This story is part of CES, where our editors will bring you the latest news and the most popular articles from the all-virtual CES 2021.
It will be a CES like no other, because we experience it remotely from around the world on our own screens. CES will continue to do what CES does best – showcase the latest innovations and ideas in technology, and set the agenda for what happens in the industry in the coming months and years. CNET will cover every category with our team of experienced reporters and editors who will locate the most attractive products and key stories. Here’s how you can see CNET’s live stream on the first day of CES 2021.
To prepare you for this year’s virtual show, here’s an overview of what to expect at CES 2021.
1. There will be less noise and more signal
This year’s virtual CES contains about 2000 providers. For the context, the show in Las Vegas last year had 4,500. One of the biggest challenges of CES is usually the sheer amount of information you have to sort out to find the good stuff. CNET always accepts the mission to filter out key CES products and consumer trends. This year will be a little different with less than half of the companies involved. The providers showing up to 2021’s digital CES are more likely to have something new and interesting to talk about, rather than just showing up because they always do and that they’ve already booked the hotel.
Look at this:
CES 2021: What to expect as the program goes digital
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2. The pandemic wagon will become overcrowded
Companies are going to use a lot of technology to help people deal with COVID-19 fears, shut down their lives, and work and learn at home. In the health and smart home spaces, we are going to see high-tech masks, smart air purifiers, more hands-free devices, UV-C lights to kill germs and much more. Computer manufacturers will certainly work in more than a third of the U.S. employees who work from home to set up devices and accessories to facilitate their work. Home entertainment providers will stock TVs, audio bars and streaming devices and services for an audience that is still stuck and getting almost all of its entertainment in the living room.
Note that CNET will discuss these issues in our panel, Will Tech keep the best headquarters at home?
3. Transparent OLEDs will ring
While more of us were at home, there was a huge demand for TVs. That is why we always pay attention to the following attractions in TVs at CES. There’s always a massive TV or a rollaway TV or some other impressive – as a gimmick – new screen technology that becomes the flashy showpiece of CES. This year, it’s likely to be LG’s transparent OLED screens. It goes from 10% transparent to 40% transparent, offering new possibilities for many creative use cases. Some of the ones LG will be showing at CES 2021 will include a smart bed where the OLED screen rises from the footboard, a smart metro window where the maps and schedules are covered on the glass, and a restaurant partition between cabins where you can see large images of menu items and even see how a chef prepares your meal.
4. The largest equipment will be the center
Car manufacturers have been using CES as a platform for more than a decade to talk about what they call ‘digitization and electrification’. The problem is that there is mostly talk of the world’s largest automakers, making beautiful prototypes but dragging their feet to make real progress. Momentum meets around 2021, but it’s a breakout year for EVs. Car manufacturers are converting some of the most iconic brands in the industry to EV, including the Mustang, Ford F-150 and Hummer. Tesla has just reached its predicted half a million vehicles sold in 2020, a number that has long been mocked and questioned by the automotive industry. On Tuesday, January 12, GM CEO Mary Barra will deliver the opening speech of CES and Chevy has already promised new EV announcements to come. Oh, and speaking of great articles, John Deere’s AI and robot-powered tractor is one of this year’s CES Innovation Award winners.
We’re talking about this in our panel, The big shuttle reload.
5. Samsung will be bigger than ever before
In a normal year, Samsung is always the 800-pound gorilla from CES, with the biggest stand on the show floor, the most flashy press event and a flood of new announcements about TVs, audio, computers, home appliances and quirky attention-grabbers like last few years Neon AI chatbots. Samsung will continue to make the usual waves this year, but it added more fuel by ‘keeping up’ Samsung Unpacked Event – apparently for his next flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S21 – on the same day as the virtual CES show floor opens on Thursday 14 January. Talk about rubbing salt in my wounds – d’oh! In the past, Samsung has stolen a thunderbolt from its competitors by fixing this event near Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (or a week or two earlier). But with MWC postponed until the middle of the year, Samsung is heading to CES to launch its biggest mobile event of the year in 2021.
6. 5G will be a big deal again
From Roger Cheng: I know it feels like we’re saying this every year, but there are a lot of things that make 5G dominate the conversation at CES, especially since this program is more virtual and relies more on panels and discussions than whiz-bang demos. of devices. All three U.S. airlines now have nationwide 5G coverage. Every phone maker – including and especially Apple – is on board. Aside from the Samsung announcement, you probably won’t see as many 5G devices at the show. The discussion is largely about the long-term applications of 5G, such as how we use 5G to solve some of the problems exposed by the coronavirus. The discussion is about the use of 5G to close the digital divide, as well as to improve the experiences around telemedicine and distance learning and work.
Read more: 5G talks will dominate virtual CES 2021