A CES Veteran’s Guide To Preparing For CES 2023 And Trends To Look For At The Show

Next week I will head off to Las Vegas to attend my 48th Winter CES event. Many people have a love/hate affair with this show as, traditionally, it can have up to 150,000 attendees and encompasses miles of convention floor space. It comes right after the holidays, and for all vendors, and even some attendees, the weeks prior require time and disruption of one’s family activities before the show.

Yet the show has become the largest Consumer Electronics show in North America, and for tech-oriented folks, it is like a candy store for techies. This show will display the newest and greatest TVs, audio equipment, digitally driven home appliances, and advances in home health. And most recently, it has become a showcase for many of the major automakers to show off their newest smart autos and digitally integrated interiors and features.

Due to the lingering effects of the Covid pandemic, the show anticipates a smaller crowd, if 100,000 attendees to CES can be called “smaller”.

Before I get into the trends I will be looking for, let me make logistical suggestions for those who might be new to this show. First, wear comfortable broken-in shoes. Each year I do the show, I average 23,000 steps minimum as I try and check out the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Sands Convention center, the two primary venues of the show.

Second, stay well hydrated. Drink water – lots of water. The desert air of Las Vegas will take a toll on the body. Also, I request a humidifier for my hotel room as any added humidity will help one sleep much better at night.

Third, people from all over the world will bring unknown germs with them. I know face masks are not mandated, but I think they are warranted under the health circumstances. Also, have a small bottle of sanitizer with you and use it often.

One last suggestion is to plan ample time to get from one meeting to another. The booths and meeting rooms are very far apart, and I have missed many appointments in the past by needing to plan more time to get from one meeting or venue to another.

The show itself is challenging to navigate, so once you get your badge and the info about the show layout, take time to study it closely. And then, take the extra step of mapping out your routes to get to your meetings on time.

As for the trends, there are some new ones for this year. The 2023 CES will be the first show with many exhibits and sessions on Web 3 and the Metaverse. I have been shown at least two new VR headsets under NDA in advance of the show that will debut. There will also be some fascinating exhibits that highlight the concept and promise of VR, MR, and AR. Also, this is the first year CES has presented a series of sessions on Web 3 and the Metaverse. I am moderating the Creating Apps for the Metaverse session on Friday, January 6th, at 2:00 PM at LVCC.

One of the fascinating pivots CES took some years ago was to start courting the auto industry to show off the technology they were beginning to integrate into their vehicles. As a result, CES has now become one of the more essential shows for this industry. About a dozen automakers will be at the show, highlighting their newest EVs, assisted driving features, and ways these cars are becoming more intelligent. And be sure to go by the John Deere tractor exhibit and watch the demos of AI-based smart tractors. John Deere has become one of the most innovative companies in farm equipment and leading the way in smart technology applications.

Another area CES 2023 will highlight is smart health and smart exercise and wellness. Indeed they have a dedicated section over at the Sands Expo Center focused on these health-related technologies. There will be a couple of cuff-less blood pressure kits making their debut at the show, small enough to fit in a pocket. As one who has to watch my blood pressure very closely, this is a particular development that I am eager to check out personally.

You also need to catch Sony and Samsung’s huge booths over at the LVCC. They always have great new toys to show and will demo their latest advancements in flat-panel TVs and displays. These are stunning demos that each year pushes the envelope of high-definition imaging and seemingly defy physics to make them thinner each year. Also, Chinese TV makers like Hisense are impressive as they have become serious competitors in the world of flat panel high-definition resolution televisions.

While these are noted trends, one of the most significant values of this show for me is perusing the upstarts over at Echo Park at the Sands Convention Center. This area shows off thousands of tabletop stands, mostly homegrown technologies and products vying for market attention. I block an entire afternoon of my time to visit this area and look for gems that might be the next best thing or, at the very least, help me understand emerging trends in the coming year.

One last important note about the CES Show: This is an industry show designed to meet the needs of the industry. Most of the vendors use this show to meet with their partners and resellers and book sales of their products for the coming year. In that sense, it is an important industry event in its own right.

However, it is one of the best shows for those in the industry to see the trends that will impact them in the new year and use it to network and develop new and vital relationships for the future.

While the show was virtual in 2021 and primarily virtual in 2022, many of us who always attend CES missed the face-to-face, the booth-to-booth experience that a live show delivers.

CES 2023 will have a virtual component again this year. But for thousands of people, this will be the first time they see each other in three years. So I suspect, even with its challenges and health risks, it will be a welcome event that helps them look forward to a new year and new challenges in tech.