CES 2023 Trends and Highlights
“The NEXT BIG THING”
CES is one of the largest trade shows in the world with a critical mass of exhibitors, press events, and industry executives, but it has rarely been the best place to see “the next big thing.” Case in point: even though the last universally acknowledged world-changing tech product announcement, the iPhone, was announced during CES 2007, it was not at CES itself in Las Vegas, but at MacWorld in San Francisco. (Side note: I attended both that year. It was exhausting.) Ever since then, Apple has made its announcements at its own events on its own timeframe. All the other major tech companies have followed suit, even if, like Microsoft and Samsung, they also continue exhibiting and holding media events at CES.
That doesn’t imply that CES is any less important, just the expectations should be different. ES’s gravitational mass pulls in so many device manufacturers across so many tech categories that it makes Las Vegas in early January one of the best places to spot trends and assess vendor and industry ecosystems.
CES started out as a post-holiday trade show where consumer electronics buyers could place orders for the upcoming year. While some tech categories are on different cadences, this remains roughly true for televisions and white label goods. CES is still a consumer electronics trade show. However, it is also a car show (the West Hall is entirely about automotive and automation), a home and health tech show (at the Venetian Expo), and a geographic startup expo (Eureka Park, downstairs at the Venetian Expo).
What CES Is LIKE POST (MID?) -Pandemic
Due to a surge in Covid, last’s year CES was mainly an expo, not a full trade show (see Badges & Binax – What It Was Like Attending CES 2022 in Las Vegas). There was plenty to see on the show floor last year – and with only 40,000 people attending, it was delightfully easy to walk around – but all the off-site meetings were cancelled. This year, the crowds were back, but not to pre-pandemic levels – approximately 110,000 people according to the show. China opened up its borders too close to the show to make an impact. Instead, the booths around the edges of the Las Vegas Convention Center were partly taken over by suppliers from other South Asian countries. While the Chinese white-label factory representatives may be back at CES 2024, the shifting supply chain is one trend that is likely to continue to grow. The other big trend spread throughout the show was Matter, a standard that launched last year with support from all the major consumer IoT platforms, brands, and silicon suppliers. I expect that it will really take off in 2024, when more products and device categories hit the market.
Forget Trends: “What Did You See At CES That’s Cool?”
As much as CES is better for noting supply chain shifts and the adoption of cross-industry home automation standards, the most common question I get is, “what was cool?” If you need a practical example of how smartphone and weables tech is evolving, I got a demo of eSight Go, which are essentially electronic glasses for the blind. Many legally blind people have areas of their vision that do work, and the eSight Go takes those capabilities and matches them with cameras, optics, and computing, all in a wearable form factor. eSight Go should reach the market in 4Q23. Very cool.
Computing
Trend: PC demand is down significantly at this stage of the pandemic. No single trend really defined computing at CES, though there were a lot of gaming laptops, and anything that wasn’t explicitly aimed at gaming was positioned as a hybrid work solution. I’ll cover that separately below.
Highlights:
As expected, NVIDIA brought the 4000 series GPU architecture to laptops with DLSS 3 and ray tracing for both gaming and content creation. On the desktop side, the new $799 RTX 4070 Ti is confusing and enraging enthusiasts who consider it just a rename of the 4080 which wasn’t the best value. Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and others all announced updated gaming and creator laptops with these chips.
Samsung introduced some new incredible curved OLED Odyssey Ark gaming monitors. Not cheap, but highly desirable.
After announcing its second-generation foldable laptop – the X1 Fold gen 2 – at IFA, you could be forgiven if you thought that Lenovo would just update its ThinkPads with Intel 13th gen processors and call it a day. Instead, the company used CES to launch another laptop that pushes form factor limits: the YogaBook 9i (Gen 8), a dual-screen laptop that comes with a folio/stand, detachable Bluetooth keyboard, and Smart Pen stylus. This design is unconventional, but when the laptop is flipped on its side, it effectively becomes a dual-portrait-mode PC.
