The long term is just around the corner, and we will be able to glimpse it in early January. Every year, the tech industry gathers in Las Vegas for CES, an annual tech industry expo where next year’s products are showcased and tested. , and discussed. It’s like catnip for the tech world.
Traditionally, CES highlights include flat-screen TVs, soundbars, and other consumer electronics, and for the curious, TechRadar has a great round-up of what to expect from CES 2024. I don’t foresee much revolution in those traditional spaces landing at this year’s show. But that doesn’t mean innovation has slowed; here’s my take on the biggest trends that will shape the show, and the products and innovations I’m expecting to see – as well as those I’d like to see more of.
And since CES is also a launchpad for more publicity than a rap record, I’ve highlighted a few spaces where the hot air will be hotter.
Artificial intelligence has been at the center of consumer electronics for years. Five years ago, I spoke with LG Electronics President and CTO I. P. Park, who told me that AI can simplify complex systems and help other people get the most out of their equipment. “When you’re driving a modern luxury car, most people probably only use five percent of the car’s feature set,” he told me. “Because it’s too complex . . . we hope AI will solve the challenge of employing complex systems to make devices smart. And smart devices will know exactly what you want,” Park added. Anything LG does will come with that, he said.
So what progress has been made in the last five years?Not much, I’d say. Until last year, that is, a pivotal era that saw the onset of generative AI (for better or worse), chatbots, and Microsoft’s announcement that it would integrate AI into a revolutionary new edition of Windows planned for next summer. They’ll call it something terrible like Windows 1124H2, but they’ll consider it Windows 12. And at CES 2024, AI PCs designed for it will be everywhere.
On Dec. 14, Intel unveiled Meteor Lake, its newest chipset, which includes for the first time a dedicated AI processor component, called an NPU or Neural Processing Unit. AMD beat them to the punch, announcing at last year’s CES the Ryzen 7040 notebook processors, which incorporate “AMD XDNA AI” – again, dedicated AI support. And at CES this year, we expect most major laptop manufacturers will unveil their AI PC lineups. Watch for huge, splashy reveals from Lenovo, HP, Dell, Acer, Asus, MSI and more.
But what about Park’s comments? Is your vacuum today AI-powered? Does your iron know just how much steam is too much? If AI is in all things, surrounding us like the Midi-chlorians that let Luke use The Force, why aren’t our appliances better? Yes, today’s washers and dryers use AI to sense humidity levels and adjust accordingly. But is this AI? Does this require intelligence or merely better sensors? And no standard-size oven can, for example, detect whether your Thanksgiving turkey is perfectly moist.
Will CES 2024 update that? Dubious, at least for large, classic devices. Desirable advancements continue, though: I’m inspired by Whirlpool, which will be showcasing a variety of new appliances with SlimTech insulation, a proprietary curtain that can update the bulky polyurethane foam on the walls of your current refrigerator. SlimTech can reduce wall thickness by up to 66 percent, expanding capacity by up to 25 percent. Incredible! In 2023, LG launched MoodUp, a color-changing refrigerator meant to outperform Samsung’s charming custom-made French door refrigerators. What will this year bring?
Apparently the secret AI force makes ribeye toast.
To see the biggest changes, narrow your gaze: Look to the smaller, smarter countertop devices that have proliferated in recent years from June, Brava, and Anova. Those devices have limited AI built-in, nothing to rival the advances seen over the last year, but a ton more than traditional kitchen gear. And then there’s Seer Grills, which recently launched Perfecta, billed as “The World’s First AI-Powered Grill.” Apparently, AI’s secret power is broiling a better T-bone. And we’ve seen remarkable new devices from GE’s Profile division, which recently unveiled a countertop nugget ice maker. Will the new year bring anything new? We’re looking at you, GE…
And one sector in particular is booming: robot vacuum cleaners. With household names like Eureka and Roomba competing with lesser-known names like Narwal and Ecovacs, the war promises to be complicated. (See what I did there?) And there’s a lot of innovation: at IFA 2023 in Berlin, Switchbot introduced a vacuum cleaner that attaches directly to water pipes and lets it wash before going back to work for you. And since Matter revealed support for robovacs in the 1. 2 edition of its Useful Specs, they deserve to work more seamlessly with all their other virtual machines. Maybe Matter matters?
Speaking of homes, the industry is evolving.
Whole-home chargers and solar power cells have become an enormous focus for the consumer electronics industry, as the power industry – at last – gets smarter. It’s a logical advancement from companies that make batteries and chargers, starting with powerhouse names like Anker, which unveiled the Solix brand in June and will likely reveal more in the lineup at CES. Think of Solix and its ilk as giant battery packs for your house. Its largest capacity 180kWh array can apparently keep the lights on in a typical house for a whole week, which could come in handy if your local grid is impacted by extreme weather.
Also take a look at the news from Jackery, who named one of TIME’s best inventions of 2023 for his Solar Mars Bot – how cool is that?And dozens of corporations are interested in the home battery business, from big names like Schneider Electric and Bluetti to newcomers like Exeger and Ugreen and Goal Zero (and its $4,000 YetiPRO portable power station) and more.
