CES 2024: What are we expecting
more than anythingCES is a chance to plant a flag. The huge trade show of consumer electronics is strategically organized in the first week of the year. All holiday tech has been purchased, opened and used or returned. That’s all a distant memory for tech companies looking to position themselves as leading innovators for the coming year.
CES is a big show. The 2020 show, which took place before it was canceled due to pandemic-related closures, hosted 171,000 attendees, according to the show’s organizer, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). For obvious reasons, the figures dropped in the following years, but in 2023 the show reached a respectable 115,000.
Over the years, the influence of CES has waxed and waned. Before the pandemic, some of the event’s biggest exhibitors opted to follow Apple’s lead, saving the biggest announcements for their own events. As companies were forced to launch virtual events in recent years, this strategy became solid for many. After all, if you can attract enough interest in your own standalone programs, why bother releasing news during the noisiest week of the year?
Perhaps surprisingly, this change has been a boon for the event in one major way: It has opened the show up to startups. If you have a small, new company, shows like this are an opportunity to get yourself in front of the biggest journalists, distributors, manufacturers, etc. In consumer electronics. As any startup that has chosen me will probably tell you, it’s hard to stand out among the hundreds of emails I receive daily (including LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook – but please don’t do that).
This is an opportunity to share physical space with the person you are introducing. This is especially valuable for hardware startups, who can present their product in person. Most of these companies find themselves in Eureka Park at the Venice Expo (née Sands). This is the best part of the show. It is the most vibrant, interesting and chaotic. I doubt most of the employees TechCrunch is sending would want to spend the entire week there. Unfortunately, I have major back problems at the moment, so my time there will be minimal.
However, I have already signed up for several suite meetings – that is, hotel room meetings in places like Venice. These are generally companies that do not have a floor exhibit. This may be due to lack of resources or because they are showing some part of the technology that is not ready for the public eye.
It’s often because of the latter that these are the most interesting briefings at the event. They’re out of the way, so you won’t want to gather too many of these, but it’s nice to have a few meetings away from the chaotic noise of the show floor.
Despite the above ongoing health issues, I’m really looking forward to this CES. This is absolutely something I can’t say every year. But my optimism is twofold. First of all, I believe we are headed towards an exciting moment for consumer hardware. Supply chain issues (and international relations) have led many to rethink how – and where – they manufacture. A move toward a more decentralized manufacturing landscape could change the industry in exciting ways. Second – and relatedly – we recently put out a call for CES startup pitches, and so far I’ve been impressed by both the diversity and quality of the responses. I am currently exploring the list of over 200 startups.
We’re still about a week and a half away from the event, but interesting trends are starting to emerge. The first thing that should be clear to anyone following the industry: Generative AI, For over a decade, AI has become the industry buzzword to the point of effectively losing all meaning in product pitches. The situation is going to get worse from here.
The explosion of LLMs has – understandably – captured the public’s imagination. After hearing about artificial intelligence all their lives, ordinary people can now type a text prompt into a dialogue box and instantly get an image, video, short story or song. Last month, Humane offered an existing standard for consumer form factors to leverage systems like ChatGPT. Whatever you think about the company or its product, there’s a reason it’s so hyped.
More than anything, 2024 is going to be the year of generative AI claims for hardware products. Some will be really impressive – I expect some amazing GenAI-leveraging robotics breakthroughs in the coming year. However, most of it will be marketing nonsense. It’s our job as journalists to determine which is which.
lyrics of robotic (As I often do), CES has been dipping its toes in that water for the past few years. Of course, most of the products qualifying at the event are effectively Roomba derivatives. Nothing against the robot vacuums of the world, but these aren’t the breakthroughs we’ve been promised.
I expect more companies to lean toward automated processes used on the backend. Partnerships are going to be a big deal – with announcements involving the operation of various robotics systems like Agility’s Digit or Boston Dynamics’ Stretch. Who doesn’t want to display a robot in their booth?
TV Will remain a major focus. Over the past several years, LG has made the strategic decision to announce its biggest products Ahead Of CES. And why not? Late December/early January is a very slow time of year. So far, the company has introduced a 98-inch (!) gaming monitor with QNED LED and a 480Hz (!!) refresh rate.
As Kirsten can attest, a big part of CES’s growth over the years has been its status as a leading automotive show, Given how intertwined the technology is with the automotive industry, the move makes sense. Last year, the entire shiny new West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center was dedicated to mobility.
Car manufacturers typically make a big splash at the event, including companies like Toyota and Hyundai, which own TRI and Boston Dynamics, respectively. On its part, Honda has already announced that it will showcase the new EV at the event.
In recent years, big smart fone Announcements for CES are almost a non-starter. The big players have either moved on to their own events again or are keeping their powder dry for Mobile World Congress in late February/early March.
health technology A major piece of the puzzle remains. We’re talking sleep tracking, blood glucose monitoring, blood pressure – things that were limited to professional health care devices until recently. Once again, Apple’s absence will be felt in a big way, although this year, Apple’s ongoing patent dispute with Massimo will cast a heavy shadow over the event. It depends on how things shape up wearable The market may be on the verge of looking very different in the coming year.
Talking about Apple, AR/VR This was my highlight of last year’s event after trying out new headsets from Meta, HTC, Sony, and Magic Leap. With Vision Pro likely to arrive in the next month or two, all eyes will be on mixed reality.
Nvidia, never one to shy away from the limelight, is preparing for some big releases. Undoubtedly, AI will be central. It is rumored that the company may launch RTX 4070 Super and RTX 4080 Super GPUs at the event.
it works 9-12 January In Las Vegas. Big press days start two days earlier 7th, Bookmark our CES 2024 page for the latest information.