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It can be tough to keep up to speed with every announcement from CES — and why they are a big deal — so let us try to break the big announcements down for you.
LG and Samsung’s transparent TVs: Both companies showed off screens that can go fully see-through when turned off. LG’s OLED TV will be available at some point this year, while Samsung’s was more of a prototype showing off MicroLED technology, which uses arrays of microscopic LEDs to offer better image quality and energy efficiency, with no image burn-in.
- Why it matters: After years of transparent display prototypes, LG’s TV is the first actual retail product to be announced at CES. Samsung’s demo showed new forms for MicroLEDs, which so far have mostly been used in giant screens for commercial customers. But transparent screens are mainly a design gimmick, and whether you think it’s cool or not comes down to taste.
AI in the background: Manufacturers aren’t just tossing an AI processor into products to build hype. Those chips are being used to monitor and redirect power in the latest Lenovo and HP laptops to perform best for the tasks you are doing, or automatically adjust display settings in several new TVs to suit what you are watching.
- Why it matters: Predictions about AI taking centre stage at CES conjured images of ChatGPT being integrated into cars and sunglasses. But for those who don’t see the appeal of having a chatbot everywhere, these show that AI breakthroughs can be more impactful when you don’t even see it working.
MSI Claw: The company unveiled a handheld PC gaming device with performance comparable to the market-leading Steam Deck, while boasting improvements in battery life, display refresh rate, and ergonomics.
- Why it matters: Valve showed that PC-quality processing could be packed into a portable package when it launched the Steam Deck in 2022. MSI is joining ASUS and Lenovo in chasing a hot growth market, driven by customers who lack the know-how to build an at-home gaming PC, as well as die-hards looking to take their PC games on the go.
Spec bumps: Every CES comes with a ton of products that don’t do anything new, but do what they already do better. That could be in the form of processors and chips from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel that provide more power for gaming and AI. It could be monitors with refresh rates faster than human eyes can perceive. It could just be faster laptops and higher-resolution TVs.
- Why it matters: At its core, CES is a trade show. Sometimes bigger, faster, and stronger is what you need to get retailers to sell your products (and tech enthusiasts excited to buy them).