TVs, EV batteries, metaverse are big ticket items at CES 2022 in Las Vegas
Organisers of the world’s biggest consumer electronics show will offer participants free rapid antigen and PCR tests.
Organisers of the world’s biggest consumer electronics show will offer participants free rapid antigen and PCR tests. The iconic conference of the latest cutting edge technology and gadgets will proceed this week as both a live and virtual event with sessions streamed across the internet.
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) is offering international guests free PCR tests just before they return home. It could be a lure other conferences use to also get live numbers.
Many iconic tech firms have pulled their in-person presence at CES 2022, including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Intel, AMD, OnePlus, Meta/Facebook, Twitter and General Motors.
The prospect of mixing with visitors from more than 100 countries in crowded indoor exhibiting halls, as Omicron rages, has proved foreboding for many exhibitors, media and analysts who will now attend from afar.
Keynote speakers include Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon, GM CEO Mary Barra, US secretary of transportation and 2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg and Salesforce president Sarah Franklin.
TV manufacturers are always high profile participants and this year we expect to see Samsung roll out sets with “QD-OLED” screens that take the premium organic OLED displays to new levels.
2021 was the year when mini and micro LED sets with thousands of tiny backlights challenged the supremacy of OLED, which offers stunning blacks, whites and colours, and razor-sharp images.
But OLED is hitting back. A new technology called Quantum Dot OLED seeks to offer better colour production at high brightness levels, a perceived weakness of OLED mark 1.
Laptops, tablets, monitors and phones may adopt QD-OLED over time.
As usual, there will be new chips by Intel, AMD and Nvidia. This, in addition to DDR5 memory announced last year, will excite gamers and others with a promised big spike in computer speed and performance.
More devices will be paraded with foldable screens. Asus reportedly has a foldable laptop that’s good to go and there is a report that Samsung has developed a triple folding tablet.
However, there is a shadow over the rollout of fast processors with the international chip shortage expected to slow the availability of new devices. Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger now believes the shortage may last until 2023, so getting your hands on some devices may be hard.
There will be countless health and fitness wearables at CES. One of them, the Movano ring, professes to offer fitness and sleep tracking, and advice on reducing your risk of chronic disease.
Smart and electric mobility, digital health, the smart home and AI will again be major themes.
With the world increasingly focused on climate change, there will be hopes of newer and more affordable battery technologies and faster and more convenient charging options with EVs an increasing part of CES.
We should see lighter solid state EV batteries that offer more energy density, an increased range and charge faster compared to present ones. Car makers are already heavily invested in their development. They include Ford, BMW, Hyundai and Kia with LG, Samsung and ACC among companies gearing to supply them.
The EV magazine Charged reports that Stellantis, which makes 14 EV brands, will show off fuel cell vans. Korea’s third largest conglomerate SK Group will showcase how its hydrogen initiatives will power renewable technology. EV tech could be the most important take out at CES 2022.
The metaverse, space tech, food tech and Web 3.0 will be new key themes taking centre stage.
Many companies are investing huge sums in the emerging metaverse economy but outside of crypto gaming, they are yet to explain why everyday people would enjoy participating in these virtual, digital spaces.
But we may find out. The CTA says the conference will feature exhibitors and products displaying how advancements in hardware, software and digital assets such as cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens will help shape the nascent metaverse.
Covid related tech will go beyond last year’s smart N95 compliant face masks with a built in amplifier and microphone, produced by Razer, or a mask designed to be less claustrophobic. Most of us are over a fascination with face masks.
But we will see initiatives such as Opteev’s Virawarn, an airborne Covid detector, and are likely to see initiatives around simpler rapid antigen testing. It will still be a fascinating event. The show goes from January 5 to 7 US Pacific time.