CES 2022: five lessons from the giant tech fair

CES, the annual consumer electronics fair that is closely watched by enthusiasts, looked dramatically different this year.

Of course, some things were still familiar: companies showed the latest batch of flashy TVs. The onslaught of eccentric devices got weirder. And there’s no shortage of high-end health trackers, including a light bulb that monitors how you sleep.

But this year’s CES was also a great experience of how to run a face-to-face event during a pandemic. Covid-19 rapid tests were given to participants, and proof of vaccination and masks were required.

Many of the big tech and media companies dropped out. Widely shared photos showed nearly empty showroom areas. And a series of presentations, including the CES kickoff event with General Motors CEO Mary Barra, were pre-recorded.

“It was surreal,” said Martin DeBono, president of GAF Energy, who decided to continue participating in person to showcase his company’s new solar tile. “This was probably my eleventh year going to CES and the lack of crowd of people was bizarre.”

Even so, a lot was said about the products exhibited this year. Here are five lessons from the giant tech fair:

Everyone wants a piece of the metaverse

It’s been years since CES introduced the “next big thing” that everyone would be talking about, but this year discussions have largely focused on the metaverse, which refers to efforts to combine virtual and augmented reality technologies in a new realm. online.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and its Oculus gaming system, is by far the market leader at the moment as it goes through a wave of hires to develop the concept while many other companies are still trying to get in on the action. .

The new PlayStation VR 2 headset and its VR2 Sense controller, as well as HTC’s Vive wrist control for the Vive Focus 3 headset, were unveiled at CES.

The VR2 Sense controller, for example, features eye tracking and in-ear audio feedback, which amplifies the sensations of the player’s actions during gameplay.

In a press release, the company said players can feel “a character’s accelerated beats during moments of tension, the movement of objects passing close to the character’s head, or the thrust of a vehicle as the character accelerates.”

“This is the first time in a long time that we’ve seen a strong new topic emerge at CES, as for years it’s always been AI, Internet of Things or autonomous vehicles,” said Pedro Pacheco, senior director of research at Gartner, who does market research.

“Right now, many companies are including the metaverse in their long-term technology roadmap, thinking about how they should bring it to life.”

Cars take center stage

Automotive technology has always been a big part of CES, but this year, one ad after another seemed to hit the headlines: BMW launched a color-changing car, John Deere introduced an autonomous tractor, and companies pledged to make the more affordable electric vehicles.

BMW’s iX electric concept car featured electronic panels similar to those you’d find on a digital reader like the Kindle, coated for weather protection.

In a demonstration, BMW showed how an owner could change a car’s color from black to white in a matter of seconds. (BMW has not announced plans to bring this type of technology to a production-line vehicle).

Automakers have also launched several new, more competitively priced electric vehicles, including the Silverado EV, starting at $39,900 (about R$225,000), and the 2024 Chevy Equinox, starting at $30,000 (the equivalent of $30,000). BRL 170 thousand).

Meanwhile, the trend of tech companies entering the world of vehicle manufacturing continued: Sony announced plans for its own car brand, following in the footsteps of other tech companies like Xiaomi and Foxconn.

If the rumors are true, Apple could also join the club.

dystopian technology

While some of the innovations presented an optimistic vision for the future, others made the future (and even our current pandemic reality) a little darker.

This is the case of the “Vision Omnipod”, a concept that LG announced this week. The autonomous vehicle – which is not yet a real commercial product – has a refrigerator, a chair that reclines into a bed, a screen that passengers can use to watch movies or access games and other virtual spaces, as well as a video assistant. artificial intelligence that can keep people entertained, help them work out, or order food.

Did you enjoy being alone at home during the pandemic? So maybe you’ll enjoy hiding in this hi-tech cabin forever.

Other companies have introduced more realistic but still unsettling products, including a charging station that claims to be able to prevent your phone or smart device from overhearing confidential conversations. (Although users have long been afraid that technological devices might overhear conversations, this is basically unfounded, however the concern itself points to our sometimes strained relationship with technology).

As if that weren’t enough, there was also a stuffed animal, called Amagami Ham Ham, who nibbled on her finger to relieve stress, because apparently that’s how we are after the chaos of the past two years.

The Future of Foldable Electronics

Companies have experimented with folding technology in recent years, but many like Samsung showcased enhanced versions at CES 2022, which highlight how the niche market is evolving.

Samsung’s Flex S and Flex G tri-fold concepts allow users to fold a tablet into three parts, looking almost like an “s”, suggesting how its folding smartphone lines, Flip and Fold, could evolve in the future.

Meanwhile, Asus’ new Zenbook 17, a 17-inch folding laptop with an OLED screen, can be used as a tablet or folded in half like a laptop, with a 12.5-inch screen on top and a displayed keyboard. on the screen below.

Other companies like Dell have adopted products that address the hybrid working trend.

Dell’s Concept Flow connects and disconnects laptops to a second screen based on proximity, and Dell’s prototype mobile webcam Pari connects anywhere, whether it’s on the side of the computer screen or above a pad Notes if you want colleagues to see notes in real time during a meeting.

Small Businesses Step Out of the Shadow of the Big Techs

In normal years, much of the attention during CES is directed at the biggest names in technology, and there were concerns that this year’s event would fall apart after big exhibitors like Meta and Amazon dropped out days before it started.

But for companies that decided to stay the course and attend in person, some said the empty showroom spaces were actually a blessing.

“Usually when you come to a CES, it’s dominated by the biggest tech companies,” making it harder to get media attention, said Richard Browning, director of marketing and sales at Nextbase, which launched a new camera at CES this year. smart called Nextbase IQ.

The company’s new product received more press coverage than expected this year, in part “because a lot of the big brands weren’t here in person,” he said.

While tech giants have many other ways to reach audiences, CES is a crucial international venue for smaller players to reach consumers and industry partners.

Those who attended in person said that, despite the lower overall participation, those who attended were more open to discovering new technologies and becoming more deeply involved.

And some companies said the fair’s virtual elements were less appealing after nearly two years of regularly showcasing their technology at meetings via Zoom and other virtual forums.

In fact, after this year, some like GAF Energy’s DeBono see potential for a new (albeit unlikely) future for CES conferences, where the “horses of people” who just want to see the newest TVs and other common devices hang around home, and only those who really want to see technological innovations make the trip to be there in person.

“CES will persist and I think the proportion of true innovation will increase compared to what is just iteration,” he said.