It’s the biggest consumer-technology conference on the planet and yet CES just keeps getting bigger. And this year, people who love to watch the trends will have plenty to look into.
BestReviews is in Las Vegas to cover all of the newest and greatest products readying to launch, already on the market or trying to find a bigger reach. So before the madness really begins on Tuesday, we attended the media preview events to provide you a look into what you can expect to be leading the way this year at CES.
There are going to be three major buzzwords at this year’s CES, according to the speakers at the Tech Trends to Watch event: AI, sustainability and inclusivity.
This has been the case in the market for some time, but the volume just seems to be getting louder. With AI in particular, its ascendence as the talking point in tech will be even more on display during CES. It can’t be a coincidence that Microsoft announced just a couple days ago that it would be changing its keyboard for the first time in 30 years — to add an AI-copilot button, of course.
In many ways, AI will enable the other key trends in tech that will be on display this week. For example, inclusive designs were on display during the early exhibitions of the event. A prime example is Garmin rolling out a wheelchair mode for their popular Venu 3 smart watch.
On sustainability, the Paris Accords were signed in 2015, and with it comes commitments from countries around the globe to make significant investments in technology that will curb climate change. Companies are developing technologies that will help solve this massive issue.
After walking around the exhibits at the CES Unveiled event, it was clear this was true. Almost everything fell into the above three categories.
A sustainability product that caught our eye: The WaterCube by Genesis Systems
Developed in Tampa, Florida, the WaterCube by Genesis Systems promises to take water from the air and turn it into pure fresh water. There are concerns about water availability in most parts of this country, and their sleek-looking machine could be the solution. It plugs into the same outlet you’d plug your washer or dryer into and creates more than 100 gallons of water a day, working best in hot and humid climates.
Outside of the main three trends, there’s also a focus on products that meet the consumer where they are. Namely, products for Generation Z that make their smartphones more immersive (86% of Generation Z respondents in a survey said tech was essential to their lives); and products for older generations that ease the discomforts of aging.
Focusing on the latter group, there was a significant focus on health and wellness technology that was personalized and intelligent.
A product for making TV more enjoyable for people with hearing difficulties
Ever noticed how hard it is to get dialogue loud enough to actually hear what the characters on screen are saying? The Mirai speaker solves that problem by making content easier to hear without forcing people to crank their TVs up to full volume.
The product is designed with people experiencing hearing loss in mind. Its curved design allows the sound to be more evenly distributed and reach more areas of the room.
It’s perfect for people who have a hard time hearing what they’re watching when consuming TV or movies with others or for families who feel like one person requires the volume to be much louder than everyone else.
The television already exists as the focal point of most living rooms. With technological advancements on the near horizon, it promises to unlock even more aspects of modern home life: From smart-home commands to becoming a platform for e-commerce transactions.
Additionally, gaming will be in focus as the industry continues to grow as consumers are expected to spend more in 2024 on software in the space.
Samsung, a leader in all things TV, announced on Jan. 5 that its TVs will get an official video game controller at the event. We’re excited to take a look at it and see if it will be popular to catch on where others who entered this space failed.
An improved cat door: The Flappie
Anyone with a cat door will tell you the worst part of letting your outdoor cat inside is that they tend to bring you presents in the form of recently killed animals.
The Flappie, an AI-enabled cat door, won’t unlock unless the cat lets go of the dead rodent (or whatever else it has in its mouth).
It’s a fun idea backed by interesting technology that certainly fits the mold of utilizing innovative artificial intelligence to solve a real-life problem. The founder of the Flappie expects the product to launch to a wider consumer market by the end of the spring.
Supercharged stroller: GlüxKind
Parents are always looking for innovations to make everyday activities easier. Enter the GlüxKind line of products, which features a stroller that has a hands-free mode where the buggy goes out in front of you as you carry the child and manage the dog or do whatever else that would make that useful.
It has a white noise machine built into it, powered auto assist (which makes it feel like you’re operating an e-bike in terms of how little effort it takes to actually push the stroller), and you can enable an auto-rocking feature for when you want to have a moment to yourself and don’t want to keep pushing your sleeping baby back and forth. Finally, it also has sensors and cameras all around the stroller so you can avoid environmental dangers.
Are the features gratuitous? Maybe. But are they also intriguing for any exhausted new parent? Definitely.
Robot lawn mowers are coming to your town
At BestReviews, we’ve been reviewing robotic lawn mowers for years. The technology hasn’t gone widespread quite yet, but we expect that will change in the upcoming years.
The Mammotion Luba 2 was the most appealing of any of the options on display at CES Unveiled because it was a sleek machine that didn’t require intensive setup for it to navigate your yard. (Older models required you to stake your yard in certain ways to ensure it didn’t wreak havoc).
The Luba models allow you to use similar technology to robot vacuums that automatically map your space and learn the contours of your yard automatically.
If you’re interested in getting one of these ahead of spring and don’t want to wait for the newest model, check out the Luba AWD 5000 on Amazon now.
Personal safety perfected: Swann ActiveResponse Personal Safety Alarm
Fitting in the theme of inclusivity and using tech to make people safer, Swann received an CES Innovation Award for its ActiveResponse Personal Safety Alarm, which takes the product type to another level — including options to sync with friends/family members’ apps so they receive notifications for when/where the device was activated and then given options for how to respond, including sending law enforcement to the location.
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Jacob Palmer is the Sr. Director of Content for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
