CES is known for its far-out concepts and extravagant tech demos that aren’t going to hit shelves anytime soon. But this year’s show felt tangible in a way it usually doesn’t.
Companies like Garmin are introducing cool dash cam features that can give you live views of your car, while Samsung-owned HARMAN launched new driver-safety technology that actually looks quite promising.
Smart Home
CES 2023 featured plenty of smart home gadgets. But one of the most interesting was Nanoleaf’s Skylight, a set of ceiling panels that you can mount for app-controlled ambiance and even synchronize with what’s on your TV for some boosted immersion.
Jennifer Pattison Tuohy got a first-hand look at the new product, which will go on sale later this year. It solves one of the biggest problems that’s been holding back smart home adoption: compatibility across different ecosystems.
The company has also announced a small, kind of boring-looking device called the SmartThings Station, which will act as the center of your smart home. It supports Matter out of the box and will connect with all your other devices, including those that use Alexa, Apple HomeKit or Google Home. It’ll be the hub that links your whole house, so you don’t have to keep track of separate apps for each product.
AR/VR
One of the 33 CES technology categories, AR and VR are where you’ll find all sorts of immersive gadgets. They’re also the areas most likely to profoundly change day-to-day lived experience in the years ahead — and that’s why they are such hot tech sectors right now.
HTC’s (HTC) long-teased VIVE XR Elite headset was among the most impressive AR/VR innovations at CES 2023. It’s modular and compact, letting operators wear it like eyeglasses or a traditional headset, while providing full-colour passthrough to let the user see their environment clearly.
Other XR innovators at CES 2023 included Canon (CAG) with its Free Viewpoints video solution for live events that allows broadcasters to stream 3D visualisations from multiple angles, and Lumus with an optical engine that can shrink waveguide technology into a small form factor. That could lead to lightweight smart glasses that can display everything from information on your car’s speedometer and directions to the contents of an email message.
Gaming
Video gaming engages 164 million people in the U.S. and crosses virtually every social demographic, making it a key driver of the technologies showcased at CES 2024. Gaming has evolved from two-dimensional challenges on the Atari to artistically beautiful, photo-realistic experiences on advanced consoles like the Xbox series X and PlayStation 5.
For hardcore gamers, new hardware and accessories are enabling immersive gaming experiences that can rival those of traditional movie theaters. In this episode of CES Tech Talk, experts from Samsung and Blacknut explain how the latest gaming hardware enables new audiences to immerse themselves in thrilling games.
In a separate section of the exhibit floor, companies demonstrated how gaming will enable consumers to create their own virtual worlds. But that metaverse, while intriguing, was not a dominant theme at the show. In fact, gaming was one of just seven consumer experience categories (along with Entertainment, The Home, Travel and Dining, Money, Shopping and Lifelong Learning) that were reflected in the floor plan organization of vendor exhibits at CES 2024.
Health
Digital health is a growing category at CES, which is also bridging the gap between traditionally regulated medical devices and broader digital consumer products that offer health and wellness solutions. From an intelligent toilet that you can talk to to smart underwear and wearable fitness trackers, tech companies are bringing wellness and self-care into the home.
Several new gadgets are designed to undo or correct some of the negative impacts of modern technology such as excessive screen time and social media addiction. Examples include the British company NOWATCH, which offers a screen free “awareable” that monitors stress, movement and sleep while providing mindfulness and meditation exercises and relaxing bedtime stories.
The newest health and wellness gadgets also include smart shoes that track your stride, the Myant eSkin sensor embedded in clothing and even companion robots such as the Japanese Lovot or more simple Qooboo, which can help with behavioural change. Hear from experts on the ways these technologies are empowering consumers to take control of their own health and wellbeing.