Lenovo also added the ThinkBook Plus Twist – a 2-in-1 with a color e-ink display on the back of the 13” OLED display and a rotating hinge that effectively makes it the primary screen. It’s extremely interesting, but Lenovo is going to have to do a better job explaining what the use case is here.
HP’s HyperX brand showed off semi-custom mass-3D printed gaming accessories, but the main brand was focused on sustainability (and OMEN gaming laptops. So many gaming laptops). This isn’t just the usual smaller, recyclable packaging, but extensive use of new materials. The HP 14 inch Laptop PC - Eco Edition is made of up to 25% post-consumer recycled plastics. Bio-circular content such as used cooking oil was integrated in the bottom cover of the device. The HP 24 and 27 inch All-In-One PCs uses recycled coffee grounds in the finish of the PC (which give it a really nice sparkly look in person).7 More than 40% of the enclosure contains post-consumer recycled plastics, 75% recycled aluminum is used on the arm stand, and 100% reclaimed polyester is used on the stand base.
TCL announced its first 2-in-1 detachable Windows laptop. The TCL BOOK X12 Go runs on Qualcomm’s budget Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 computing platform and features a unique NXTPAPER LCD display with multiple diffusion layers that reduce reflections to minimize eyestrain. If priced right, this combination of modest performance, light weight, and eye-friendly display could make it a good option for parents buying children a laptop for schoolwork.
Hybrid Work
Trend: During the pandemic, PC and accessory vendors shifted their designs to highlight work-from-anywhere and collaborative features, and those products are still hitting the market now, even as employers are pushing the workers that they haven’t laid off to come back to the office.
Highlights:
HP is taking the previously enterprise Dragonfly brand to consumers with the Dragonfly Pro (Windows) and Dragonfly Pro Chromebook (ChromeOS, but different features). However, Dragonfly G4 is still aimed at enterprise road warriors. HP’s prosumer Dragonfly laptops, like the Dragonfly Folio, remain enterprise-only. The branding confusion extends to retail channels: the “enterprise” Dragonflies aren’t sold in most retail channels because HP talks about hybrid work but doesn’t actually enable employees or entrepreneurs to easily purchase products that are designed for them.
HP’s Poly brand has been making audio and conferencing products for decades, but the Voyager Free 60+ earbuds combine the two by adding a touchscreen display on the charging case for easy access to mute and other controls.
HP launched the 710 Rechargeable Silent Mouse so you won’t annoy people on your zoom call with loud mouse clicks. Loud keyboards and potato chip bags are bigger problems than noisy mice, but this is a reasonable product idea.
The standout feature on Lenovo’s ThinkBook 16p (Gen 4) is a pogo pin magnetic docking system for attaching an LTE modem, Light bar, or 4K Webcam attachment. Only one accessory can be connected at a time and I doubt hybrid workers are actually clamoring for a proprietary docking solution, but give Lenovo credit for trying something to address different market niches with a single product.
AnkerWork announced a set of wireless clip-on mics with a touchscreen controller that seem ideal for conducting podcast interviews. Techsponential has a set in for evaluation.
Mobile (Phones, SmartWatches, Tablets)
Trend: CES is not usually a big mobile show, but two separate platform announcements there this year herald that 2023 is becoming the year of satellite telephony.
Satellite Telephony Highlights:
Qualcomm announced that Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 phones will be capable of two-way messaging with Iridium satellites in the second half of the year with Garmin providing emergency services connectivity. Vendors need to enable the capability on phones, and it isn’t clear who is offering the messaging services or how it will be sold.
MediaTek has also developed a mobile chipset capable of connecting smartphones to satellites, and rugged device vendor Bullitt Group is putting together a turnkey solution with Skylo and Inmarsat using Motorola Defy handsets. This will be available in 1Q23 and is being pitched as an enterprise solution, though consumer use cases are sure to follow (if not by Bullitt then by someone else).
