What to expect at CES 2017

2016 has been a quite dramatic year. In the tech sector, it went excellent for some, while certain developments were not so pleasant. Who could forget crashing autonomous cars, failing drones, and explosive phones? While this all is a thing of the past, the new year looks promising. And the first thing to watch out for in 2017 is the CES (Consumer Electronic Show) that starts in the first week of the new year.

About 2,00,000 people are expected to head towards the Sin City to witness the biggest carnival hosting all the Consumer, auto, and Internet based extravaganza. The CES is held annually and is also known as the world’s largest tech convention. The convention which is predominantly known for the Consumer electronics for the past half a century is expected to receive a paradigm shift this year as the software developments are set to take the centre stage.

This year’s is expected to be even bigger with the presence of tech giants such as Samsung, Sony, LG, Bosch, Qualcomm, Toyota, Nissan, and Panasonic. Before the grand event kicks-off this Thursday, let’s find out what’s in the store this year.

Higher resolution TVs

An increase in resolutions for TV’s is going to take a centre stage at the CES. Along with that, HDR will be making it to most panels. Manufacturers such as Sony and Samsung could be showcasing their latest generation of Quantum Dot panels with 4K resolution.

LG, on the other hand, will continue to its push for the OLED TVs with 4K models. We could see gigantic panels of up to 98 inches, and with increase in the screen size, we shall see more TVs 8K resolution. To take advantage of these pixel quality screens, popular online video portals such as Netflix and Amazon Prime will most likely step up their beam quality.

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

AR and VR have garnered significant interest in 2016. And at the CES 2017, with dedicated areas to exhibit these technologies, these technologies will pull more crowds. Wearables such as HTC Vive, PlayStation VR, and Oculus Rift have already signaled that the VR world has a lot of potential and so is the mixed reality based HoloLens by Microsoft got the people talking.

Manufacturers such as Dell, Lenovo, Asus, Acer, HP could be showcasing their versions of virtual reality based products. Also expect more gaming products and newer games on the lines of the AR based Pokémon-go game which became a rage. Qualcomm has already teased with a Power Rangers VR experience area which seems to be an interesting concept.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

In essence AI or Artificial Intelligence is a machine possessing the ability to solve problems, perform tasks and provide assistance to humans. The concept of AI was first coined in the 1950’s. After over 60 years, some of the proposed aspects back then have become a reality. One certain aspect being Self-Learning or Self-improvement which has been as enticing future prospect.

Google’s ‘Deep Mind’ is one such AI process which uses the self-learning technique to win games. We have also seen certain devices such as the Google home and Amazon’s Alexa featuring the AI technology last year. At the event we could see over 25 exhibitors showcasing such personal home assistants which can play music, do online shopping for you, and also remind you about important life events. Also taking it a bit further, Robots based on Artificial Intelligence are said to be the in the limelight at the event.

Autonomous and electric cars

The autonomous cars or self-driving cars have been trending with the launch of Tesla’s vehicles and many new concepts based on similar aspects are expected to hit the CES 2017.

Electric car maker Faraday Future is expected to reveal its first production car at the event. Apart from that, autonomous cars such as the Hyundai Ionic and Audi SQ5 equipped with Delphi’s self-driving technology could be seen ambling around the event. So you better be aware and be alert at the event.

Wearable tech

The Smartwatches and Android wearables didn’t see any major improvements in 2016. There are many factors which went against such devices. Primarily it is the battery backup issue for the smartwatches and its dependability on smartphones to function makes it rather inconvenient.

We expect companies to have addressed these issues and hope for some noteworthy additions like Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration in the wearable tech category at the CES 2017. Brands such as Fitbit, Xiaomi, Garmin could be coming up with their latest iteration of fitness bands. It will also be interesting to see Google has managed to polish its watch operating system Android Wear 2.0.

5G technology

5G is going to be a revolution in the future of mobile communications. 5G is based on the 802.11 ac standard of broadband technology. Thus providing a very low latency network speeds of over 1 Gbps, whereas the current 4G services function at an average speed of about 10-12 Mbps. With the increasing demand ultra-high definition videos and other content on the internet, there was a need for a more effective and reliable solution to which the upcoming 5G technology could be an answer to.

The 5G platform would in turn enable growth in the industrial development ranging from IT sector, entertainment sector, automobiles, agriculture, logistics and manufacturing processes. The CES 2017 could be home to telecom industry giants to exhibit their developments in 5G based technology. Nokia, which still retains its telecom industry could be showcasing this newer generation of internet connectivity solution here as it claims to be the world’s first to ensure a 19.1 Gbps transmission speeds on its 5G bands.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article is solely those of the original author. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Deccan Chronicle and/or other staff and contributors to this site. Ajinkya Bhoir is a tech aficionado. Though he mostly writes about gadgets, he prefers things that guzzle gasoline more than those running on lithium-ion batteries. He is a content guy at Compareraja.in.