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Last year’s CES in Las Vegas, Nevada, many of us were the last time we would talk face to face, exchange invisible breathing drops, handle the same germ gadgets, and eat and drink in windowless restaurants.
This year, due to the ongoing pandemic, the annual CES takes place in full on our computer screens. The day-to-day performance of the consumer technology industry’s tent event begins on Monday, January 11th.
The experience of CES from afar holds some clear challenges for those who report on the program. We can not lie around the nearly 3 million square meters of exhibit space or actually try out the new products on display. But we are going to do our best to give our expert analyzes of the technology festival this year, based on a whole bunch of virtual information sessions and our collective decades that CES has covered in the past. So shoot Zoom on, put on your VR headsets and get ready to follow along.
Let’s get small
On the other hand, if you want to visit CES this year, you do not have to spend money on registration fees, airline tickets or accommodation. You can see all the announcements and activities in your pajamas.
There is no doubt that this year’s CES has been scaled down. The Consumer Technology Association, which hosts CES, says about 1,800 exhibitors will be part of this year’s show. That’s less than half of the 4400 exhibitors who showcased technology last year. The CTA also pointed out that ‘the show’ will be accessible to audiences around the world ‘, as it is an all-digital event, but declined to say how many people actually registered for this year’s virtual CES. Last year, about 170,000 people personally attended it.
Some technology companies are not opting for CES this year, or spreading their product news on their own schedules. Amazon does not have an official presence, though you can probably expect its Alexa voice assistant to appear in hundreds of products. Google, which has recently installed massive Googley installations in Las Vegas at CES, says it will host partner meetings, but otherwise does not bend. Microsoft President Brad Smith will deliver a speech on technology that is both a weapon and a tool – a particularly relevant topic – but most Microsoft-related news at CES comes from his computer manufacturing partners. Facebook and its Oculus division are also not participating. Instead, the company chose to bother its upcoming ‘smart glasses’ in a blog post earlier this week. And the bulk of the focus on Facebook, in any case, is its role in disrupting American democracy.
Samsung and LG Electronics host virtual press conferences and provide information on their new displays and home appliances. But it’s worth noting that Samsung will unveil its annual Galaxy phone on January 14 –while CES but not really a part of CES. We will also be keeping a close eye on Monday’s press conferences with Intel and Sony. And some of the key highlights include talks from CEOs of General Motors, Verizon and AMD.
Look but do not touch
So what new technology shall see you virtually next week? There are some exciting things happening in TV countries, says WIRED’s Parker Hall. The most beautiful TV we saw before the conference is a new 110-inch MicroLED model from Samsung. (MicroLED is a relatively new display technology that uses small, inorganic LEDs, three per pixel, and is supposed to provide perfect contrast.) More TV manufacturers are also printing 8K screens, including Samsung, LG and Sony, as well as manufacturers of cheaper sets such as TCL and Vizio. And it may seem like a small thing, but many new TVs will ship this year with upgraded HDMI 2.1 ports – allowing the new PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X game consoles to work on their screens at their full 120 Hz potential.
Some TV manufacturers may postpone their announcements until spring, when most new TVs will hit the market. It’s just hard to put up the same kind of hype for exhibits when you can not personally show an awesome OLED waterfall. And 8K screens have the same warning as 4K did a few years ago: it will take a while before 8K content becomes widely available.
CES usually offers a good opportunity to explore new laptop technologies, even if we do not see some until the fall. (It turns out that laptops are essential devices if you do everything, from your work to home schooling during a pandemic.) You often hear ‘the computer is dead, the computer is not dead’, says Patrick Moorhead, founder and chief analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy. “But I see a lot of action in computer devices, especially around the ACPC – the always-connected personal computer.” This means that we will eventually be able to see more ARM-powered computers with cellular functions, so we will always have a data connection if we can be ‘on the go’ again in the future.
Scott Gilbertson of WIRED says it’s also the year of the AMD laptop ‘. From Chromebooks to high-end gaming machines, manufacturers offer AMD models along with the usual Intel-powered options. AMD’s Ryzen 3000 C-Series chips – specifically for Chromebooks – will come in new models from Acer and other computer manufacturers later this year. Scott also says that support for Wi-Fi 6 and better exhibits with higher refresh rates in 2021 will be standard on laptops to meet the requirements of modern games. And the entire WIRED Gear team is hopeful that laptops webcams will get much better in 2021. This is an improvement that has long been unavailable.
Call the future
Most of the biggest smartphone makers will be hosting separate announcement events at some point in 2021, as they have been doing for at least a decade now. However, some of the mobile announcements made during or around CES will continue to trend.
This year, we’ll probably see almost every phone maker offer a 5G phone for less than $ 400, says WIRED, senior co-editor Julian Chokkattu. Qualcomm has just announced 5G support on its Snapdragon 480 chip for cheap phones. The result is that Qualcomm can now offer 5G in its entire range of phone processors, rather than just the higher-end chips. Of course, the wireless service providers will continue the conversation about expanding 5G networks – expect to hear more about it during Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg’s speech on Monday night. Although Moorhead says he should not make any “announcements for the room” swing around 5G.
Comes in smartphones later this year, though not announced at CES: more foldable, scrollable screens; high-end Android phones that work on the zippy Snapdragon 888 chip; support for the new Wi-Fi 6E standard; higher refresh rates on the screen; and, with Apple’s attention, fewer phones shipped with charging adapters.
Alone at home
If there’s another trend that has fully emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic and is likely to remain so in 2021, it’s our obsession with our homes – to work from it, work in it and refresh it. Or, as senior author Adrienne So puts it, “companies bet we want to vacuum the carpets, keep our abs and buttocks fresh.” (We may even see a commercial version of a toilet analyzing your butt.)
Companies such as Samsung, Roborock and Eufy will unveil robotic fabrics with eye-catching designs and new cleaning technologies at CES this year. Bathroom accessories will get ‘smarter’ – yup, more household appliances with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips are stuck.
On the coupled fitness side, most portable manufacturers are skipping CES this year, says Adrienne. But that means it could be a year where hardware innovation software comes into play, with more emphasis on smart workouts and recovery programs, AI-powered treadmills and personalized training services, all using on the phone or smartwatch you already own.
And of course, where there is a serious health crisis, there is always a knife in the technological solution: the wired contributor, Boone Ashworth, says he gets a lot of stands for high-tech cleaners. Think of air purifiers, antimicrobial screen protectors, and touchless disinfection stations that disinfect while showing your ads. Some of these will be more legal than others, but it is safe to assume that disinfecting things for many of us, even after the pandemic has ended, can be a lasting obsession.
We will not really atmosphere of CES this year – the peculiarities, the novelties, the size and scope of the exhibitions, the slimness of the concept cars. Not to mention the fact that the pandemic has had a devastating impact on the tourism and hospitality industry in Las Vegas, and that the cancellation of massive events like CES will only contribute to the trauma. But the CTA says this year’s CES is not intended to replace or recreate a personal scholarship, and that the organization “looks forward to returning to our home, Las Vegas, in 2022 and beyond.” I never thought I would write this, but I would look forward to returning to CES in Las Vegas once again.
WIRED’s Julian Chokkattu, Adrienne So, Parker Hall, Scott Gilbertson and Boone Ashworth contributed to this report.
This story originally appeared on wired.com.