Smartphone Mobile Highlights
Lenovo owns Motorola and has made smartphones under its own brand in Asia, but the Lenovo ThinkPhone by Motorola is something new. The ThinkPhone shares its design ID with ThinkPad notebooks, includes Lenovo’s security software, and is certified MIL-STD 810H for durability. It also features software features such as using the camera as a webcam and seamlessly sharing data between the phone and a ThinkPad laptop. The phone will be sold through business channels, which could be challenging; enterprises largely moved to the BYOD model after BlackBerry collapsed, and when they do buy Android devices for employees, they often demand mid-tier phones to save on costs. Lenovo hasn’t given a price for the ThinkPhone, but it uses last year’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC.
While Lenovo went niche, Samsung announced a much higher volume phone, the Galaxy A14. This is Samsung’s first budget 5G offering for 2023, offering sub-6 5G, a 90Hz refresh display, and years of software updates for under $200.
At a suite off the show floor, Samsung Display pretended it was TCL and showed off multiple rolling and folding displays in concept devices that may or may not have any connection to actual future products. Samsung is a linked chaebol corporate structure and its component divisions are not always in sync with its devices groups, so the fact that Samsung Display showed off a tri-fold phone does not mean that Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 will look like this. But something could.
Wearable and Tablet Highlights:
Verizon launched the latest in its kids watch line, the Gizmo Watch 3 with more contacts, more safe zones for tracking where your child is, longer battery life thanks to the new Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100, and a camera for video calling. Kids watches are a category that isn’t discussed much, but expands the reach of carriers within families and likely reduces churn.
In addition to a NXTPAPER Windows 2-in-1 (see Computing above), TCL also put a 12.2” 2K version of its second generation NXTPAPER screen in an Android tablet, the NXTPAPER 12 Pro. Unlike the Windows/Qualcomm version, this is based on MediaTek’s Kompanio 800T processor, comes with a TCL E-Pen stylus (the keyboard cover is an optional add-on), and it is available now for $499.
Lenovo is the latest vendor to jump into the digital writing slate market with Smart Paper, a $400 10.3” e-ink tablet with a stylus. The Smart Paper runs Android, so Lenovo has a real opportunity to stress the flexibility of note-taking with connected apps rather than the limited capabilities on reMarkable and Amazon’s Kindle Scribe. There are other Android e-ink slates, notably, from Boox, but Lenovo has brand and distribution advantages.
IoT
Trend: Matter launched version 1.0 of the spec in November last year, and CES was its coming out party. At every major vendor’s booth at CES, the Matter logo was on display, Matter-compatible products were being introduced, and, if you pressed, someone was able to provide an answer as to which existing products would be get Matter software updates (vendors are varying wildly in their approach to backwards compatibility). However, what is less clear is how long it will take for the standard to mature and include more device types, and for consumer benefits to manifest.
Highlights:
Nobody wants to buy smarthome hubs, and bundling them with products (bulbs, locks, etc.) raises the cost of entry. Samsung has integrated a SmartThings hub into its WiFi routers in the past, and at CES it introduced the SmartThings Station: a SmartThings/Matter/Thread hub disguised as a fast wireless charging pad. This is less a way of sneaking Matter into other hub-like products the way Amazon, Google, and Apple are doing with their smart speakers, but makes purchasing a hub more palatable by adding value.
MediaTek announced the Genio 700, a chipset designed for general purpose IoT that looks a lot like a 6nm smartphone chip – which, in some ways, it is. Genio 700 has two ARM A78 cores, six ARM A55 cores, plus an AI accelerator and an ISP for better images. MediaTek showed it off in security camera demos, but it is expected to also be used in industrial applications and even home fitness machines and smart cooking appliances.
Until now, Wi-Fi 7 has been the subject of press releases and vendor demos, but at Pepcom’s Digital Experience at CES, the first WiFi 7 home, mesh, gaming, and enterprise routers reaching the market from TP-Link were on display. At least they are supposed to be on the market; as of this writing they do not appear to be for sale. But they’re coming.
TV
Trend: In most contexts, TVs are now part of the digital home, but at CES, televisions are their own category. New display tech is coming down in price, but in the meantime, vendors need to find ways to cope with lower demand.
