What to expect at CES2016 technology conference

The international Consumer Electronics Show, held annually in Las Vegas in January for the past 18 years (and held in various locations before that since it began in New York City in 1967) gathers together tech companies, reporters, advertisers and analysts for one giant sprawling series of events dedicated to showing off thousands of new gadgets. CES 2016 officially runs from Monday, January 4th to Saturday, January 9th.

Though its star has faded in recent years, CES can still be useful to predict the trends in consumer technology for the year ahead (and sometimes, for two years ahead). Many products announced at CES never make it farther than the show floor, but ideas such as virtual reality, high-resolution television, and autonomous vehicles all received major pushes at CES.

These are what we are expected to see at CES 2016;

Virtual reality

image via Oculus

For decades, virtual reality has been lauded by scientific researchers and cutting edge technologists. Now, it looks like 2016 will finally be the year that consumers will be able to get their hands on powerful VR headsets.

Experts anticipate that major players in VR like Facebook-owned Oculus and Sony-owned Playstation VR will drum up pre-launch buzz at each of their CES booths by demoing some of the most advanced headsets on the planet.

Last year, companies like Oculus and Razer held VR demonstrations in a limited capacity. Oculus was demonstrating one of its developer kits, Crescent Bay, showing off some of the technological breakthroughs like 3D audio. This year, the attention has shifted to the HTC Vive, a headset developed as a co-production between HTC and Valve.

In December, HTC announced that the HTC Vive would not be released to consumers until April 2016, more than four months after it was originally promised. HTC CEO Cher Wang explained the delay by saying that her team had made “a very, very big technological breakthrough.” Most experts expect the company to discuss the breakthrough at CES 2016.

Wearables will get even more personal

There will be a ton of new wearables at CES, but don’t expect much from Pebble, Apple, or Google and its myriad of Android Wear devices, which usually prefer to announce their new products away from the hustle and bustle of CES.

Instead, look forward to more niche devices. As most smartwatches are pretty mediocre at tracking calorie burn, there will likely be trackers with new and improved sensors on display.

Perhaps more interestingly, look to new wearables addressing specific health issues that have been largely ignored by the big names, such as women’s health.

Driverless cars and electric cars

 

What would a glimpse into the future be without autonomous vehicles? Now that 2015 is winding down, driverless cars are set to come onto the scene in a big way in the new year. Most notably, many are looking to Faraday Future for a big unveiling. The secretive startup company's automobiles are expected to be fully-electric and, of course, ship with auto-pilot capabilities. But as for what else they could bring, we’ll have to wait until January 4 at 8pm.
Though don’t count out the car companies you grew up with. Appearances from Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Hyundai, Mercedes, Toyota and more could bring some interesting features to the car industry in their own right. Chevy and Volkswagen are expected to unveil new electric automobiles. And Ford might be looking to unveil its Google-powered self-driving cars. We’ll know for sure once the Consumer Electronics Show officially starts.

Drones 

 

The jury is in: People love drones. In 2014, there were only four exhibitors at CES that were offering drones. This year, there will be 27 different exhibitors, with a massive marketplace taking up a large percentage of the showroom floor.
This year, the novelty of the quadcopter has finally worn off: It’s no longer enough to show people an ultra-powerful quadcopter with a 4K camera or one that can take off from the palm of your hand. It’s been done before, and the thrill is gone.

Now, people want drones to have advanced sensor arrays that monitor the environment, keep them from crashing, remain in legal airspace, and make flying them easier.
One of the drone companies everyone will be watching for is Lily Robotics. In 2015, Lily Robotics revealed its simple tracking drone on Kickstarter. The drone can be thrown up into the air, and it follows a user around using a bluetooth signal. The 2.8 pound Lily drone records video, audio, shoots photographs and can take off in midair—unlike many of the other aerial photography drones that require landing gears or feet. But while the concept videos have been very promising, it remains to be seen how functional Lily will be in practice, and hopefully CES 2016 is where we will find out.

More 2-in-1 computers

It’s been a slow churn, but the world seems to have finally embraced Microsoft’s vision of 2-in-1 computers. Though they’ve been around since the earliest days of Windows 8, Windows 10 and numerous hardware advancements have made them a much more palatable proposition for mainstream users.

We’ve already seen Surface imitators from the likes of Lenovo and HP, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see more manufacturers join the party. Likewise, there will probably be new third party keyboard covers for Apple’s own take on the convertible computer, the iPad Pro.

Connected homes

Every year we say “this is the year for IoT” but this time around, we think it really is. The industry has proven the concept with smart thermostats, like Google-owned Nest, as well as the surprise hit of Amazon Echo.
We’ve broken down technological barriers and improved upon connectivity with Bluetooth 4.0 and WiFi Direct. The only thing left is to get consumers on board with some really cool products.

The future holds a hint of Jetson-esque tech and a lot of that will be on display this year at CES. Refrigerators that compile grocery lists and send them off to home delivery services, smartphones become whole-house control devices and thermostats that “read” weather reports and adjust the temperature accordingly are just a few of the many products.There are no more roadblocks but consumers themselves. This year should be a big one for IoT and connected home technology.

What not to expect at CES

CES may be the biggest technology convention of the year, but it’s unlikely for tech giants like Google or Apple to announce any major news during the event. After all, they’ve got enough budget to host their own conferences several times a year. While smartphones and gaming consoles are definitely part of CES, you won’t find a new flagship Android or Xbox this soon after the new year began.
Still, that doesn’t mean teams from the likes of Google and Microsoft aren’t roaming the floors scoping out the latest trends. Just don’t expect any of them to unveil anything big until later this year.