Greg Wade shares his highlights from Las Vegas 2024.
Billed as the world’s largest and most influential tech event, CES 2024 once again lived up to the hype. The innovation trends that caught my eye over a packed four days in Las Vegas showed how the future tech and telco landscape will be even more interconnected, mobile and sustainable.
Integrating technology into sustainable lifestyles
A key takeaway from my time in Las Vegas was that technology will become increasingly integral to our lifestyles, helping us live more sustainably and healthily.
The trend towards wearable devices for enhancing wellbeing showed no sign of abating. Movano’s Evie Ring, designed to help women monitor their health, was honoured in the show’s Innovation Awards. Launching into a market that players such as Whoop, Samsung, Oura and Apple are also hotly contesting.
Other innovations underscored the growing synergy between mobility, energy efficiency, and telecommunications. Want to improve your wellbeing, save energy and power your mobile life? An hour of pedalling on LifeSpan’s Ampera desk bikecan generate enough power to fully charge a typical laptop or smartphone, several times over.
Enhancing the entertainment experience
Once again there was a strong focus on entertainment at CES. Judging by the innovations premiered, I think we can expect increasing convergence of telecoms and entertainment as well as a shift towards portable, high-quality experiences.
MSI debuted its portable PC-based gaming handheld, the Claw. As the first handheld gaming device with an Intel Core Ultra processor, it promises a powerful experience and represents a leap in mobile entertainment.
Evolutions in display technology caused quite a buzz. LG’s META technology 2.0 in next-gen OLED panels offers enhanced visual experiences on mobile devices – something that’s crucial for the future of mobile media consumption. And Samsung presented notable advancements in displays: a transparent microLED screen and new foldable phone screen concept “Flex In & Out" that allows users to flex, fold and bend their device both forward and backwards.
Innovations like these – the result of collaborative efforts between tech giants and display experts – are revolutionising how we interact with digital content in our daily lives.
Sustainable mobility through telecoms
The event also highlighted how, with the advancement of connected and autonomous vehicles, telecoms and sustainable mobility are becoming interwoven.
Turning its AI expertise to the automotive industry, Nvidia showcased an offering that covers everything from virtual car configurations to validation of autonomous driving technology. And Panasonic announced its Neuron system. As vehicles become more reliant on computer software and hardware, Neuron integrates processors into one central unit to reduce cost, weight and complexity.
Panasonic also announced a collaboration with Nissan-owned luxury vehicle brand Infiniti on the premium Klipsch audio system. This highlights the rising importance of high-quality, connected in-car experiences – a trend to which telecom industries are rapidly adapting.
Many innovations on show reflected the shift towards sustainable practices in the telecom sector, particularly in supporting greener mobile networks and the rise of electric vehicles. Bosch’s smart valet parking infrastructure works with vehicles’ onboard tech to enable a car to be parked – and, in the future, charged – automatically. Meanwhile, with EVs predicted to account for half of new vehicle sales in the US by 2030, LG Electronics has announced it will begin producing EV chargers for the US market.
Embracing AI at home and on the move
It’s no surprise that artificial intelligence featured prominently during the event with AI profoundly impacting everything from home entertainment to mobile user experiences. Samsung’s innovations in AI-driven TVs and the interactive Ballie home companion robot – both on show – epitomise AI’s growing influence and potential to enhance personal and mobile technology.
AI’s role in the convergence of entertainment and telecommunications was another key theme. This was highlighted by the announcement of the SAG-AFTRA union’s deal with AI voice technology company Replica Studios. Their agreement will see voice actors paid for licensing digital replicas of their voices for use in video games.
Much of the tech on show integrates AI into everyday life. Want to get more done on the move? Volkswagen announced it is putting ChatGPT into its cars so you can ask generative AI to perform tasks while you drive. Want to buy everything you need to host a party with friends and watch football together? Walmart’s new AI search tool, revealed it will enable you to search by use case rather than just product names.
As technology becomes more interconnected and integrated into every aspect of our lives, partnerships across different sectors are driving rapid advances. The innovation on show at this year’s CES 2024 illustrates how the industry is aligning these developments with consumer needs and sustainability goals.
