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Fein-Lines: Ramping up for CES 2024

CES is perhaps the largest and most inclusive technology show in the world. No matter which area of technology you care about, this show in Las Vegas will have it. I have been attending and covering CES for over 40 years and as a techie, I always look forward to it. This massive event is less than a month away.

CES has launched many of the industry’s most exciting technological breakthroughs over the years and I expect the Jan. 8–12, 2024 show to continue this tradition. From what I can see, it will be a full recovery from the COVID-19 era, with attendance more than 130,000 and over 3,500 exhibitors, most of them at the newly refurbished Vegas Convention Center.

In addition to the exhibits, there will be a keynote address from Oliver Zipse, chair of the BMW board of management; CES 2023 Tech Trends to Watch; the Electric Boat Show; ASKA Flying Car demo; and what very well may be the world’s largest auto show focusing on new automotive technology. There will be other very interesting keynotes which are just now being announced.

Of all the exhibits and announcements I may be most excited about the awe-inspiring “Eureka Park.” For more than a decade, startups have convened at this specific show segment in pursuit of their big break in the tech industry. In the electric atmosphere of the world’s largest startup event, exhibitors pitch potential partners, investors, and “Shark Tank” casting directors alike.

Some examples of what to expect:

• Intel usually shows a new lineup of processors with the Raptor Lake family highlighted last year.
• AMD has strongly hinted at some amazingly powerful processors, such as the new AMD 128-core CPU and the matching Mobo, with RAM up to a terabyte. It’s likely that both Intel and AMD will both be showing some amazing new CPU technology.
• NVIDIA often uses CES to launch its latest graphics cards (GPUs), so there’s a chance we’ll see the much-rumored Blackwell GPUs.
• In my opinion, the combination of one of the upcoming amazingly powerful processors as well as extremely powerful (and very expensive) graphics hardware indicates new computers that would have been included in the pretext “SUPER” less than a decade ago.
• Lenovo, Asus, and Acer will all display new laptops, while peripheral companies like Logitech and Razer will likely be on the show floor talking about their latest mice, keyboards and headsets.
• VR and XR devices continue to advance as does the overall category of virtual reality. However, computers and their components as well as advanced drivers used to maximize their performance and capabilities and software that will take advantage of the upgrades, are just one small part of what will be shown at this year’s show.
• How about new high-tech e-bikes using AI? How about AI coming in just about everything?

You would think that new automotive technology would be introduced primarily at car shows but the technological advances we all have come to expect in today’s vehicles were often first shown at CES in higher-end vehicles or prototype cars. The CES 2024 show will include more than 400 vehicle technology exhibitors.  Car manufacturers like Mercedes, Hyundai, GM, and others usually park some of their latest innovations on the show floor for attendees to see and enter. As noted, most automotive innovations are initially limited to expensive vehicles or prototypes.

Mercedes usually has a truly amazing exhibit, but others are now announcing truly awesome capabilities. For example, we just received an announcement that states, “Mitsubishi Electric to debut FLEXConnect, an advanced vehicle cockpit system exclusively at 2024 CES. FLEXConnect, features advanced safety features, an intuitive interface and enhanced sensory feedback. With these features Mitsubishi Electric FLEXConnect is projected to establish a new cabin experience standard, revolutionizing the way drivers interact with vehicles and vice versa.”

Other rather amazing industrial vehicles from companies such as John Deere include new technology usually first shown at their CES exhibit. We can also expect some further advances in self-driving as well as flying cars to be shown this year.

Of course, there will be the absolute latest in TVs, audio devices, health technology, new drones, gaming (everything from virtual reality to new versions of pinball machines), new furniture and appliances technology, mobile phones, and more. It's even possible we could get a sneak preview of the Galaxy S24 phone. Expect to see some new smart home and fitness tech and imagine the effect of inclusion of AI to any of the above.

Samsung, for example, will likely be back at CES to show off its latest QD-OLED TV innovations. It was one of the most highly-rated TVs in 2023, so there will no doubt be some sort of follow-up at CES 2024. Similarly, LG will likely be showing off its successors to the LG C3 OLED and LG G3 OLED, presumably called the LG C4 OLED and G4 OLED. Sony had a really small showing at the 2023 CES, not at all like them. Perhaps they will show more new gadgets this year. It would be interesting to see what its next picture processor will look like after the Cognitive XR as well as the next generation of its Mini-LED technology.

Expect to see some smart home and fitness tech there as well from Google, Amazon and, weirdly, Roku, which recently moved into that space thanks to a partnership with Wyze Labs.

Something I really enjoy is Showstoppers, one of the absolute best press event at the show. It is a mini CES, showing some of the more impressive new advances, press access to senior management, and an opportunity to actually try some of the most exciting new technology. As someone who has covered this event for many years, I find the four hours spent at Showstoppers to be some of the most valuable and informative at CES.

We have covered this event for over 25 years, and as they say, “Hundreds of the most influential domestic and international journalists are expected to join us at CES 2024,” so we are honored to be invited to attend again this year and I expect to have some amazing devices, new technology, new use of AI and so much more to report on.

Upcoming CES Events that I expect to cover and report on:

• CES Unveiled Las Vegas: Jan. 7 (media only)
• CES 2024 Media Days: Jan. 7-8, (many pre show focused presentations by major companies)
• CES 2024: Jan. 9-12, (the show floor itself)
• Showstoppers: Jan 9
• Various keynotes
• A presentation by Bill Gates. In a blog post, Gates shares some of his predictions for the future, now that AI is becoming more and more prevalent. According to Gates, within the next five years, we won’t be using different apps for different tasks. Instead, you’ll simply tell your phone or computer what you want to do in everyday language, and it will be able to handle your request.
• Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon will speak at 2 p.m. PT Jan. 10, in the Palazzo Ballroom at the Venetian. "We're entering the age of generative AI, and on-device generative AI has the potential to profoundly impact how we interact with our devices," said Amon. "Running AI pervasively and continually on the device will transform our user experience, making it more natural, intuitive, relevant, and personal, with increased immediacy, privacy, and security. I'm excited to share more about how our devices will be seamlessly integrated into our lives at CES."
• Tuesday evening features CES Unveiled, “the official media event of CES,” which is open only to registered media. Before the show floor opens, we get a sneak peek of the groundbreaking new products and technologies that will be shown at CES 2023.
• CES really knows how to cater to the media, as Wednesday, Jan. 4 is Media Day, and will include a day of focused events from companies such as LG Electronics, Bosch, Panasonic, Canon, Samsung, Sony, AMD, BMW, and several others.

None of those companies have as of this writing announced publicly what they’ll be showing, but based on what types of products they usually show and show we can expect some amazing announcements.

Dan Feinberg is an I-Connect007 technical editor.