CES 2017 is arguably the biggest event in the tech calendar, and it's only two months away. Read on for all the latest CES 2017 news, rumours, key dates, and more.
What is CES?
One of the biggest technology tradeshows in the world, the Consumer Electronics Show (or CES, for short), takes place in Las Vegas every January. The show sees big-name firms like Samsung, LG and Ford flock to the city to flaunt their latest wares, and CES 2017 will be no different.
Media registration for the event has already begun. Here's how the organisers reckon it'll make you feel:
"The moment you find what you didn't know you were looking for, when you feel like you might have found the next unicorn, when your eyes and your brain stare blankly at each other and the only thing your mouth can muster is 'whoa'."
Right...
When is CES 2017?
CES always takes place every January. For 2017, it's on 5-8 January.
But you can guarantee that some of the bigger companies will show off their new goodies in the days leading up the show, typically at dedicated press conferences.
TrustedReviews' Editor Evan Kypreos got a sneak peek at CES 2017 when he went to CES Unveiled in Paris. Here are some of the innovative products he saw there.
Buddy: The Family Companion Robot
If Jonny 5 taught us anything, it’s that robots can have feelings but more importantly that they can be cute. None are cuter than Buddy and its kawaii features. It pootles around your home checking for intruders, and can manage your smart home products, remind you of important events, play music and even call the fire brigade if it senses a fire.
Jooki Bluetooth Speaker
Bluetooth speakers are ten-a-penny but Jooki is a little different. For a start it's also a Wi-Fi enabled which means it can work like a Sonos or other streaming speaker. It's also different because it's aimed at children. It combines Amiibo-like toys with playlists so kids can decide what to listen to simply by placing the right toy on top of the splash-proof Jooki. You can even record your own voice reading out stories so your kid can listen to your voice when you’re travelling abroad.
CT Band
If you’re a bit of a watch fiend then the idea of dumping your favourite Rolex for a fitness band or Apple Watch Series 2 will freak you out. The CT Band attempts to give you the best of both worlds by providing fitness tracking capabilities and a small LED screen in the strap instead. Still in its prototype stage, the CT Band looks a little chunky, and I’m not convinced a screen that small is useful or needed, but getting fitness tracking capabilities using any watch face is a great idea.
Rool’in
This is one of the smartest ways I’ve seen a traditional push bike transformed into an electric bike. All you do is attach the wheel to your bike and the small communication to your pedal and off you go. The Rool’in is available to buy now in three sizes but one that can be charged by the sun as you pedal is also in the works.
What else to expect from CES 2017
Unfortunately, because it’s still early days, very few of the major companies have announced their press events, and the organisers of CES are still keeping a lid on the show schedule.
That said, it’s guaranteed that almost every major tech firm you’ve heard of will be in attendance, except for Apple – tradeshows aren’t its thing.
CES is a little different than most other tradeshows, however, in that it falls straight after Christmas. That means most companies will have already announced their flagship products several months prior to the holiday season. Generally, this results in CES being a hotbed of spin-off devices (think LG G Flex) and concept products (like Razer’s Project Christine).
What to expect at CES 2017
Unfortunately, most companies are keeping their announcements close to their chests. But here's what we know so far:
Nvidia at CES 2017
Nvidia has teased its announcement line-up for CES 2017, and it’s got everyone excited.
It turns out that CEO Jen-Hsun Huang will be helming Nvidia’s first-ever keynote address at the CES technology tradeshow in Las Vegas this January. Nvidia has promised that he’ll be breaking news in “some of the areas” it’s focused on, including artificial intelligence, self-driving cars, virtual reality, and gaming.
This announcement has launched speculation into what Nvidia might announce. Last year, Nvidia showed off DRIVE PX 2, the world’s first supercomputer for driverless cars. And the year before that, it ignited conspiracy theories by commissioning a crop circle in California – oh, and the launched the Tegra mobile processor too.
So what might Nvidia actually announce? It’s hard to say, but we could see anything from new processors to a brand new GeForce graphics card to improvements in deep learning AI technology to a new accelerator for self-driving cars. There’s even a chance we could see a new device to follow on from the Shield hand-held console.
Perhaps the most exciting possibility would be details on the new Volta GPU architecture, the sixth-generation technology that’s set to follow Pascal (launched 2016). After all, rival AMD plans to show off its new Zen ‘Summit Ridge’ CPUs at the show, and has been heavily teasing its next-gem Vega graphics cards.
What happened last year?
Here’s what we saw from some of the big companies last time at CES 2016:
Acer: Aspire Switch 12 S | Liquid Jade Primo (Windows 10 Phone) | Iconia One 8 tablet | 11.6-inch Chromebook 11
BlackBerry: QNX automated driving software announcements
Blu-ray Disc Association: Announced Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray
Fitbit: Fitbit Blaze
Ford: News on Ford Smart Mobility plan (driverless car technology)
Garmin: Fenix watch redesign | Garmin Drive sat nav updates | Varia Vision HUD
Hisense: 22 televisions, including 4K and HDR models
HTC: Second-gen dev kit for HTC Vive | UA HealthBox fitness kit
HP: Updated Spectre X360
Huawei: Huawei Mate 8 launch details | New Huawei Watch editions | Huawei MediaPad M2 tablet
Intel: RealSense camera update | Start-up tech showcase
Lenovo: Yoga 900S | ThinkPad X1 updates
LG: LG Signature range (TVs, washers, fridges) | New Super UHD TVs | New soundbars (SH8/SH7/SH6)
Nvidia: ‘Supercomputer’ for driverless cars | In-car artificial intelligence
Panasonic: New cameras (TZ family) | DMP-UB900 UHD Blu-ray player
Qualcomm: Showcased automotive tech | SD820 launch details
Razer: Razer Blade Stealth Ultrabook and Razer Core desktop graphics hub
Samsung: New SUHD TVs | Luxury Gear S2 Classic | Galaxy TabPro S Windows 10 2-in-1 | New sounder (HW-K950) | Samsung Family Hub fridge
Sony: New action camera (HDR-AS50R) | XD93 TV | PS-HX500 Hi-Res Audio turntable | New speakers, headphones, and AV players
UHD Alliance: Announced specifications for Ultra HD Premium certification
Volkswagen: Electric van concept | E-Golf Touch new-gem infotainment system with gesture control
