Smarter devices set to steal the show
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FROM drones, cars and robots to jewelry, appliances and TVs, the new technology on display at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show promises to be smarter and friendlier than ever.
The annual four-day extravaganza with more than 3,600 exhibitors opens in Las Vegas on Wednesday and is likely to present innovation across a range of sectors, from health care to cars, connected homes, virtual reality and gaming.
“There are always a couple of winners at CES, and sometimes there are the sleepers that turn out to be the cool thing,” said Gartner analyst Brian Blau.
Televisions will play starring roles at the show as usual, with giants such as Samsung, Sony, LG and Vizio among contenders in a market rapidly shifting to ultra-high definition.
“Sales of 4K TVs are exploding right now,” said NPD analyst Stephen Baker, referring to the high-definition format.
Drones are also expected to make a splash at the show, where an Unmanned Systems Marketplace has doubled in size from a year earlier to cover 22,300 square meters.
Blau expects the drones on display to be more sophisticated, with easy controls and applications that let them be operated using smartphones. “If you want to make it popular with consumers you have to make it relatively easy to use and foolproof,” he said. “And that is what a lot of drone manufacturers have been doing.”
Electronics makers are also building smart technology into all manner of devices, allowing them to adapt to how people use them, responding to voice or gesture, for example.
Greater sense of helping out
“A lot more of your devices are going to run with less direction from you but a greater sense of how to help you out,” Blau said.
The trend of once-dumb devices getting smarter will continue to include lightbulbs, remote controls, thermostats and other devices in the home as well as “wearables” such as jewelry or clothing.
“We are going to see a lot of wearables, and more smart clothes than last year,” Blau said.
Apple does not officially attend CES, but smart household products tuned to the technology giant’s HomeKit and controlled by iPhones are expected to be plentiful.
Samsung and Google-owned Nest are also expected to make moves to be at the center of smart homes, where the market is vexed by the lack of a single standard or system for devices to speak to each other.
Mark Boyadjis of IHS Automotive said cars would be a “core pillar” of the show.
Innovation in cars is changing the way people interact with vehicles, as technology handles more and more aspects of driving, he said. “In the long run, it means maybe delivering cars without steering wheels, or steering wheels that can be moved or put away.
“It means physical buttons may all but be gone, being replaced by display, gesture recognition, speech recognition,” he said.
A record 10 automakers will be showing at CES along with at least 115 automotive tech companies, according to show organizers the Consumer Technology Association.
CES will also boast a section devoted to virtual reality, as product makers jump into the trend ahead of the expected release this year of headsets from Oculus, Sony, and Valve.
It remains to be seen whether new contenders will step up to challenge “the big three” in VR, but CES goers will likely see uses of the technology extended beyond gaming.
CES will, of course, have its share of colorful creations including a Haier moving refrigerator designed to resemble the beloved R2-D2 of “Star Wars” film fame.
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