Highlights:
TCL switched up its branding, eliminating its numbered series and focusing instead on bringing more capabilities to lower price points with the new S-Series value line. The Q-series is TCL’s higher performance line, but it is relegating miniLED, which it previously offered starting in the 5-series, to just the top Q-series model.
HiSense went the other direction, adding miniLED to its entire ULED line, with miniLED sets starting at just $500. This has the potential to be extremely competitive if HiSense marketing can capitalize on it at retail (not a given in today’s environment).
HiSense is also leaning further into UST (Ultra Short Throw) projectors, splitting the line into three sub-brands/segments: Laser TV for TV replacement, Laser Cinema for the home theater, and Cube for portable mini-projectors. To kick of the Laser Cinema line, HiSense teamed up with Leica for the Cine 1, which sports a custom Leica-made lens to justify its $8,300 - 9,000 price point.
Finally, HiSense debuted a new acronym seemingly just to confuse people: ULED X. It's a backlit LCD, can get really, really big (110"), and really bright (2500 Nits peak) and fairly dark (150,000:1 contrast ratio). HiSense is still investing in microLED, but it acknowledges that it is nowhere near mainstream.
Samsung disagrees, sort of, and is pushing microLED down to significantly smaller sizes. Samsung wouldn’t say how much the smallest 50” microLED TVs costs, but Samsung marketing reps made a reasonable case that if price is no object and you want the absolute best display technology, this is it.
Samsung also provided the first real use case for 8K: significantly raising brightness levels for laser-powered UST projectors, allowing extremely large screen sizes even with full light in the room.
AR & VR
Trend: It’s complicated. Wearable displays that tether to phones or laptops are ready but it isn’t clear that this is a large market. Companies continue to invest in VR ahead of Apple’s likely entrance, and AR makes for great tech demos.
Highlights:
nReal is probably the best-known wearable display vendor, even if no one outside of the industry has actually heard of them. At CES I got a demo from XRAI that repurposed the nReal glasses for more than watching private video on airplanes. XRAI is live AI transcription service designed initially for hard of hearing to read what family and friends are saying. When a microphone was used it was remarkably effective even in a noisy bar; without the mic, less so, but still useful.
TCL is taking on nReal with the NXTWEAR S. The first generation had painful ergonomics, but I got heads on with these at CES and that has been fixed. The NXTWEAR S have dual 1080p micro OLED displays and will be coming to the U.S. in 1Q23 for $399.
At CES 2022 I got to try on TCL’s prototype AR glasses, which had extremely rough software and were literally held together by paper clips and duct tape. What a difference a year makes: this year the RayNeo X2 got a name, proper industrial design, and a live multi-lingual translation demo. They still are the only AR glasses I’ve seen with binocular full-color holographic optical waveguide Micro-LED displays. TCL is using Qualcomm’s XR2 platform; while the new AR1 would be a better fit for this form factor, development timelines dictated the choice. These are still prototypes, though TCL intends to release them to developers by the end of the year.
On the VR side, TCL’s display division, CSOT, was also showing off NXTWEAR V, a VR concept headset with 108 degree FOV and 1512 ppi pixel density. I got to try it on and it worked for a static demo, but TCL emphasized that this is just a concept.
Sony is just weeks away from opening sales for the PSVR 2. After finally showing off a physical unit at MediaTek’s Executive Summit, Sony brought several working units to CES and allowed people to play the headset’s flagship launch title, Horizon: Call of the Mountain. I was not one of those people.
I did get plenty of time with the XR Elite VR headset that HTC Vive announced at the show. This is an $1100 self-contained Qualcomm XR2 headset that stands out with smart design and features. At this price point, a wide 110 degree FOV, high resolution display, and pass-through for limited AR is expected, but converting into a tethered display is unique. The pass-through experience definitely needs some work (HTC says it will improve before launch). However, my favorite feature is the easily adjustable IPD and diopters that allowed me to test the headset without needing glasses.
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