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Another CES is in the books. Being totally virtual meant it was a smaller show than usual, and since it was already a show that has been on the decline in terms of influence for a few years, we could feel it. Still: there were some great stories to follow and things to learn about what’s to come in consumer tech.
That’s the thing about CES: Most of the time, the best technology shown here is conceptual, wildly expensive, too far in the future, or all of the above. We are interested not because we expect to find it in a store next week, but because it informs about the things that we will find in stores over the next two years. Also, we are interested because giant screens are fantastic, especially when folded.
This year I think there are some big trends to watch out for. There are those concepts. But there was also very real news about processors with imminent release dates. AMD, Intel, and Nvidia announced components that could make for some great laptops (especially gaming laptops). And then: countless laptops were announced that will use those parts.
And since this is CES, we saw the state of the art advance once again in TVs with Mini LEDs and brighter OLEDs. I have to say that with TVs in particular, I am pleased to see tech companies competing on direct image quality through higher contrast and HDR rather than just higher pixel counts and, I don’t know, 3D or curved displays. There is also HDMI 2.1 in the world and all the functions it enables. Wait for the reviews, of course, but I suppose if you have a TV with a few miles, this is going to be a great year to update and you will be surprised by the improvement in quality.
Was there also a capsule-based ice cream machine that people who like fun things and curmudgeons like me complained about? Yes. There is always a device that breaks and receives more attention than we expected. The thing about this year’s virtual CES is that there was simply less to choose from. We had almost as many major announcements as usual, but we didn’t have the odd corners of the show floor where we’d find diamonds in that badass convention center.
I know it is not an experience that the vast majority of people can have. For most of you, CES has forever been virtual. But we’ll never know which sales deals won’t get through or the crazy announcers won’t get attention because a couple hundred thousand people were left out of Las Vegas this year.
Five years ago I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to wander the CES show floor with Walt Mossberg, just toying with things that were new back then. After you’ve seen the CES 2021 recap at the top of this post, I encourage you to take a look at what CES 2016 was like, below. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I hope I can return to the show in person next year.
