I know we say this every year, but it feels like just yesterday we were all packed into a single room in Las Vegas, eating mediocre takeout, and voting for our best performances. But CES 2024 is actually just around the corner. The show will be officially held from January 9th to 12th, but we will start it in advance before then. The first CES-related activities are expected to start on January 7th. Last year we saw a focus on accessibility and a rather disturbing amount of content. Something you should pee on or in. While we’ll likely see a slew of devices designed to help people with hearing impairments and mobility issues again this year, we expect a few new trends to steal the headlines. Here are some predictions from our staff for the 2024 CES show in Las Vegas.
User friendly solar power
I suspect CES 2024 will be full of clean energy technology, packaged in the form of consumer hardware. Solar panels have traditionally been the province of professional contractors, but stand-alone installations are becoming increasingly popular. Two or three years ago, this kind of equipment was mainly aimed at RV users, but now it has become mainstream. Pop-up panels, with inverters and batteries that look like air conditioning units and sit unobtrusively in corners, are all the rage right now. The advantage is that most settings are plug-and-play and require no professional involvement.
There are several drivers beyond the niche audience that wants to go off the grid. Energy costs have risen dramatically in many places outside the United States, and it would be foolish to think the same won’t happen here. Not to mention, places like Texas are already seeing grid failures with devastating consequences. This will be a big market in the next few years, and I expect more and more consumer brands to follow Anker and Jackery into the home battery space. —Dan Cooper, senior British journalist
MEMS earplugs
If Engadget’s audience statistics are any indication, audio fans are very excited about MEMS earbud drivers. As my colleague James Trew details in his report, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) may well be the next big thing in headphones. California-based xMEMS was the first company to bring solid-state components to market, and the first truly wireless headphones using them recently became available.
Some of the benefits of MEMS drives are said to be improved response, better durability and more consistent fidelity. They also do not require the calibration or matching required for balanced armatures or dynamic drivers on the production line. The only downside is that, in their current state, they still require a hybrid setup with a bass auxiliary driver. However, xMEMS is expected to achieve 40 times louder bass response in its next-generation MEMS speakers.
The new model is called Cypress, and the company will be demonstrating it to attendees at CES. xMEMS says its performance is consistent with the bass performance of the “best” 10-12 coil speakers currently used in earbuds. What’s more, Cypress can improve ANC performance, which xMEM says will cover higher frequencies, including crying babies. The company has said the components won’t enter high-volume production until the end of 2024, so consumer products are still more than a year away. But the promise is so good that we can’t help but be excited for this early preview in Las Vegas. —Billy Steele, senior reporter
Wi-Fi 7 everywhere
While it may not be the most exciting development, I expect to see a lot of new Wi-Fi 7-enabled devices at CES 2024—from laptops to TVs and everything in between. This is currently still a work in progress, but the official Wi-Fi 7 specifications are expected to be finalized in early 2024, so device manufacturers hope to make this happen sooner rather than later. Some of the benefits of Wi-Fi 7 include top speeds of up to 46 Gbps (more than twice as fast as using Wi-Fi 6/6E), and 320Mhz channel width, which is double the capacity of previous generations.
Another important feature is MLO (Multi-Link Operation), which allows Wi-Fi 7 devices to use two frequency bands simultaneously, essentially turning a single wireless connection into a two-lane highway. For people with larger homes, this should improve mesh network performance by allowing devices to switch bands without losing speed or connectivity. QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) has also been significantly improved from 1024-QAM on Wi-Fi 6/6E to 4096-QAM on Wi-Fi 7, allowing devices to pack more information into the same carrier signal.
The downside is that while there are some devices on sale now (such as the Samsung Galaxy S23) that already support Wi-Fi 7, you’ll need a compatible device and router (not to mention a fast enough Internet connection) to take advantage of the specification’s full capabilities. In short, you should keep an eye out for new devices that support Wi-Fi 7, but don’t rush to upgrade everything in your home until prices stabilize and they become more common. —Sam Rutherford, senior reporter
AI PC year
If there’s one hot term you’re bound to hear a lot in 2024, it’s “AI PC.” Both Intel and AMD use the phrase to describe computers equipped with NPU, or Neural Processing Unit, chips. Similar to how GPUs accelerate graphics processing for games, NPUs can offload AI tasks to process them more efficiently. For Windows 11, this is mostly limited to Microsoft’s Studio Effects, which can blur video chat backgrounds or enhance lights. But more Windows AI features are rumored to be coming (Microsoft’s push to make its Copilot AI ubiquitous a big sign), and companies like Adobe and Audacity are also developing NPU-powered features for their apps.
For years, chipmakers have been pursuing higher clock rates, smaller process designs, and a host of other architectural upgrades (such as 3D transistors) to increase hardware speeds and more efficient. The shift to mobile chip designs, such as those from Apple, is another way to reduce power consumption while increasing computing speeds. Intel, AMD, and others are also putting more focus on GPUs to enhance basic gaming performance while also offloading some creative tasks, such as media encoding. NPUs are the latest tools chip designers can rely on, and they also have the potential to revolutionize the way we use computers (or at least provide more power and battery life in ultraportable laptops).
While it’s easy to be skeptical of marketing terms, the term “AI PC” is at least practical. There are still many laptops on the market without NPUs (Intel is only getting into the AI game with its new Core Ultra chips), so consumers need an easy way to differentiate between different types of systems. After all, if you’re upgrading your laptop to take advantage of Windows Studio effects and AI-powered software, you don’t want to be stuck with a non-NPU system for years. — Devendra Hardawal, senior journalist
true wireless tv
Displace made a splash at CES 2023 with its truly wireless TV that can be mounted anywhere, even suction-cup-mounted in windows. The company’s demo left us with a lot of questions, as it wasn’t ready to discuss key details about the product since it was showing off a CES-specific prototype. The company is returning to Las Vegas this year and has already announced the products it plans to showcase.
First, Displace said it will demonstrate two sizes of TVs: the 27-inch Displace Mini and the 55-inch Displace Flex. The display we saw earlier this year was also 55 inches, but one key difference between it and the Flex is that this new version comes with an optional magnetic wireless charging stand. According to the company, both the Flex and Mini have enough battery life to last a month if you watch six hours of content a day. There’s no pricing for these yet, but they’ll be available for pre-order on January 9th, so we’ll find out soon. Displace said it will also show off a 110-inch model at CES, but details are scant.
The price of the original version has increased since the last CES: it’s now $4,499, and orders won’t ship until mid-2024. The new Mini and Flex aren’t expected to ship until the end of next year. The main thing we focus on at CES is status updates. Are these units more sophisticated? Have there been any notable upgrades since the first prototype? How much do additional replaceable batteries cost? Does the company really look like it can ship in the next 6-12 months?
Displace also announced an AI-based shopping platform for its TVs. Using the same gestures used to control TV viewing, the technology can analyze paused scenes to find products that might be on sale. The system also allows you to quickly make purchases by holding your phone or watch close to an NFC-enabled TV or using a mobile app. Displace says the goal of its products has always been ambient computing, and the first step toward that goal is this shopping platform. It’s also a way for the company to make money off its TVs after they’re first sold. — Billy Steele
We will provide live coverage of CES 2024, which will be held in Las Vegas from January 6th to 12th.Get all the latest news from the show here.
This article originally appeared on Engadget: https://www.engadget.com/ces-2024-what-we-expect-in-las-vegas-this-year-140040145.html?src=rss
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