Leaving Las Vegas: my take on CES 2019

As I mentioned in my last post, I started new year the traditional tech way – that is, at CES in Las Vegas. This giant of an event, which parades just about every new gadget and gizmo around, has its fair share of detractors – for being too big, too showy, or maybe just a bit too geared towards the geeks rather than regular consumers.

And it is quite strange to deprive yourself of natural daylight for a few days, then walk what feels like the equivalent of the Camino while being love-bombed by techno-marketing babble. What can I say? I really enjoy it.

Like last year, the halls were packed with all sorts of robot assistants and companions, which are starting to appear a bit more natural than the awkward alien-like creatures of previous shows. Again, Sony’s Aibo robotic dog was one of the most popular. There were so many people trying to pet it that I couldn’t help thinking how my own dog would react; if Aibo was half as intelligent, it would surely have given a deep sigh and left the arena to look for some peace and quiet.

As I work in the telco industry, it probably won’t surprise you that the whole ecosystem around 5G is high on my agenda at the moment, and I spent a good bit of time talking to the people who are working on making it happen. That's about all I can say for now, but for anyone interested I will give a full update at Mobile World Congress next month.

From a product perspective, one thing that really struck me was that the majority of non-smartphone devices, most notably wearables, still lack 4G/LTE connectivity – and there don’t seem to be any plans to change this. I find this strange. For one thing, although everyone – including me – is talking about 5G, the current standard won’t be disappearing any time soon. Also, just from a practical point of view, how annoying is it having to wait for a WiFi connection to sync devices and upload your step count or whatever all the time?

What is definitely picking up however is the integration of digital assistants and artificial intelligence into just about everything, from cars and controls for your home to your sunglasses. And, thankfully, they can now do much more than tell you what the weather is like. In TVs for example, the notion of “adjusting settings” might become redundant, as AI monitors and tweaks things, depending on how much light there is, or where people are sitting in the room.

As for wearables, Vuzix showcased its impressive Blade augmented reality glasses. I can definitely see some really interesting use cases for these in business here, like network engineers identifying and sharing real time problems and fixes with office-based support teams just as one idea. But I have to say I still prefer the look of my Oakley sunglasses…

I was also impressed by the innovation we are now seeing in TV technology. All of the big names were talking about 8K, and there were some really beautiful screens on display. LG’s new rollable OLED TV can pretty much disappear from view when you’re not watching. This does of course mean there will be no excuses for not dusting behind the TV – although with some of the new mega sizes that are now available, maybe our walls will be covered up completely anyway. 

Finally, as always there were various quirky demonstrations to try out.

I’m currently waiting to discover what secrets my DNA will reveal, after taking a secure test with Orig3n. Will I find out that my genes are those of an Endurance Athlete, or a Total Sweet Tooth? I know, the tension is almost unbearable.

Sadly, I didn’t have time to play table tennis against OMRON’s huge robot, FORPHEUS, which looks like a giant electronic spider – with a ping pong bat. There’s no way this thing would fit in your garage along with the ping pong table (and/or the massive home cinema TV), so I’m not sure how big a demand there will be for it. One thing in its favour is that, if it senses that you’re running around frantically and missing too many shots, FORPHEUS will ease off a little, and even start to make a couple of mistakes to allow you to get back in the game.

Finally, less “demo” and more “household fixture”, one of the weirdest – and best – things I saw was the smart plank of wood from Japanese start-up Mui. Yes, you did read that correctly. The logic might seem bizarre, but a bit like those rollable TVs, this is actually another move towards tech that blends seamlessly into your home environment. According to its creators, the Calm Design Device could also help those of us struggling to reduce our screen time.

All in all, it was very another useful and interesting visit to Las Vegas. I’m already looking forward to next year.

Photo credit: Amelia Holowaty/The Verge