CES 2017: What To Expect From The World’s Biggest Tech Show?

So, Christmas is over… Now what? Well, for any nerd, that would be CES – the Consumer Electronics Show. Every January, Las Vegas comes alive with the global gadget giants announcing their line-up of tech for the whole year.

As you may have read, New Rising Media will be going to CES 2017. I will be running around like a headless chicken, covering everything that happens on the floor. But to whet your appetite (and help me cut through the sheer noise of the over 5,000 companies that will be there), what will be the biggest talking points coming out of CES this year?

Let’s take a look.

Everything becomes smart

LG's levitating Bluetooth speaker

Bit by bit (yes, even including Mark Zuckerberg’s hilarious video), the world is turning to smart home technology. Some love it. Some are scared of it. But the most important point is people are talking about heading in this direction.

From nifty gimmicks like LG’s new levitating speaker, to the Surface Studio competitor in Dell’s “Smart Desk,” the world of tech is falling behind Amazon & Google’s charge into the future of computer-enhanced home, kitchen and work spaces.

Expect to see a lot more advancement in this space across the floor, from start-ups with quirky ideas to the giants rolling out their bold strategies.

The cars take over

Year by year, CES has been quickly turning into more of a car show. 2017 looks to be no different.

Returning after their explosive announcement in CES 2016, Faraday Future will show off their consumer model, which looks to be an incredibly fast machine compared to it’s peers.

But they won’t be the only company there – Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, VW, KIA, Ford and Honda will be heading over to make some big announcements. Even Nissan Motor Corporation head Carlos Ghosn will deliver a keynote on the future of automotive.

And the big talking points? Self-driving and electric. Eco-friendly transportation that is aware of the road around it.

Alongside all of this AND a keynote by Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang about “the latest in artificial intelligence, self-driving cars, VR and gaming,” expect big news in this area.

Your world, augmented with the virtual

Virtual and Augmented reality has arrived, so it’s fair to assume we’ll see the next steps in this industry at CES 2017.

If you remember back in mid-October, Microsoft announced a whole slew of $299 VR headsets, which we’re sure will become a reality at the show – from the likes of HP, Dell and Lenovo.

The perfect launching ground for any headset, or a new way to augment the world around us, look forward to new developments.

Phones, phones and more phones

Not as exciting as the other huge areas of innovation, but after LG’s announcement of five new devices, you can be sure of new smartphones here.

For LG’s announcement, they’ve got the higher end K10, photography-focussed K8, K4 and K3 – and the Stylus 3 (the stylus is making a return). Expect pricing and release details at the show.

But of course, to compete with this announcement, other companies might follow suit… Starting with BlackBerry (well…not actually Blackberry. TCL bought the Blackberry name), they will announce more of what’s to come at CES 2017.

All rumours are pointing to new Xperia phones from Sony too – one of which will rock a 5.5-inch 4k display and 4GB of Ram.

Now to address the elephant in the room – what will Samsung do? After their rather combustible 2016, what is their strategy leading into 2017. Well, to squash the first rumour, do not expect a Galaxy S8 until Mobile World Congress later in the year.

However, they’ve been dabbling with bendy screen technology and a foldable smartphone… If they want to make waves, chances are they’ll present this.

Will the industry finally figure out the future of TV?

Every single one of the big players head out to Las Vegas and duke it out for the best TV tech. Look forward to your typical 4K TV reveals, along with some more impressive 8K teasers for way too much money!

What’s more, CES is the time for these companies to unleash some rather crazy concepts. TVs that roll up? Why not.

But that’s not where my main focus will be… For years, the tech industry has tried to figure out the future of television. For some, that’s been a smart TV that really hasn’t landed well with consumers. But they’ll be giving it a crack again this year!

Nvidia is rumoured to be bringing two new Shield Android TV boxes to the show, and Sony will no doubt continue their work with Android TV.

Let’s see if they can fix this industry.

Wearables are not dead

2016 was quite a dull year for wearables, but 2017 is sure looking more interesting for them! 

We may not have Pebble anymore, but in tandem with Fitbit, they could potentially create something great. Not to say they’ll bring it to CES, but the gauntlet is silently being set.

With fitness trackers set to flood the convention floor along with some more interesting wearables (meditation tracker anyone?), this is going to be a make or break time for this category of gadgets.