It’s also a place where new brands bloom like flowers under a solar-powered grow light (which can also be done at CES). And innovation in general: Samsung recently added the first electric vehicle charger to its SmartThings platform, allowing users better control. and monitor the charging of its electric vehicles, as well as a partnership with Eve Energy to allow you to control the amount of energy it contains. Your space is drinking.
One interesting twist on the standard battery comes from Palo Alto, California, start-up Coplanar, which sells portable hydrogen power generators and whole-home energy products. It’s a renewable clean energy source using a chemical reaction rather than combustion, producing only water and heat as byproducts. Hydrogen power…what could go wrong?
While the generation and vehicle worlds seem to collide faster than Vin Diesel and his cronies, the autonomous vehicle market has already exploded like a flat tire. Cruise, GM’s self-driving car maker, lost $1. 4 billion in 2022 alone, and Ford took a beating, writing off $2. 7 billion in 2022 and noting in its earnings report that it would focus on tier four autonomous systems developed through Argo AI for the driver. Assistive technologies such as adaptive cruise and lane replacement assist.
The market for self-driving cars has burst like a punctured tire.
That means there will be tons of genuinely global technology on display at CES 2024, genuine stuff you can buy today for your next real car. Will Chrysler and Tesla continue to dominate the world of driver assistance systems?Only time will tell.
Of course, electric cars will be at the show, and rightly so. In 2020, around 3 million electric cars were sold worldwide; By 2023, that number had risen to 10. 25 million, and is expected to reach the 17 million mark within five years. Electric cars are moving into the category of software-defined vehicles (SDV), meaning that much of the vehicle’s capability (and even its powertrain) can be replaced and upgraded via over-the-air (OTA) updates. Ford recently discussed its plans for WIS features. Research other brands to detail plans similar to CES.
Meanwhile, tech companies continue chomping at the bit to get into cars. Chinese companies like Xiaomi and Huawei are jumping headfirst into this space, and we expect to hear from numerous other electric car startups, including Lucid, Polestar, Fisker, and Faraday Future. Okay, maybe NOT Faraday Future.
The intersection of health and tech is a key space for CES, which explains the explosion in panels, keynotes, and conversations at the show on the topic. Among those speaking at CES are Linda Anegawa, Noom’s Chief of Medicine; Jesse Ehrenfeld, President of the American Medical Association; Stephen Hoge, President of Moderna; and Gail K. Boudreaux, president and CEO of Elevance Health.
They reflect every facet of the vast global fitness care arena, from the award-winning pacemakers from the giant Abbott to smart beds, fitness trackers, fitness devices, virtual doctors, and more. But one domain stands out above the rest: women’s fitness.
Sometimes referred to as femtech, inventions for monitoring, maintaining, and fitness women have been the source of many desirable inventions in recent times. To cite just one example, let’s take Movano Health’s Evie Smart Ring, which debuted at CES 2023 and uses artificial intelligence to connect. the points between menstrual cycles and sleep patterns, among other things. In August, the company applied for FDA authorization as a medical device; After all, it will ship in January, the company says.
And expect daily inventions in good-looking technology, where smart mirrors and makeup accessories are robotic marvels. L’Oreal has a great history of innovation here: Last year, the company introduced an automatic makeup applicator and the first at-home electronic forehead applicator. . Back in 2017, it was a smart hairbrush that we called “the styling master you never imagined you wanted. “What will 2024 bring?
Of course, there is generation for all genders. Withings has carved out a niche for itself in the smart fitness space: The company invented the connected blood pressure monitor in 2011. And it continues to innovate when it comes to fitness devices: Know for a fact that the company is planning a flexible wearable device that looks intriguing for 2024. We were inspired by NuraLogix at CES last year, which measures your blood exactly how it should be by simply taking a 30-second video. We expect this generation to become a functional product in 2024.
If you’re browsing the living room, look for a variety of smart beds and massage chairs that manage to give me a burst of new energy (why don’t I have one at home yet?).
Is it silly? Is it too much media coverage?Of course, dare we just call it nonsense?You bet you do! But there are still breakthroughs and work underway in the field of augmented truth that could lead to an augmented future, with or without Mark’s Meta.
Soundscape is creating a music metaverse based on Unreal Engine 5, which supports avatars for an interactive virtual reality music festival, for example. The company recently announced partnerships with GRiZ, Slash, Evanescent, Goose, and more, and promises more partnerships with leading labels before and after launch at CES 2024. Hell, I’d like to see a virtual concert. And virtual reality for healthcare is surely a positive use of this technology. From immersive virtual truth and augmented truth for post-traumatic stress disorder remedies to haptic feedback that can repair lost senses, there’s a bit of truth in the mud.
Augmented reality is also just plain fun, with virtual reality for cars, augmented reality for astronauts, and MRI for everything else. But will it be your life soon? In fact, we doubt it.
In the meantime, beware of large corporations that include the term 6G in their presentations and displays. We know what you’re thinking. . . And we agree with you.
After 25 years covering the technology industry, Jeremy Kaplan is a familiar face in the media world. As Content Director for TechRadar, he oversees product development and quality. He was formerly Editor in Chief of Digital Trends, where he transformed a niche publisher into one of the fastest growing properties in digital media. Before that, he spent half a decade at one of the largest news agencies in the world, and cut his teeth in magazine business, long before the birth of the iPhone. In 2019, he was named to the FOLIO: 100, which honors publishing professionals making an industry-wide impact.
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