A Glimpse Into the Future: 5 Top Trends at CES
After a week filled with high-definition TV screens and shiny new gadgets, the International Consumer Electronics Show comes to a close.
Now that we’ve gotten a glimpse into our future, what were some of the themes of this year’s CES? Here are five trends:
1. At CES, cars drive you.
Not only will cars have sophisticated dashboards that point us to our destination and sync cleanly with our smartphones, but they’re inching closer to taking over the steering wheel.
It may be called the Consumer Electronics Show, but parts of this year’s CES resembled an auto show as car makers came out in droved to show off hi-tech infotainment and driver assistance features.
Audi and Mercedes were among the car manufacturers showcasing self-driving vehicles.
Meanwhile, BMW and chip maker Nvidia demonstrated technology where the car would serve as an auto-valet, finding its own parking space and returning to your location when ready.
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2. Here comes 4K.
This is not a drill. It seems consumers have been hearing for years about the display resolution that’s four times sharper than traditional HD.
Now comes the rush of affordable TV sets and compatible programming to satisfy your desire for only the highest of high-definition. But don’t get too comfortable. There’s already talk of 8K.
3. Drones are kind of a big deal.
They were everywhere, and they’re available in all sizes, from behemoths that can be used for industrial purposes to a wearable drone that can help users take selfies. And if CES attendees weren’t flying them, they were constructing them with a 3-D printer.
4. Nearly every single object is connected to the Internet.
Last year offered a taste of this with smart appliances like refrigerators with digital grocery lists or ovens users can adjust with their smartphone. Now, think of any object and there’s likely a version that is Wi-Fi enabled or tailored for the “Internet of Things” era.
5. Don’t ever lose your smartphone.
Set aside the usual functions of our mobile devices, such as checking e-mail, texting and — yes, phones still do this — calling and chatting with friends. Now, you can start your car, pay for purchases, unlock your home and monitor your health or that of loved ones.
It seems a bit scary to have so much tech at CES and elsewhere potentially tethered to your smartphone (or tablet).
