up too many of these , but it ’s nice to have some confluence away from the disorderly din of the show floor .
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In spite of the aforesaid ongoing wellness issues , I ’m actually kind of looking forward to this CES . This is dead something I ca n’t say every year . But my optimism is two - fold . First , I believe we ’re lead into a captivating moment for consumer hardware . supplying concatenation issues ( and international relation back ) have caused many to rethink how — and where — they manufacture . A move toward a more decentralised manufacturing landscape could transform the industry in exciting elbow room . secondly — and relatedly — we recently put out a call force startup pitches , and thus far I ’ve been impressed with both the variety and calibre of the response . I ’m shortly combing through a list of more than 200 startups .
We ’re still about a week and a one-half out from the event , but interesting trends are beginning to emerge . The first should be obvious to anyone who follows the manufacture : procreative AI . For more than a 10 , AI has become an industry cant to the compass point of in effect lose all significance in product pitches . Things are only go to get bad from here .
The explosion of LLMs has — understandably — captured the world ’s imagination . After try about unreal intelligence their total life , regular people can now typecast a text command prompt in a dialog boxful and right away get an image , video , short tale or birdsong . Last calendar month , Humaneofferedthe current standard for leverage system like ChatGPT for a consumer variety factor . Whatever you think about the company or its product , there ’s a cause it ’s been so hyped .
More than anything , 2024 is cash in one’s chips to be the year of productive AI claims for ironware product . Some will be genuinely impressive — I anticipate some amazing GenAI - leverage robotics breakthroughs over the coming year . Invariably , however , most of it will be marketing bullshit . It ’s our job as reporter to settle which is which .
Speaking ofrobotics(as I often am ) , CES has been dip its toe in those amnionic fluid for a few years now . Of course , the immense bulk of products at the result that characterise are in effect Roomba derivatives . Nothing against the robot vacancy of the world , but these are n’t the breakthroughs we ’ve been promised .
I prognosticate more companies will be leaning into the automated cognitive operation they use on the back end . partnership are going to be a big thing — announcements involving the piloting of dissimilar robotics arrangement like Agility ’s Digit or Boston Dynamics ’ Stretch . Who does n’t want to showcase a automaton in their booth ?
TVwill continue to be a major focus . Over the retiring several years , LG has made the strategic decision to harbinger its big productsaheadof CES . And why not ? of late December / other January is a sorely dim time of year . Thus far , the companionship has introduced a 98 - inch ( ! ) QNEDLED and a play monitor with a 480Hz ( ! ! ) refresh pace .
As Kirsten can take the stand , a big part of CES ’s organic evolution over the past few years has been its position as a majorautomotive show . Given how tech is weave with the automotive diligence , the move reach sense . Last twelvemonth , the whole of the Las Vegas Convention Center ’s shiny new West Hall was devote to mobility .
railroad car makers in the main make a big splatter at the effect , including companies like Toyota and Hyundai , which own TRI and Boston Dynamics , severally . For its part , Honda hasalready announcedthat it will be showing off new EVs at the event .
In recent age , bigsmartphoneannouncements are passably much a non - entrant for CES . The big players have either again shifted to their own events or are keeping their powder dry for Mobile World Congress in former February / former March .
Health techwill continue to be a big objet d’art of the puzzle . We ’re talking sleep tracking , blood glucose monitoring , blood press — the sorts of material that were relegated to professional health care equipment until fairly lately . Once again , Apple ’s non - presence will be felt in a major way , though this class , Apple’songoing patent disputewith Masimo will cast a massive shadower over the effect . Depending on how things shape up , thewearablesmarket could be on the verge of expect very dissimilar in the forthcoming year .
Speaking of Apple , AR / VRwas my highlight from last yr ’s event , having tried out raw headsets from Meta , HTC , Sony and Magic Leap . With theVision Pro in all likelihood arrivingin the next calendar month or two , all eye are move to be concentrate on mixed realness .
Never one to shy away from the spotlight , Nvidialooks to be ramp up for some big release . AI will , of course of action , be the centerpiece . The company is rumor to be launching the RTX 4070 Super and RTX 4080 Super GPUs at the event .
CES runsJanuary 9 - 12 in Las Vegas . The heavy pressing day kick off two days prior , on the7th . Bookmarkour CES 2024 pagefor the latest .
