CES 2021: A preview of this year's consumer electronics show

These are a couple of of the numerous new merchandise anticipated to be unveiled subsequent week on the Shopper Electronics Present, the annual splashy tech convention that usually units the tone for the largest traits of the yr. Dwelling automation, well being and 5G will as soon as once more be buzzy subjects, however many firms can even introduce pandemic-specific options to mirror our elevated time at dwelling.

Every year, reporters, exhibitors and traders usually discover Las Vegas showrooms full of large TVs, good automobiles and robots fixing martinis, however CES can be on-line just for the primary time in its 54-year historical past as a result of Covid-19.

The Shopper Electronics Affiliation, the nonprofit behind the four-day occasion beginning Monday, stated 1,800 exhibitors from around the globe will fill its “digital venue” this yr — a quantity that is down considerably from 4,000 in-person exhibitors final yr. The transfer will permit tech firms from international locations who’ve by no means attended earlier than to participate within the on-line spectacle, however might additionally make it more durable for smaller firms to get seen with no bodily showroom sales space to come upon.

Registered attendees will be capable of stream (and re-watch) keynotes from firms comparable to Verizon (VZ) and Basic Motors (GM), tune in to breakout periods — about how, for instance, know-how is taking part in a task in vaccine deployment — and search via a registry of exhibitors to look at new product shows.

It will lack a number of the signature elements of the commerce present, comparable to hands-on time with the newest devices, demos and networking. However the know-how that makes our lives extra linked and handy will nonetheless resonate as we proceed to navigate a worldwide pandemic. CNN Enterprise can be monitoring all the large bulletins after which some.

5G

5G will dominate discussions at CES 2021 a lot because it did final yr.

Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg will kick off the present with a keynote centered on what the corporate has realized from rolling out its 5G community and tease its future plans. And Anne Chow, the CEO of AT&T Enterprise, is predicted to do the identical in a breakout session. (WarnerMedia, the mother or father firm of CNN, is owned by AT&T.)

About 20 periods, as listed on CES’ web site, will dive into how 5G will reinvent varied industries, from vehicles and good cities to healthcare and farming. 5G-connected laptops can also make an look, in keeping with David McQueen, analysis director at ABI Analysis. Producers, together with Dell (DELL) and Lenovo (LNVGF), have but to disclose their 5G plans, pricing and total methods and will use this week to put it out.

5G is right here in lots of our greatest merchandise, together with the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy smartphones, nevertheless it definitely has not reached what’s believed to be its potential but. These bulletins could provide a roadmap for the way it will get there.

Well being tech

Well being devices, health tools and wearables have lengthy been common at CES, however the class can be supersized this yr, each due to a rise in demand from the pandemic and the business regularly shifting on this path even earlier than.

Subsequent-level wearables will transcend conventional monitoring, very similar to the one which claims to affect your desires. New health companies and tools that preserve you linked to others can even floor, and there can be no scarcity of devices that mirror how we reside now.

“Search for quite a few well being options, particularly those who declare that they’ll let you know in case you are displaying indicators of potential an infection — raised physique temp, elevated coronary heart price and respiration — or in case you are socially distanced sufficient,” stated Ramon Llamas, analysis director at market intelligence agency IDC. “Or take a look at totally different disinfection options for the house, just like those that declare they’ll zap undesirable or harmful microbes in your telephone.”

Digital transformation

Final yr’s transfer to online-everything — telehealth, working from dwelling, distant studying, streaming — can be a major speaking level at CES, however so will tech’s function to higher help these adjustments.

Microsoft (MSFT) president Brad Smith is predicted to debate increasing international broadband by utilizing unused broadcast spectrum through the firm’s presentation, in keeping with Gary Shapiro, CEA president and CEO. In the meantime, telehealth visits could get extra superior with new augmented actuality instruments, and a rumored chip from AMD might assist computer systems higher deal with multiplayer video games. Samsung (SSNLF) already introduced new Chromebooks — a less expensive various to higher-tier laptops — as hundreds of thousands of scholars study from dwelling.

Sensible dwelling

With hundreds of thousands of individuals staying dwelling, firms are hoping they’re going to add extra good units and methods into residing rooms, kitchens and elsewhere. Past merchandise like good fridges and washers, home equipment comparable to robotic vacuum cleaners and air filters could get smarter with voice integration.

In accordance with ABI Analysis analysis supervisor Jonathan Collins, the pandemic helped increase the enchantment of dwelling care, social and academic robots, so we are able to anticipate much more of that this yr at CES, too.

Samsung Galaxy S21

Samsung’s Galaxy S21 launch occasion is not formally a part of CES, however the firm will use the convention’s final day to unveil three new smartphones. (It usually hosts its annual Unpacked occasion forward of the Cellular World Congress in Barcelona — the primary main convention that was canceled final yr as a result of Covid-19). This yr, we’re anticipating the lineup to incorporate an improved digicam, a flatter design and a decrease beginning value.