Digital Director Isla Kirby is off to Vegas this week, to see first hand what weird and wonderful tech and innovations 2016 has to offer at the highly anticipated technology trade show CES. From futuristic home appliances that will change the way we live to mind-blowing virtual reality experiences that look set to become more mainstream, she’ll be feeding back the best of CES throughout the week. For those who don’t know what CES is and why it matters, let this blog be your simplified guide to the world’s biggest consumer technology event.
What is CES?
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) started in 1967, as a way for big tech brands like Sony and Nintendo to reveal and demo their latest gadgets. The ‘67 CES had just 14 vendors present – 2016 will see 3,200, giving major companies and industry professionals from all over the world a preview of groundbreaking future consumer tech. Here’s what we’ll be looking out for…
Virtual reality
Since Facebook bought Oculus last year, VR is set to take a huge leap forward in 2016, with Sony, Oculus and HTC all rumoured to be shipping headsets in the coming months. With the focus of VR increasingly shifting toward gaming and movies, it’s slowly edging its way to becoming something consumers can feasibly afford and use and CES is bound to show us how.
Drones
Drones are set to rise even higher in 2016. How do we know? For starters, there are 33 drone companies at this year’s CES, compared to just 4 in 2015. We’re expecting to see drones that are quicker, lighter and more compact than we’ve seen before. In other words, better suited to consumer use.
Internet of Things
Trackers of all shapes and sizes are going to be everywhere at CES, and while that might not be anything new, this year we’re going to see much more in the areas of smarter homes and wearables. Whilst the Internet of Things may not quite have come of age yet, Apple and Google are making steady progress in getting our things to talk to one another, with Samsung and LG also looking for a slice of the pie. With so many stakeholders, we’re hoping to see smart practical products that genuinely add value to consumers’ lives.
Connected cars
There’s always been a buzz around car electronics and connected cars at CES, but the successful demos of self-driving cars last year have left us wondering what 2016 will bring. We’re expecting big things from Google and Tesla, but also Audi, Mercedes, BMW and Ford.
So there you have it – your simplified guide to CES. If you’d like to learn more, keep an eye on our blog and social channels over the next couple of days, where we’ll be sharing our favourite pieces of tech from the show, behind-the-scenes pictures and live updates straight from CES each day.